Video: Peter Gilmour gets black flag!

Peter Gilmour gets black flag in his race against Ian Williams. Kuala Terengganu, 5 December 2010. Video copyright World Match Racing Tour

Jim O'Toole, CEO of World Match Racing Tour, talks to Valencia Sailing

One month ago, the World Match Racing Tour held a press conference in London where they made a number of announcements concerning the future of the world's premiere professional sailing circuit that set the basic strategy for the ISAF World Match Racing Championship. Valencia Sailing talked to Jim O'Toole, CEO of the WMRT, about the main points of the Tour's future.

According to O'Toole, the strategy will focus on ensuring the tour continues to provide close combative head-to-head racing on monohull yachts. The WMRT will be doubling the tour's bonus prize pool to US$ 500,000 meaning sailors will compete for a total prize fund in excess of US$ 1,750,000 in 2011.

Finally, WMRT has launched a new host city bidding process, which will add six new venues by 2013. To complement the addition of new cities and to ensure the Tour embraces developing technology, submissions will be invited from international designers and boat builders to create boats for the new events joining the tour.

Valencia Sailing: The America's Cup, considered to be the pinnacle event of our sport, moved from monohulls to multihulls. The World Match Racing Tour decided not to follow suit and remain in monohulls. Why?
Jim O'Toole: I think the expression you just used, "the pinnacle of our sport", is an important one because the America's Cup moved from the pinnacle of our discipline, which is match racing, to another space, which is catamarans. The history of this discipline has been in monohulls and historically, the America's Cup has been raced in monohulls and therefore sat at the very pinnacle of our sport. We believe that the move to catamarans for AC34 and potentially the next couple of Cups positions them in a different place. They are seeking to support this new space with a program of regattas that feature smaller catamarans. BMW Oracle clearly believe it's about fast boats as opposed to what is the history of our discipline, that is close, one-on-one, tactics-based racing.

Valencia Sailing: Their argument is that those boats will also be able to provide the kind of racing you mention.
Jim O'Toole: I know it's their argument but we disagree with it. All our stakeholders, our teams, our media, our promoters, our fans, told us, during the consultations that we did with them, that it would be very difficult for them to recreate with big fast catamarans the one-on-one, close-combat match racing that we offer. Without any doubt, the AC45's and AC72's will be amongst the fastest sailing yachts in the planet but they run the risk of becoming a drag race. Two boats setting off, very, very fast, in opposite directions.

Valencia Sailing: An important aspect of your decision to continue racing on monohulls is the new yacht you have announced. Can you give more details on that issue?
Jim O'Toole: Let me explain the rationale first. Our entire business and racing models are based upon the local promoters providing identical boats in which our skippers and our teams can have a test of their sailing abilities, team work, rules knowledge, all the elements that make a match race. We believe that the optimum size for those boats is between 42 and 48 feet.

Where did that come from? When we decided to increase the size of the Tour from 9 to 15 events by the start of 2013 we realized that a key element for the new venues is the equipment they will use. Rather than accept bids from those cities which have adequate equipment we decided that one of the criteria was that we would like to have the best equipment for match racing. Out of that came the decision to encourage those new venues to use new boats that have been designed according to a specific brief, which we are finalizing now and will be issuing in the month of November.

Let's suppose your represent Valencia and you bid to host an event, we develop a proposal together and it looks like you are going to be an acceptable venue. The best venues are those that invest in yachts and use them not only for WMRT events but also other regattas and qualifying events throughout the year. In our case, we will present you with a list of acceptable and approved designs that have come out of the process we are running with some of the world's top designers and builders. As a result, you will have a list of a number of approved designers and builders that will provide you with the boats you will use in your match race event.

Valencia Sailing: Are they going to be one-design boats?
Jim O'Toole: No, we could have two, five or six designs. We first issue a general specification for boats that will meet the criteria. The boat designers will look at the specifications, design a boat that meets them, submit the designs and if approved, you as Valencia decide what designer you want to go with. If there are existing yachts that fall within the size range and meet the criteria then the venues can absolutely use them.

Peter Gilmour presents the World Match Racing Strategy for the future.

Valencia Sailing: Isn't this a potential problem or risk though? You seem to oblige the potential new venues to use a boat that, probably, doesn't currently exist. As a result, they will have to choose a designer, commission a new yacht and build it from scratch.
Jim O'Toole: Yes, if they are serious about staging a WMRT event they will go with the right equipment. It doesn't necessarily mean it's going to be more expensive than older models and when we issue the brief, you will see it because it will be public, there might be a designer that already has the right design. It could be an existing design or an existing yacht already in production but we aren't trying to fit it into a brand or a specific design.

Valencia Sailing: Who is preparing the design brief with the specifications for the yachts?
Jim O'Toole: The process is being led by Craig Mitchell, our Tour Director, with input from Terry Newby, our venue consultant from Regatta International who has a lot of experience in that field. What we are trying to do is avoid having boats that are too small for the venues that stage the events. The reason we will ultimately end up with more than one design is that one boat that works well in a strong-wind venue is not ideal for another venue with lighter winds. We want to offer the venues flexibility so that they can choose and purchase boats that are right for them.

Valencia Sailing: What about the current 9 venues? Do they also have to switch to the new designs or will they keep their existing yachts?
Jim O'Toole: The existing events will keep their current equipment unless they wish to change or have plans to do so. The new designs are specifically targeted at the new venues but if an existing event likes the new designs, they can obviously adopt them.

Valencia Sailing: What feedback did you have from the current events about the new yachts? For some of them it means moving to a bigger boat. Are they supportive of that?
Jim O'Toole: Yes, they understand it completely because they know what the challenges are of getting the right equipment. Some of them own their equipment while others don't. They understand it very well and in addition we haven't insisted on them changing their equipment.

Valencia Sailing: The proposed yachts will probably have a crew of 5 or 6 sailors. Won't that make it more complicated for talented, aspiring teams to find the right crew?
Jim O'Toole: No, I don't think so. Most of them already have a crew of five and part of the design specs will be for the boats to be equally competitive with either 5 or 6.

