Quebramar-Chrysler leads GP42 class after first day of Copa del Rey

The Copa del Rey started with a third and first place for Quebramar-Chrysler in the opening day's two races. The boat crewed by Desafío Español's America's Cup sailors is now first, closely followed by Zurich and Canarias Puerto Calero.

The Quebramar-Chrysler, helmed by Laureano Wizner, maintains its leadership after scoring a third and first place in the first two races of the Copa del Rey. In the start of the first race the two Italian boats, Roma and Seawonder 007, were over the line early and got penalized. Canarias Puerto Calero started from the pin end of the line and with clear air was leading the fleet at the top mark. Movistar of Pedro Campos was closely behind, despite its poor start, and Fermax was following at third place. There was no change in the first two positions but the Fermax crew lost their concentration and slipped back three positions, handing third place to Quebramar Chrysler in the second beat. The final classification remained unchanged in the last leg.

In the second race, Fermax started in an excellent manner, placing themselves ahead of the fleet, after opting for the left side of the race course. Quebramar-Chrsyler and Zurich would follow them closely behind and it seemed that after a mediocre first race, Zurich had reacted. As a result, Fermax was unable to hold on to their leadership and were overtaken by Quebramar-Chrysler and Zurich in that order. Once again, the boat crewed by Desafío Español sailors proved their superiority and grabbed the overall leadership, two points ahead of Zurich, helmed by Jordi Calafat, and three ahead of Canarias Puerto Calero, that was a poor sixth in the second race. Fourth overall is Movistar who suffered from a breakage in its electronics during the day’s second race.

Quotes

Laureano Wizner, helmsman of Quebramar-Chrysler: It was a difficult day due to the unstable wind conditions that resulted in stressful races that kept us constantly tensed. In the first race we had a good start, unlike the second one. Fortunately, Santi Lopez-Vazquez did an excellent job in calling tacticts and we were able to overtake Fermax, the leaders of the race till that point.

Provisional Classification after 2 races
1. Quebramar-Chrysler 4 points (3+1)
2. Zurich 6 points (4+2)
3. Canarias Puerto Calero 7 points (1+6)
4. Movistar 9 points (2+7)
5. Fermax 9 points (6+3)
6. Quum Marketing 9 points (5+4)
7. Roma 12 points (7+5)
8. Seawonder 007 16 points (8+8)
9. AA HPB 18 points (9+9)
10. Totalboats 22 points (11+11)

Quebramar-Chrysler leading the GP42 class at the Copa del Rey. Palma, 31 July 2007. Photo copyright Nico Martinez

Quebramar-Chrysler leading the GP42 class at the Copa del Rey. Palma, 31 July 2007. Photo copyright Nico Martinez

Copa del Rey - Day 1 - Race 2: Siemens grabs victory from Mutua Madrileña on final stretch

The day's second race was even more exciting than the first one as Siemens and Mutua Madrileña had an all out battle, alternating leadership throughout the race. A small error on the final run aboard Vasco Vascotto's boat handed the victory to Siemens that overtook them and crossed the finish line a mere 5 seconds ahead.

There were two general recalls before the race started at the third attempt. Since there was no clear favored side on the starting line, the fleet split up in two packed groups at each end, making it impossible for the race committee to clearly see the boats over the line. Peter Reggio, the principal race officer, took no chances and recalled the fleet twice.

Siemens and Mutua Madrileña lead since the start and were neck and neck throughout the race. The victory was decided on the final stretch of the final leg, where Paul Cayard calling tactics on Siemens, correctly chose the left side of the course, picking up better pressure. A fierce battle also took place for third position between Platoon and Bribón, with the Spanish winning it by 5 seconds.

After the fist two races of the event it is clear that racing is very close and the importance of the first leg can never be exaggerated, especially the approach at the first top mark. A couple of tens of meters can make the difference between 5th and 15th.

