18 Foot Skiff European Championships 2010 Images

Images by Latsi Meissner from the recent European 18ft Skiff Championship, which was sailed at Malcesine, Lake Garda, Italy.

Gotta Love It 7, from Australia, won the regatta, while Hungary’s Liberty Sailing Team become the European champion.


Gotta Love It 7 (AUS) and CST (USA). Image copyright Latsi Meissner.


Gotta Love It 7 at the line. Image copyright Latsi Meissner.


The Danes. Image copyright Latsi Meissner.


The German entry. Image copyright Latsi Meissner.


Skiff launching at Lake Garda (CST). Image copyright Latsi Meissner.


Liberty (Hungary) - European Champions. Image copyright Latsi Meissner.


Skiffs on Lake Garda. Image copyright Latsi Meissner.


SLAM with Appliances Online capsized. Image copyright Latsi Meissner.


Race start on Lake Garda. Image copyright Latsi Meissner.


TMF (UK). Image copyright Latsi Meissner.

Flying 18s

WMRT: BlackMatch Racing Lead Korea Match Cup 2010

ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing. Korea Match Cup 2010. World Match Racing Tour. Gyeonggi, Korea. 11th June 2010. Image copyright Ian Roman/Subzero Images.

by David Swete

Despite a loss to fellow Kiwi Phil Robertson and his Waka Racing Team today, this was BlackMatch's only loss of the day and now with a scorecard of 6 wins 2 losses this not only seals a spot in our third consecutive quarterfinal this year, but it also leaves us on top of the table.

Our wins today came against Frenchman Bertrand Pace and Sweden’s Bjorn Hansen, while Phil and his team nailed home a deserved victory. After a start that saw Phil gain a slight advantage off the line and force us to tack away to the unfavoured side of the course, we fought back hard to be hot on the heels of the young Kiwi at the first bottom mark. This however was about as close as we got to the rampant Waka boys as they defended well, clearly with their minds set on making the final 8.

The final two days of Korea Match Cup (12/13 June) will be televised LIVE to a global audience. With 11 combined TV cameras on-shore and water covering all of the action. The onboard audio and commentary broadcasters, will be distributing a variety of live, delayed live and highlight shows.

A number of different trans-global broadcasters are taking footage from Korea Match Cup including; Untamed Sports and America One in the USA, ESPN/Star Asia, TVNZ and Sky NZ in New Zealand. In territories without access to the live television shows, fans can instead pick up the programme live via internet streaming on the BlackMatch Racing Website www.blackmatchracing.com Racing is scheduled to start at 10am (2am UK Time, 1pm NZ Time). You can also track us on twitter, so please follow BlackMatchNZ to get our updates.

BlackMatch would like to thank their sponsors FedEx Express and Events Clothing/Line 7 New Zealand. We would also like to thank our new sponsor Steinlager Pure and Emirates Team New Zealand, as without their support we would not have this opportunity.

BlackMatch Racing
World Match Racing Tour

WMRT: Waka Racing on Day 3 of the Korea Match Cup

Phil Robertson. Korea Match Cup 2010. World Match Racing Tour. Gyeonggi, Korea. 11 June 2010. Image copyright Gareth Cooke/Subzero Images.

Video from Waka Racing on Day 3 of the Korea Match Cup



Waka Racing
World Match Racing Tour

WMRT: MRT Beat Down "The Little General"

Torvar Mirsky. Korea Match Cup 2010. World Match Racing Tour. Gyeonggi, Korea. 11th June 2010. Image copyright Ian Roman/Subzero Images.

by Kinley Fowler

After low tide brought a different cause for delayed racing on day 3, MRT came out strong to defeat Team Italia's Paolo Cian, dubbed "The Little General" for his fiery displays of Italian Passion.

As spectators watched from the shore, it was like the racing was on repeat as MRT and Team Italia took three attempts at a race before the wind finally settled in. All three prestarts seemed to play out the same, with MRT fighting hard to get out of the port side lock, but eventually they broke free to start with a marginal lead on the Italians.


Torvar Mirsky. Korea Match Cup 2010. World Match Racing Tour. Gyeonggi, Korea. 11th June 2010. Image copyright Ian Roman/Subzero Images.

MRT's tactician spotted a small left handed shift, so MRT split off. The move paid off, with the Australians leading Team Italia around the top mark and through to the finish.

Saturday's racing will see the completion of the Round Robin, and the top 8 teams advancing to the quarter finals. With 5 wins and 3 losses, MRT look to be in a strong position for the top 8.