Valencia Sailing: What media advances will you incorporate into the new yachts, compared to the existing ones?
Jim O'Toole: The goal is to get to a much more technology-based proposition where we can share more information, more communication from the boats to the shore. In the press conference we talked about things like heart monitors on the skippers that will try to capture the basic element of this discipline, which is the tension and anxiety that goes into match racing. That is the sort of information that could be incorporated into the commentary, the television coverage and our website where you could sense the drama online in real time.

Other data such as boat speed, the distance between the boats and the marks timing to the start of the race. That's all the kind of information you would love to have on a pit wall if the pit wall existed in match racing and all the information you like your TV viewers to have.

Valencia Sailing: Let's move to another major issue of the presentation. You announced you started a bidding process for the prospective venues wishing to stage a WMRT event. In what aspect is that different from what was taking place so far?
Jim O'Toole: In the past, the process was very simple. It was a selling exercise, so we would basically go to the market trying to sell events to the potential venues. It was a push exercise where we were targeting potential cities. From now on it will be the other way round, it will be a pull exercise where we are inviting cities to bid, listening to their proposal as to why we should stage an event in their city.

Valencia Sailing: Why should cities come to you and "sell" themselves? Have you had any approaches since the process started?
Jim O'Toole: The process started on the 23rd of October and in less than three weeks we had more new applications than we had existing contacts. We now have more fresh, competitive applications that have come from nowhere than people engaged with us in our database in the last few years. We are very positively, pleasantly surprised from the immediate response that came from all 5 continents.

Valencia Sailing: What safeguards do you now have in place in order to avoid issues such as Vietnam and Qingdao withdrawing after you had announced them as venues?
Jim O'Toole: It's very simple. We will be much more rigorous in the organizational, logistical and sporting criteria to make sure that the potential city has the ability to organize a race. It's simple things. It has to be a city with good winds. They must guarantee they have the support of their regional and national governments. They must guarantee they have the support of a local yacht club or marina that will support them and us with the logistical requirements of a sailing event. They must prove they have organized other events or at least that they can make things happen.

The final thing is that they must prove they have the adequate financial resources to host the event. There is no point being in a city with plenty of money but unable to organize an event!! They have to prove their bid is superior to the competing ones in terms of infrastructure, organization, logistics, promotion and marketing as well. They have to tick all the boxes, not just the one that says "money". As a business, we learned a lot form the Qingdao experience. Vietnam hasn't disappeared and discussions are ongoing with the Sports Ministry.

Valencia Sailing: What is the geographical spread of the bids you received?
Jim O'Toole: They are from all over the world, from all continents.

Valencia Sailing: Is that going to materialize into new events next year? How many do you have scheduled for 2011?
Jim O'Toole: As we sit here today, it will be 9 events. One of the lessons we learned in Qingdao is that rather than rush we have to get it right. We are deep in discussion with a couple of new venues that want to host an event in 2011 and they are very keen to make that happen. To come back to your initial question, we will not be rushing any of those until they are absolutely ready.

Valencia Sailing: Last but certainly not least, let's talk about the sailors. Given your decision to continue racing on monohulls do you fear losing the world's top sailors to the catamarans or missing the future ambitious talents that will skip the Tour altogether?
Jim O'Toole: Let me ask you a question. How many teams will there be in this Cup? Let's suppose they get the 8 teams they are aiming for. That means 8 skippers and, at most, another 8 B-boat skippers, since some teams could only have one yacht. So, at most you will have 16 AC skippers.

Our research has shown that there is a group of sailors in certain age brackets that will be disenfranchised by the way BOR is doing it. There is an entire generation that is too old to be seen as youth for the AC45's but at the same time too young to be AC skipper material. This entire generation will miss the America's Cup and I think we have a compelling proposition why they should be sailing with us.

Valencia Sailing: Do you expect major names to drop out of the Tour in 2011? One name that comes in my mind could be Bertrand Pacé that has publicly stated his aim to lead a potential America's Cup team.
Jim O'Toole: We obviously wish him nothing but success and we hope they manage to pull together the substantial resources required to make a team happen. We also know we will lose Adam Minoprio because he's committed to the Volvo Ocean Race and Ben Ainslie because he's committed to the 2012 Olympics campaign.

Still without revealing anything confidential, some of the big names have already approached us to check the details about competing in the tour next year. I have absolutely no doubt that we will have no trouble whatsoever to fill the 9 Tour Card Holder places. Nor will there be a shortage of talented non Tour Cardholders who will take part through the wild cards and the qualifying events.

Valencia Sailing: You have also announced you will increase the total prize pool to over 1.75 US million dollars. That's by far the richest professional sailing circuit. Who is going to provide the additional funds?
Jim O'Toole: It's ourselves, as a business, that will provide the additional money. The Tour has made this commitment as an investment. The logic behind it is that if we are going to be the only professional series in sailing that pays prize money and the place where professional sailors can make a living, we felt we needed to enhance it. As you know, we don't control the prize money individual events offer but we can control the bonus pool. Increasing the pool IS another example of our commitment to investing in the Tour.

Peter Gilmour leads Danish Open on tough opening day

[Source: World Match Racing Tour] In an action-packed day Mike Buckley (USA) MB Sailing landed the biggest shock of the year when he delivered a hammer blow to ISAF World Match Racing Tour leader Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team in the opening race of this year’s Danish Open earlier today.

The tour has a reputation for unearthing great new talent – this was seen again when Buckley, placed 665th in the world rankings, showed no regard for reputation to lead Richard from start to finish for the biggest victory of his career. Buckley then looked on course for an incredible second victory of the day, when in his very next race he led reigning World Match Racing Tour Champion Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing until the very last moment.

With the 28 year old American on course to spring the second major shock of the day, Minoprio showed all the guts and determination that led him to be World Champion, to mug Buckley on the finish line in a move that was crowned play of the day.

