Video: Phil Robertson reports from the BMW Berlin Match Race

Phil Robertson reports from the BMW Berlin Match Race. Berlin, 6 November 2010. Video copyright Waka Racing

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.

A preview of things to come?

Is this a preview of things to come in the 34th America's Cup? Adam Minoprio and the BlackMatch crew on BMW Oracle's B-boat? One can be assured that with the America's Cup match scheduled to take place 2-3 years from now it's never too early for the young world match racing champions to start moving in bigger boats.

Adam Minoprio and his BlackMatch crew sailing onboard BMW Oracle. Dubai, 22 February 2010. Photo copyright Nico Martinez

Adam Minoprio is the new world match racing champion

What a difference a day makes!! A mere 24 hours ago Adam Minoprio and the BlackMatch Racing crew were on the edge of being eliminated and today swept in the quarterfinals, beating Mathieu Richard 3-0 and pocketing a spot in the semis but, more importantly, becoming the new world chamapions, after their archival Torvar Mirsky fell to Peter Gilmour.

Adam Minoprio advances now to the Monsoon Cup semifinals, together with Ben Ainslie, Peter Gilmour and Sébastien Col.

Here are the first reactions from Adam Minoprio, helmsman of BlackMatch Racing: "It has been an amazing 24 hours for us. Yesterday morning we had a lot on to qualify for the quarterfinals but we managed to do what we had to do and won the last race to qualify. We then went on, won Richard 3-0 in the quarterfinals and put the pressure on Torvar Mirsky who had to absolutely make it to the semis to still have a shot at the world championship. We are pleased that Torvar lost the races and it is unbelievable how happy we are now that won the world match racing championship.

We surely had the weight taken off our shoulders from the qualifiers and we had to focus on what we do best, beat just one person. We concentrated on that and things worked out very well. We are also pleased to have eliminated Mathieu Richard because last year here, he just took us off the podium; we were on equal points be he won on the countback. He's a great match racer and has been around a lot of time so it always feels well to take him down.

It was an extremely tricky day today. The current was on both sides and there was no clear favored side; it changed back and forth, the current moves in and out as the tide flows. Depending no how you get the swirl you might advance from half to five boat lengths. "

BlackMatch Racing round the last top mark ahead of Mathieu Richard. Not only do they earn their slot in the semifinals, they also become the new world champions. Kuala Terengganu, 5 December 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

BlackMatch Racing sail into victory in their last quarterfinal race. Kuala Terengganu, 5 December 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

BlackMatch Racing round the last top mark ahead of Mathieu Richard. Kuala Terengganu, 5 December 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

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).

BlackMatch look ahead after failure in Denmark

Hi all from BlackMatch,

Another very tough day of sailing and with the dubious task of winning all of our matches to qualify, a loss in our opening match against Mathieu Richard spelled the end for Blackmatch, as we bowed out of the 2009 Danish Open. After such a great fight back last week, the tough format with only the top 4 teams progressing simply did not allow for a slow start to the regatta and this did not help our cause. We also had a loss to fellow Kiwi Phil Robertson who had an excellent day and took a well deserved victory after winning the start and sailing a great race to extend away. In our other races we had wins against Sebastian Col and Torvar Mirsky but it was too little too late.

We are currently 1 nil up against Damien Iehl in a battle for the 7th and 8th positions and although minor placings it would be great to take out the French world number 6 in the first to 2 wins match up.

BlackMatch would like to congratulate the top four teams Peter Gilmour, Torvar Mirsky, Jes Gram Hansen and Matius Rahm and we look forward to seeing who will come out the victor. We are now looking forward to the Argo Group Gold Cup in Bermuda which is the penultamate event on the tour and a result here will put us in an excellent position for a shot at taking out the World Match Racing Tour.

A big thank you to our sponsor Fedex Express and also to the support received from Emirates Team New Zealand and our yacht club the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron.

Adam Minoprio, the world's number one match racer, bows out of the Danish Open. Aarhus, 12 September 2009. Photo copyright Per Heegaard

Video: Highlights from the last day of the St Moritz Match Race

Video highlights from the last day of the St Moritz Match Race. St Moritz, 6 September 2009. Video copyright World Match Racing Tour

Adam Minoprio is crowned "King of the Mountain" 2009

[Source: World Match Racing Tour] The last day of St. Moritz Match Race proved to be a tricky one for both the organisers and the competitors. The Northerly breeze was blowing very inconsistently, forcing the Race Committee to cancel many start procedures during the final series between Adam Minoprio (NZL, ETNZ/BlackMatch) and Torvar Mirsky (AUS, Mirsky Racing Team).

The final race eventually took place in good conditions allowing the Kiwi sailor - number 1 in the ISAF world ranking and now once again leader of the Tour - to beat his Australian opponent and to grab the title of King of the Mountain 2009. The two previous races took place in a very light and shifty breeze.

Kings of the Mountain but also kings of the match racing world. From left, Adam Minoprio, Nick Blackman, Tom Powrie and David Swete, current leaders of the ISAF rankings and the World Match Racing Tour. St Moritz, 6 September 2009. Photo copyright Loris von Siebenthal

The “counter-performer” of the day is Philippe Presti, who lost the “Petit” final to Ian Williams (GBR, Team Pindar). The French skipper was unsurprisingly quite disappointed by the outcome of the regatta. He was stalled at the start of the last race leaving Williams to sail away and never managed to get back into the race. Presti nevertheless left St. Moritz with a smile he seemed to have come to terms wth the disappointment of this last race.

Mathieu Richard (FRA, French Match Racing Team), King of the Mountain in 2008 wasn’t very happy either with his performance as he was eliminated before the quarter-finals.

Adam Minoprio, the winner of the title and new King of the Mountain joins a prestigious list of winners that includes Mark Mendelblatt (2003/2004), Ed Baird (2005), Paolo Cian (2006), Ian Williams (2007) and Mathieu Richard (2008). Minoprio becomes the sixth different winner in six years to claim the trophy.

Minoprio also takes back the lead of the Tour leapfrogging Mathieu Richard to a 12 point lead over Torvar Mirsky who moves up to second place and dropping frenchman Mathieu Richard to third. The next event on the Tour is the Danish Open starting on the 10th September.

Adam Minoprio and Torvar Mirsky battle it out in the final of St Moritz Match Race 2009. St Moritz, 6 September 2009. Photo copyright Loris von Siebenthal

They said:

Christian Scherrer President of the Organising Committee: "I am really pleased with this event, the weather was great and it was a real pleasure to organise it although I am looking forward to racing again, it’s sometimes less tiring… The seventh edition of St. Moritz Match Race is a real success and it couldn’t have happened without our partners and sponsors, I want to thank them with all my heart."

Adam Minoprio: "It was very difficult to get back into winning mode after losing the second race of the finals that could have brought us the title. The guys did a great job considering how hard and irregular the conditions were. We managed to consolidate our lead during the last run of the final race, we are obviously very happy with this victory."

Ian Williams: "We would have loved to make it to the Final and we are obviously disappointed. However, winning the Petit Final and finishing on the podium is a good thing. We needed a good night’s sleep to digest yesterday’s poor performance. We got back on the water full of motivation this morning which helped us a lot."

Final Results:
Ranking, Name of the skipper, ISAF ranking, Nationality, Name of team

1. Adam Minoprio, NZL, ETNZ/BlackMatch
2. Torvar Mirsky, AUS, Mirsky Racing Team
3. Ian Williams, GBR, Team Pindar
4. Philippe Presti, FRA, French Match Racing Team
5. Francesco Bruni, ITA, Team Joe Fly Match Race
6. Sébastien Col, FRA, French Match Racing Team
7. Peter Gilmour, AUS, YANMAR Racing
8. Mathieu Richard, FRA, French Match Racing Team
9. Johnie Berntsson, SWE, Berntsson Sailing Team
10. Björn Hansen, SWE, Onboard Sailing Team
11. Alvaro Marinho, POR, Seth Sailing Team
12. Éric Monnin, SUI, Swiss Match Race Team

BlackMatch blast into final of St Moritz Match Race

Hi all from BlackMatch,

An extraordinary day for Blackmatch saw us beat the legendary Peter Gilmour 3 nil in the quarterfinals and then defeat current World Champion Ian Williams also 3 nil to qualify for the final of the St Moritz World Tour Event.

It has been a remarkable turnaround for the team after just scraping through to the quarterfinals by the slimmest of margins to now be in our third World Tour final of 2009. Things were not always so straight forward in our races both against Gilmour and Williams, but the team really pulled together to dominate in the shifty conditions and in doing so have secured our place back at the top of the World Tour Standings.

Video highlights from the 4 day of the St Moritz Match Race. St Moritz, 5 August 2009. Video copyright World Match Racing Tour

Perhaps a race that best depicted how our day went was our final match against Gilmour. After forcing a well worked penalty onto the Australian, we also managed to shut him out at the boat end of the line and gain the advantage off the start. Peter clawed his way back however and by the top mark he only trailed by a boat length. On rounding the mark he dialled up on starboard and managed to get inside us, colliding with the back quarter of our boat and the result was an immediate penalty on us. We had to complete our penalty turn as soon as possible and while dropping the spinnaker during our turn we made the mistake of failing to get the head below the gooseneck of the boom which is the rule and our penalty still stood. The result was that we had to do yet another turn and by the time we were settled Gilmour had opened up a big lead, but still had his penalty outstanding. We sailed a very good final upwind leg and started our fight back while it became apparent that Peter was going to attempt to do his penalty turn on the finish line. On the final downwind we sailed in great pressure and as they undertook their penalty around the pin end of the finish we were coming in with speed. Not only did we surge in to take a very narrow victory but they hit the finish mark and were handed another penalty, a very exciting way to end a race right in front of a packed grandstand on the lakes edge.

