Whitty wins the Harken Women's International Youth Match Racing Regatta

Finals action: Whitty leads Osborne in the Harken Womens International Match Racing at the CYCA. Image copyright David Brogan.

by Jennifer Crooks

Lucinda Whitty, representing Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron, and her crew of Stacey Jackson and Nina Curtis, have won the Harken Women’s International Match Racing Regatta in convincing style with three straight wins in the Grand Final.

Starting the day with her semi-final against Jessica Eastwell (RPAYC), Whitty knew that she had to bring her 'A' game to the race track. A penalty during pre-start showed early nerves, and with both skippers being OCS, Whitty was able to wipe off her penalty as Eastwell took longer to return to the start line. From there, Whitty went on to win the match.

Whitty took the next match of the semi-final convincingly by 45 seconds to set up a Grand Final match up with Samantha Osborne from Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron. Osborne secured a second win in her semi-final match over Olivia Price (CYCA and Australian Women’s Match Racing team).


Celebrations as Whitty wins Harken Womens Match Racing. Image copyright David Brogan.

Three closely fought matches against Samantha Osborne later, Whitty was declared the winner of the Harken Women’s International Match Racing Regatta. It was the last match of the day that had everyone talking. Whitty and Osborne displayed some of the best match racing skills and tactics; using obstructions on the course and ‘dummy tacks’ to try to outwit each other. Whitty was to win by only seven seconds after a tight spinnaker run to the finish line.

“I was really determined to come back strongly after yesterday’s performance,” said Whitty. “It was a sudden death match this morning, but we were totally focused and knew what we had to do to take the regatta title”

“We’ve used this regatta as a stepping stone to the team’s European tour and I am really happy with our performance. My thanks to Harken for their continuing sponsorship of the regatta and to all the race officials, umpires and the host club,” Whitty concluded.

In the Petit Final, Price dominated the two matches against Eastwell. Price got the early lead in first match and headed wide to the lay line with both skippers tacking up the course. Price got a good downwind run to the bottom mark with Eastwell receiving a penalty at the top of the course, which allowed Price to get away.

Eastwell carried the penalty until the finish line, but spinnaker issues on the finish line delayed the turn.

In the second match, Eastwell received a penalty in the pre-start and used the puffs of breezes coming from the left hand side of the course in an attempt to gain enough off a lead to wipe off her penalty. The penalty would remain until the second leg of the match at the top mark, but Price got the better spinnaker run to the finish line and won by 16 seconds and secured third place.

“It was a very hard fought third place against fellow Australian Women’s Match Racing Team members. I’ve found it really interesting to be on the helm this regatta – It’s a totally different mindset to mainsheet or bow. Congratulations to Lucinda and her team,” Price concluded.

Carl Watson, Managing Director, Harken Australia, watched the finals action with great excitement. “That was one of the best match races I have seen in a long while” he said when referring to the Whitty vs Osborne final match. “It was a great display of tactics, picking the shifts in the breeze and maximizing the opportunities as they presented themselves.”

“Congratulations to Lucinda and her crew, and to all the women participating in this regatta. I look forward to welcoming all the competitors back again next year,” Watson concluded.

Racing was again conducted in Rushcutters Bay with sou’easterly breezes of 12-15 knots.


Harken Women's Match Racing Regatta Winning team of Lucinda Whitty, Nina Curtis and Stacey Jackson. Image copyright David Brogan.

A prizegiving was conducted at the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, the host club for the Harken Women’s International Youth Match Racing Regatta.

Cruising Yacht Club of Australia

JVT: Step by Step for Groupama 3

by Vincent Borde and Caroline Muller

At the beginning of her forty-first day at sea in her bid to conquer the Jules Verne Trophy, Groupama 3 is finally benefiting from some favourable weather conditions. However, God knows that the crew has had to be patient before they could once again make the kind of speeds worthy of a 32 metre maxi trimaran. Indeed they are now in a position to begin making up the ground on the current Round the World record holder. In its guise as the final geographical reference of this record, the equator is just a little ahead of them now as Cammas and his crew prepare to take on their final week at sea.