How to broach on the finish line and yet win the match, Adam Minoprio style. Bornholm, 9 September 2010. Video copyright WMRT

“This is just my third match race so to win first up was amazing. Although Mathieu is ranked number one and a great sailor we try and treat all the boats the same. Our aim was to get a clean start and not get drawn into over match racing. We had another great race against Adam but unfortunately the wind dropped on the final leg and he just got us on the line.” said Buckley.

Punishing Conditions

The Danish Open is the seventh stage of the nine-round ISAF World Match Racing Tour, that sees the sailors compete against one another over the opening two days of competition, with the top four going through to Saturday’s semi-finals. The skills of the crews were pushed to the absolute limit as they battled strong winds with fierce gusts of up to 33 knots.

The weather took its toll with several boats needing running repairs, while 20 year-old newcomer to the tour, William Tiller (NZL) Full Metal Jacket experienced first hand how tough the conditions were, with one of his crew being knocked overboard. The most experienced teams were also challenged to the limit – triple Olympic gold medalist Ben Ainslie (GBR) TEAMORIGIN also saw fellow gold medalist Iain Percy dumped in the water as they wiped out in a titanic struggle with Sweden’s Bjorn Hansen.

Four-time World Champion Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing, however, was one of the few skippers to take the extreme conditions in his stride, to win all three of his races, the only skipper to finish the day with a 100% record.

Adam Minoprio takes the win on the finish line. Bornholm, 9 September 2010. Photo copyright Lorris von Siebenthal / WMRT

Local Interest
Fans packed along the shore had two home crews to follow, with Susanne Ward (DEN) Team Ward and Mads Ebler (DEN) Ebler Matchracing flying the flag for the host country. Elber finished the day with 1 win and 2 losses while Ward, who was suffering a major weight disadvantage, failed to get on the score sheet.

The pressure mounts
With eight of the 12 teams facing knock out in tomorrow’s round of qualifying races in advance of Saturday’s semi-finals, skippers will be under intense pressure to avoid losing a single match. Although the wind is forecast to moderate over night, there will be no relief for sailors from the intensity of the action.

Standings after Day 1 of Qualifications
Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing 3-0
Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team 4-1
Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team 2-1
Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing 2-1
Ben Ainslie (GBR) TEAMORIGIN 3-2
Björn Hansen (SWE) Hansen Global Team 3-2
Francesco Bruni (ITA) Azzurra 3-2
Bertrand Pacé (FRA) Aleph Sailing Team 2-3
Mads Ebler (DEN) Ebler Matchracing 1-2
Michael Buckley (USA) MB Sailing 1-2
William Tiller (NZL) Full Metal Jacket Racing 0-3
Suzanne Ward (DEN) Team Ward 0-5

Iain Percy takes a dive. Bornholm, 9 September 2010. Photo copyright Lorris von Siebenthal / WMRT

Stena Match Cup Sweden hosts the world's 10 top match racers

[Source: World Match Racing Tour] Stena Match Cup Sweden, Stage 5 of the ISAF World Match Racing Tour, has attracted an abundance of the World’s leading men’s and women’s match racers. They are all magnetized year after year to the racing hot spot of Marstrand for guaranteed packed out days of pure match racing perfection.

Since 2000 when the ISAF World Match Racing Tour founded, the Swedish leg of the series has had a distinguished role of honour including esteemed America’s Cup names; Dean Barker, Russell Coutts, Chris Law, Peter Gilmour, Mattias Rahm and Björn Hansen.

Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing won Stena Match Cup Sweden last year and has now notched up and incredible 7 overall victories at this event since its inaugural year in 1994. Gilmour is poised for the podium again after having also won Stage 4 of this year’s Tour only 8 days ago and looks committed to continue his fierce fighting style into this week’s semis and finals.

Ben Ainslie and Team Origin practicing before their first participation this year in the World Match Racing Tour. Masrtrand, 5 July 2010. Photo copyright Loris von Siebenthal - myimage

The Swedish national contingent as expected is also massive this year. Magnus Holmberg (SWE) Sigma Racing Team who is the very essence of Stena Match Cup Sweden having instilled the sense of excitement and profile building over the years will definitely be a skipper to watch with his competitive flair. Holmberg ironically has yet to actually win this Swedish leg of the Tour and 2010 may well be the year for this match racing hero to reap his reward.

Other international names racing on home waters this week will be Mattias Rahm (SWE) Stena Bulk Sailing Team a former Olympian who won the 2008 edition of Sweden, Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Hansen Global Team who was the first Swedish winner of this event and Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Berntsson Sailing Team who has shown his sporting expertise winning the Argo Group Gold Cup on the warmer waters of Bermuda.

A fresh and rested Tour card holder, Ben Ainslie (GBR) TEAMORIGIN, is back in the media’s gaze after completing his first WMRT event of the season in April. With 16 helms to consider running in 2 groups tomorrow morning there may be some surprise results. Keith Swinton (AUS) Black Swan Racing is now the youngest skipper to take the helm at 23 and Reuben Corbett (NZL) Black Sheep Racing who started developing his skills through team racing is considered a hot ticket.

Stena Match Cup Sweden is also running a women’s event in tandem with the men’s Tour racing and has invited 10 of the most motivated female team’s from across the globe. The women’s event started today and Silke Hahlbrock (GER) leads the pack against Katie Pellew neé Spithill (AUS), Lucy Macgregor (GBR) and Linda Rahm (SWE). Women’s match racing continues to climb in mass sporting appeal as it is now a ladies Olympic discipline inspiring full time campaigns.

YANMAR Racing’s Peter Gilmour is coming to the Stena Match Cup Sweden, an event he has won an amazing seven times, in excellent form

[Source: World Match Racing Tour] Last week YANMAR Racing won the fourth event on the ISAF 2010 World Match Racing Tour, the Portugal Match Cup, and as Gilmour says 'that was a good entrée' into the Swedish event.

