Black Swan Racing wins Trapani International Match Race

Sunday was a real test of patience. We came to Trapani prepared to sail the 3-man Comet 21 but following some teething problems we went back to sailing the reliable Zip 25's. Then on Sunday for the finals we were back into the Comet 21 yachts with all problems fixed. Added to this we were sailing in the tricky Trapani Harbour - the ball game could not have been more different to earlier in the regatta.

We choose Jacopo Pasini from Italy as our opponent in the semi-final. Leaving Lindberg (Finland) and Orel (Slovenia) to fight it out in the other semi. Our first race against Pasini didn't start well as we were penalised after a close port and starboard between the two boats. Unfazed we fought back neutralising the penalty and gaining one against Pasini just before the starting horn. We went on to gain the lead and sail the shifts well to take the win. Race 2 was a similar story with Pasini being penalised just before the start with a red flag penalty forcing him into taking his penalty immediately handing us the lead and putting us 2-0 in the best of five series. The final race didn't feature any penalties but we trailed off the start line and around the first and second marks. On the second up wind we picked up a nice shift and just managed to gain the lead from here we held Pasini off to book our spot in the final. Lindberg defeated Orel in the other semi making for a Swinton V Lindberg Final.

We came into the finals knowing Lindberg would be a tough opponent especially in his favoured light and shifty conditions. This proved to be right as they took the first two races in the finals despite us leading off the start line on both occasions. Just before our entry into the third race, a must win match for us our jib halyard snapped leaving us without a jib. In a tough situation we managed to quickly re-rig the jib whilst trying to stay trouble free in the pre-start. Despite being restricted for most of the pre-start we managed to get a great start and sail away for a confidence boosting win. With time quickly running out we went into the final race knowing a win would level the series and with no more time for racing we would win on count back. We managed to get a solid start but it was still tight with Lindberg by the top mark. We did a great job of defending on the downwind and continued to build our lead to win the race and take out the 2009 Trapani International Match Race.

Final Results

1. Keith Swinton (AUS, Black Swan Racing)
2. Steffan Lindberg (FIN, Alandia Sailing Team)
3. Jure Orel (SLO, Bora Sailing Team)
4. Jacopo Pasini (ITA, JP Match)
5. Eric Monnin (SUI, Team Monnin)
6. G L Perris (MON, Team Dangerous but Fun)
7. M Perris (MON, Team Dangerous but Fun)
8. Rasmus Viltoft (DEN)
9. Simone Ferrarese (ITA, Ferrarese Racing)
10. Nick Cherry (GBR, Cherry Racing)

Black Swan Racing would like to thank our following supporters.

South of Perth Yacht Club
Brian Kerman from Kerman Contracting
Brad Abbott from Abbotts PTY LTD Chartered Accountants
Musto Australia and Scott Olney from Musto Western Australia/Liquid Leisure Agencies
Philip Ericson from Trendmark Sweden Agent for Musto
The Ron Tough Yachting Foundation

Black Swan Racing

Black Swan Racing into Semi-Finals at Trapani International Match Race 2009

Today's conditions mirrored yesterday with westerly winds ranging between 5-15 knots. We had a great day winning all of our remaining matches to progress trouble free into the semi-finals. Tomorrow will bring a new challenge with racing taking part inside Trapani harbour rather than outside in the open water. This should provide some tricky racing but with experience from last years regatta we feel confident.

"We had a great day today and feel we are sailing the boats well. Tomorrow will be a bit different inside the harbour but we are excited to be racing here again in the finals" Keith Swinton, Helmsman Black Swan Racing.

Semi Final Line-Up
Keith Swinton (AUS)
Steffan Lindberg (FIN)
Jure Orel (SLO)
Jacopo Pasini (ITA)

Black Swan Racing would like to thank our following supporters.

South of Perth Yacht Club
Brian Kerman from Kerman Contracting
Brad Abbott from Abbotts PTY LTD Chartered Accountants
Musto Australia and Scott Olney from Musto Western Australia/Liquid Leisure Agencies
Philip Ericson from Trendmark Sweden Agent for Musto
The Ron Tough Yachting Foundation

Black Swan Racing

Solid Start for Black Swan Racing at Trapani International Match Race 2009

We have arrived safely in Trapani, Sicily for our last European event for 2009. It is great to spend out last week sailing in shorts and t-shirts on the beautiful Mediterranean sea. Today we began racing in the round robin, we had great 7-12 knot westerly winds which allowed the RC to provide some quality racing. We are racing Zip 25 4 man yachts which are very nice for match racing however all teams came to the event to sail a different 3 man yacht but because of some problems with these other boats all teams have been put into the Zip 25 1 man short. Fortunately we have been flexible with bowman Nick Bastow and trimmer Kyle Langford doing a great job.

We completed 4 races today winning 3 comfortably against Simone Ferrarese (ITA), Eric Monnin (SUI) and Nick Cherry (GBR). Our loss came in the final race of the day against our recent finals opponent in the Geneva Match Race Steffan Lindberg of Finland. It was a close race, we lead narrowly at the top mark but Lindberg did well to roll us on the downwind. At the bottom mark rounding we were hot on their heels however we accidentally ran into the umpire boat. In the heat of a tacking duel we forgot to put up our red protest flag meaning that we were given no chance for redress. This was a little disappointing but we are sailing fast, starting well and confident for tomorrow. Racing will continue tomorrow outside the Trapani Harbour with semi-finals and finals to be raced inside the harbour on Sunday.

Black Swan Racing

Trapani International Match Race 2009 Line-Up (10 teams)
Jure Orel (Slovenia)
Jacopo Pasini (Italy)
Simone Ferrarese (Italy)
Eric Monnin (Switzerland)
Rasmus Viltoft (Denmark)
G L Perris (Monaco)
Steffan Lindberg (Finland)
Nick Cherry (UK)
M Perris (Monaco)

Tough Start at Master De España 2009 for Black Swan Racing

Due to bad weather we only managed to sail one race yesterday which was against Portugal's Alvaro Marinho. In light conditions we lead off the start line and around the first windward turning mark. Unfortunately we lost out on the downwind leg and despite being close throughout the race we couldn't re-gain the lead.

Today's weather allowed a full days racing with conditions ranging from 5-15 knots. We had a tough day loosing out in 3 very close races to Phillipe Presti (French Match Racing Team), Ian Ainslie (Team Proximo) and Perre A Morvan (French Match Racing Team). This was disappointing as we felt there were opportunities in all races to better our position but we couldn't quite make it happen. Our score card reads 3 wins-4 losses with wins against Alexis Littoz (France), Rui Boia (POR) and David Chapman (AUS). With only a small number of races completed on day 1 it looks like the RC will stick to a limited format of 1 round robin and semi finals. We have 3 more races to complete in the round robin and hope to string together some wins to improve our chances of making the semi-final stage. It is also important for us to learn and develop sailing in a five man configuration for future regattas.

Black Swan Racing would like to thank our following supporters.

South of Perth Yacht Club
Brian Kerman from Kerman Contracting
Brad Abbott from Abbotts PTY LTD Chartered Accountants
Musto Australia and Scott Olney from Musto Western Australia/Liquid Leisure Agencies
Philip Ericson from Trendmark Sweden Agent for Musto
The Ron Tough Yachting Foundation

Black Swan Racing