Start of the second race of the first day of the Copa del Rey. Palma, 31 July 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

RUSAL-Synergy on the first beat. The Russian team had a very difficult first day. Palma, 31 July 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Valle Romano - Mean Machine in the first beat. Peter de Ridder's boat had a disastrous second race, finishing eleventh. Palma, 31 July 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Siemens was leading the race at the top mark, followed by Mutua Madrileña and Platoon. Palma, 31 July 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

The rest of the fleet at the top mark. Palma, 31 July 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Once again, crew work aboard CAM was far from flawless. Palma, 31 July 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

The presence of Russell Coutts aboard Artemis didn't guarantee great results. The Swedish boat rounded the top mark 15th. Palma, 31 July 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

The TP52 fleet in the first run. Palma, 31 July 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

The battle between Siemens and Mutua Madrileña for leadership was fierce. Palma, 31 July 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Paul Cayard was calling tactics on Siemens. Palma, 31 July 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Platoon, helmed by Jochen Schuemman, was third in the top mark. Palma, 31 July 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

One of the numerous close situations at the top mark and proof of the importance that 10 meters can have in a boat's ranking. Palma, 31 July 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Halfway down the final leg, the race was still extremely close. Palma, 31 July 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Siemens grabs victory from Mutua Madrileña in the final stretch. Palma, 31 July 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Copa del Rey - Day 1 - Race 1: Important win for Mutua Madrileña

Vasco Vascotto and his Mutua Madrileña team opened the 2007 Copa del Rey races of the TP52 class with a very important victory. Racing started after an one-hour delay with the left being the favored side and many holes in wind patterns that made the difference. Platoon, helmed by Alinghi's Jochen Schuemann, lead the race from the start although Mutua Madrileña and Siemens were closely behind them. The race's turning point took place at the leeward gate where Platoon made the wrong tactical decision and gave up leadership in the second beat. Mutua Madrileña lead the race from there on while Caixa Galicia recovered nicely and crossed the finish line third.

Start of the first TP52 race of the 2007 Copa del Rey. Palma, 31 July 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Start of the first TP52 race of the 2007 Copa del Rey. Palma, 31 July 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Patches tacking during the first upwind leg. Palma, 31 July 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing


Siemens had a clean start on the left and remained third throughout the first race. Palma, 31 July 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

American newcomer Glory had difficult start but finally recovered to tenth. Palma, 31 July 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Helmed by Alinghi's Jochen Schuemann, the German boat Platoon was leading the fleet at the first mark. Palma, 31 July 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

The Spanish CAM, a 2007-generation boat, languishes in the middle of the score table. Palma, 31 July 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

The bottom of the fleet starts the first downwind leg. Palma, 31 July 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Platoon was still leading the race at the approach of the leeward gate, followed by Mutua Madrileña and Siemens. Palma, 31 July 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Caixa Galicia kept gaining positions and rounded the leeward gate at 4th place. Palma, 31 July 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Valle Romano - Mean Machine didn't live up to the high expectations. Palma, 31 July 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Close situation such as this between Valars and Anonimo Q8 are the rule at the leeward gate. Palma, 31 July 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

At the 2nd top mark, Mutua Madrileña had gained leadership of the race. Palma, 31 July 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Siemens held on to their 3rd position at the 2nd top mark. Palma, 31 July 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Mutua Madrileña sails towards their first victory. Palma, 31 July 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Excellent recovery by Caixa Galicia that finishes second. Palma, 31 July 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Platoon was unable to recover the leadership and finished fourth. Palma, 31 July 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Even after an hour of racing, the finish was close in the middle of the fleet. Palma, 31 July 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Copa del Rey - Day 0: Training races for theTP52's

We left Valencia and its unfortunate legal intricacies to head to Palma de Mallorca for what is considered to be the Mediterranean's biggest and most prestigious regatta, the Copa del Rey. The TP52 class is for the third year in a row the "star" of the regatta and we will be covering the Breitling Medcup's third event of the 2007 season for the whole week till Saturday. This nearly one-design class will certainly provide another week of exciting and close racing.

Today's training schedule consisted of two starts and a full race. The practice starts were characterized by the unequivocal preference the teams showed for the left side of the course, resulting in a jammed pin end. In both of them a handful of boats were early over the the line. According to sailors who have raced the Copa del Rey in the past, on Palma's bay the left side tends to be favored this time of the year.

The race started at approximately 2pm with the wind blowing from the south at around 11 knots. Since the beginning Patches lead the rest of the fleet, closely followed by Bribón and Platoon. The Irish boat didn't encounter problems holding on to its lead but abandoned the race halfway up the second beat. Apparently, it is an English and Irish superstition to quit a practice race while leading the fleet. After the withdrawal of Patches from the race, Bribón went on to win with Platoon always close behind.

