Monsoon Cup practice day and skippers press conference

Greetings from rainy Kuala Terengganu, home of the Monsoon Cup. The 12 sailors fighting for the Malaysian trophy were divided into two groups of 6 and carried out their practice sessions until the early afternoon. The practice day started slowly with a light breeze but finished under much fresher winds as the monsoon rain was approaching from the north.

I didn't have the time to talk to the sailors, especially the top five that vie for the ISAF World Match Racing Champion title, as I went onbaard Torvar Mirsky's yacht right after arriving at noon. Mirsky's team practiced a few races against their fellow young Australian, Keith Swinton, as well as Ian Williams. Mirsky, mathematically, still have chances to become the brand new world champion but they are considerably slim. A lot has to come to his favor but with such a strong lineup, Phil Robertson, Keith Swinton, Peter Gilmour or Jesper Radich could spoil the party for Mathieu, Richard or Ainslie.

The five skippers with chances at the world title, Mathieu Richard, Adam Minoprio, Ben Ainslie, Torvar Mirsky and Ian Williams will talk in a press conference starting at 5pm local time (10am CET) that will be streamed online, here on Valencia Sailing as well, so there will be many chances to ask them any questions.

Some of the video footage certainly leaves a lot to be desired but it was just experimental, trying to get more of the action, from the front and from in front, not the back. The more time I pass on those yachts the more I'm convinced sailing could become more popular with a cameraman onboard. The question of course, is where to put him.

Torvar Mirsky and his crew train on the eve of hte Monsoon Cup. Kuala Terengganu, 30 November 2010. Video copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Torvar Mirsky and his crew train on the eve of hte Monsoon Cup. Kuala Terengganu, 30 November 2010. Video copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Torvar Mirsky and his crew train on the eve of the Monsoon Cup. Kuala Terengganu, 30 November 2010. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Trimmer Kinley Fowler in full action. Kuala Terengganu, 30 November 2010. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Kyle Langford trims the mainsail and calls tactics while Torvar Mirsky helms. Kuala Terengganu, 30 November 2010. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Pitman Tudur Owen in full action. Kuala Terengganu, 30 November 2010. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

No, I was NOT on Keith Swinton's yacht but with so much at stake there is no doubt we will be seeing more of that kind of extremely close racing . Kuala Terengganu, 30 November 2010. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Meanwhile in Valencia... James Spithill and Torvar Mirsky train on SM40's

If only I could get closer... It's not every day that you have the final of the Australian Match Racing Championship a few hundred meters off the Malvarosa beach, especially when it's the youngest ever skipper to win the America's Cup, James Spithill, facing one of the young up-and-comers, Torvar Mirsky.

Mirsky and Spithill are in Valencia practicing match racing on SM40's. Mirsky certainly needs some lessons from the world's best match racer as his performance so far this year in the World Match Racing Tour has been substandard while Spithill can always use some monohull training ahead of the upcoming Louis Vuitton regatta in Dubai.

Unfortunately, I couldn't get any closer to the action so I had to rely on photos from the breakwater. The entire Mirsky Racing Team crew is here in Valencia while on the BMW Oracle boat I could spot, in addition to Spithill, Dirk de Ridder and Pieter van Nieuwenhuyzen. The umpire boat was driven by Richard Slater while Philippe Presti was coaching the team(s?).

Does this joint training session mean anything for the 34th America's Cup? Kyle Langford, Mirsky's mainsail trimmer, is also a member of the "17" RC44 crew since a couple of events now. Langford was in Puerto Calero last week when 17, helmed by Spithill in match racing, was crowned RC44 World Champion

I know it's too far but trust me, the final of the Australian match racing championship was taking place on Wednesday afternoon off the Malvarosa beach. Valencia, 20 October 2010. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Mirsky Racing Team leads Bermuda Argo Cup undefeated

[Source: Mirsky Racing Team] Fiery matches were the flavour of the day, with one race seeing 6 penalties altogether. The victim of the onslaught was America’s rules expert Dave Perry who conceded four penalties for a number of infringements around the track in Group 3’s first race of the day.

“We got a bit of a scare down the first run when Perry’s team got two penalties on us for not keeping clear, but then he tried to go for the kill and carted us too far, so we got a penalty back on him” recalled Graeme Spence.

