Full Throttle Up in Newport

by Joy Dunigan

John Porter on Full Throttle and team comprised of tactician Jonathan McKee, Andy Burdick, Fritz Lanzinger, sons Corbet and Vincent Porter along with Kelly McKenna and Matthew Woodsworth are 2010 Layline Oakcliff Northeast Regatta Champions. Porter finished the event a solid six points ahead of heavy opposition. Long-time Melges 32 owner Kip Meadows on roXanne with Andy Horton on tactics really came on strong Saturday to complete the regatta in second.

Enough can’t be said about the incredible progress made by third place finisher, Newport’s own Michael Dominguez on Bronco with experienced tactician Anthony Kotoun.
As mentioned in the preview release, Dominguez officially, yet apprehensively entered the fleet in December ’09 at the Gold Cup. He knew the competition was stiff. Over the last seven months, tremendous strides have been made by this very competitive team. A fourth place finish at the East Coast Championship showed that they are growing fast. "It's all starting to come together," was a frequent comment heard from several of Dominguez’s crew over the course of the weekend.

Last evening, the Melges Rocks party took place with the fleets jamming into the late evening hours at Riptide to the sounds of Chelley of the Ravers, free beer and great camaraderie! Special thanks to Melges USA for bringing this amazing party to Newport!

Heavy fog and no breeze kicked off Sunday, the final day of racing. The fleet went into immediate postponement for more than an hour with hopes that it would burn off quickly and racing could resume. PRO Tom Duggan was optimistic early on, however around 1p.m. racing was abandoned due to the uncooperative conditions.

An event such as Northeast Regatta never happens without the unwavering dedication and input from many individuals, excellent host sailing club volunteers and countless hours of organizing. The International Melges 32 Class (IM32CA) would specifically like to recognize the hard work and passion of U.S. Melges 24 NE District Governor Cary Siegler, Regatta Co-Chair J.C. Raby and, especially Anthony Kotoun for all their efforts. Most especially to Kim Cooper at Sail Newport and awesome PRO Tom Duggan and committee for the incredible race management.

Top Five Results (FINAL)
1.) John Porter/Jonathan Mckee, Full Throttle; 1-3-4-6-1-[10] = 15
2.) Kip Meadows/Andy Horton, roXanne; 4-5-[10]-3-2-7 = 21
3.) Michael Dominguez/Anthony Kotoun, Bronco; 3-7-7-2-7-[14] = 26
4.) Jim Swartz/Gavin Brady, Q; 10-1-6-1-9-[11] = 27
5.) Jeff Ecklund/Bill Hardesty, STAR; 8-9-[14]-5-3-2 = 27

Melges 32

Extreme 40s: Veolia Environnement Announces Participation in Extreme Sailing Series at Cowes Week

Roland Jourdain, skipper of Veolia Environnement. Image copyright B.Stichelbaut/ Veolia Environnement.

by Emily Caroe

Round the World sailing legend Roland Jourdain has thrown his hat into the ring and will be entering his Extreme 40, Veolia Environnement, into the Extreme Sailing Series at Cowes Week this year, bringing the fleet to nine in total. One of the World's very best ocean racing skippers, Jourdain is a two-times IMOCA World Champion and has won the Transat Jacques Vabre twice as well as the infamous Route du Rhum.

Swapping long-haul ocean racing for the short racecourses the circuit has become renowned for will certainly challenge the skipper from Quimper, France, who for the past 15 years has been focussing on long-course monohull racing since being crowned Formula 40 World Champion in 1989, the catamaran made famous in the Hollywood movie, The Thomas Crowne Affair.

Jourdain commented, "Our participation in Cowes Week in August is an excellent occasion for us to be up against the big champions from all countries. I hardly sailed multihulls for the past ten years so it will be a tough task, but it will be a pleasure to be on the Formula 40s of the third millennium."