Blue seas and heat, a mild E'ly wind and tropical sunshine, such is the weather Groupama 3 has been enjoying offshore of Recife, beam onto the wind: "We've been slipping along nicely since late yesterday and we're back in slightly more favourable conditions to make good speed. We're in a good phase now with 15 knots of breeze and the boat is making 28 to 30 knots of boat speed. The sailing conditions are very mild. When we're all on deck at the same time, we have some very enjoyable moments together" admitted Thomas Coville, during the daily radio link-up with the Paris HQ for the Jules Verne Trophy.

Positioned 430 miles from the line separating the South Atlantic and the North early this afternoon, the maxi trimaran is now performing as she should now that she's done with the rather unfavourable tack changes, which she'd been linking together since rounding Cape Horn on 4th March. Benefiting from her power (22.5 metre beam) and her large sail area (550 m2) in relation to a weight of just 18 tonnes, Groupama 3 is sailing twice as fast as the wind strength. At this pace, she has made up 54 miles on Orange 2 in the space of 13 hours, that is over 4 miles gained every hour.

Not surprisingly such a performance is giving this very top level crew a good boost: "We're in great spirits and we're going to give it our all until we cross the finish line. From a physical point of view, we're feeling fairly rested and Groupama 3 is in tip-top condition, sailing at 100% of her potential. For the time being we're still taking things step by step, as you would a hurdle race where you have to get over various obstacles. Today is coloured by the tradewinds. The next stage will be the equator then the Doldrums... We're not thinking too far ahead as that just puts unnecessary pressure on us."

As such we can't count on Thomas Coville to give us his prognosis of Groupama 3's chances of crossing the finish line off the island of Ushant before Tuesday 23rd March at 0714 hours. Hardened long-distance racers, the ten crew are respecting the plan of action set by Franck Cammas to the letter: "Since setting out on this Jules Verne Trophy, we have always been sparing of our steed, even if it means not choosing the fastest course. At times that was frustrating but the upshot of that is that the boat is in perfect condition."

Still highly attentive to developments in the weather, the group coming on watch always start out by visiting navigator Stan Honey to get instructions for the next two or three hours they'll spend on deck: "This exchange is essential to performance because, in contrast to what you may think, there is a great deal to be won or lost according to the way in which you helm and trim the sails. We're highly concentrated" concluded Thomas Coville.

Groupama 3's log (departure on 31st January at 13h 55' 53'' UTC)
Day 1 (1st February 1400 UTC): 500 miles (deficit = 94 miles)
Day 2 (2nd February 1400 UTC): 560 miles (lead = 3.5 miles)
Day 3 (3rd February 1400 UTC): 535 miles (lead = 170 miles)
Day 4 (4th February 1400 UTC): 565 miles (lead = 245 miles)
Day 5 (5th February 1400 UTC): 656 miles (lead = 562 miles)
Day 6 (6th February 1400 UTC): 456 miles (lead = 620 miles)
Day 7 (7th February 1400 UTC): 430 miles (lead = 539 miles)
Day 8 (8th February 1400 UTC): 305 miles (lead = 456 miles)
Day 9 (9th February 1400 UTC): 436 miles (lead = 393 miles)
Day 10 (10th February 1400 UTC): 355 miles (lead = 272 miles)
Day 11 (11th February 1400 UTC): 267 miles (deficit = 30 miles)
Day 12 (12th February 1400 UTC): 247 miles (deficit = 385 miles)
Day 13 (13th February 1400 UTC): 719 miles (deficit = 347 miles)
Day 14 (14th February 1400 UTC): 680 miles (deficit = 288 miles)
Day 15 (15th February 1400 UTC): 651 miles (deficit = 203 miles)
Day 16 (16th February 1400 UTC): 322 miles (deficit = 376 miles)
Day 17 (17th February 1400 UTC): 425 miles (deficit = 338 miles)
Day 18 (18th February 1400 UTC): 362 miles (deficit = 433 miles)
Day 19 (19th February 1400 UTC): 726 miles (deficit = 234 miles)
Day 20 (20th February 1400 UTC): 672 miles (deficit = 211 miles)
Day 21 (21th February 1400 UTC): 584 miles (deficit = 124 miles)
Day 22 (22nd February 1400 UTC): 607 miles (deficit = 137 miles)
Day 23 (23rd February 1400 UTC): 702 miles (lead = 60 miles)
Day 24 (24th February 1400 UTC): 638 miles (lead = 208 miles)
Day 25 (25th February 1400 UTC): 712 miles (lead = 371 miles)
Day 26 (26th February 1400 UTC): 687 miles (lead = 430 miles)
Day 27 (27th February 1400 UTC): 797 miles (lead = 560 miles)
Day 27 (27th February 1400 UTC): 560 miles (lead = 517 miles)
Day 29 (1st March 1400 UTC): 434 miles (lead = 268 miles)
Day 30 (2nd March 1400 UTC): 575 miles (lead = 184 miles)
Day 31 (3rd March 1400 UTC): 617 miles (lead = 291 miles)
Day 32 (4th March 1400 UTC): 492 miles (lead = 248 miles)
Day 33 (5th March 1400 UTC): 445 miles (lead = 150 miles)
Day 34 (6th March 1400 UTC): 461 miles (lead = 58 miles)
Day 35 (7th March 1400 UTC): 382 miles (deficit = 100 miles)
Day 36 (8th March 1400 UTC): 317 miles (deficit = 326 miles)
Day 37 (9th March 1400 UTC): 506 miles (deficit = 331 miles)
Day 38 (10th March 1400 UTC): 321 miles (deficit = 384 miles)
Day 39 (11th March 1400 UTC): 255 miles (deficit = 309 miles)
Day 40 (12th March 1400 UTC): 288 miles (deficit = 473 miles)
Day 41 (13th March 1400 UTC): 503 miles (deficit = 483 miles)