Mirsky Racing Team
World Match Racing Tour

WMRT: Tour Card Holders Command Korea Match Cup

Race Boat Branding/Layout. Korea Match Cup 2010. World Match Racing Tour. Gyeonggi, Korea. 10th June 2010. Image copyright Ian Roman/Subzero Images.

by Cailah Leask

As the sailors waited in anticipation for the mega wind turbines on the race course horizon to start up they finally jumped into action by 4pm. With wind building to a steady 9 knots on Day 3 of Korea Match Cup’s Round Robin perfect match racing conditions were enjoyed by the 12 teams.

Five out of the overall nine selected 2010 World Match Racing Tour card holders are so far commanding Korea Match Cup. Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing is jointly leading with Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar who has now been dedicated to pro-racing for 5 years. Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing pulled back considerably today in the welcomed stronger airs, he sits 3rd overall having moved up from 9th position yesterday along with Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team and Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team. Mirsky is rapidly getting back to top form after yesterday expressing his concerns at travelling to Korea so closely after completing Chicago Match Race and arriving in Gyeonggi the morning the WMRT event started, “I didn’t recover and won’t do it again”.


Bowman Graeme Spence hiking hard for Torvar Mirsky on day 3 of Korea Match Cup 2010. World Match Racing Tour. Gyeonggi, Korea. 11 June 2010. Image copyright Gareth Cooke/Subzero Images.

Williams looked back at Match Race Germany where during this stage of the regatta he was consistently putting in good results however, his form changed when reaching the quarter finals. When asked if he had a different strategy for Korea Match Cup to retain his team’s strength into the quarters he replied, “I think we will just carry on in the same relaxed fashion for Korea Match Cup, the way we are this year without the consistent team and dedication to training we will make mistakes, but if we remain relaxed we should win more than we lose and continue progressing, then we hope that when we go into the quarters it will go our way”.

Francesco Bruni (ITA) Azzurra upped his match race considerably today after a disappointing day yesterday which saw him defeated in all matches. The charming Italian helm who is new to the Tour this year, is now ranked 8th after one win today and could still be in play for a slot in the quarters as this skipper is termed a ‘light wind specialist’.


Francesco Bruni. Korea Match Cup 2010. World Match Racing Tour. Gyeonggi, Korea. 10th June 2010. Image copyright Ian Roman/Subzero Images.

Further down the score board in 9th position sits another Tour card holder, Bertrand Pacé (FRA) Aleph Sailing Team, who has won only 4 out of 10 matches at this event. The 2010 Tour has not yet gone in Pacé’s favour as he was also knocked out in the Round Robin at Match Race France. Pacé commented on his current position, “We are not doing well with the wind or with our match racing”. Continuing at the post race press conference he also related that he didn’t agree with the umpire call in his match against local hero Park GunWoo (KOR) Busan Match.

During the morning’s postponement the Tour card holders were asked about their thoughts on the innovations to the Tour since this global sports brand was taken over by Regal Faith Ltd in September 2009. Consensus was given on the introduction of LIVE communications such as, streaming, blog, facebook, twitter and upgraded website.


Phil Robertson (helming). Korea Match Cup 2010. World Match Racing Tour. Gyeonggi, Korea. 10th June 2010. Image copyright Ian Roman/Subzero Images.

The final two days of Korea Match Cup (12/13 June) will be televised LIVE to a global audience. With 11 combined TV cameras on-shore and water covering all of the action. The onboard audio and commentary broadcasters, will be distributing a variety of live, delayed live and highlight shows.

A number of different trans-global broadcasters are taking footage from Korea Match Cup including; Orbit Showtime in the Middle East and Africa, Untamed Sports and America One in the USA, national broadcaster KBS in Korea, ESPN/Star Asia, TVNZ and Sky NZ in New Zealand as well as CNBC Asia Pacific and Setanta Africa. In territories without access to the live television shows, fans can instead pick up the programme live via internet streaming on the WMRT website.

Video of Korea Match Cup 2010 Highlights Day 2


As cultural Korean celebrations run into the night at the mammoth expo style event, the skippers will be heading home to rest up for the final day of the Round Robin tomorrow. The remaining matches will be fought out toughly to guarantee progression through to the next stage of the event. Competition is fierce at Korea Match Cup as the skippers race in anticipation of winning the top prize money of 75,000,000 KRW, which is the second largest prize money packet of the 2010 Tour.