‘We consider Sweden to be a Grand Slam event on the World Match Racing Tour. The past 10 or so events there, that we have competed in, have obviously been very, very good for us. We love the event. I think it’s an incredible event with both Open and Women’s match racing - it really comes alive with the mix and it’s just one of those wonderfully unique venues in the world that has a natural amphitheatre setting.


‘It seems we always have sunshine and breeze and a great crowd sitting on the rocks. I think the beauty of Marstrand is a very technical and challenging race course, which is the kind we like best, and a crowd close at hand in a spectacular venue.

‘We had a good run last week in Portugal. Our winning starts on those last two days made a real difference.’

With a 2-1 result in the All Western Australian Final against Torvar Mirsky, YANMAR Racing became the new Portugal Match Cup Champions. Mirsky Racing Team, the 2009 defending champions, finished second with Adam Minoprio's ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing third and Ian Williams' Team GAC Pindar fourth.

Peter Gilmour wins Portimao Portugal Match Cup after beating Torvar Mirsky in all-Australian final

[Source: World Match Racing] Finals day for Stage 4 of the ISAF World Match Racing Tour produced an all Australian final with Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team yet again taking on the icon of match racing, Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing. The ‘Perth Prodigy’, 24 year old Mirsky, did not defend his Portugal Match Cup title from last year as the Master, Gilmour, taught his Apprentice a few new lessons and stepped into the spotlight as the 2010 Portimão Portugal Match Cup Champion.

A glowing Gilmour was almost lost for words, “It was all about the starts out there, we managed to win the last two starts giving us a good lead on both finals races”.

The Semi Finals greeted eager teams with an oscillating 8 – 10 knot wind, conditions suited Mirsky who slam dunked Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar 3-0 and Gilmour grasped the glory from current ISAF Match Racing World Champion, Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing, also gliding through on 3-0. Minoprio then went on to take 3rd overall much to the disappointment of Williams.

As the Fremantle Doctor style breeze blew in for finals frenzy, the racers, both skippers originally from Perth, felt a nostalgia for home and with a ‘first to 2 point final’ the pressure was instantaneous. The wind then moderated and returned to the testing Mediterranean style shifts commonly experienced on this year’s Tour. This kept both Gilmour and Mirsky on their toes to the bitter end with Gilmour winning the deciding 3rd match from a port entry.

Peter Gilmour leads Torvar Mirsky in the finals of Portimao Portugal Match Cup 2010. Portimao, 27 June 2010. Photo copyright Gareth Cooke/Subzero Images

Mirsky was humorous at the relaxed dance floor prize giving chatting to the crowd, “They showed us how to do it we learnt a lot about our starts today and my team are stoked, this is the best result so far on the Tour this year”.

There is now a mixture of movements in the overall World Match Racing Tour 2010 standings. Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team before Portimão sat on high with 65 points, a supreme 26 points in front of his nearest rival Minoprio. Richard was then ironically knocked out at the Quarter Final stage yesterday in an unexpected last minute lunge to the line by Minoprio. Minoprio closes the gap slightly on Richard as he moves into 3rd with 48 points overall. Gilmour shoots up from 8th to 4th with 43 points, closely followed by Williams who finishes on 42 points.

As the morning light dawns tomorrow in Perth, Australia ‘the City of Lights’ the locals will wake up to two of their highly prized match race fraternity in the World’s spotlight having pushed past some of the most respected international sailors, who now have to bow to the power of Australia as a sporting nation.

The sand of Rocha Beach will continue shaking into the night under the control of thumping tunes spun by a zebra clad DJ and the skippers will no doubt be ready to enjoy the short interlude between Stage 4 and 5. The Tour now turns its focus to Stena Match Cup Sweden starting in 8 days on July 5th.

Mirsky finished off by saying, “Sweden is our home from home as I currently live there and the team join me to train. It will be an awesome event and we are really looking forward to being in Marstrand for Stena Match Cup Sweden.”

Great performance by Torvar Mirsky that grabs 3rd place overall in the Tour standings. Portimao, 27 June 2010. Photo copyright Gareth Cooke/Subzero Images

Portimao Portugal Match Cup - Overall Standings
1 Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing 25 Points
2 Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team 20 Points
3 Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing 15 Points
4 Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar 12 Points
5 Francesco Bruni (ITA) Azzurra 10 Points
6 Magnus Holmberg (SWE) Victory Challenge 8 Points
7 Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team 6 Points
8 Manuel Weiller (ESP) Team Iberdrola 4 Points
9 Bertrand Pacé (FRA) Aleph Sailing Team
10 Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Gill Global Team
11 Alvaro Marinho (POR) Seth Sailing Team
12 Eugeny Neugodnikov (RUS) Team Synergy

2010 ISAF World Match Racing Tour Standings
(After Event 4 of 10)

1 Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team 71 Points
2 Adam Minoprio (NZL) BlackMatch Racing 54 Points
3 Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team 48 Points
4 Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing 43 Points
5 Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar 42 Points
6 Francesco Bruni (ITA) Azzurra 33 Points
7 Ben Ainslie (GBR) TEAMORIGIN 20 Points
= Jesper Radich (SWE) Radich Racing Team 20 Points
9 Paolo Cian (ITA) Team Italia 16 Points
10 Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Gill Global Team 15 Points

Video: Highlights from the final day of the Portimao Portugal Match Cup

Video highlights from the final day of the Portimao Portugal Match Cup. Portimao, 27 June 2010. Video copyright World Match Racing Tour

Monsoon Cup - Day 2 - Flight 8: Phil Robertson is on a roll!!

It seems that nothing and nobody can stop Phil Robertson today. Fresh from his previous victory over Mirsky the very young kiwi (just 22 years old) went on to beat another Australian match racing powerhouse. Peter Gilmour succumbed to Robertson's skills and was handed a red flag at the starting line.