Jochen Schuemann at the helm of Platoon. Palma, 30 July 2007. Photo copyright Heike Schwab

Practice races of the TP52's at the Copa del Rey. Palma, 30 July 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Practice races of the TP52's at the Copa del Rey. Palma, 30 July 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Practice races of the TP52's at the Copa del Rey. Palma, 30 July 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Practice races of the TP52's at the Copa del Rey. Palma, 30 July 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Practice races of the TP52's at the Copa del Rey. Palma, 30 July 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Practice races of the TP52's at the Copa del Rey. Palma, 30 July 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Practice races of the TP52's at the Copa del Rey. Palma, 30 July 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Practice races of the TP52's at the Copa del Rey. Palma, 30 July 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Practice races of the TP52's at the Copa del Rey. Palma, 30 July 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Practice races of the TP52's at the Copa del Rey. The close level of racing is remarkable in this class. A boat can lose 3-4 places a few meters before crossing the finish line. Palma, 30 July 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Practice races of the TP52's at the Copa del Rey. The close level of racing is remarkable in this class. A boat can lose 3-4 places a few meters before crossing the finish line. Palma, 30 July 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Peter Gilmour wins Troia Portugal Match Cup

[Source: World Match Racing Tour] The Troia Portugal Match Cup, Round 9 of the 2006/7 World Match Racing Tour, experienced an Australian master class today, in the shape of Peter Gilmour and his reunited PST team, as they blew away the young British pretender to the throne, Ian Williams of Team Pindar.

Having battled through a top quality field littered with America’s Cup teams fresh from Valencia to reach the final two, Williams was on a high and looking to rescale the World Tour leadership, having dropped to third going into the regatta. He knew that Gilmour, who recently coached the successful Defenders, Alinghi at the America’s Cup, would be no walk over, but he didn’t count on the onslaught that lay ahead in this first to three points final.

Gilmour and Williams have enjoyed some superb matches in the past year, notably in Germany, Malaysia, and at Elba in Italy where Gilmour won the only final they’ve faced off in. Williams, a trained lawyer, knew he would need his best judgment and tactical knowledge to overcome such a wily fox as Gilmour.

In the first match, Gilmour pushed Williams close to the beautiful beach here in Troia, startling the many spectators bathing in almost 40 degree temperatures. The ensuing tacking duel saw Williams on the left closer to the shore. In a matter of minutes, Gilmour had a five boat-length lead and continued to extend all the way to finish, ahead by over 200 metres.

Match 2 followed exactly the same pattern, Williams unable to hang on to Gilmour in the first beat tacking duel and though the margin was closer, the result was the same. Two-zero down and facing defeat, Williams and his crew dug deep in the third, winning the start, and forcing Gilmour out to the right. After a series of tacks that saw Gilmour pushed back right each time Williams sneaked ahead. Never one to give up, Gilmour rounded the first mark all over Williams stern. Smart crew work on Gilmour’s boat saw them try to roll Williams down the run and they stayed neck and neck all the way to the gate, Gilmour went clear ahead. Williams tried to throw in two gybes in succession to re-establish his rights but was judged to be too close so drew a penalty but Gilmour was now the windward, give way boat and didn’t keep clear so a penalty to Gilmour evened things out. Rounding opposite marks at the gate saw Williams keep a slender lead.

Williams held on to the lead and rounded the final mark 3 metres clear. Gilmour’s superior speed edged him into a leeward overlap and when Williams gybed to starboard Gilmour ducked round his stern and gybed himself coming out of the gybe with more speed and more importantly the right to luff. Gilmour now had the controlling position and as the boats approached the finish line Gilmour luffed, Williams responded but received a penalty for not keeping clear. In a last ditch effort to rescue the match Williams gybed and tried to luff round the stern of his more experienced opponent, but his spinnaker made contact with Gilmour’s boat nearly taking out the onboard cameraman and resulting in a second penalty and game over, leaving Gilmour to cruise to the finish and take the Portugal Match Cup.

Third place in Portugal went to Gavin Brady of BMW Oracle racing, who defeated Sebastien Col of Areva Challenge, 2-1 in the Petite Final.

Gilmour said, ‘It was an exciting final. It came down to subtleties, starting position and getting out of the current, not loosing ground in the tacking duel and being able to get into a position to attack on the down wind leg.’
On the penalties on the final downwind duel Gilmour went on to add ‘I was watching him and I caught him when he was looking away from me (so when I luffed him), he over spun it and his spinnaker collapsed, which helped us to get the penalty on him.’
Gilmour thanked his crew and was clearly happy to be sailing with same guys with whom he has shared so much success over the years.