Day 3: Current Round Robin Standings

Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing 6-2
Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar 6-2
Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing 5-3
Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team 5-3
Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team 5-3
Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Berntsson Sailing Team 5-5
Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Gill Global Team 5-5
Francesco Bruni (ITA) Azzurra 4-4
Bertrand Pacé (FRA) Aleph Sailing Team 4-6
Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing Team 4-6
Paolo Cian (ITA) Team Italia 3-7
Park GunWoo (KOR) Busan Match 2-8

Korea Match Cup
World Match Racing Tour

Sails of White Nights: 3 Wins in Russia for Black Sheep Racing

Black Sheep Racing in Russia. Image copyright Anna Ivanova.

by Reuben Corbett

Black Sheep Racing improve by twenty places in the latest ISAF Match Race Rankings since starting their Northern Hemisphere campaign three weeks ago. Now ranked 33rd in the world, Black Sheep Racing look to build on that and push further up the rankings.

So, here we are at Sail of the White Nights, grade 1 event in the heart of St Petersburg. The race area is literally a stone’s throw away from the shore which provides an extremely shifty and puffy breeze to go with the river like currents. We are now in the thick of it as we compete against teams ranked far superior and to date, each race has been a real dog fight. We managed to finish the day with a positive ledger on 3 wins from 5 races. It was a long day, with racing commencing at 3pm after a five hour postponement, not finishing until 9pm. We have plenty of positives from our races but as always there are things that need polishing. The team is feeling good but looking forward to a good night’s sleep.

Black Sheep Racing would like to thank the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, family and friends for their support. Thank you!

Black Sheep Racing is Brad Farrand, Reuben Corbett and Thomas Bentham.

Black Sheep Racing
Sails of the White Nights

Sails of the White Nights: Difficult Conditions in Russia for Black Swan Racing

Black Swan Racing at the Sails of the White Nights regatta. Image copyright Anna Ivanova.

by Black Swan Racing media

After waiting all of Wednesday and half of today, the wind finally arrived in St Petersburg. Although light and variable the race committee managed to get through the first five flights quite quickly which meant it was time for us to hit the water.

We completed the day with 2 wins and 3 losses.

Despite leading every race at the top mark it was on the downwind legs where things became difficult as we pushed into strong current with a general lack of wind. This was very frustrating as we were starting very well and doing a nice job up the first beat. The hardest loss came against top Russian Eugeny Neugodnikov. We were leading this race by a huge margin but despite our best efforts, the wind shut down on the final leg. Rather than call the race off the race committee left us to try and sail against the current to the finish. Neugodnikov managed to simply sail around the top mark grab a small puff of wind and sail straight past us.

"Today was a tough day we sailed very well without much reward. These are the hardest sailing conditions I have ever encountered. It was difficult because many of the other teams competed in the qualifying event prior to this so they were slightly more accustomed to the boats and conditions. However we improved with every race and were very unlucky in a few situations. We are still on track to make the next stage and are looking forward to tomorrow. Jakob Gustafsson, Mainsheet & Strategy Black Swan Racing.

Black Swan Racing would like to thank our supporters: South of Perth Yacht Club, Kerman Contracting, Westrac CAT, Abbotts PTY LTD Chartered Accountants, McNally Group PTY LTD, Musto Australia & Sweden.

Black Swan Racing

WMRT: YANMAR Racing on Day 2 in Korea

by Rob Kothe

The weather was sunny and hazy with no wind, so the day proved to be a long waiting game for the 12 crews. The breeze came in at around 3pm and YANMAR Racing began sailing at 5pm, in the third flight of the day.

The first match for four times ISAF World Champion Peter Gilmour (AUS) and his YANMAR Racing crew of Martin Berntsson, Cameron Dunn, Yasuhiro Yaji and Thierry Douillard was against 2007 and 2008 World Match Racing Champion Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar.

YANMAR Racing bowman Berntsson reported 'Unfortunately it was a short one. We were penalised in the first dial up and then received a second penalty in a 'room to tack' situation on the first upwind. So after the second penalty of the race it was very much game over for us.'

In the second match YANMAR Racing sailed against defending Korea Match Cup Champion Paolo Cian's (ITA) Team Italia.

Berntsson continues. 'We did a good job in the pre-start but were just a little too eager at the very last ... we were forced back and we started just behind Cian.

'We kept close on the first upwind beat and rounded the top mark just one boat length behind. However with good downwind trimming we established an overlap half way down the first downwind leg and we were able to roll him after the first gybe.

'And after a gybing dual close to the downwind mark we were able to start the second upwind in front of him. When we established the lead, we covered him carefully and we held on, although the second lap was very tight.

'So YANMAR Racing managed 1-1 today and have 2-3 overall.

'Our mistakes have proven painful but I think we are sailing well and keeping the races close. We are looking for a positive result on the scoreboard for Day 3 of the round robin series.'

YANMAR Racing
World Match Racing Tour

Sails of the White Nights: Day 2 - Finally they race!