In the other matches, Iehl really blew his start with an awful timing. Homberg had then no problem winning the race. In what was the flight's "feature match" Ian Williams was unable to get his act together against Sébastien Col. The reigning world champion is currently on a dry spell and must start winning some races if he doesn't want to watch the rest of the Monsoon Cup form the comfort of the skippers lounge!

Red flag for Gilmour and match for Robertson. Kuala Terengganu, 3 December 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Is it possible to have a worse start? Iehl blows it and loses his race against Holmberg. Kuala Terengganu, 3 December 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Tough first day at the Monsoon Cup

[Source: World Match Racing Tour] The Monsoon rain in Kuala Terengganu on the east coast of Malaysia, with more than 200mm (eight inches) falling in the last 24 hours, has provided a dramatic backdrop to the 2009 Monsoon Cup, the final event in the 2009 World Match Racing Tour.

Overnight there had been heavy thunderstorms and during the skippers briefing this morning there was driving rain with claps of thunder and flashes of lightning.

David Tallis, Principal Race Officer of the Monsoon Cup commented 'Rain is not a problem for us unless it is so torrential that the loss of visibility makes racing unsafe, but we will come off the water if there is local lightning.'

Luckily neither case happened, rain eased just ahead of the scheduled start time but heavy thunderstorms lashed the sailors, as predicted, in the late afternoon.

Torvar Mirsky at the prestart. Kuala Terengganu, 2 December 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Upstream the Terengganu River is heavily swollen, with many villages and towns flooded. The currents sweep fast across the Pulau Duyong (Mermaid Island) Basin course and downstream to the river mouth. The current flow across the Basin varies dramatically with the tide, most of the volume coming from the southern side of the Island from the rear of the starting box.

So the scene was set for an enthralling battle and as expected the current flow, of up to five knots at its peak, provided 'a winning elevator' out on the right hand side of the course.

The 2005 and 2008 Monsoon Cup champion Peter Gilmour summed up the day. 'It was tough, give no quarter and take no quarter. The way it was today the start was super critical, for a short while the pin end worked. Then it was back to the boat end and head right, if you mucked it up boy you had a lot of work to do. But actually with plenty of wind it was a sensational day of racing.”

'The monsoon was certainly here with vengeance today, it was the most challenging combination of wind, rain and tide I remember in all of the five Monsoon Cups - the toughest day at the office.'

With 150 World Match Racing Tour competition points and more than US$450,000 of prize money at stake the pre-start battles were adrenalin pumping.

Adam Minoprio loses his match against Damien Iehl. Kuala Terengganu, 2 December 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Whilst most of the results were as expected, there were some surprises.

After a shock loss to World number seventh ranked Damien Iehl in his first match this morning, the 2009 Tour leader Emirates Team New Zealand BlackMatch skipper Adam Minoprio commented 'we won the start, made a silly little mistake and were penalized. That was it, we lost our first race, but we won't do that again.'

The pressure was on. For Minoprio it was straight back to business for the perfect start; he won on the left, then he was first to tack to the right, after suckering Magnus Holmberg into a penalty.

Last week Minoprio had been a little off the pace, finishing behind Torvar Mirsky and Ben Ainslie, so his match against Ainslie in the last flight of the day was watched with interest.

Minoprio was definitely on form, he controlled the pre-start and Ainslie was penalized. Ainslie lead around the course; at the top mark for the second time he was three lengths ahead but 'not enough to do our penalty and cross the line first. We thought about slowing the race down to try and get the penalties even, but with 20 knots of wind, the leg just happened too fast.'

The prestart action as seen from the media center. Kuala Terengganu, 2 December 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

However Ainslie was smiling. 'A great day, good wind, a huge challenge we have to get used too.'

With a loss in the first race for Tour leader Minoprio, the first match for the number two on the Tour was watched closely. Mirsky proved to be too sharp for Francesco Bruni, who is struggling with the transition from light wind conditions in America's Cup boats, to the stronger conditions in the Foundation 36’s.

In the pre-start Mirsky led Bruni up river bucking against the current, then turned and almost pushed the Italian into the marina pen. As they approached the line, definitely too early, Bruni was trying to zigzag to slow but failed to keep clear and Mirsky had to swing away to avoid a collision; penalty against Bruni. Mirsky won the start and the match.

Bruni was philosophical. 'A very unique sailing course, we struggled to find our timing, but in spite of our 1-3 today we were better as the day went on. We are hoping for a better day tomorrow.'

As Torvar Mirsky explained 'Today, if you lost the start and got beaten to the elevator, you were pretty much done. That's what happened to us against Mathieu Richard. So the starts were just absolutely critical.'

Another important match was between the 2008 and 2009 World Match Racing Tour Champion Ian Williams and defending champion Peter Gilmour.

Ian Williams and Damien Iehl at the prestart. Kuala Terengganu, 2 December 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Williams was penalized in the pre-start with about 15 seconds to go. Gilmour was penalized as the two boats tacked when the two sterns touched on the start line. He received an immediate penalty for not keeping clear as contact was made. Williams started clear ahead and went on to win.

But Williams finished 1-3 overall. Ruefully the defending World Champion commented 'You have to be right on the money and today we were not.'

And some words from the other side...

Bill Edgerton, Chief Umpire said 'We've been getting lots of advice, some of it perhaps a little optimistic.'

David Tallis, Principal Race Officer concluded 'We are expecting a similar day tomorrow, another hard day at the office.'

Day 1 Round Robin Results
Adam Minoprio (NZL) Emirates Team New Zealand/BlackMatch Racing 3-1
Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team 3-1
Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing 3-1
Ben Ainslie (GBR) Team Origin 3-1
Ian Williams (GBR) Team Pindar 1-3
Damien Iehl (FRA) French Match Racing Team 3-2
Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team 2-2
Magnus Holmberg (SWE) Victory Challenge 2-2
Sebastien Col (FRA) French Match Racing Team/ALL4ONE 2-1
Francesco Bruni (ITA) Team Azzura 1-3
Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing Team 1-3
Hazwan Hazim Dermawan (MAS) Taring Pelangi Team 0-4

Peter Gilmour talks to Valencia Sailing about the World Match Racing Tour

Peter Gilmour

The World Match Racing Tour, the world's top-level professional match-racing circuit, announced yesterday that a group of Asian investors bought a stake in it and has ambitious plans for further development and expansion. Peter Gilmour, the legendary Australian match racer, is one of those investors and currently acting president of the Tour. Valencia Sailing talked to him about the current situation of the Tour, the plans for the future as well as the situation with the newly-created Louis Vuitton Series.