“When we both gybed back for the mark though it was our turn to attack and we managed to put two more penalties on him the same way he got us, and from there on out it was a pretty straightforward race, but it’s always good to have a few races like that to keep the spectators happy!”

MRT have one race left of the first round, but no matter what the result is they are through to the quarterfinals.

“We don’t have a great track record here” said Tudur Owen who is trimming this week “so it is nice to get through this first stage unscathed. We are really going to have to turn up the heat though if we are going to fend off the other top teams in groups 1 and 2.”

Mirsky Racing Team finish second at Danish Open

[Source: Mirsky Racing Team] Going into the day Mirsky Racing Team were down 2-0 to the unstoppable Mathieu Richard and his Saba Sailing Team, but with their backs up against the wall they managed to fight back in a nail biting series to win 3-2 and qualify for the final.

In the other semi final, Adam Minoprio's BlackMatch Racing took victory over Team Azzura from Italy in straight sets, so the stage was set for another exciting finals between the two youngest teams on the Tour.

And what a series it was, going to the full 5 matches as the two teams took turns to snatch victory, the last of which went to BlackMatch Racing.

MRT were leading the majority of the final race, but close to the top mark, a left shift came down the course and gave Minoprio just enough of an advantage to cross MRT. From there, they defended their lead and went on to take the trophy.

Danish Open - Final Results

1st Adam Minoprio BlackMatch Racing
2nd Torvar Mirsky Mirsky Racing Team
3rd Mathieu Richard Saba Sailing Team
4th Francesco Bruni Team Azzura
5th Bjorn Hansen Hansen Global Team
6th Peter Gilmour Yanmar Racing
7th Ben Ainslie Team Origin
8th Bertrand Pace Aleph Sailing Team
9th Mads Ebler Ebler Matchracing
10th William Tiller Full Metal Jacket Racing
11th Susanne Ward Team Ward
12th Michael Buckley MB Sailing

RC44 Valencia Cup - Day 1: Artemis leads undefeated

Just another day in sailing paradise! Pick any superlative from the dictionary and it will pretty well sum up today's conditions, first day of the RC44 Valencia Cup. It was a great, fabulous, glorious day and the 11-strong RC44 fleet raced the first 7 flights of their match race round robin. In what has now become the usual pattern during the last two weeks, the thermal breeze kicked in at around 11am, racing started right on time at 1 pm with a nice breeze of 10 knots that later built up to a testing 20 knots.

Artemis, helmed by Terry Hutchinson, comes out of the first day undefeated, having won all of its 6 races. As Hutchinson stated, it was one of the windiest days ever he had match raced. My report will, unfortunately, be quite limited as I was onboard "17", helmed by James Spithill, and missed most of the other action. After flight 4, the organizers decided not to allow more guests onboard as the gusts of 22 knots and the waves made it too risky. Still, being onboard a spectacular yacht helmed by Spithill with great wind conditions is similar to having a crash course in America's Cup top of the class racing. It also made me realize how fast these boats are downwind.

It was tremendously difficult taking any shots upwind, so I had no option but try my luck downwind. Nevertheless, by the time the camera was out of the plastic protection, the lens cleaned and I was in a good position, Spithill was ready for the last gybe to the gate!!! The race was against the Spanish team Islas Canarias Puerto Calero and Spithill & Co had no trouble at all getting the point.

Planing onboard "17" with 19 knots of wind in the match against Islas Canarias Puerto Calero. Valencia, 27 July 2010. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Gybing onboard "17" in the match against Islas Canarias Puerto Calero. Valencia, 27 July 2010. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

James Spithill helming "17" in the match against Islas Canarias Puerto Calero. Valencia, 27 July 2010. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Remember the name: Kyle Langford. He still can't buy a beer in the States but the young Australian sailor will certainly be one of the world's top trimmers. Valencia, 27 July 2010. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

It was a very tough day for Islas Canarias Puerto Calero. Not only did they lose all five races, they repeatedly suffered from gear failure. Valencia, 27 July 2010. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