Joining Jourdain will be experienced Extreme 40 sailor Jean-Christophe Mourniac, former French National Match Racing Champion Philippe Legros and America's Cup veteran and experienced match racer, Christophe André, who raced in 2009 in both the Kiel and Amsterdam Extreme 40 events with LUNA.


Other French sailors in the Extreme 40s: Franck Cammas (Groupama) and Yann Guichard (Groupe Edmond de Rothschild), with ECOVER passing behind. Image copyright Anne Hinton - all rights reserved.

Jourdain will be up against some of the biggest names in multihull sailing. Three French compatriots will be on the start line on 31 July. Loïck Peyron, helming defending Champions Oman Sail Masirah, Franck Cammas, onboard Groupama 40 and Yann Guichard, winner of the first event in Sète at the end of May 2010 with Groupe Edmond de Rothschild.

The nine-strong line up will include Jourdain's old sparring rival Mike Golding, another veteran Vendee Globe skipper, with Ecover Sailing Team and double Olympic Gold Medallist Roman Hagara onboard Red Bull extreme Sailing.

The Extreme Sailing Series at Cowes Week will see more racing than ever before with six days of action right off the shorefront at Egypt Point every afternoon. For the first three days racing will be from 3pm and for the final three days the shore side entertainment will start from 4pm to ensure as many competitors taking part in Cowes Week will be able to enjoy the action.

As part of the Extreme Sailing Series' initiative to engage with the wider community, Veolia Environnement will be supporting the charity Plan France, the French arm of Plan International, one of the oldest and largest children's development organisations in the world, founded over 70 years ago. Plan works in 48 developing countries across Africa, Asia and the Americas to promote child rights and lift millions of children out of poverty. Plan works with more than 3,500,000 families and their communities each year and is independent, with no religious, political or governmental affiliations. Plan's vision is of a world in which all children realise their full potential in societies that respect people's rights and dignity.

2010 Extreme Sailing Series at Cowes Week Schedule

Friday 30 July
1pm - Media Day, Press Conference
2.30pm - Informal racing, first start off Royal Yacht Squadron

Saturday 31 July - Monday 2 August
10am - Start long-distance race off Royal Yacht Squadron
3pm - Afternoon, short course racing off Egypt Point
End of Racing - Daily prizegiving

Tuesday 3 August - Thursday 5 August
10am - Start long-distance race off Royal Yacht Squadron (no race Tues 3 Aug)
4pm - Entertainment begins
5pm - Afternoon, short course racing off Egypt Point
6.30pm - End of event prizegiving

Extreme Sailing Series Europe

WMRT: BlackMatch Finish credible 3rd at Portimao Portugal Match Cup

Adam Minoprio leads Peter Gilmour during their semi final at Portimao Portugal Match Cup 2010. World Match Racing Tour. Portimao, Portugal. 27 June 2010. Image copyright Gareth Cooke/Subzero Images.

by David Swete

After a roller coaster week of 'ups and downs', BlackMatch managed to put a horrible semi final series defeat behind them to take down Ian Williams in the petit final and clinch 3rd position at the Portimao Portugal Match Cup.

The Australian teams skippered by Torvar Mirsky and Peter Gilmour had been showing great form throughout the week and won their semi finals convincingly 3 nil, over us and Williams. In our semi final against veteran Gilmour we definitely had our chances, but just couldn't captilize on them as his Yanmar racing team sailed very smartly to take the win.

After Williams also lost his semi final 3 nil to Torvar Mirsky, both teams were pretty demoralized, but it was us that managed to pull it together in the one race petit final to edge out the British team in a fierce race.

Our third place here means we are still in second position on the overall World Tour Standings and have narrowed the gap to trail Mathieu Richard by 17 points. We now have a week off before Match Cup Sweden and are looking for a good showing here.

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: YANMAR Racing Win Portimao Portugal Match Cup

by Rob Kothe

A great result on finals day for Australia's Peter Gilmour and his YANMAR Racing crew - mainsheet-tactician Cameron Dunn, trimmer Thierry Douillard, pitman Yasuhiro Yaji and bowman Kazuhiko Sofuku.