WSSRC record from equator to equator
Orange 2 (2005): 33d 16h 06'

Cammas - Groupama

LVT: Victory for Mascalzone Latino Audi Team

Mascalzone Latino Audi Team vs. Synergy. Image copyright Mascalzone Latino Audi Team.

by Guiliano Luzzatto

It was a clear win for Mascalzone Latino Audi Team in the fourth flight of the Louis Vuitton Trophy of Auckland. Russian team Synergy was hungry for points, their scoreboard indicating 0, making skipper Karol Joblonski even more formidable.

But Gavin Brady has proved he is not a man to be intimidated by anyone.

Entering on port, for the fourth time, Brady knew how to disengage and he dominated almost all of the exciting prestart, characterized by calls for the intervention of the umpires from both teams. At the start, Synergy was faster and on the right, obtaining an initial advantage that faded away thanks to Morgan Larson's tactics and the Russian's failure to cover the right side: in short the Rascals reversed the situation and put Synergy in their dirty air, pushing them over the lay line. At the windward mark Mascalzone had a two boat length advantage, equal to 18 seconds. Downwind the advantage increased, until Synergy started a gybing duel that allowed them to get a little closer. Mascalzone appeared to maintain a comfortable lead, but races are the realm of uncertainty, and they soon had a problem dropping their kite: the retriever which helps to quickly perform the maneuver did not work properly. Many races have been lost for this, but the crew of the Latin Rascals did well to not give up, and performed a miracle, recovering the enormous sail without losing concentration. If the lead disappeared, the tactic decisions on the right of the course helped by a second error by the Russians, allowed the Rascals to regain a margin that increased until the finish, earning Mascalzone Latino Audi Team a 19 second win.

"We are getting to know each other better, because these races are the first for the new group - stated Cameron Dunn, strategist - but we are not sailing at the level that we would like. Today we made some errors, the most obvious was when we dropped the spinnaker. We knew how to recover, but in the first upwind leg we were surprised Synergy let us have the right without covering us."

Mascalzone Latino Audi Team is on even points with the British of Team Origin, the Swedish of Artemis and the French-German of All4One. In front are only Azzurra, with one loss out of four races, and the unbeaten kiwis of Emirates Team New Zealand.

Sunday, March 14th, Mascalzone will race against Artemis, led by Paul Cayard.