RC 44 VALENCIA CUP
(Match racing, after seven of 14 flights)
1. Artemis / Terry Hutchinson (SWE) 6-0
2. BMW ORACLE Racing / Russell Coutts (USA) 4-1
3. Team Aqua / Cameron Appleton (UAE) 4-1
4. 17 / James Spithill (USA) 4-1
5. Ceeref / Rod Davis (SLO) 3-1
6. No Way Back/Pieter Heerema and Ray Davies (NED) 3-3
7. Team Sea Dubai / Markus Weiser (UAE) 2-4
8. Katusha / Paul Cayard (RUS) 1-3
9. Mascalzone Latino Audi Team / Tommaso Chieffi (ITA) 1-4
10. AEZ RC44 Sailing Team / Christian Binder (AUT) 0-5
10. Islas Canarias Puerto Calero / José Maria Ponce (ESP) 0-5

Torvar Mirsky undefeated on Day 3 of the Portimao Portugal Match Cup

[Source: Mirsky Racing Team] Another fine day in Portimao, and another fine day for MRT as they carry on their form from yesterday to win all today’s races.

With unfavourable weather having plagued this year’s Portugal Match Cup, the threat of cutting the format down is looming. This means that the round robin could turn out to be more important than usual, with the winner of the round possibly fast tracking through to the semi finals.

Luckily the slow start to the morning’s racing didn’t have an effect on MRT today as they burst through the gates against Aleph Sailing Team’s French veteran Bertrand Pace. An aggressive start left Pace in the wake of the Australians as they sailed off to carry on their winning spree.

“I guess we are sailing well, but we haven’t quite reached our peak yet, and we are looking to strengthen the way we perform” said MRT’s Welsh pitman Tudur Owen. “I hope we get to sail the quarterfinals tomorrow, because we are really enjoying sailing here this week and want to keep on going as much as we can. It would be a shame to have to cut back on another format this year…”

Torvar Mirsky splits tacks with Bertrand Pace. Portimao, 25 June 2010. Photo copyright Gareth Cooke / Subzero Images

Mirsky Racing Team go trough to the Match Race France QF on top of the leaderboard

[Source: Mirsky Racing Team] After a long day on the water,, with seven races remaining in the round this morning, MRT stepped up to the plate and performed, dropping only two races against the two teams from Italy – Francesco Bruni’s Team Azzura and Team Italia skipperedby Paolo Cian.

With 7 of the best teams to choose from, MRT’s skipper selected to race Francesco Bruni in the first to three quarter finals.

"Obviously it was a very hard choice for us", said Kinley Fowler who has stepped in as the coach for this week, "but after studying all of the teams throughout the week I think we are best suited to Francesco’s style in these boats. Don’t get me wrong, they are amazingly talented sailors and it will be very tough, but hopefully we have made the right choice."

With Marseille playing host to all varieties of weather, tomorrow’s forecast is as easy to predict as the results of the quarter finals. Almost anything could happen.

Torvar Mirsky ends the round robin in perfect form. Marseille, 9 April 2010. Photo copyright Brendon O'Hagan/Subzero images

Great start for Mirsky Racing Team at Match Race France

Mirsky Racing Team hit the ground running in the opening event for the 2010 World Match Racing Tour, cementing 4 wins from 4 races in adverse conditions at Match Race France.

Match Race France, being held from Marseille, is known to be a tough regatta, with predominately strong Mediterranean winds, which keeps the worlds best match racers on edge.

The Mirsky Racing Team consists of the same members who finished runner up in the 2009 World Match Racing Tour, Torvar Mirsky of Australia (Helm), Kyle Langford of Australia (Main), Kinley Fowler of New Zealand (Trim), Tudur Owen of Wales (Pit) and Graeme Spence of Australia (Bow), whom all have the determination to go one better in 2010.

“It's great to start the 2010 WMRT, we have had a 4 month break since the finale in Malaysia and all we have been thinking about is getting back out on the water. Marseille is a tough venue, we are happy to come up with 4 wins today, in all of those races we came from behind to take victory, which is a boost in confidence. We still have to iron out some of the creases but it’s a solid start so far,” said Torvar Mirsky.

Mirsky Racing Team’s tactician Kyle Langford Steers to Victory in Perth

[Source: Mirsky Racing Team] Mirsky Racing Team’s tactician Kyle Langford of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia won the Colin Mullins Youth Match Racing regatta in Perth this week.

MRT who just came off a Silver Medal in the ISAF Match Racing Worlds chose to put Langford’s entry into the Colin Mullins and Warren Jones to build up his tactical awareness. However he went on to surprise many as the CYCA crew of fellow MRT member Kinley Fowler, his brother Mark Langford, World 49er Champion Iain Jensen, and Tom Scardifield breezed through the series, only dropping two races in the round robin series.