Valencia Sailing: Why did Regal Faith Ltd decide to buy into the WMRT? What business opportunity does it see?
Peter Gilmour: I think, importantly, the opportunity of the Tour is tremendous with 9 great events around the world that can grow from strength to strength. The new events that have been added to the Tour in the last 4 years, if you look at Korea, the most recent addition, and before that the Monsoon Cup in Malaysia have been very significant events that really make a mark. So, for the Tour to expand will need to create bigger and more prominent events.

Valencia Sailing: In the press release you refer to “Regal Faith Ltd and its consortium of investors based in Hong Kong, Malaysia and Australia”. Can you tell us who they are? Are you personally involved?
Peter Gilmour: Yes, I am personally involved and I have a financial stake. One of the other investors is Patrick Lim [the Malaysian businessman that founded the Monsoon Cup] and there are several others that have asked to remain private. Basically, they are very substantial individuals with significant businesses around the world.

Valencia Sailing: Can you tell us the price Regal Faith paid for its stake?
Peter Gilmour: No, I can't, it's confidential.

Valencia Sailing: All these investors are Asian. Does that reflect a shift of the Tour's focus towards that continent?
Peter Gilmour: There are several growth areas in match racing at the moment. Obviously Europe is very, very strong and we still see considerable growth there. More recently we have seen a little bit of growth occur in Asia but one of the biggest areas of opportunity in growth right now is the United States. They are, obviously, clearly struggling from economic difficulties, but if you look at the Grade 2 and 3 level there is quite an interest for an event there and just today we were contacted by a group that has an interest in doing something. I think that's the most exciting area for us.

Valencia Sailing: How does the current economic climate affect you? Has the 2-year legal battle in the America’s Cup also affected the WMRT?
Peter Gilmour: The only real negative effect on the Tour is probably the shift into the catamaran. For example Ed Baird was actively taking part in the Tour but had to drop out in order to fully concentrate on the Alinghi catamaran project. For sure this is not positive but the reality is that the entire situation of the America's Cup allowed this investment to occur. If we weren't in the current situation I don't think the consortium would have made the same investment. They are excited because we are currently into a light and quiet period.

Valencia Sailing: Sure but what will happen if the America's Cup dead end is finally solved in February and the next Defender, whether it's Alinghi or BMW Oracle, rolls on to a conventional multi-team event as soon as possible? Will that be a problem for the Tour?
Peter Gilmour: I don't think it will because the World Match Racing Tour has always been recognized as the source of America's Cup sailing talent. In addition, in the period of time between now and then it will give us the opportunity to get our house in order, to get things move on. From that perspective, even if for the general public the current America's Cup situation is viewed as very negative we view it as very positive.

Valencia Sailing: What are the short-term plans of the new owners?
Peter Gilmour: The plan is to understand what the business of the World Match Racing Tour is, to go around in the various events and encourage them to keep going. Once the Tour is completed, we will have a Tour Summit with all event organizers right after the World Yacht Racing Forum in December.

Valencia Sailing: Do you plan to change the number of events per year?
Peter Gilmour: The Tour currently consists of 9 events and we are looking into increasing that. I think there is a possibility of adding another 2 or 3 events and I don't think the calendar will be a great challenge. There are lots of events in fleet racing and all levels but this has always been the same.

Valencia Sailing: What will your personal role be in the new organization?
Peter Gilmour: My own role will, hopefully, simply be of a competing sailor. We are currently doing a global search for president and CEO, commercial director, director of operations, media director, all sorts of positions that we need to have filled. We are starting rather flat-footed in that respect and it's going to take us a little bit of time to put the team together, so if anyone reading this interview is interested in a job, they can send us their resume through the World Match Racing Tour.

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

Valencia Sailing: You definitely have ambitious goals about the future. Do you think that match racing can become a mainstream sport? How can you make it more accessible to the general, non-sailing public?
Peter Gilmour: I do think it can be more popular. First of all, it will require a deep and committed investment to enhance the product of what we already have. You need to build a franchise of the World Match Racing Tour into something of significant value to each of the franchisees, to each of the events. If we can build that up, over time it will become significantly more mainstream. Take for example the America's Cup. In 1983 it was just a small regatta off Newport, Rhode Island and it grew to a point that it charged tens of millions of dollars for television rights, sponsorship and so forth in 2007 in Valencia. Nobody would have believed that 25 years ago and I think it just needs a little bit of that same style of thinking. This is the second level down, the second main event of match racing in the world and certainly has a great opportunity to grow and expand itself.

Valencia Sailing: This is, more or less, the same message Louis Vuitton and the World Sailing Team Association wanted to convey in their presentation in Paris 2 weeks ago. They want to build a top-tier professional match-racing series around the world. They call it the LV World Series and even the format is quite similar, since teams race in boats provided by the organization. Can you comment on that?
Peter Gilmour: The situation with the LV Series is, in our opinion, very clear. Essentially, the exclusive rights to use the word "World" and be the premier match racing series or tour in the world, outside of the America's Cup, have been given to ProMatch Tour Ltd. This is very clear and unequivocal. Obviously, the LV proposed series got going without consideration for that and they didn't even talk to ISAF beforehand. I understand ISAF has written and asked them not to proceed using the words "World Series" and they haven't received any approval. We plan to meet with Louis Vuitton and the WSTA people in about a week's time and it really comes down to our right to sanction them, if we so wish. That's really pretty much where the situation is. We haven't received anything from them, no information whatsoever. Right now it's wait and see.