The first match of the semi finals for YANMAR Racing Team's Peter Gilmour was against the reigning world champion Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing.

YANMAR Racing won the start comfortably, controlled the race and was never headed. In the second race another starting win on the pin end. Minoprio was penalised at the windward mark. He worked that off but then picked up another penalty. It was close at the finish but Gilmour won. Race 3 was another pin end start for Gilmour. YANMAR Racing gained strongly on the left and won by almost half a leg.

With Torvar Mirsky (Mirsky Racing Team) beating Ian Williams (Team GAC Pindar) 3 - 0 in the semi finals the stage was set for an all Australian, all West Australian, all Perth final.

In the first race of the final, Gilmour once more started on the pin and headed left, but this time it did not work. Mirsky was bounced away to the right, found a big shift, rounded the top mark and controlled the race to win.

In the second race Gilmour came in from the favoured starboard entry. A great start from Gilmour, perfect timing at the pin. Gilmour made a good six lengths gain on the left hand side and ran away with the race. It was Mirsky 1 - Gilmour 1 and as it was a first to two final, the third race would decide the title.

The breeze was still about six to eight knots and south-easterly as the two boats went into the starting box. Mirsky had the starboard entry, he led out of the dial-up. Gilmour chased and pinned his apprentice to windward.

It was a great reversal from Gilmour out of the port entry and YANMAR Racing again started on the pin and headed left. YANMAR Racing found a shift and went on from there to win by eight lengths.

YANMAR Racing are the new Portugal Match Race Champions. Mirsky Racing Team, the 2009 defending champions finished second, with Adam Minoprio's ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing third and Ian Williams' Team GAC Pindar fourth.

Dockside there were lots of smiles from the Men in White.

Thierry Douillard. 'A very satisfying day. More fun that the football for this Frenchman.

'We enjoy racing together; Fuku, Yaji, Cameron, myself and Peter. We had some challenges today, just a few minutes before the start of the second race the port mainsheet winch jammed, we had to use the port pit winch but we had a good race regardless and we went on to win.

'Peter was very accurate on the starts, with Cameron and Fuku.

'We were more than the Perth Championship winners today. Our results overall came from a lot of small things - technique, timing - we were in the zone.'

Yasuhiro Yaji. 'Today was a very nice day. First 3-0 against Adam Minoprio and that came from good teamwork, everyone was concentrating very hard.

'Then in the final good crew work again, we were working on taking the pin end. YANMAR Racing sailed hard today and we achieved the results.

Cameron Dunn. 'We've had a very strong last two days. Yesterday we struggled on the start line but sailed very well around the course to win our quarter final. Today we nailed the starts. It was pretty much 'a must win left' all day and Gilly did a great job winning the left five times out of six.

Smiling Peter Gilmour summed up. 'This season YANMAR Racing has been steadily building up; we did not have a good start in the first two events but we have not lost focus and we have been tenacious.'

'The racing was very technical today, in terms of position and strategic discussion and we did that really well.

'The left hand side of the course was favoured. Because we had the second semi final Torvar (Mirsky) never saw us start.

'At lunchtime when we knew we would be racing Torvar in the final, I was thinking it was a 'win win' no matter the finals result, with Torvar going so well on the Tour in the last few seasons.

'We have encouraged him from the beginning of his career, before the Warren Jones wins set him on his way.

'We are looking forward to Sweden; we will have this same crew and have a good record there!'