Damien Iehl (FRA) leads at the end of the first day of racing (Day 2) at the Sails of the White Nights Grade 1 event in Russia. Image copyright Anna Ivanova.

by Sails of the White Nights media

The news at the skippers meeting today morning promised no good – all flights postponed due to lack of wind. Luckily, the afternoon breeze changed everything. At about 2 p.m. the show went on...

The first flight was a diamond of a show. Damien Iehl matched Andrey Arbuzov. The French won the start, took the lead, left no chance and won the race. Same result in the other 4 races sailed.


Damien Iehl being chased. Image copyright Anna Ivanova.

Damien Iehl: "We had a tremendously tough racing day. Especially hard it was to match Alvaro Marinho and Simone Ferrarese. I had a premature start in the match against the Portuguese. I lost time… But I was back at the first mark and got extra advantage thanks to the penalty got by the opponent. It was also extremely hard against the Italians. But Simone Ferrarese got penalized as well.. He had to do his turns ad hoc and that gave me a chance to win."

The Race Committee took all the advantages of the perfect sailing conditions. The sailors continued matching until 8 p.m. Most of the matches were quite ambivalent... the leaders changed as the matches proceeded. As the wind died, the emotions did the opposite.


Match racing on the Neva river. Image copyright Anna Ivanova.

The last flight was won by Sergey Musikhin.. even before the start... His opponent, Alexis Littoz Baritel, got disqualified for the whole race during the starting procedure.

Umpire Veniamin Gusev comments:
"The French broke the rule on purpose. They had 14 seconds left to enter the starting zone... the wind died.. Alexis Littoz Baritel put up the gennaker to push up the boat speed. The boats approached each other. Sergey Musikhin was on starboard tack. According to the rules, the French had to give room. But he did not. Thus, he got a double penalty. Then they touched the starting mark. That was the end... If one gets thrice penalized, the opponet gets the point."

Sails of the White Nights Day One video in Russian (racing and backdrop + interviews with Neugodnikov and Arbuzov)


Results after 5 flights on Thursday, 10th June 2010
Skipper (nationality) wins-losses

D. Iehl (FRA) 5-0
E. Neugodnikov (RUS) 4-1
R. Corbett (NZL) 3-2
A. Marinho (POR) 3-2
A. Arbuzov (RUS) 3-2
S. Musikhin (RUS) 3-2
S. Ferrarse (ITA) 3-2
K. Swinton (AUS) 2-3
A. Littoz Baritel (FRA) 2-3
M. Weiller Vidal (ESP) 1-4
V. Lipavsky (RUS) 1-4
P. Tarnacki (POL) 0-5

Day 3, Friday, 11th June 2010

Friday morning at the skippers meeting the Race Committee informed the sailors about changes in the flight schedule. The decision was made due to the experience gathered in the Qualifiers some days ago. The Grade 3 event, conducted in the Yacht Club “Hercules“ in Lahta on the Finnish Gulf, took place by very strong winds. Thus many flights had to be cancelled and the winner was to be calculated mathematically. Having learned from the past, The Race Committee decided to change the flight schedule for the teams to have equal chances in case it will be wind still. As a result of the changes, the sailors have to swap more often now... The Organizers hope there will be enough wind to conduct all the scheduled flights.


Match racing on the Neva river. Image copyright Anna Ivanova.

Morning passed... full of waiting for the wind... Suitable wind... Perfect sailing conditions of 7 metres per second... but from the unsuitable wind direction... right across the Neva.. impossible to set up the course of requested length.

The Race Committee checked numerous times all the possibilities , all the corners of the Neva between Peter and Paul´s Fortress and the Hermitage... They even tried to race down the only course feasable… in less than 5 minutes time... Far too fast...! Matches of Grade 1 events have to last 13 to 18 minutes at least.

Thus, next skippers meeting took place. Result: all matches postponed until 5 p.m.

Should the wind not shift, the races are likely to be cancelled for the day.

Sails of the White Nights

Star Europeans: Race 4 Images by Fried Elliott

Pepper and Monk (NZL), Star Europeans Race 4. Image copyright Fried Elliott/www.friedbits.com


Star Europeans Race 4. Image copyright Fried Elliott/www.friedbits.com


Star Europeans Race 4. Image copyright Fried Elliott/www.friedbits.com


Star Europeans Race 4. Image copyright Fried Elliott/www.friedbits.com


Star Europeans Race 4. Image copyright Fried Elliott/www.friedbits.com


Star Europeans Race 4. Image copyright Fried Elliott/www.friedbits.com


Star Europeans Race 4. Image copyright Fried Elliott/www.friedbits.com


Star Europeans Race 4. Image copyright Fried Elliott/www.friedbits.com


Star Europeans Race 4. Image copyright Fried Elliott/www.friedbits.com


Star Europeans Race 4. Image copyright Fried Elliott/www.friedbits.com


Star Europeans Race 4. Image copyright Fried Elliott/www.friedbits.com


Star Europeans Race 4. Image copyright Fried Elliott/www.friedbits.com


Star Europeans Race 4. Image copyright Fried Elliott/www.friedbits.com


Star Europeans Race 4. Image copyright Fried Elliott/www.friedbits.com


Pepper and Monk, Star Europeans Race 4. Image copyright Fried Elliott/www.friedbits.com