Valencia Sailing: There is one difference though, the proposed LV series will be raced in the current ACC boats. Do you envision having bigger boats in the World Match Racing Tour?
Peter Gilmour: When I started match racing as a 20-something year old we were sailing in boats around the 22-25ft size. In my 30's we were sailing in 32 to 34-foot boats and then up to 44 feet. In a lot of the venues they consider that the boats are still too small and we need to go to something bigger. For example Rusell Coutts' boats, the RC4's, are 44 feet long, there are also a lot of 45-foot boats and we could possibly sail in even bigger boats. Of course, you can also go all the way up to as big as 70 feet, similar to the America's Cup Class. We are pretty open minded and we look and consider any proposals.

Valencia Sailing: Have you considered having one single boat for the entire Tour, for all events?
Peter Gilmour: This has been considered in the past and this is essentially what the SM40 is. In my view, the success of that was probably moderate to lukewarm at best. I think one of the skills all great match racers have, portrayed by people like Russell Coutts, Ed Baird and the like, is the ability to go from one venue and one size boats to another venue and another class of boats and perform equally well. I actually think rather than trying to go to a fixed class, make it like a one-design concept, there is a tremendous beauty in the current format.

Valencia Sailing: Let's consider even bigger yachts. What kind of match racing should we expect from the two giant multihulls in the America's Cup next February? As one of the world's most prominent match sailors do you look forward to it?
Peter Gilmour: I think that at a technical level I certainly do look forward to it. I see two very well organized, very focused teams approaching the best technical output they can, at every level. As far as racing is concerned, I think that the situation will be similar to the 1988 America's Cup. We will see, probably, 5 to 10 knots of speed difference between the two boats, at times. I wouldn't be surprised if we see just two races and a very clear outcome. The most interesting thing for me is what French colleagues comment me, sailors that did the World Match Racing Tour and have great connections in the multihull world. They say that it's still too close to call. They argue over the benefits of the catamaran or the trimaran but even if we only see two races it's going to be interesting.

A lot of people argue this is the end of the America's Cup, this is dreadful, bad and all of that but I'm convinced it's going to be like 1988. It's only a blimp in a very colorful history of one of the world's greatest sports competitions.

Valencia Sailing: What about sailing the Tour in catamarans, let's say the Extreme 40's or something similar? Is that something you would consider?
Peter Gilmour: No, this is not something we would consider. We stick to monohulls.

New Investors take a stake in the World Match Racing Tour

[Source: World Match Racing Tour] Hong Kong - based private company Regal Faith Ltd has acquired from F10 Holdings Ltd their interest in ProMatch Tour Ltd, the exclusive rights holder of the World Match Racing Tour (WMRT).

The investment by Regal Faith Ltd and its consortium of investors based in Hong Kong, Malaysia and Australia sees the company take an equity stake in the Tour. The consortium is excited to be involved in the sport of match racing and sees tremendous opportunities to build upon the already internationally established and prestigious WMRT.

The World Match Racing Tour has seen significant growth over the last three years since being granted the sole and exclusive rights and official sanction to run and manage the professional world tour or series in match racing by the International Sailing Federation (ISAF).

The involvement of Regal Faith Ltd and its consortium of private equity investors will see increased focus on developing world class venues around the world, whilst adding stability and structure to the existing professional sailing circuit.

Outgoing President Scott Macleod from F10 Holdings Ltd commented, “After over 20 years involvement with Tour from its early stages then through the Swedish Match Tour up to its current status as the ISAF sanctioned World Match Racing Tour I have taken considerable pride in the development of the sport. I am very happy to be passing the control of the World Match Racing Tour to the team at Regal Faith Ltd who have the experience and investment to realise the full potential of the Tour, I wish them and Peter Gilmour all the very best for the continued development of the Tour.”

Match racing veteran Peter Gilmour has been appointed Acting President and will become the Tour Advisor once a full time replacement has been found. Peter Gilmour commented, “Our sport is rapidly expanding in the commercial area, with the backing and support of a significant balance sheet to build this Tour we are delighted to be able to make this long awaited announcement. It has taken over three years to finalise this transaction and we will see considerable new plans develop over the coming months. The sport has seen aggressive development in events, America’s Cup and independent team participation, spectators, media interest and sponsors. We are looking forward to developing the WMRT further as the leading match racing World Series for professional sailors.”

For all WMRT events it will be business as usual. Tour Director Craig Mitchell said, “Regal Faith Ltd’s investment in the WMRT demonstrates the value that has been built up in the Tour over the last three years. The investment will enable us to continue to expand and develop the Tour and we look forward to delivering the vision of our new investors.”

The WMRT will be holding the annual Tour Summit for all event organisers on the day immediately following the World Yacht Racing Forum in Monaco on 11th December 2009.

Following consultation with the Tour’s event promoters and stakeholders a detailed presentation laying out the re-energised ambition and vision of the Tour will be unveiled during the opening weeks of 2010.

Gilmour, Mirsky, Gram-Hansen and Rahm through to Danish Open semi finals

[Source: World Match Racing Tour] An afternoon on the beach waiting for the wind yesterday, was followed by a long long stint on the water today for the crews competing in the Danish Open. The Royal Danish Yacht Club officials got racing under way at 0900, and a stronger northwesterly gradient breeze building through to afternoon to 15 knots, allowed them to speed through the remaining ten flights of the round robins and on to the opening flight of the first to three semi-finals.

Towards the end of the round robins much maths was going on to establish countbacks for the competitors potentially reaching seven wins. In the event the scoring turned out to be straightforward with America’s Cup veteran Peter Gilmour of YANMAR Racing clear winner of the round robins on a 8-3 scoreline and Mattias Rahm, Jes Gram-Hansen and Torvar Mirsky the remaining three left on 7-4, after Team Pindar’s Ian Williams had been effectively knocked out by Peter Gilmour, the same fate befalling Damien Iehl in his match against fellow Frenchman Mathieu Richard.

