A Touch of Luck Defines Day 4 of The St. Moritz Match Race

[Source: World Match Racing Tour] On a frustrating day for the six teams battling to reach the semi-finals of the St. Moritz Match Race, perhaps the biggest fight was off the water between the gradient northerly wind and the thermally induced southerly, which left the racecourse peppered with monumental wind shifts, holes and gusts.

The weather has tested the skippers’ mettle all week and today it created a spectacular sporting moment that had the crowd holding its breath. It looked as if it was all over for reigning ‘King of the Mountain’ Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing in his match against Damien Iehl (FRA) French Match Racing Team. Iehl, looking to build on a remarkable previous day, had what seemed like an insurmountable lead however he hit a hole and unfavourable wind shift just before the finish line. At the same time, Minoprio caught a big gust that he rode all the way to the end, storming past Ihel just two boat lengths from the finish. The King of the Mountains clearly controls the wind however it was a hollow victory: “Damien did a really good job extending his lead around the course. Then, when it was almost all over, he sailed into a hole and we sailed round him. I really don’t feel good about it, but we need the points.”

Video highlights from day 4 of the St. Moritz Match Race. St. Moritz, 4 September 2010. Photo copyright Ian Roman / WMRT

No skipper was given Minoprio’s luck, forcing them to relentlessly pursue every possible advantage. A pre-start incident between triple Olympic gold medalist Ben Ainslie (GBR) TEAMORIGIN and Björn Hansen (SWE) Hansen Global Team saw the umpires find in favour of the British team, as Ainslie explains: “It was a 50-50 situation in which we had to keep clear when Hansen luffed us hard. It was a difficult decision for the jury as to whether he had been too aggressive, or whether our response was too slow. Luckily they decided in our favour.”

Next up was a French derby between Damien Iehl (FRA) French Match Racing Team against Bertrand Pacé (FRA) Aleph Sailing Team. There was no love lost though as Richard tried to pin Pacé outside the line at the start. In a super-close rounding of the second mark, Richard had the favoured inside line, while Pacé collected a penalty for failing to give him space giving Richard the advantage which he held to the finish.

In what proved to be the final chapter of the day, Ainslie held a big lead over Hansen when a wind shift of such magnitude made it difficult for Hansen to hold the spinnaker. Despite vehement protest from Hansen’s team, the race was not abandoned giving Ainslie a second and decisive win to join Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar in the semi-finals.

Ben Aisnlie cruises to the semifinals. St. Moritz, 4 September 2010. Photo copyright Ian Roman / WMRT


The battle between the two wind systems continued through the afternoon, and despite supreme efforts by the race committee, racing eventually had to be abandoned for the day. The remaining quarter-final races to decide the two teams that will face Ainslie and Williams in the semi-finals, will take place at 1000 local time tomorrow morning.

Quarter-final results at the St. Moritz Match Race:
Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar: goes straight to semi-final
Ben Ainslie (GBR) TEAM ORIGIN: 2
Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team: 1
Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing: 1
Bertrand Pace (FRA) Aleph Sailing Team: 0
Björn Hansen (SWE) Hansen Global Team: 0
Damien Iehl (FRA) French Match Racing Team: 0

Damien Iehl scores 5 bullets on day two of the St. Moritz Match Race

[Source: World Match Racing Tour] Damien Iehl (FRA) French Match Racing Team was the aggressor on day two of The St. Moritz Match Race in Switzerland, storming through a run of five successive victories including a comprehensive defeat of the reigning 'King of the Mountain', Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing.

If the spectators expected the relative newcomer to the ISAF World Match Racing Tour to be apprehensive after a disappointing opening day, he did not show it. As the thermally-induced Maloja wind rushed in, the young Frenchman exhibited some deft moves on the water, leading Minoprio around mark one by three lengths and eventually extending his lead all the way to the finish.