Star Europeans Race 4. Image copyright Fried Elliott/www.friedbits.com


Star Europeans Race 4. Image copyright Fried Elliott/www.friedbits.com

Fried Elliott
Star Europeans 2010

Star Europeans Race 4: 1st today, Scheidt and Prada; Top ranking, the Germans Polgar and Koy

Race 4, Star Europeans 2010, Viareggio, Italy. Image copyright Fried Elliott/www.friedbits.com

by Star Europeans media

With the 4th race of today, Thursday 10 June, the European Star 2010 Championship is officially valid.

The races will continue until Saturday. The starting time of today’s regatta should have been at 13.00 with a wind of 16 knots, direction 110 degrees. At the last minute the wind ceased and the Stars had to wait 20 minutes before doing another starting procedure, but the wind changed direction four times, in conclusion the start was delayed for an hour.

At 15.00 the black flag gave the official start to the regatta, with a wind stabilized at 220 degrees and 8.5 knots. At the first buoy of Bolina there were some very close and fierce manoeuvres, at the passing of the stern first the Americans Mendelblatt and Von Schwarz (8267), second the Brasilians Scheidt and Prada (8255) and third the Italians Negri e Voltolini (8266). At the next Bolina, Scheidt and Prada caught up position and arrived at the finishing line before Mendelblatt and Von Schwarz and third Negri and Voltolini.

Friday, in front of the dock Madonnina, there will be a C130J Hercules plane of the Aeronautica Militare of Pisa 46° Brigade, flying at a very low level by General Stefano Fort, the youngest General in Italy.

Star Europeans after 4 races (top 31 places)
Sailed: 4, Discards: 0, To count: 4, Entries: 132, Scoring system: Appendix A
Rank BowNumber Nat SailNo Fleet HelmName CrewName R1 R2 R3 R4 Total Nett Notes

1st 109 GER 8414 Essener Polgar Johannes Koy Markus 1.0 2.0 6.0 21.0 30.0 30.0
2nd 106 CAN 8401 Vancouver Island Clarke Richard Bjorn Tyler 7.0 7.0 9.0 8.0 31.0 31.0
3rd 94 USA 8267 Tampa Bay Mendelblatt Mark Von Schwarz John 28.0 3.0 12.0 2.0 45.0 45.0
4th 95 ITA 8266 Verbano Negri Diego Voltolini Enrico 20.0 4.0 21.0 3.0 48.0 48.0
5th 92 POL 8417 Isolated Kusznierewicz Mateusz Zycli Dominik 4.0 24.0 17.0 4.0 49.0 49.0
6th 101 USA 8273 San Diego Bay Szabo George Strube mark 16.0 11.0 3.0 23.0 53.0 53.0
7th 90 BRA 8397 Guanabara Bay Grael Torben Ferreira Marcelo 3.0 13.0 2.0 36.0 54.0 54.0
8th 11 USA 8423 San Diego Bay Campbell Andrew Nichol Brad 6.0 20.0 15.0 14.0 55.0 55.0
9th 83 DEN 8380 Danish Andersen Benny Just Mogen 12.0 29.0 16.0 11.0 68.0 68.0
10th 44 SUI 8364 Thuner- Bielersee Marazzi Flavio De Maria Enrico 17.0 23.0 24.0 7.0 71.0 71.0
11th 93 SWE 8387 Birka Loof Fredrik Tillander Johan 11.0 26.0 27.0 10.0 74.0 74.0
12th 51 USA 8422 Lake Hopatcong Merriman Rick Sperry Austin 37.0 12.0 7.0 19.0 75.0 75.0
13th 100 AUT 8368 Attersee Spitzauer Hans Luezlbauer Adi 15.0 9.0 47.0 17.0 88.0 88.0
14th 80 BRA 8392 Paranoa Grael Lars Schmidt Seifert Ronald 13.0 18.0 30.0 30.0 91.0 91.0
15th 97 FRA 8237 Nice Rohart Xavier Ponsot Pierre Alexis 33.0 10.0 13.0 38.0 94.0 94.0
16th 84 GER 8378 Moehnesee Babendererde Johannes Jacobs Timo 48.0 17.0 26.0 5.0 96.0 96.0
17th 22 FRA 8270 Villefranche Florent Guillaume Rambeau Pascal 10.0 28.0 37.0 22.0 97.0 97.0
18th 99 BRA 8255 Guarapiranga Scheidt Robert Prada Bruno 18.0 50.0 29.0 1.0 98.0 98.0
19th 122 BRA 8283 Rio de Janeiro Brun Gastao Kunze Gustavo 21.0 22.0 31.0 27.0 101.0 101.0 GM
20th 33 POL 8412 Isolated Grabowski Maciej Lesinski Lukasz 2.0 46.0 22.0 43.0 113.0 113.0
21st 107 CRO 8339 Kvarner Lovrovic Jr Marin Mikulicic Sinisa 8.0 48.0 23.0 35.0 114.0 114.0
22nd 114 IRL 8418 Isolated O'Leary Peter Burrows David 44.0 53.0 18.0 12.0 127.0 127.0
23rd 49 AUS 8107 Isolated Mckenzie Paul Toth Philip 39.0 41.0 8.0 40.0 128.0 128.0
24th 29 GBR 8333 Solent Gimson John Greig Ed 80.0 8.0 34.0 13.0 135.0 135.0
25th 34 UKR 8247 Dnipro Gureyev Vasyl Korotkov Volodymyr 29.0 33.0 48.0 41.0 151.0 151.0 M
26th 72 GER 8340 Berliner Stanjek Robert Stanjek Philipp 25.0 56.0 56.0 15.0 152.0 152.0
27th 108 ITA 8155 Roma Poggi Del Col 34.0 61.0 44.0 16.0 155.0 155.0 28th 117 POR 8276 Porto Lima Gustavo Roxo Basilio Rubrio 52.0 16.0 58.0 31.0 157.0 157.0
29th 14 ITA 8384 South Garda Celon Nicola Natucci Edoardo 67.0 32.0 39.0 28.0 166.0 166.0
30th 91 ARG 8381 Laredo Kouyoumdjian Juan Colla Alejandro 36.0 36.0 49.0 46.0 167.0 167.0
31st 96 NZL 8187 Isolated Pepper Hamish Monk Craig 22.0 133.0 OCS 5.0 9.0 169.0 169.0

Star Europeans 2010

RC44: Sea Dubai 7th in Match Racing in Copenhagen

Sea Dubai and No Way Back. Image copyright Nico Martinez.

by Sharon Allison

Rain set a damper on the day as Sea Dubai battled in the opening matches of day two of the RC44 Copenhagen Cup in Denmarks capital. The choppy Baltic Sea teamed with grey skies and variable wind for the final four races which placed Sea Dubai 7th in the match race ranking.

A premature start blighted the first race against Team Aqua, which was virtually impossible to recover from although they gained serious ground on Aqua who has blitzed this match racing series on fine form. There followed more close racing against No Way Back, 17 and Islas Canarias Puerto Calero with great performances from all the teams displaying an incredibly high level of sailing, which is really a pleasure to watch.

‘Racing was very close today and we sailed really well as a team. We were over the line with Aqua and we got messed up by boats in the other matches around us which could have happened to any of the teams out there,’ said Eberhard Magg, who is the Pitman at the centre of the boat. ‘The level of the racing is so high and when you look at the names on the crew lists, it’s like a who’s who of the sailing world, it’s amazing to be racing at this level and doing so well. It felt good out there today even though our scores weren’t so good.’


Sea Dubai and Team Aqua. Image copyright Nico Martinez.

‘Yesterday we got caught up in the sink line on one of the marks, we weren’t the only ones either, we didn’t do that today but there were other factors in play, our sailing was great though and we were satisfied with our performance, if we weren’t in the lead we were very close to the boat in front, even with Aqua after our false start,’ said Hartwell Jordan, the team's mainsheet trimmer.

There is a practice race next and although the race doesn’t count in the overall ranking it is valuable in terms of experience and Harm Muller Spreer will take over the helm with Jes Gram Hansen taking the role of tactician.

The RC44 Copenhagen Cup is being staged at the Royal Danish Yacht Club whose patron is Queen Margrethe of Denmark and her son Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark, who is a keen sailor, will sail with BMW Oracle during the regatta.

Fleet racing starts on 11th June at 1130.