Day 5 - Overall Standings

1 Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing 25 Points
2 Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team 20 Points
3 Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing 15 Points
4 Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar 12 Points
5 Francesco Bruni (ITA) Azzurra 10 Points
6 Magnus Holmberg (SWE) Victory Challenge 8 Points
7 Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team 6 Points
8 Manuel Weiller (ESP) Team Iberdrola 4 Points
9 Bertrand Pace (FRA) Aleph Sailing Team
10 Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Gill Global Team
11 Alvaro Marinho (POR) Seth Sailing Team
12 Eugeny Neugodnikov (RUS) Team Synergy

2010 ISAF World Match Racing Tour Standings
(After Event 4 of 10)

1 Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team 71 Points
2 Adam Minoprio (NZL) BlackMatch Racing 54 Points
3 Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team 48 Points
4 Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing 43 Points
5 Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar 42 Points
6 Francesco Bruni (ITA) Azzurra 33 Points
7 Ben Ainslie (GBR) TEAMORIGIN 20 Points
8 Jesper Radich (SWE) Radich Racing Team 20 Points
9 Paolo Cian (ITA) Team Italia 16 Points
10 Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Gill Global Team 15 Points

YANMAR Racing
World Match Racing Tour

WMRT: Two Australians in Final in Portugal: Gilmour vs Mirsky

New Zealanders on all three steps of the podium in Portimao Portugal Match Cup: Cameron Dunn in Gilmour's team (1st), Kinley Fowler in Mirsky's team (2nd) and BlackMatch Racing (3rd)


Peter Gilmour and his YANMAR Racing team after winning Portimao Portugal Match Cup 2010. World Match Racing Tour. Portimao, Portugal. 27 June 2010. Image copyright Gareth Cooke/Subzero Images.

by Cailah Leask

Finals day for Stage 4 of the ISAF World Match Racing Tour produced an all Australian final with Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team yet again taking on the icon of match racing, Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing. The ‘Perth Prodigy’, 24 year old Mirsky, did not defend his Portugal Match Cup title from last year as the Master, Gilmour, taught his Apprentice a few new lessons and stepped into the spotlight as the 2010 Portimão Portugal Match Cup Champion.

A glowing Gilmour was almost lost for words, “It was all about the starts out there, we managed to win the last two starts giving us a good lead on both finals races”.


Peter Gilmour splits tacks with Adam Minoprio during their semi final at Portimao Portugal Match Cup 2010. World Match Racing Tour. Portimao, Portugal. 27 June 2010. Image copyright Gareth Cooke/Subzero Images.

The Semi Finals greeted eager teams with an oscillating 8 – 10 knot wind, conditions suited Mirsky who slam dunked Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar 3-0 and Gilmour grasped the glory from current ISAF Match Racing World Champion, Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing, also gliding through on 3-0. Minoprio then went on to take 3rd overall much to the disappointment of Williams.

As the Fremantle Doctor style breeze blew in for finals frenzy, the racers, both skippers originally from Perth, felt a nostalgia for home and with a ‘first to 2 point final’ the pressure was instantaneous. The wind then moderated and returned to the testing Mediterranean style shifts commonly experienced on this year’s Tour. This kept both Gilmour and Mirsky on their toes to the bitter end with Gilmour winning the deciding 3rd match from a port entry.

Mirsky was humorous at the relaxed dance floor prize giving chatting to the crowd, “They showed us how to do it we learnt a lot about our starts today and my team are stoked, this is the best result so far on the Tour this year”.


Peter Gilmour and Torvar Mirsky shake hands after the finals of the Portimao Portugal Match Cup 2010. World Match Racing Tour. Portimao, Portugal. 27 June 2010. Image copyright Gareth Cooke/Subzero Images.

There is now a mixture of movements in the overall World Match Racing Tour 2010 standings. Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team before Portimão sat on high with 65 points, a supreme 26 points in front of his nearest rival Minoprio.

Richard was then ironically knocked out at the Quarter Final stage yesterday in an unexpected last minute lunge to the line by Minoprio. Minoprio closes the gap slightly on Richard, as the Kiwi now has 54 points, while Mirsky moves into 3rd with 48 points overall. Gilmour shoots up from 8th to 4th with 43 points, closely followed by Williams who finishes on 42 points.

As the morning light dawns tomorrow in Perth, Australia ‘the City of Lights’ the locals will wake up to two of their highly prized match race fraternity in the World’s spotlight having pushed past some of the most respected international sailors, who now have to bow to the power of Australia as a sporting nation.