As for Williams a time for reflection and lessons to be learnt. Said Williams ‘Today was disappointing after we sailed so well through the event. We didn’t get to grips with the breeze from the south west and by the time we did Peter was at match point’. On the positive side Williams still advances into 2nd place on the World Tour rankings, just one point behind Mathieu Richard, who was eliminated in the quarter finals here. Paolo Cian from Team Shozoloza holds on to third.

The World Match Racing Tour now moves to Denmark for the Danish Open, to be held August 9-12 in Copenhagen.

Desafío Español renews Agustín Zulueta as general manager

Desafío Español, the Spanish challenger for the 33rd America's Cup, has just announced the renewal of Agustín Zulueta as general manager of the team. Zulueta was the creator and leader of the Spanish challenger two years ago and will continue leading the team for the next 2 years.

Given yesterday's announcement of Iberdrola continuing its role as main sponsor of the team and today's renewal of Zulueta as head of the team, it is clear the Challenger of Record of the 33rd America's Cup is going ahead at full speed. One interesting question that remains to be seen is who will replace Karol Jablonski at the helm of the Spanish boat, after the Polish sailor's move to the German team.

Iberdorla to continue sponsorship of Desafío Español

Capitalizing on the immense success of the Spanish challenger in the 32nd America's Cup, Iberdrola, the Spanish utilities multinational group, has officially announced its commitment towards Desafío Español.

As a result, Iberdrola will continue sponsoring Desafío Español in its quest to challenge Alinghi in the 33rd edition of the event, to take place in Valencia during the next 2 years.

According to various press reports, not officially confirmed though, the financial involvement of Iberdorla will be in the tune of 30 million euros per year. The Challenger of Record of the 33rd America's Cup has now become the first team to officially announce a major sponsorship deal.

Valencia is officially the host city of the 33rd America's Cup; Team New Zealand accepted as fourth challenger

Wednesday, 25 July 2007 is a historic day for Valencia and the America's Cup. After a hugely successful 32nd edition, Alinghi officially declared this afternoon its decision to repeat the oldest sports competition in the Spanish coastal city within two years, in the summer of 2009.

Despite the unexpected twist on Tuesday, the three public administrations (local, regional and national) decided on Wednesday to sign an agreement that would open the door to the public announcement of Valencia's repeat.

After the usual self-congratulatory speeches from all involved parties and the champaign glass in front of the trophy, Ernesto Bertarelli, head of Alinghi, and Michel Bonnefous, CEO of America's Cup Management, laid out the basic framework of the 33rd America's Cup.

You can listen to the entire statements of both Bonnefous and Bertarelli by clicking on the green play button. You can pause or stop the audio file with the control buttons, just like with any other music player. By clicking inside the horizontal bar you can move to any point of the file:

Michel Bonnefous:

Ernesto Bertarelli:

Venue and schedule
Obviously, the venue of the 33rd America's Cup will be Valencia, after what is unanimously considered to be a very successful 32nd edition, probably one of the best in the long history of the event.

As far as the schedule is concerned, it was not set with precision. There will be two pre-regattas in 2008, one in Valencia in the month of July and a second one in a European city, still to be chosen, in autumn. Unlike what some previous reports had speculated, it is the organization's intention to use both races courses (south and north) in Valencia.

The Challenger Selection Series will take place in the spring of 2009 and the America's Cup Match will obviously follow after that. Again, no precise dates were given.

Challenger of Record
Desafío Español, the Challenger of Record, and the Club Náutico Español de Vela, the yacht club it represents, enjoy the full support of both Alinghi and ACM. According to Bertarelli, Desafío Español is a "solid, reputable and strong" Challenger of Record that gave a "honored battle and tough time" to Emirates Team New Zealand.

New boat class
The new boat class will be announced by the end of October 2007. Starting September, Alinghi will consult with Desafío Español on how to "best propose" this new class. According to Bertarelli, the new boat will be more "exciting and vibrant". Each team will be allowed to build 2 new boats but there will be a very important restriction. Each of these boats can be sailed on any waters but at no time will they be allowed to "line up" with any other yacht, except during official ACM regattas.