Highlights from day 2 of the St. Moritz Match Race. St. Moritz, 2 September 2010. Video copyright World Match Racing Tour

The ISAF World Match Racing Tour has a rich history of nurturing the best match racing talent and Iehl looked every bit a champion in the making today. His next fight was against another super-tough opponent, Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team, currently ranked second in the Tour. The two skippers jostled and jabbed like boxers to gain the upper hand at the start with only inches separating them. This was toe-to-toe action. Mirsky gained the initial advantage, but Iehl read the subtleties of the wind to perfection, building what proved to be an insurmountable 10-length lead at the first mark.

With two victories under his belt Iehl was unstoppable, even by the might of triple Olympian and America's Cup sailor Francesco Bruni (ITA) AZZURRA. At the start the French team gained the favourable lee bow position and led the accomplished Italian round all three laps of the course.

Iehl, commented: "We had a clear game plan today which gave us the great starts we needed, as well as a strategy that delivered the best course through all the wind shifts. Our teamwork and manoeuvres were spot on too - it was a perfect progression for us from yesterday."

A classic French - British dogfight is developing between the front runners and if anyone is going to put a counter-attack together on Iehl, there's a strong chance it will come from Ian Wiiliams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar who leads the standings overnight, having won all three of his races today.

Triple Olympic gold medalist and America's Cup skipper, Ben Ainslie (GBR) TEAMORIGIN also demonstrated total dominance of his opponents with a clean sweep of victories, as did Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team.

With seven teams advancing to the next stage, three are confirmed as having made the quarter finals, but another six - including some veteran stars - are still in the hunt for the remaining four places.

Results after Day 2 of the St. Moritz Match Race:
Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar: 7-1
Ben Ainslie (GBR) TEAMORIGIN: 6-2
Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team: 6-2
Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing: 5-3
Damien Iehl (FRA) French Match Racing Team: 5-4
Björn Hansen (SWE) Hansen Global Team: 5-4
Bertrand Pace (FRA) Aleph Sailing Team: 5-4
Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team: 4-4
Francesco Bruni (ITA) Azzurra: 4-4
Eric Monnin (SUI) Swiss Match Racing Team: 2-7
Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Berntsson Sailing Team: 2-7
Jérôme Clerc (SUI) CER: 0-8

Video: Highlights from Day 1 of the Stena Match Cup Sweden

Highlights from Day 1 of the Stena Match Cup Sweden. Marstrand, 6 July 2010. Video copyright World Match Racing Tour

Damien Iehl wins Open de España after windless closing day

It's a pity when weather conditions don't let you watch four of the world's best match racers battle their way to a trophy but after all that's sailing. You have to accept that there is nothing you can do but wait until there is at least some decent breeze in order to have a fair race.

The race committee did its best and looked for the tiniest indication of decent conditions, far and wide for more than 6 hours but to no avail. Although the forecast yesterday evening was promising, the late-night heavy rain cooled the land and the clouds didn't let the thermal breeze build up. As a result, they were left with no option but call the day off at 5pm.

The final ranking of the event is thus the final ranking of the round robin. Damien Iehl wins the Open de España, having also won the round robin with a perfect 11-0 score. The world's number 2 match racer, Torvar Mirsky, finishes second with 10 victories, having lost his match to Iehl. Finally, Pierre-Antoine is third with 9 victories and two losses to, who else, Iehl and Mirsky.

Open de España Match Race - Final Results
1. Damien Iehl
2. Torvar Mirsky
3. Pierre-Antoine Morvan
4. Björn Hansen

Damien Iehl wins Open de España Match Race. Calpe, 30 April 2010. Photos opyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Update from Alicante and Calpe

Greetings from Calpe where Torvar Mirsky and Damien Iehl have been knocking their opponents down like flies in the 1st two days of Open de España Match Race, the sole World Match Racing tour qualifier event in Spain.

The young Australian and the less young French match racers are sharing the top spot of the round robins with a perfect 8-0 score so far. Friday promises to be interesting as the match between them will take place in the last flight, probably deciding who's going to move to the quarter finals at the top. Unfortunately, I arrived late, and as a result, our report today will just be what Mirsky and his team are sending.

Nevertheless, it has been a very fruitful morning in Alicante with two quite interesting interviews. We first talked to Ken Read, Puma skipper, moments before he boarded "Il Mostro" for their trip back to Newport. Unfortunately, my video is embargoed as Ken talked about what will be officially announced from the team very soon, probably on Friday.... At least, there are a couple of shots.