Mascalzone Latino Audi Team
Louis Vuitton Trophy

LVT: Azzurra Conquers Third Point of the Series

Azzurra Vs Artemis in the Louis Vuitton Trophy Auckland. Image copyright Stefano Gattini/Azzurra.

by Jill Campbell

The Azzurra team of the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda today conquered its third win in the Louis Vuitton Trophy Auckland. The match between the all-Italian crew led by Francesco Bruni and the strong Swedish team Artemis looked like a tough one, but the duel lasted only up to the first windward mark, when Paul Cayard and his crew, leading Azzurra, made a small mistake in the spinnaker hoist which had catastrophic consequences: the spinnaker pole touched the water and broke in half, while the big sail trailed behind the boat and had to be cut off. At that point the Swedish team had to retire from the race while Azzurra had to complete the course alone in order to gain the point. Azzurra is now second in the overall standings with three points, behind Emirates Team New Zealand who leads the Round Robin at four points.

Riccardo Bonadeo, Commodore of the YCCS and President of team Azzurra, today watched the race as 18th man. At the end of the match he commented: “obviously today’s point was important for us, but it would have been nice to win in a different way, with an even duel. Instead, the Swedes broke their pole and were forced to retire. This shows how delicate these boats are and how important it is to complete each maneuver with extreme precision. Today we were lucky and we accept it. Our start wasn’t great and on such short courses it is really important to start well, a good start counts for at least 50% of the success. In tonight’s de-briefing the crew will analyze carefully today’s race. We are still a young team, we are humble and keen to improve. The Auckland event for us is preparatory to the next Louis Vuitton Trophy in La Maddalena [Sardinia, home of the YCCS] to which we will devote great attention, and then Dubai and Hong Kong with an eye to important future goals.”

The Swedish team, which is one of the favourites in this event that brings together the most accomplished skippers in the world, is certainly disappointed of having lost a precious point against Azzurra who will try to repeat their performance of the Louis Vuitton Trophy held last November in Nice. Artemis, founded by Torbjorn Tornqvist, a great businessman and avid sailor, is led by celebrated US skipper Paul Cayard and a crew that include US helmsman Terry Hutchinson, winner of the Louis Vuitton Cup in 2007 with Emirates Team New Zealand and of three world titles in the J24, Farr 40 and IMS.

In the other matches of the day, the home team Emirates Team New Zealand posted their fourth consecutive win, against the French/German team of All4One, and are now leading the overall standings with four points. In the following match the British of Team Origin beat the French of Aleph, and the Italians of Mascalzone Latino Audi Team won over the Russians of Synergy who are trailing with zero points.


Azzurra in Auckland. Image copyright Stefano Gattini/Azzurra.

Saturday the Louis Vuitton Trophy Village, heart of the City of Sails whose life revolves around the sea, was full of people. Every day the public can watch the racing live on a maxi screen with 3D animations and live commentary from the experts, watch the daily press conference, meet the crews and test their strength on two “coffee grinders” like the ones used by the racing crews. The Auckland International Boat Show, which is currently under way, attracts huge crowds in this country where the marine industry is the biggest manufacturing sector – an industry worth more than $2 billion. Aucklanders have the largest boat ownership per capita in the world and this city is the hub of boat technology. Westhaven Marina is the largest yacht marina in the Southern Hemisphere. Riccardo Bonadeo entrusted to the excellence of the Kiwi marine industry the construction of two successful racing yachts.

Sunday Azzurra will face the home team Emirates Team New Zealand in the second match of the day. The forecast calls for 12-18 knots of wind which is expected to reach 22-25 knots in the afternoon.

Results after 4 matches
ALEPH Sailing Team (Franciae) 1
All4One (France/Germany) 2
Artemis (Sweden) 2
Azzurra (Italy) 3
Emirates Team New Zealand 4
Mascalzone Latino Audi Team (Italy) 1
Synergy Russian Sailing Team (Russia) 0
TEAMORIGIN (Great Britain) 2

