Adam Minoprio and BlackMatch Racing clinch Danish Open

Hello all from BlackMatch,

Today we managed to get the single win needed against Francesco Bruni to take out the semi final 3 nil, before going on to win a gruelling Final against a rampant Torvar Mirsky 3-2, to become the 2010 Danish Open Champions. Torvar and his Western Australian team had earlier sailed an amazing semi final to win 3 races in a row and take out a miraculous comeback victory over Mathieu Richard, so we knew it would be a tough final.

At two wins apiece the final race was a cliffhanger and after trailing for most of the finale, we made our move half way up the second beat to cross mere metres in front of Mirsky and sail away from then on to take the victory.

After four terrible regatta's in the DK37's we thought that we were doing something very very wrong, so it was great to break the curse and nail a win here in Bornholm. Not only was it great to get our 5th World Match Racing Tour win but it also has helped us out immensely on the overall 2010 World Tour standings. We now trail 2010's 'bolter' Mathieu Richard by 17 points, while a good result in our next regatta in Bermuda will put us right back on his tail going into the final event in Malaysia. Our win here has also helped us to maintain our ISAF World Number 1 Ranking.

We would again like to say a special thank you to our sponsors FedEx Express and Events Clothing/Line 7. Owen Rutter from Events Clothing has supplied us with new sailing gear this season, keeping the boys looking very sharp. The ongoing support of our sponsors is helping make this opportunity possible for the BlackMatch boys and we would also like to thank Emirates Team New Zealand and Steinlager Pure.

BlackMatch Racing this week is Adam Minoprio, Dan McLean, Tom Powrie, David Swete, Nick Blackman and local boy Jonas Frank Hviid-Nielsen.

It was neck and neck between the two young guns but finally Minoprio prevailed and won the Danish Open. Bornholm, 12 September 2010. Photo copyright Loris von Siebenthal / WMRT

Video: Onboard Adam Minoprio's yacht in the Korea Match Cup

Onboard Adam Minoprio's yacht in the race against Johnie Berntsson in the Korea Match Cup round robin. Jeongok Marina, 10 June 2010. Video copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

How NOT to celebrate your victory in a regatta

This being a blog, it's relaxing from time to time to write about something that is not very serious, even if it concerns the world's top-ranked match racers and winners of the 2009 ISAF World Match Racing Championship.

So, here's Adam Minoprio, Tom Powrie, Daniel Mclean, Dave Swete and, in particular, Nick Blackman, that show us how NOT to celebrate victory in a regatta, especially if you don't have strong underwear.

Adam Minoprio advances to quarterfinals at Match Race Germany

Greetings from BlackMatch,

Finishing the round robin today we ended with a scorecard of 8 wins and 3 losses, tied at the top of the leaderboard with Mathieu Richard and Ian Williams. A countback was needed to decide the top qualifying team who would proceed directly through to the semi final and it was Richard who came out on top, due to wins against both Williams and ourselves. This left us in second position and safely through to the shortened quarterfinal, also earning the right to choose who we were to race.

Todays victories came against Jesper Radich, Ian Williams and Torvar Mirsky, while we suffered a disappointing loss to our ‘bogie man’ Paolo Cian. Both our victories over Williams and Mirsky were convincing, while against Radich we had to come from behind. The Danish team held a slender lead at the first top mark however we made a nice move down the first run to roll over the top of them and gain a lead that we were able to defend well to the finish.

Given the choice of who we would race in the quarterfinal we chose Swede Magnus Holmberg and his Kiwi Team, made up of the Waka Racing boys. This was a tough decision especially as they won all 4 of their matches today in a great display of sailing, nevertheless we are confident we can break our curse of never winning a quarterfinal having chosen our opponent.

The other quarterfinal match ups are Torvar Mirsky verses Peter Gilmour and Ian Williams taking on Jesper Radich.

Black Match crew members during a spinnaker hoist on day 3 of Match Race Germany. Langenargen, 22 May 2010. Photo copyright Gareth Cooke/Subzero Images/WMRT

BlackMatch Racing set to Launch 2010 Campaign

Hello All from BlackMatch Racing,

It is now only a few days until the opening World Match Racing Tour Event of 2010 in Marseille, the first of 10 events this year that will see us trying to retain our World Match Racing Title. We are proud to release our first video of the year created by Hamish Hooper, updating the teams situation and our intentions for 2010. To view the video please click on the following link to BlackMatch's new YouTube page http://www.youtube.com/user/BlackMatchRacing1 .

2010 will see BlackMatch hit the water with the same same 5 guys, Adam Minoprio, Dan McLean, Tom Powrie, David Swete and Nick Blackman, all with the same goal of retaining the World Title. Having gained entry to all of the events for 2010, including the exciting new Vietnam Match Cup, it will be a tough ask but we are hoping to kick the year off by defending our Match Race France Title next week.

BlackMatch Racing have renewed their sponsorship with Fedex Express for 2010 and we again also have the support of Emirates Team New Zealand. Hamish Hooper and his company the Visual Collective www.thevc.co.nz have done an outstanding job putting together our promotional videos and website and together we are hoping to step up our media presence.

2010 is going to be another exciting year. With the World Match Racing Tour under new management and clearly on the 'up and up', all aspects of the game are stepping up another level, including competition on the water and media surrounding the tour, so please feel free to check out the new World Tour website www.wmrt.com or the BlackMatch website www.blackmatchracing.com

Adam Minoprio: The World Match Racing Tour is becoming increasingly competitive

With just one week left until the start of the 2010 ISAF World Match Racing Tour we caught up with the reigning champion Adam Minoprio and talked about his expectations for this year's championship.

Valencia Sailing: What have you been doing since winning the ISAF World Match Racing Championship last December in the Monsoon cup?
Adam Minoprio: First of all, we took some time off. We put a lot of effort into match racing in the last two years and we were pretty tired by the end of it, so we were very happy to have a good summer holiday. We took a break of a two good months and then also raced in an RC44 event and the Omega match racing regatta in Auckland. That has also been the only match racing event and training we have done since the Monsoon Cup.

Valencia Sailing: You finished 3rd in the Omega Match Race regatta and you were beaten by Dean Barker in the semifinals. Was that the first time you faced him in a high-level event?
Adam Minoprio: No, we had already raced against him in the Auckland Cup a few years ago and the NZ Match Racing nationals. It was nice to be able to race Dean again and take a couple of wins as well.

Valencia Sailing: And why not, take his place on the Emirates Team NZ boat some day...
Adam Minoprio: That would be nice but it won't be any time soon.

Adam Minoprio(helm) and Tom Powrie (trim), reigning ISAF World Match Racing Champions. Kuala Terengganu, 5 December 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Valencia Sailing: How do you feel now, a mere week before the start of the 2010 World Match Racing Tour?
Adam Minoprio: We, obviously, have a lot of anticipation because this is going to be a very interesting year for us. We will start the Tour as the defending champions and we will be the target of the remaining teams, something we had never experienced in the past. In addition, the opening event in Marseille will be a tough one in the J80 yachts and we will have to take it one event at a time and see how it unfolds through the year.

Valencia Sailing: Will you take part in all 10 events of the Tour this year?
Adam Minoprio: Yes, we will take parts in all events of this year's championship. The Tour card policy gives us invites to 7 events and I have been in contact with the other events, so we will be present in all of them.

Valencia Sailing: Do you think that the Tour this year will be more competitive than last year?
Adam Minoprio: Yes, definitely. There is no doubt about it. The card system is making the Tour increasingly competitive. If you take a look at this year's card holders there are some big names like Peter Gilmour, Ben Ainslie, Francesco Bruni that will be very tough to fight. Bertrand Pacé is back and he has won the World tour in the past, so he'll be someone to reckon with. With so many skippers with America's Cup experience we will have to take this year's championship extremely seriously.

Valencia Sailing: Is there anyone you fear in particular?
Adam Minoprio: I don't fear any of them in particular, they are all equally tough to beat but you can say that we would hate to lose the world title to Torvar Mirsky because, like us, they are the young guys of the Tour.

Valencia Sailing: Is your crew the same one as last year?
Adam Minoprio: Yes, exactly the same. Just like 2009, BlackMatch Racing in 2010 will consist of myself at the helm, Nick Blackman at the bow and Tom Powrie with David Swete trimming the sails.

Valencia Sailing: For 2010 it is obvious that your plan is to defend your world title? What plans do you have for 2011 and beyond?
Adam Minoprio: For us, the America's Cup and the Volvo Ocean Race are the ultimate sailing goals we have. Our goal this year is to increase our coverage and reputation as a team so that we can move on, ideally, to an America's Cup or VOR team, but of course at this stage it's too early to say.

I think that the Tour's new management has awesome ideas about where they want to take the Tour and they will certainly move on to a whole new level. I'm sure than in 5 years from now the tour will be the circuit everybody will want to sail, so there will be tough fight to get a Tour card in order to get on the championship. It will take them a couple of years to achieve that but I'm confident they will do it. As a result, we can keep taking part in the Tour while we are doing other things.

Adam Minoprio's very first regatta in Europe, the Open Match Race de España. Calpe, 8 September 2006. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Valencia Sailing: You said that through your participation this year in the Tour you aim at increasing your coverage. So, from your perspective, taking part in the Tour raises your profile as sailor?
Adam Minoprio: Certainly, and I think that in a few years when the Tour manages to increase its coverage tenfold it will be even easier for sailors to attract sponsors.

Valencia Sailing: You are only 24 years old and the youngest world match racing champion. Would you encourage a sailor in his teens or early twenties to go through the hardships and try to make it to the World Match Racing Tour?
Adam Minoprio: Definitely, no doubt about it. It's something very rewarding, especially if you manage to make it to the top. It is true that it can be very tough at times, our first year of match racing in Europe was extremely hard and we had put a lot of pressure on us. We had to fight hard to win qualifying events and then have a good performance in the Tour events. The Tour is a great springboard for all sailors but as they say, you first have to walk before you run.

BlackMatch Racing promotional video

They are young and they are, very, successful so a little promotion is not bad at all. We are talking about BlackMatch Racing, the young kiwi team that currently holds the 2nd position in the World Match Racing Tour and whose helmsman, Adam Minoprio, currently sits at the top of the ISAF match racing ranking at the age of 24.

BlackMatch Racing are Adam Minoprio (helm), Daniel Mclean (main), David Swete (trim), Nick Blackman (bow) and Tom Powrie (trim).