Results:

1) Team Aqua (Cameron Appleton), 8/1 - 8 points
2) BMW ORACLE Racing (Russell Coutts / Larry Ellison), 6/3 - 6 points
3) Artemis (Terry Hutchinson), 6/3 - 6 points
4) Team No Way Back (Pieter Heerema / Ray Davies), 6/3 - 6 points
5) 17 (James Spithill), 5/4 - 5 points
6) CEEREF (Rod Davis), 5/4 - 5 points
7) Team Sea Dubai (Jes Gram Hansen), 4/5 - 3 points
8) AEZ RC 44 Sailing Team (Christian Binder), 2/7 - 2 points
9) Katusha (Paul Cayard), 2/7 - 2 points
10) Team Islas Canarias Puerto Calero (José Maria Ponce), 1/8 - 1 point

Sea Dubai
RC44

WMRT: BlackMatch Racing Still on Top of Their Game in Korea

Ian Williams gets caught on the top mark as Adam Minoprio sails past him. Korea Match Cup 2010. World Match Racing Tour. Gyeonggi, Korea. 10 June 2010. Image copyright Gareth Cooke/Subzero Images.

by David Swete

Following a long delay today due to a lack of breeze, racing finally got underway at around 3pm local time. Harold Bennett and his team did a great job of running 6 flights late into the evening, 2 of which we were involved in. We suffered a loss against Johnnie Berntsson and then bounced back with a win over Ian Williams to finish with a scorecard of 4 wins, 1 loss.

Our win against Williams came in slightly unusual circumstances which saw a bit of luck go our way. After dominating the British team off the start-line they clawed us back in the extremely shifty conditions, to hold a slender lead at the top mark.

Unfortunately for Williams he rounded the mark too close and hooked the anchor rope around his rudder, which gifted us the win. They lodged a protest against the race committee as they believed the mark was not set properly, however it was dismissed and as it stands we are now in second place tied with Williams who has the same scorecard as us. Mathieu Richard has the most amount of wins with 5 victories, although he has suffered 2 losses.

The round robin action will continue tomorrow and there will again be a full live stream including commentary from Peter Lester and Martin Tasker at www.wmrt.com

Racing is scheduled to start at 10am (2am UK Time, 1pm NZ Time).

BlackMatch would like to thank their sponsors FedEx Express and Events Clothing/Line 7 New Zealand. We would also like to thank our new sponsor Steinlager Pure and Emirates Team New Zealand, as without their support we would not have this opportunity.

BlackMatch Racing
World Match Racing Tour

WMRT: Long but Short Day in Korea for Waka Racing

by Garth Ellingham

A long day of waiting was on the cards when the fog was low and the breeze was nil. No sign of it going away left the postponement flag up until 3:30. Then it was time for battle.

Two races awaited us when we hit the water and our first opponent was French legend Bertrand Pace. Unfortunately we jumped the gun early and had to return. Four lengths behind off the line we had a fight on our hands to catch up. We got close but not close enough and lost by two lengths.

Race two was very eventful, racing Francesco Bruni of Italy, we put a lot of pressure on in the pre start, ending in a split tack start. We were heading towards the left and came back on a little shift. When we met we were advanced but not enough to cross. A tacking duel was inevitable and the team pulled through to get to the top first. We just held our lead downwind and were put under pressure up wind. We held our nerve and put a double penalty on him at the top mark when we laid down a trap for him. A good win and our first point on the board.

Waka Racing Video Report on Korea Match Cup 2010 Day 2


Great to have a point but we know exactly what we need to do tomorrow. We have six races in a row and look to do our best to get a spot in the quarter finals. Keep tuned as it could get exciting!

Waka Racing would like to thank our main sponsor Tax Management NZ and all the support we receive from the RNZYS, Frontend, Zhik , Wells and Co, PredictWind and Devine Consultants.

Waka Racing
World Match Racing Tour

WMRT: MRT Fire Up on Day Two in Korea

After another tough day on the water, MRT come out on top with 4 wins, 3 losses


Torvar Mirsky. Korea Match Cup 2010. World Match Racing Tour. Gyeonggi, Korea. 9th June 2010. Image copyright Ian Roman/Subzero Images.

by Kinley Fowler

After a long delay with no wind keeping the teams ashore, MRT went out to take on Team Azzura, lead by Italy's America's Cup hopeful Francesco Bruni.

Both teams came out firing, eager to get some much needed points on the board, but it was MRT who came out on top with a penalty on Azzura off the start line, and a small lead which the Australian team extended on to take out their first win of the day.

The team then moved on to the French Match Racing Team's Mathieu Richard in another match that came down to the wire.

After being over at the start, MRT fought hard and won the lead on the upwind, only to let the French Match Racing Team gybe off to gain back the lead at the bottom mark, but with a faster rounding they were right back in the game for the second upwind. Keeping the game tight, MRT slowly made gains back on Richard and began to roll over the top of the French into the finish. In a last ditch attempt, Richard luffed his boat up to hit MRT, but missed. As MRT celebrated, the umpires gave them a penalty for not keeping clear, handing the race to Richard.