Having only steered one match racing regatta some years ago, Langford improved vastly as the series went on, and by the time it came to the finals against host club RFBYC’s Peter Nicholas, the team weren’t making many mistakes.

“The racing was really close throughout the series and we got all sorts of conditions. The finals were raced in close to 40 knots which got pretty hairy at times, but it was all really good practise for us going into the Warren Jones this week. The competition is going to really heat up, but we will be looking to finish strong” said Langford as he looks forward to the coming week’s racing.

The Warren Jones starts on the 1st of February, being raced out of Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club in Perth.

Kyle Langford sails to victory in the Colin Mullins Youth Match Racing regatta. Perth, 31 January 2010. Photo copyright John Roberson

Mirsky Racing Team tops WMRT leaderboard; 2nd on ISAF rankings

[Source: Mirsky Racing Team] MRT had a strong start to the season with a 3rd place in the Marseille Match Race followed by two disappointing results in both Germany and Korea. They bounced back at the Portugal Match Cup however, and MRT secured their first World Tour victory.

"That win was amazing, we had been working towards it for such a long time and it was such a good feeling to finally get our first win on the Tour" said tactician Kyle Langford.

The next event, Match Cup Sweden saw MRT fasttrack to the quarterfinals, only to be knocked out by Frenchman Sebastian Col as he went through to make it to the final.

Torvar Mirsky finishes second in Danish Open and becomes the new leader of the World Match Racing Tour. Aarhus, 12 September 2009. Photo copyright Per Heegaard

Hungry for a good performance after a two month break, MRT were keen to show their enthusiasm as they came out to win the round robin in the Swiss Alps and again fasttracked a stage of the competition.

Keen to avenge their loss in Sweden they defeated another Frenchman, Philipe Presti to make their second final of the year. Unfortunately the rematch of the Portugal final against the young Kiwi's of BlackMatch Racing didnt go their way, and they placed second.

Only days later in Denmark and down a crew member, the guys put in another solid performance to finish second and for the first time lead the World Match Racing Tour.

A star studded line up saw Mascalzone Latino's helmsman Jes Gram Hansen clinch victory over the youngest team on the tour with an average age of 23 years old, more than 20 years younger than that of Australian yachting legend, Peter Gilmours crew.

In the past four World Match Racing Tour events MRT has made three finals and go into the next event, the Bermuda Gold Cup as one of the favourites.

"A good result in Bermuda will help us as we go into the final event in Malaysia. The points at the top of the leaderboard are so tight so the Monsoon Cup is really going to be an exciting finale of the 2009 World Tour" Mirsky went on to say.

Always a tricky event, Bermuda has 24 teams and always sees new teams rise up and knock out some of the heavy weight teams which will no doubtably make the finale in Malaysia one to watch out for.

Mirsky Racing Team Make the Most of a Difficult Day in Danish Open

[Source: Mirsky Racing Team] Coming off a second place in last week’s Saint Moritz Match Race MRT took to the water firing as they look to back up their performance in the mountains with a strong result to finish off their charge to the top of the World Match Racing Tour rankings.

This morning saw the first group complete their races with Jes Gram Hansen and his Trifork Racing Team the obvious stand out as they went onto win four from five races in spectacular fashion in the shifty conditions of Aarhus.

MRT joined the afternoon group as they completed three races in the dying Danish sea breeze.

In the absence of Kyle Langford due to injury, trimmer Kinley Fowler has moved to the tactician role for this event. Showing his skill, Kinley worked MRT around the course to comfortably win all three races.

"I have been on the main when we sail four up for the past few years so the position is not entirely new to me, but it certainly wasn't easy today! It’s a cutthroat format without quarterfinals, so it was good to get off to a good start. We just have to build on what we learnt today", commented Kinley after the days racing.

The Danish Open this year is joined by a wildcard entry of Jonas Warrer and his crew Martin Kirkitrerp who are the Olympic Gold medalists in the 49er class from the Beijing Olympics. Since their Olympic glory they have turned their focus to match racing and this is their first World Tour event. All eyes will be on the Gold Medalists as they face off against the world’s best match racers.

Torvar Mirsky battles it out with Mathieu Richard. Aarhus, 10 September 2009. Photo copyright Per Heegaard