Peter Gilmour leads Torvar Mirsky in the finals of Portimao Portugal Match Cup 2010. World Match Racing Tour. Portimao, Portugal. 27 June 2010. Image copyright Gareth Cooke/Subzero Images.

The sand of Rocha Beach will continue shaking into the night under the control of thumping tunes spun by a zebra clad DJ and the skippers will no doubt be ready to enjoy the short interlude between Stage 4 and 5. The Tour now turns its focus to Stena Match Cup Sweden starting in 8 days on July 5th.


Peter Gilmour and his YANMAR Racing team after winning Portimao Portugal Match Cup 2010. World Match Racing Tour. Portimao, Portugal. 27 June 2010. Image copyright Gareth Cooke/Subzero Images.

Mirsky finished off by saying, “Sweden is our home from home as I currently live there and the team join me to train. It will be an awesome event and we are really looking forward to being in Marstrand for Stena Match Cup Sweden.”


Champagne spraying after the finals of the Portimao Portugal Match Cup 2010. World Match Racing Tour. Portimao, Portugal. 27 June 2010. Image copyright Gareth Cooke/Subzero Images.

Day 5 - Overall Standings

1 Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing 25 Points
2 Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team 20 Points
3 Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing 15 Points
4 Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar 12 Points
5 Francesco Bruni (ITA) Azzurra 10 Points
6 Magnus Holmberg (SWE) Victory Challenge 8 Points
7 Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team 6 Points
8 Manuel Weiller (ESP) Team Iberdrola 4 Points
9 Bertrand Pacé (FRA) Aleph Sailing Team
10 Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Gill Global Team
11 Alvaro Marinho (POR) Seth Sailing Team
12 Eugeny Neugodnikov (RUS) Team Synergy

2010 ISAF World Match Racing Tour Standings
(After Event 4 of 10)

1 Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team 71 Points
2 Adam Minoprio (NZL) BlackMatch Racing 54 Points
3 Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team 48 Points
4 Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing 43 Points
5 Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar 42 Points
6 Francesco Bruni (ITA) Azzurra 33 Points
7 Ben Ainslie (GBR) TEAMORIGIN 20 Points
- Jesper Radich (SWE) Radich Racing Team 20 Points
9 Paolo Cian (ITA) Team Italia 16 Points
10 Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Gill Global Team 15 Points

Portimao Portugal Match Cup
World Match Racing Tour

Tour de France à la Voile: The science of the current

* Little wind and strong current at Dunkirk
* Ile-de-France 2010 wins the first stage of this 33rd edition

* Peu de vent et fort courant à Dunkerque
* Ile-de-France 2010 remporte la première manche de cette 33ème édition


Ile-de-France 2010 wins the first race, © JM Liot / Tour de France à la Voile.

by Fabienne Morin (in translation by SailRaceWin)

Today, a common factor: the current. It provided a win in the only race of the day to Ile-de-France 2010, and a great second place to Nouvelle-Calédonie. However, it jammed the students of Supelec far away from the starting line, preventing them from starting on time, and the boats Défi SEP / Arts et Métiers / Centrale Paris far from the finishing line. In the end, the current dictated the results, distributing the points in a surprising manner on the Flemish waters!

For the first completed stage of the Tour de France à la Voile 2010 - a round trip race of coefficient one - the conditions were particularly random. A long wait, then a start in scarcely 5 knots of wind from the northeast. And a cross-current of two knots!


Start of the first race, © JM Liot / Tour de France à la Voile.

The 28 participants tried to play with the current under the beautiful sun of Dunkirk. The skipper of Ile-de-France 2010, Jimmy Pahun, spoke of "a treadmill". A carpet that he and his men mastered while the waters shifted, and they positioned themselves with finesse throughout the race. Ile-de-France 2010 gained a first, very tactical, victory. Just behind them, Nouvelle-Calédonie equally saw the right way and finished second. In third place, CSC-HEC-Ecole Navale was the first student team! Courrier Dunkerque and Oman Sail’s Renaissance, despite good starts were relegated to the mid-ground and obtained 8th and 9th place, respectively.