Azzurra crew
Francesco Bruni – Skipper/Helmsman
Tommaso Chieffi – Tactician
Tom Burnham – Strategist
Bruno Zirilli – Navigator
Daniele De Luca – Mainsail trimmer
Stefano Rizzi – Jib Trimmer
Pierluigi De Felice – Spi trimmer
Gabriele Bruni – Runner trimmer
Piero Romeo – Runner grinder
Nicola Pilastro – Mainsail grinder
Massimo Galli – Left grinder
Francesco Scalici – Right grinder
Cristian Griggio – Pitman
Luca Albarelli – Mast
Pietro Mantovani – Mid Bow
Matteo Auguadro – Bowman
Michele Cannoni – Pit Assist
Gabrio Zandonà – Coach
Ben Durham – Reserve
Michele Gnutti – Reserve
Giuseppe Leonardi – Reserve

Azzurra
Louis Vuitton Trophy

LVT: Tough Day for Artemis

Artemis racing off Auckland. Image copyright Sander van der Borch/Artemis.

by Paul Cayard

With the day off Friday, all teams were ready to get back into it Saturday. We had a moderate Southwesterly breeze at 1030 this morning, which built to as much as 23 knots for our match and the last match.

Artemis had a tough race against Azzurra. We called for the right at the start and Terry got it. We worked the shifts and built a 165-meter lead at the first mark. Then it all went sideways. The pole went in the water on the windward side and the kite went in the water to leeward. That was race over for us and a gift to the Italians. That one hurt because if we had beaten them we would have been well set up to get straight into the semis with Emirates Team New Zealand. But it is the round robin and there will be “knock out” races ahead and those are “do or die”.


Pole goes in the water for Artemis. Image copyright Sander van der Borch/Artemis.

In the first race of the day, EmiratesTeam New Zealand beat ALL4ONE rather easily, in the second race Team Origin won the race but there was a collision, which may cost them half a point for damage.

In the final race of the day, Mascalzone Latino and Synergy had a good tussle, but in the end Mascalzone Latino got the win.

Racing continues Sunday at 1000 and we, Artemis, face Mascalzone Latino in the last match of the day.

Scores:

ETNZ 4 wins
Azzurra 3 wins
Artemis, All4One, Mascalzone Latino, TeamOrigin with 2 wins
Aleph and Synergy with 0.

Aleph had a one point deduction for a collision today with TeamOrigin. Aleph is protesting the decision with the jury tonight so there may still be an adjustment to either Aleph’s points or Team Origin’s points.

Artemis
Louis Vuitton Trophy

LVT: TEAMORIGIN Pick up win against French Team 'Aleph' following dramatic pre-start collision

TEAMORIGIN racing in Auckland. Image copyright Ian Roman/TEAMORIGIN.

by Leslie Greenhalgh

TEAMORIGIN scored an important point on the score board today by beating the French Aleph Team. The pre-start action was dramatic with a hard contact collision between the boats as Aleph illegally altered course in the tight pre-start manoeuvring and was awarded a penalty by the on-the-water umpires.

In the other races today, Emirates Team New Zealand added to their undefeated record with a win over ALL4ONE; and Azzurra took victory from Artemis after an unforced error saw the leading Swedish yacht’s spinnaker pole break during a complicated hoist causing them to retire. In the final race of the day Mascalzone Latino beat the Russian Synergy in a close race.

TEAMORIGIN’s race, the second start of the day got underway just before midday in a 17 knot Southerly wind. Bright sunshine also greeted the legendary AC historian and scribe, Bob Fisher on board the British boat as 18th man and what a day he had.


Aleph chase TEAMORIGIN downwind. Image copyright Ian Roman/TEAMORIGIN.

TEAMORIGIN entered from the unfavoured port end and was unable to cross ahead of the French opponent, which resulted in the standard dial-up. The pair hung head to wind for more than a minute and ended up sailing slowly backwards with Aleph on the right. The lateral separation was enough for skipper Ben Ainslie to let the British boat fall onto port tack and with a backed jib and completely eased mainsail bare away sharply to swing inside the French boat and pass behind. But as the British boat was three quarters of the way through its manoeuvre the French crew started to get underway again on port tack from stopped, a consequence of which was the stern of the French boat to started to swing towards the bow of the British boat. Skipper Ainslie was compromised and without being given any opportunity to keep clear the British boat clipped the stern of the French boat. The Umpires ruled against the French team awarding them a penalty, and later a one point deduction from their regatta scoreboard.