"We were really frustrated when we saw that they had given us the penalty, because we feel pretty strongly that it wasn't the right call. Having said that though, we made some mistakes that let Richard take the lead, so we are trying to focus on those points going into tomorrow." - Tudur Owen

Mirsky Racing Team
World Match Racing Tour

WMRT: World First for TV Umpire at Korea Match Cup

Richard Rules on 5 Wins as Berntsson Beats Minoprio and Richard


Mathieu Richard. Korea Match Cup 2010. World Match Racing Tour. Gyeonggi, Korea. 10th June 2010. Image copyright Ian Roman/Subzero Images.

by Cailah Leask

Day 2 of Korea Match Cup displayed the world’s first global sailing and international TV umpiring. The ISAF World Match Racing Tour (WMRT) has introduced a new innovation as the TV umpire to match racing - ‘The TV umpire’ for decisions on race incidents. The ‘TV flag’ proved to be very useful today during the race between the two Italians skippers; Paolo Cian (ITA) Team Italia and Francesco Bruni (ITA) Azzurra.

Currently on the water umpires have two sources of information, the wing boat and on board observers who ride with them. ‘The TV umpire’ offers an additional source of information in order for them to make an overall decision. If an umpire is not certain of the outcome after an incident they have the option of raising a ‘TV flag’. This roles straight over to the ‘TV umpire’ who sits on-shore at World Match Racing Tour Head Quarters for clarification on the incident.

This is a natural progression for the sport of match racing following in the footsteps of mass participation sporting events such as football, rugby, cricket and baseball. The Tour is using LIVE TV operations now extensively available on this 10 event world series in order to enhance the quality of umpire decisions on issuing penalties.

Unlike rugby and football where the video umpire can have the ultimate decision, the final outcome will rest with the umpire on the water. The footage display is a back up to the decision making process and is an additional judging eye for umpires to run through. For match racing the ‘TV umpire’ has 3 available calls; black out – where the incident has not been caught on camera, pending – meaning the TV umpire is in the process of replay for the incident and lastly their decision on a penalty call where the incident is recorded in good visibility.

WMRT are pushing through new boundaries by transforming the TV Umpire into a match racing context. It is part of a strategic approach in continuing the quality of umpiring throughout the Tour series and maintaining their status as an industry authority on premium match racing.

Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team has remained the leader in the light winds and will start day 3 with a win of 5-2. “We are happy with the way we have sailed since yesterday - it will be a new start on the quarter finals so for the moment we are going step by step”.

As the tide ebbed, the race course became ever smaller and the sun set, Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Berntsson Sailing Team put in solid results. The Swedes beat Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing, current ISAF Match Racing World Champion and Richard, currently ranked top of the World Match Racing Tour standings. Berntsson back on the Tour scene with a wild card entry to Korea Match Cup showed his true colours today having won the Argo Group Gold Cup back in 2008. Berntsson shared his goals for 2010, “our main goal is to do as many stages of the WMRT as possible this year”.


BlackMatch Racing are presented with the best team award for 2009 at the Korea Match Cup 2010. World Match Racing Tour. Gyeonggi, Korea. 10 June 2010. Image copyright Gareth Cooke/Subzero Images.

Eyes will be on the Scandinavian helms throughout Stage 3 to see if Berntsson can secure a lead over Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Gill Global Team who is one of only nine Tour card holders for the 2010 circuit. To date Berntsson leads Hansen by one win.

The Tour also celebrated the achievements of the Korea Match Cup in presentation of the ISAF World Match Racing Tour Best Event Award acknowledged in 2009. Dong Young Kim, Korea Match Cup Event Promoter was presented with the plaque for total commitment to professionalism. Young commented, “It’s an acknowledgement from the World Match Racing Tour to Korea Match Cup’s commitment in producing a world class event that meets the sailors, sponsors, media and public expectations – all requirements to sustain and produce a successful international sport event”.

Video highlights of Day One at the Korea Match Cup 2010


Day 2: Current Round Robin Standings

Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team 5-2
Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team 4-3
Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Berntsson Sailing Team 4-3
Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing 4-1
Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar 4-1
Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Gill Global Team 3-2
Francesco Bruni (ITA) Azzurra 3-4
Paolo Cian (ITA) Team Italia 3-4
Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing 2-3
Bertrand Pacé (FRA) Aleph Sailing Team 2-3
Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing Team 1-4
Park GunWoo (KOR) Busan Match 1-6

Korea Match Cup
World Match Racing Tour