The second interview was with Knut Frostad, CEO of the Volvo Ocean Race, and touched all aspects of the world's premier offshore race. It will be published on Sunday, after the end of Open de España.

Puma's "Il Mostro" is ready for a 12-day trip back to Newport, Rhode Island. Alicante, 29 April 2010. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Puma's "Il Mostro" is ready for a 12-day trip back to Newport, Rhode Island. Alicante, 29 April 2010. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Peter Gilmour wins Match Cup Sweden

[Source: World Match Racing Tour] The arrival of a cold front over night brought clouds and cooler conditions for day 7 of Match Cup Sweden, the 5th stage of the World Match Racing Tour. The early southerly wind made things a little tricky for the Race Management team as they had to set up a shorter three lap course across the fijord. It was Peter Gilmour who dominated the day winning his semi final and then the final without dropping a match and casting aside the strong challenges from Damien Iehl and then Mathieu Richard.

The semi finals got underway just before 09.30 and first up were Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing and Damien Iehl (FRA) French Team. The first match was the closest of their series with Iehl taking an early lead though he was carrying a penalty. Gilmour came back to lead by mark four of the three lap course but Iehl wasn’t about to give up and fought back to lead by the final mark. Down the final run Iehl fought hard to offload his penalty and a last ditch attempt brought him a second one to hand the match to Gilmour. A fired up Gilmour attacked the next two matches leading Iehl round the course to finish off his semi 3-0. Credit should go to Iehl for his tenacity as the score line doesn’t reflect how well he sailed.

Highlights from the final of Match Cup Sweden. Marstrand, 5 July 2009. Video copyright World Match Racing Tour

The second semi final pitted the two French Match Racing Teams of Mathieu Richard (FRA) and Sebastien Col (FRA) against each other. Col won the first two matches but Richard rallied in the third to keep his hopes alive. The fourth match was all Col until a big left shift on the final beat allowed Richard to slide by. A better gybe set by Col gave him a sniff of victory but Richard held his nerve to take the win. The decider saw a split tack start with Col on the right. At the first cross it was Col who held the lead at the first mark. Richard snuck by down the run but at mark two Col had more speed and managed to sail around the outside of Richard and force him to tack away to the right. Richard held the power of the right and led at mark three and four but not by more than a metre. Col tacked away this time and tried to gain some leverage on Richard but Richard wasn’t going to cede control and managed to push Col out to the starboard layline and lead him into the final mark and then onto the finish.

The petit final featured Seb Col (FRA) against Damien Iehl (FRA) in a first to two point duel. Iehl took the first but only just. Then Col returned the favour in the second to push them into a decider. A fired up Sebastien Col blazed off the line in the third match leading Damien Iehl throughout and taking third place.

Peter Gilmour wins Match Cup Sweden. Marstrand, 5 July 2009. Photo copyright Dan Ljungsvik

A wind shift before the finals to a more westerly direction enabled the Race Committee to make the course longer, drop to two laps and give the gathering crowds more to see. In first match the boats were overlapped most of the way around the course and on the second upwind leg an attempted slam dunk by Richard resulted in him being penalised. Richard still led around the final mark but was unable to manoeuvre into a position to offload the penalty and so Gilmour went one up. The second race was Gilmour all the way but Richard came back in the third to lead Gilmour around the course until the last mark when the boats went around overlapped with Gilmour to windward. Gilmour slowly rolled over Richard and with a rapid spinnaker hoist was able to inch clear of the attacking Richard. A dummy gybe sent Richard right down the run and when the boats re-converged Gilmour was a length ahead and barrelling towards the line to take his seventh Match Cup Sweden.

A delighted Gilmour said “The team did a great job this week. I think there is never an easy win. Marstrand is a sensational venue and having been here longer than most I probably get cheered by default unless I’m sailing against a Swede and out there you can hear everything being shouted, it’s just great, we love it. Mathieu and all the French teams have done a great job and all credit to the system they have in place it’s turning into a bit of a talent factory.”

A disappointed Richard said “We tried to do the same to Peter as we did to Sebastien and come back from 2-0 down but we missed it. Peter sailed very well, we led twice but both times he overtook. We’ve have a fantastic event and have had great spectator support. I have now be six, four and now two in the results so maybe next year I can make it number one.”

A positive note for Richard is his rise to the top of the World Tour leader board with 68 points, followed by Adam Minoprio (NZL) in second and Match Cup Sweden winner Peter Gilmour (AUS) leaping up to third. The Tour takes a break now for the rest of July and August but comes back in the first week of September when the teams head into the mountains of Switzerland for the St Moritz Match Race.

Semi Final Results
Peter Gilmour v Damien Iehl (FRA) 3-0
Mathieu Richard v Sebastien Col (FRA) 3-2

Petit Final
Sebastien Col (FRA) v Damien Iehl (FRA) 2-1

Final
Peter Gilmour (AUS) v Mathieu Richard (FRA) 3-0

Overall Results
1st – Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing
2nd – Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Team
3rd – Sebastien Col (FRA) French Team/K-Challenge
4th – Damien Iehl (FRA) French Team
5th – Magnus Homlberg (SWE) Victory Challenge
6th – Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team
7th – Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Berntsson Sailing Team
8th – Philippe Presti (FRA) French Match Racing Team
9th – Peter Wibroe (DEN) Wibroe Sailing Team
10th – Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch
11th – Ian Williams (GBR) Bahrain Team Pindar
12th – Mattias Rahm (SWE) Stena Bulk Sailing Team
13th – Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Team Onico
14th – Francesco Bruni (ITA) Team Joe Fly Match Race

Damien Iehl joins China Team

[Source: China Team] Ranked 12th in the international match-racing circuit, Damien Iehl is on the cutting edge of match racing sailing. At 31 years old, he serenely comes aboard on the China Team, with considerable experience, a sure talent and a strong human sense.

Thrown into the deep waters of sailing in his youth, he left with his parents to sail the Mediterranean for a year and a half. He wasn’t to leave sea afterwards. The route of a child sailor passed through Optimists, 420s, 470s, and then entered the (sailing) Tour de France; he then threw himself into match-racing and won the world championships at only 25 years old in 1997. He flirted with the America's Cup for the first time in 1999 as a young talent selected by framework of the YAKA FRANCE organization led by LE DEFI with the FFV to recruit a new generation of French sailors. He entered the DEFI for the first time in 2002 while sailing aboard FRA 79 in the Lorient, France. After a very good 2006 sailing season, he has just arrived in Valencia. Here is an interview with a young man overflowing with talent.

What is your state of mind as you enter this 32nd America's Cup?

I have matured with respect to 2000, I have thought about what I want to do with my life, passed my degree to become a coach because humanity and communication are what, along with the boat, are the domains which interest me the most. I approach this season with a certain slowdown due to last years racing but with a lot of energy having just finished a good match racing season. I am 12th in the world today. I feel good approaching the Cup. There are also, Mickaël Mergui and François Verdier who are my crewmembers in match racing and are part of the team as well. I am really lucky.

You sail generally on small boats, is the transition to the America’s Cup Class easy?

No, it is a long way from being obvious. The biggest difference is anticipation. The boat is heavy, big, and there are 17 on board. The anticipation level has to be much higher. But I still have a little bit of experience with the America's Cup Class. I sailed 7 or 8 months when I was in the Lorient (France) in 2002 as a genoa and spinnaker trimmer.

How are you going to work with the Chinese sailors?

I have good experience in pure match racing. I am going to maximize this approach in the tactics. We started last week on Bénéteau 7.50 s while waiting for CHN 95 to be ready and put emphasis on communication in the after guard. To encourage bringing out discussion is really important. To put in place effective communication, in function with the needs of each person, is a key element.

Which post will you fill while sailing?

I will most likely be the mainsail trimmer.

What is it you expect from the Cup?

I hope for strong cohesiveness, a good team, and that we can put together some really great matches. I also want to gain trimming experience close to the after guard. I hope one day to be a tactician or helmsman on an America’s Cup Class.