Other students suffered from the misleading forecast. Counting a null, Supelec didn't reach the start within the required four minutes and was classed DNS. Défi SEP / Arts et Métiers / Centrale Paris all reached the finish more than thirty minutes after the first boat and scored DNF. The treadmill was a little dented!

They said:

Jimmy Pahun, skipper of Ile-de-France 2010 :
"It's only the first race, but it's nice to win! Tomorrow we will have the red spinnaker. That is good for morale. Martin and Benoit, our boatmen, leave us a few words every morning. Today this was: "One begins as one ends". I don't know if this is a happy omen! It is necessary to stay grounded. There are 30, 35 races to go and there are very good crews on the TFV. We know what we are aiming for in the general classification and we are above our ambitions. On the water it was, above all, a game of the start. We had a good start on the right, at the committee boat. We were immediately in the game with Oman and when one is in front the race is not very different.

Eric Drouglazet, skipper and tactician of BRED :
« It was a very difficult stage with feeble and unstable winds, and a strong current. A very difficult start because we had some current in the backside that pushed us towards the line. It was necessary to slow the boat and we got a good start. We were up at the windward mark - 8th. After this it was very random under spinnaker with zones of no wind but of current. We made 11th at the finish, and even if this was mid-field, we are satisfied. There are always dodgy stages and we reassured ourselves of the speed of our boat, BRED. We can fight! »

Félix Pruvot, helmsman of CSC – HEC – Ecole Navale :
« It's a very good stage for our boat. We reached the first windward mark in 15th position, to fight with the other students. On the first kite leg, we made a very good decision in putting ourselves on the right. That turned out to pay off very well: so, we were 6th at the leeward mark. After that we gained some places. It isn't easy, but it is very interesting with the current, and it treated us well. Hervé Gautier is very at ease in these conditions of light winds and strong currents, and I am too. We successfully negotiated the current, used it, and gained. »

In French:


Kite in the water, © JM Liot / Tour de France à la Voile.

Aujourd’hui, un facteur commun : le courant. Il a offert la victoire de la seule manche du jour à Ile-de-France 2010, et une belle deuxième place à Nouvelle-Calédonie. Mais il a coincé les étudiants de Supelec loin de la ligne de départ, les empêchant de partir à temps, et ceux de Défi SEP / Arts et Métiers / Centrale Paris loin de la ligne d’arrivée. Au final, le courant a dicté sa loi, distribuant les points de façon surprenante sur le plan d’eau flamand !

Pour la première manche comptabilisée du Tour de France à la Voile 2010 – un parcours aller-retour de coefficient un -, les conditions étaient particulièrement aléatoires. Une longue attente, puis un départ dans cinq nœuds de vent de Nord-Est, à peine. Et un courant traversier atteignant les deux nœuds !

Jouer avec ce courant, voilà ce que les 28 concurrents ont essayé de faire sous le grand soleil de Dunkerque. Le skipper d’Ile-de-France 2010, Jimmy Pahun, parle de « tapis roulant ». Un tapis que ses hommes et lui ont su maitriser en se décalant sur le plan d’eau au portant, et en se positionnant avec finesse tout au long de la manche. Ile-de-France 2010 remporte une première victoire très tactique. Juste derrière eux, Nouvelle-Calédonie a également vu juste et prend la deuxième place. Troisième, CSC-HEC-Ecole Navale est le premier étudiant ! Courrier Dunkerque et Oman Sail’s Renaissance, pourtant bien partis sont relégués au deuxième plan et se classent respectivement 8e et 9e.

D’autres étudiants ont quant à eux souffert de cette météo trompeuse. Pris au dépourvu, Supelec n’arrive pas à prendre le départ dans les quatre minutes réglementaires et est DNS. Défi SEP / Arts et Métiers / Centrale Paris, lui, coupe la ligne d’arrivée plus de trente minutes après l’arrivée du premier. Il est DNF. Le tapis roulant était un peu cabossé !


Setting out of the harbour for race one, © JM Liot / Tour de France à la Voile.

Ils ont dit :

Jimmy Pahun, skipper d’Ile-de-France 2010 :
« Ce n’est qu’une première course, mais ça fait plaisir de la gagner ! D’abord, demain, nous aurons le spi rouge. Et c’est bon pour le moral. Martin et Benoit, nos préparateurs, nous laissent chaque matin un petit mot. Aujourd’hui, c’était : "on commence comme on finit." Je ne sais pas si c’est un heureux présage ! Il faut savoir raison garder. Il reste 30, 35 courses et il y a de très bons équipages sur le TFV. Nous savons ce que nous souhaitons au classement général et nous sommes au dessus de nos ambitions. Sur l’eau, ça s’est surtout joué au départ. Nous avons eu la bonne vue de partir à droite, au comité. Nous avons tout de suite été dans le match avec Oman et quand on est devant, la régate est un peu différente. »

Eric Drouglazet, skipper et tacticien de BRED :
« C’était une manche très difficile, avec du vent très faible et pas établi, et un gros courant. Un départ très difficile à prendre car nous avions du courant dans les fesses et qui nous poussait vers la ligne. Il fallait ralentir le bateau et nous sommes bien partis. Nous sommes bien passés à la bouée au vent – 8e. Après, c’était très aléatoire sous spi, avec des zones de pétole et de courant. Nous faisons finalement 11e et, même si c’est une place en milieu de paquet, nous sommes plutôt satisfaits. Ce sont toujours des manches dangereuses et nous nous sommes rassurés sur la vitesse du bateau BRED. Nous pouvons lutter ! »

Félix Pruvot, barreur de CSC – HEC – Ecole Navale :
« C’est une très bonne manche pour notre bateau. Nous enroulons la première bouée au vent en 15e position, à nous batailler avec les autres étudiants. Au premier bord de spi, nous tirons une très bonne option en nous décalant à droite du parcours. Ca s’est révélé très payant : du coup, nous sommes 6e à la bouée sous le vent. Après, nous grapillons quelques places. Ce n’était pas facile mais très intéressant avec ce courant, et ça nous a bien réussi. Hervé Gautier est très à l’aise dans ces conditions de vent faible et de courant fort, et moi aussi. Nous avons réussi à identifier ce facteur courant pour le négocier et revenir. »


Close racing in race one, © JM Liot / Tour de France à la Voile.

Classement général provisoire à l'issue de la manche 1.1 :

1 Ile de France 2010 (Jimmy Pahun / Vincent Aillaud) 1pts
2 Nouvelle Calédonie (Bertrand Pacé / Vincent Portugal) 2pts
3 CSC - HEC - Ecole Navale (Hervé Gautier) 3pts
4 Team SOG - SAFRAN (Julien Villion / Quentin Ponroy) 4pts
5 Toulon Provence Méditerranée - COYCH (Fabien Henry) 5pts
6 Normale Sup Lagardère (Eric Brezellec) 6pts
7 GROOVEDERCI (Deneen Demourkas) 7pts
8 Courrier Dunkerque (Daniel Souben) 8pts
9 OMAN SAIL'S RENAISSANCE (Rob Greenhalgh) 9pts
10 BRUNEL (Peter Jan Postma / Bart Verwerft) 10pts
11 Bred (Eric Drouglazet / Christophe Bouvet) 11pts
12 Nantes - Saint Nazaire (Jean Queveau) 12pts
13 Ville du Port - Région Réunion (Thomas Terte / Thomas Pasquier / Noé Delpech) 13pts
14 INSA SOPRA TSP TEM (Thomas Rahier / Nicolas Andrieu) 14pts
15 Port de plaisance de Roscoff - CCI de Morlaix (Julien Berthélémé / François Liron) 15pts
16 Bienne Voile - SRS II (Lorenz Muller) 16pts
17 Manche Basse Normandie (Benoit Charon) 17pts
18 Côtes d'Armor (Stéphane Letertre) 18pts
19 Purflo Les Thermes Marins - St Malo (François Lebourdais / Pierre Hingant / Quentin Grueau) 19pts
20 Bienne Voile - SRS I (Stefan Seger) 20pts
21 Ville de Genève - Carrefour Prévention (Jérôme Clerc) 21pts
22 TU Delft (Bert Schandevyl) 22pts
23 MUMMADUCK (Laurent Pagès) 23pts
24 ESSEC – Hanploi (Damien Seguin) 24pts
25 Région de Bruxelles Capitale Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest (Cyril Michel / Laurent Declercq) 25pts
26 Brest Grandes Ecoles - ENSIETA - ESCB - ISEN (Tangi Mahé) 26pts
27 Défi SEP / Arts et Métiers /Centrale Paris (Clément Hochart) 29pts
28 SUPELEC (François Isopet / Pierre Joly) 29pts