It is hard to explain a day like today, even faced with prestart penalties in two of our matches against Williams in our semi final, we still managed to extend away, undertake our penalty turns and take comfortable victories in all of our matches. In the other semi final Torvar Mirsky is 2-1 up against Frenchman Philippe Presti and it will be interesting to watch these two teams battle it out tomorrow to see who we will face in the final.

Adam Minoprio will sail the St. Moritz Match Race Final against Presti or Mirsky

[Source: World Match Racing Tour] No 1 in the world ranking, the Kiwi sailor Adam Minoprio made no mistakes during the quarter and semi-finals. He got the first ticket for the event's final.

Adam Minoprio (NZL, ETNZ Black Match) reminded everyone today why he is the No 1 in the Match Racing World Ranking.

Indeed, the kiwi skipper won the six matches he sailed today, kicking Ian Williams (GBR, Team Pindar) out of the event in the semi-finals after a "loud & clear" 3/0 in the semi-finals.

Adam Minoprio (right) and Dave Swete on their way to the St Moritz Match Race finals. St Moritz, 5 September 2009. Photo copyright Loris von Siebenthal

Torvar Mirsky (AUS, Mirsky Racing Team) didn't have to compete in the quarter finals thanks to his victory in the Round Robin. He had the right to choose his opponent and decided to sail against Philippe Presti in the Semi-Final. A choice that proved to be good (so far), the Australian managing to win his first two matches. The Race Committee then decided to postpone the third and decisive match to tomorrow morning because the wind just wasn’t stable enough this afternoon.

The numerous public who made the trip to St. Moritz didn't regret the move! The wind wasn't at its best today, but the sun was shining and the show was great. Philippe Presti (FRA, French Match Racing Team) started the day in style, beating the Italian sailor Francesco Bruni (Joe Fly Match Racing) by 3 - 0. "It was like a boxing match", commented Presti after the Series. Indeed, there were many collisions in this contest. Bruni said, laughing, that his new sunglasses were responsible for his lack of precision…

Adam Minoprio also managed to beat his opponent in the quarter final by 3 – 0. Sailing against Peter Gilmour (AUS, Yanmar Racing), the Australian didn’t leave many opportunities to the Australian America’s Cup veteran, earning his spot in the semi-finals convincingly.

Ian Williams had a harder time against Sébastien Col (FRA, French Match Racing Team), incurring many penalties and even a negative point due to a collision.

We will know tomorrow who the « King of the Mountain » 2009 is: a great contest to come between Adam Minoprio and Torvar Mirsky or Philippe Presti?

Torvar Mirsky will go to the St Moritz Match Race finals with a 1-point advantage over Philippe Presti. St Moritz, 5 September 2009. Photo copyright Loris von Siebenthal

They said:

Rod Davis (tactician on board Francesco Bruni’s Joe Fly Match Race Team): "We never really got in the rhythm today whilst Philippe sailed very well. His style is pretty close to ours, but Francesco only competes in 2-3 events per year. The loss is kind of frustrating; however we are satisfied that we finished the Round Robin in second."

Philippe Presti (after the quarter final): "Francesco wasn’t an easy opponent today; he was on great form after finishing second in the Round Robin. Perhaps he didn’t have such a good day. As for us, we became better throughout the day. It was quite tough with the northerly breeze, because there are big shifts and windless patches. But there’s also a lot of action; it’s cool.”

Ian Williams: "It was one of those days when whatever we did proved to be wrong. Adam did a great job, and managed to benefit from every shift. It’s quite frustrating for us because we won all our starts and always managed to go where we wanted.”

BlackMatch turn it around in St Moritz

Hi all from BlackMatch,

After sitting out 6 matches today we were only involved in 2 races in which we were able to take victories over Sweden’s Johnnie Berntsson and Alvaro Marinho from Portugal. After a terrible opening day it was great to turn things around and notch up a few more wins to keep us very much in contention for a quarterfinal berth.

Our race against Johnnie Berntsson didn’t go entirely to plan and we received a penalty in the pre-start after yet another collision, however Adam did a great job of equalising when we forced a penalty on them on the final approach to the start line. The race was an extremely close affair after both teams were even off the start line and it wasn’t until a wind shift went our way on the final upwind that we were able to gain the lead and defend well for the victory.

Now with a record of 4 wins, 3 losses and a point deducted for yesterday’s incident with Francesco Bruni, we are confident we can kick on from here and get the wins needed to make the quarterfinals. In our four remaining matches against Sebastian Col, Mathieu Richard, Philippe Presti and Eric Monin it looks like we will have to win at least 3 out of 4 to secure our place in the next round.

Nick Blackman trimming up the jib. St Moritz, 3 September 2009. Photo copyright Jenny Warner