According to Bertarelli, the aim of this rule is to reduce the amount of money spent on two-boat testing.

Alinghi's participation
Given the limit on the new boats, Alinghi will participate in the Challenger Selection Series up to and including the semifinals. If they are eliminated earlier, they will not race any further until the America's Cup Match.

Arbitration Panel - Jury
An independent Arbitration Panel has been nominated and the independent Jury will be nominated shortly.

Team New Zealand fourth challenger
Last but certainly not least, Team New Zealand was accepted as the fourth challenger.

It's now official, Valencia will be the host city of the 33rd America's Cup. Valencia, 25 July 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

It's now official, Valencia will be the host city of the 33rd America's Cup. Valencia, 25 July 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Russell Coutts signs as CEO and skipper of BMW Oracle Racing

Earlier this afternoon in Valencia, Larry Ellison, owner of BMW Oracle, announced that Russell Coutts, the famous kiwi sailor, had joined the team in the role of CEO and skipper. Under different circumstances, this announcement and the appearance of Coutts and Ellison side by side inside the BMW Oracle base would have caused a great stir and grabbed the attention of the media. After all, Coutts was the mastermind behind Alinghi's win of the America's Cup in 2003 and to see him in Valencia wearing the number 12 shirt of the American challenger would have caused an earthquake, even if the move was rumored around Port America's Cup for a couple of months now.

Russell Coutts (left) and Larry Ellison hold the kiwi sailor's brand new BMW Oracle shirt. According to Ellison, 12 is Coutts' lucky number. Valencia, 24 July 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

But today the circumstances were different and it seemed to us that the arrival of Russell Coutts in the America's Cup challenge [Note: still not officially accepted] was sidelined. Coutts was obviously excited to join Ellison's team in his new role but there was no mistake what the main issue was in today's press conference. The American software mogul and owner of the America's Cup team spent most of 30 minutes of the conference explaining the reasons behind his decision to file a lawsuit against the Société Nautique de Genève, regarding the Protocol of the 33rd America's Cup and the Club Nautico Español de Vela (CNEV), the yacht club representing the Challenger of Record.

We suggest you listened to Ellison's arguments by playing the MP3 file of the entire press conference by clicking on the green play button. You can pause or stop the audio file with the control buttons, just like with any other music player. Note, due to its large size the file might be slow to start. By clicking inside the horizontal bar you move to any point of the file:

Ellison's main points were the invalidity of the CNEV and the utter unfairness of the Protocol, arguments that have been thoroughly discussed in the documents presented the New York supreme court. According to him, the CNEV is invalid because it was founded a few days before the signature of the protocol and had never held a regatta before.

Russell Coutts (left) and Larry Ellison shake hands after the kiwi sailor was officially presented as the team's new CEO and skipper. Valencia, 24 July 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Concerning the unfairness of the protocol, Ellison focused on the powers it gives ACM and by extension Alinghi. According to him, Alinghi has the power to dismiss any challenger at any time at its sole discretion, can change the design rules or even unilaterally hire and fire all umpires, judges and jury members. He goes into length giving examples of what he thinks are the powers of Alinghi under the new protocol , unlike any other sport, according to him. For those reasons, he believes the Golden Gate Yacht Club had no option but to file a lawsuit.

He went on to state that if they win the case in court, the America's Cup match will take place in July 2008 in Valencia. If they are victorious in that match, then the 34th Cup will also take place, together with the Challenger Selection Series, in 2009, again in Valencia.

Larry Ellison is undoubtedly an extremely shrewd businessman, otherwise his software group wouldn't be the second-biggest in the world. His arguments can have legal grounds and he might even win his case in New York. Nevertheless, the America's Cup was never intended to be a fair competition and it has always been the Defender's prerogative to set the rules of the game. His answer to the question whether he would still challenge if he loses the trial in New York was a loud and clear "yes". He wants to win the America's Cup and will try to use all the weapons he has, on and off the water.

Going back to the arrival of Coutts in the team, it will be interesting to see what sailors will be recruited in the next couple of months. According to Coutts, he came alone to BMW Oracle but he has the green light from Ellison to hire any sailor he might think would strengthen the team.

After all these years in Valencia, this is the first time I see a US flag on the rooftop of BMW Oracle's base. Coincidence or sign of the things to come? Valencia, 24 July 2007. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing