Alinghi's Ed Baird unbeaten in Allianz Cup semifinals

America’s veteran match racer is up 2-0 and England’s wunderkinds are tied 1-1 in the Semifinal Round of the Allianz Cup Presented by Oracle, Stage 5 of the 2005-’06 World Match Racing Tour.

Ed Baird (St. Petersburg, Fla.) leads Denmark’s Jesper Bank 2-0 in one semifinal match. Baird staged a come from behind victory in their first race and then dominated the second race for the lead.

“We got an opportunity at the first windward mark,” Baird said of his first race. “He dialed us down hard on starboard. It was close whether we could cross behind him but were able to.”

Once around the windward mark, Baird’s crew snapped off a maneuver quicker than Bank’s. “We had a much better jibe and that was the race,” said Baird.

In the other half of the semifinal bracket 29-year-old Ian Williams, the match racing world championship points leader, is tied with triple Olympic medalist Ben Ainslie, also 29.

Williams won the first race after unloading a penalty. Ainslie won the second when he nipped Williams at the finish of a 5-minute run that saw the lead change hands three times.

“We were sailing nicely and fast,” said Williams. “But we made a mistake and gave him a get out of jail card. We had two opportunities to jump on him, but didn’t take advantage.”

The semifinals were suspended late this evening with the setting sun. The wind shifted to the west for the semifinal races and blew around 10 knots. The conditions were much more suitable for racing than the light northerlies that the quarterfinals were sailed in and have dominated the regatta, but there were still pratfalls on the racecourse.

“The breeze was more solid at the end,” said Williams. “We were sailing up and down with the current but it brings new challenges, like time and distance in the pre-start.”

Baird noticed differences in the ebb current from the shoreside to the middle of the bay.

“It was a little softer on the shore, we were surprised by that,” said Baird. “The beats were short so you had to start to the right.”

The quarterfinals were held earlier in the day. Baird defeated Chris Dickson, skipper and CEO of BMW ORACLE Racing, 3-1. Bank needed five races to defeat Peter Holmberg, Baird’s teammate at Alinghi.

Williams beat old nemesis Peter Gilmour, 3-1, to knock a chip off his shoulder. Williams has beaten Gilmour plenty in round robin racing on the tour, but has lost to him in three knockout rounds.

“It felt good to get that one,” said Williams. “He seems to be our nemesis in final rounds. For the tour standings it’s a big deal.”

Ainslie defeated Paolo Cian in the last quarterfinal match, also by 3-1. Ainslie won the first two, dropped the third and then won the fourth. Cian aided Ainslie by getting a penalty and being over the start line early. Despite all that Cian led towards the finish line, but saddled with the penalty Ainslie was able to steam past for the win.

In racing for 5th through 8th places this evening, Cian defeated Dickson and then Gilmour to place 5th and Gilmour 6th. Dickson placed 7th when he passed Holmberg on the final run to the finish, relegating Holmberg to 8th.

Racing is scheduled to resume on Sunday morning at 10:00 a.m. and will be broadcast live on the Internet at www.Sail.tv. The Webcast is scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m., weather permitting.