The penalty on the opponent caused TEAMORIGIN to switch to a more conservative strategy for the race knowing they just had to stay close and avoid trouble to take the win and the point. TEAMORIGIN won the start and opened up a nice lead on the first beat to round the first mark with a 30 second lead, a lead on the water they succeeded in maintaining in the constantly building breeze to the finish.

Ian Moore, TEAMORIGIN Navigator, gave his thoughts on the pre-start ‘heart-in-mouth’ action, “Both boats entered a pretty standard dial-up with Aleph to windward, both boats head to wind, a small gap appeared and TEAMORIGIN took the opportunity to bear away behind the stern of Aleph. The Aleph team then pulled their transom up to close the gap and gave us no room to escape and a collision ensued. The umpires gave an immediate decision giving a penalty to Aleph and deducting 1 point from them. We then went on to sail a conservative race, always keeping a small lead and taking an important race win.”

The French team flew a red protest flag. This resulted in a request for redress to the International Jury. Following a short hearing at the end of racing, where video evidence from both teams and the Louis Vuitton Trophy TV production team was shown, the Jury felt sufficiently confident to deny the request.


Aleph chase TEAMORIGIN downwind. Image copyright Ian Roman/TEAMORIGIN.

Race results Saturday:
Race 1: ETNZ (NZL) beat ALL4ONE (FRA/GER) – 26s
Race 2 : TEAMORIGIN (GBR) beat Aleph (FRA) – 2m11s
Race 3: Azzurra (ITA) beat Artemis (SWE) – Artemis retired due to equipment damage
Race 4: Mascalzone Latino (ITA) beat Synergy (RUS) – 19s

Race wins/losses/points after day 4 of racing:
ETNZ 4 wins/0 losses 4
Azzurra 3 wins/1 loss 3
TEAMORIGIN 2 wins/2 losses 2
All4One 2 wins/2 losses 2
Artemis 2 wins/2 losses 2
Mascalzone 2 win/2 losses 2
Aleph* 0 wins/4 losses 0
(*docked 1 point today for collision)
Synergy 0 wins/4 losses 0

Race schedule for Sunday 14th March, is as follows:
Race 1: All4One (FRA) vs Aleph (FRA)
Race 2 : Azzurra (ITA) vs ETNZ (NZL)
Race 3: Synergy (RUS) vs TEAMORIGIN (GBR)
Race 4: Artemis (SWE) vs Mascalzone (ITA)

TEAMORIGIN
Louis Vuitton Trophy

LVT: ETNZ Tops the Leaderboard

by Warren Douglas

Emirates Team New Zealand made it four in a row at the Louis Vuitton Trophy Auckland regatta on Saturday.

ETNZ the only undefeated team in the round robin is top of the leader board with four points. Azzurra is second with three points and TEAMORIGIN, ALL4ONE and Artemis each on two points.

Today’s race was sailed in a building breeze: 10 – 12 knots at the start, rising to 15 knots by the second down-wind leg.

Tactician Ray Davies describes the race:

“We had a good start. We managed to get below the pin end of the line with ALL4ONE to leeward of us, making it very hard for them to get a good start.

“We both started on port tack. ALL4ONE was quite slow and we immediately took a comfortable lead. We had control and took them right out to the exclusion zone (an area of shallow water and rocks) on the southern side of the course.

“We both tacked away. We sheeted hard in and ALL4ONE was in our wind shadow but couldn’t tack away. They were a couple of knots slower but had no alternative but to follow us into the mark.”

The margin at the first mark was 32sec. Ray Davies: “On the run we again saw the power that the trailing boat has when it brings up the pressure from behind. ALL4ONE took big chunks out of our lead.

“We took the left end of the gate, giving us the right side of the course on the beat, and covered hard to protect our advantage. Towards the top of the course the breeze became very shifty so we have to play the shifts rather than cover the opponent.

“We had enough of a lead at the mark (21sec) to feel comfortable on the run. The breeze was good and steady and they didn’t have any passing opportunities.”

The margin at the finish was 26 sec.

Friday’s other results:
TEAMORIGIN beat Aleph
Azzurra beat Artemis
Mascalzone Latino beat Synergy

Emirates Team NZ
Louis Vuitton Trophy