Au programme demain :
8h30 : départ ponton
10h30 : départ de la première manche. Plusieurs manches à suivre
17h30 : retour au ponton

Tour de France à la Voile

Porter Continues To Lead Melges 32s In Newport

Melges 32s racing off Newport. Image copyright Joy Dunigan.

by Joy Dunigan

After two days and six races, John Porter on Full Throttle continues to lead the 15-strong Melges 32 fleet in Newport, RI. Kip Meadows on roXanne had a splendid day to finish second overall, six points out of first. Newport local, Michael Dominguez on Bronco performed well once more taking him from fifth to third overall.

Everyone’s expectations for the day was a potential carbon copy of Friday’s extremely light and difficult conditions. But much to everyone’s enjoyment, the sunshine and moderate temps prevailed with the breeze building throughout the day to a pleasant 10-12 knots.

Race one of the day was all Jim Swartz on Q. Port tacking the fleet, at the pin end to take an immediate lead was a key maneuver giving him an almost immediate lead. Swartz rounded the first mark several boat lengths in front of the fleet, followed by Dominguez and Meadows respectively. His biggest competition didn't arrive until the last mark when he fumbled the set. It was just enough of a snafu to make everyone nervous as it allowed Dominguez to gain a little ground. Swartz was quick to recover and take first, Dominguez was second, Meadows kicked in some speed to take third.

Porter took race two in stride, stealing the lead from early race leader Meadows. A seriously tight fleet race from mark, to gate, to finish found Porter pulling ahead for the win, his second bullet of the regatta. Commonly referred to and revered as ‘the Admiral’, Porter went on to win the heat with Meadows in second, the young Ryan Devos (Ed Baird, tactician) on Volpe was third. Geoff Pierini (Max Skelley, tactician) on Shakedown sneaked in from the right to take a surprise fourth ahead of John Taylor (Andrew Campbell, tactician) on Ninkasi finishing fifth.

The last race of the day was a steady course four, 225 at 1.4 nm bringing out the best in long-time Melges 32 owner Taylor. He took the lead at the top, performed perfect sets and jibes to take the ultimate win over of Devos. Jeff Ecklund on STAR stepped up to take third.

Saturday night is Melges Rocks party night! Teams will congregate at Riptide for beer, prizes and daily awards. It will be the ultimate regatta party!

Top Five Results(After 6 Races and 1 Discard)
1.) John Porter/Jonathan Mckee, Full Throttle; 1-3-4-6-1-[10] = 15
2.) Kip Meadows/Andy Horton, roXanne; 4-5-[10]-3-2-7 = 21
3.) Michael Dominguez/Anthony Kotoun, Bronco; 3-7-7-2-7-[14] = 26
4.) Jim Swartz/Gavin Brady, Q; 10-1-6-1-9-[11] = 27
5.) Jeff Ecklund/Bill Hardesty, STAR; 8-9-[14]-5-3-2 = 27

Melges 32