Possibly following yesterday’s frustration, there were a huge number of penalties today to keep the on-the-water judges occupied.

Peter Gilmour finished the rounb robin sitting at the top of the leaderboard. Aarhus, 12 September 2009. Photo copyright Per Heegaard

In the match between Gilmour and Peter Wibroe for example, the young Dane picked up three penalties over the course of the race. “He was circling and circling! Equity-wise I thought he had done enough!” said a content Gilmour. In Gilmour’s final match of the round robin against Damien Iehl, the Frenchman incurred a penalty, as it turned out incorrectly, when his spinnaker snagged the flag on top of the leeward mark.

Gilmour received a penalty after a pre-start collision in his first semi-final match with his chosen opponent, local hero Jes Gram-Hansen. “I slipped start and ran into the back of him! It was one of those silly mistakes you make and the umpires had to penalise us.” Gilmour left his penalty until the finish line but his Danish opponent was just close enough to overtake in the race’s last breath, much to the delight of the spectators assembled on Marselisborg Havn breakwater.

Gram-Hansen came ashore all smiles. “It is always great to sail in front of your home crowd, so that is fantastic, but they are a tough team and there is a long way to go.”

One of the highlights of Gram-Hansen’s day was receiving and immediately offloading not one but two penalties in the second weather mark rounding in his match against young Kiwi Phil Robertson. “And we came out with the lead,” he added.

It was not all bad news today for Phil Robertson when he dispatched his Kiwi senior, Adam Minoprio, after winning the start and picking the shifts correctly up the first beat. “It was very satisfying,” said Robertson. “We did it a couple of years ago, but this was the first time in a while and at a big event.” Robertson only scored four wins in the round robin, equalling his record from Troia Portugal Match Cup. So, was he pleased? “Yes and no. We had the day of our lives today. We had some awesome winds, but we could have made it six wins today instead of three, if we hadn’t made a couple of little errors due to our lack of experience. But we are quite happy.”

Torvar Mirsky goes to Sunday's racing with one point lead over Mattias Rahm. Aarhus, 12 September 2009. Photo copyright Per Heegaard

Australian Torvar Mirsky admitted to having had a few incidents today including planting two penalties on Damien Iehl in the pre-start, one on Jes Gram-Hansen while he received two off Ian Williams during a top mark incident. They also managed to T-bone their Kiwi arch-rival Adam Minoprio.

Mirsky recounted: “Before the mark we were a little bit behind, but we picked up a nice little right hand puff just as we were coming in and from about two to three boatlengths out we thought we had him. We came up quite late into him at the mark on starboard aiming at his mid-ships and we hit him as we turned inside him and went around the mark. But the umpires ruled in favour of Adam. They said that we came up too late, which we are upset about because we thought we had a piece of him. Instead we had a collision, hit the mark and got around, got a penalty and were behind. We thought we were in front and were surprised he got across. But that is the way you go with Adam, it comes down to such minor details.” In fact in the process they snagged the mark and could only watch as Minoprio sped off into the distance.

Aside from the numerous penalties today, there was an injury on board Mattias Rahm’s Stena Bulk Sailing Team. In their match against Phil Robertson the young Kiwi had planted a penalty on them in the pre-start, yet the Swedes had managed to sail away into the lead. As they circled to shed their penalty on the finish line, the spinnaker pole shot back, its end clouting trimmer Oscar Angerwall on the head. “We managed to win the race but he went to the hospital and got some stitches,” recounted Rahm. For their next two races they were able hurriedly to recruit Kristoffer Olesen from Peter Wibroe’s team for the final two races of the round robin. Angerwall expects to be back on board tomorrow.

Sunday is also likely to be a full day with the four final races of the semi-final to compete and then the final.

Round Robin Results
1. Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing 8 - 3
2. Mattias Rahm (SWE) Stena Bulk Sailing Team 7 - 4
3. Jes Gram Hansen (DEN) Trifork Racing 7 - 4
4. Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team 7 - 4
5. Ian Williams (FRA) Team Pindar 5 - 6
6. Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team 5 -6
7. Damien Iehl (FRA) French Match Racing Team 5 - 6
8. Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing 5 -6
9. Sebastien Col (FRA) French Match Racing Team 5 - 6
10.Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing 4 - 7
11.Peter Wibroe (DEN) Wibroe Sailing Team 4 - 7
12.Jonas Warrer (DEN) 3 - 8

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

Peter Gilmour leads Portugal Match Cup undefeated

[Source: World Match Racing Tour] Stage 4 of the 2009 World Match Racing Tour season, Troia Portugal Match Cup, began today off the beautiful shores of the Troia peninsular with a shifty 5-7 knot breeze which built throughout the day to 12-14 knots. Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing, Philippe Presti (FRA) and Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing team are the early leaders after 10 flights of racing.

With many of the world’s best match racing stars here sailing the SM40’s, the competition for the €50,000 prize money event has already proven fierce in the opening flights of the Round Robin stage.

The early flights all went pretty much with the form book. The young rivals Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team and Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing met in Flight 2 and as ever they were both keen to put one over on the other. Minoprio led off the line but a split tack saw Mirsky head into the pressure and the vital shift that sent him round the bow of Minoprio. “I wish I could say it was all skill, but the wind god’s looked favourably on us. It’s always nice to chalk up a win against Adam though however we do it” said Mirsky.

Video highlights from day 1 of the Portugal Match Cup. Troia, 17 June 2009. Video copyright World Match Racing Tour

Ian Williams’ (GBR) Bahrain Team Pindar met Team Onboard’s Bjorn Hansen (SWE) in Flight 5 to resume where they left off in Korea. After an even start Hansen led Williams into the top mark on port tack as they went for the rounding, Williams went for the inside berth, receiving a red flag, immediate penalty, for his trouble. Williams said “I thought that it was a harsh penalty, from where I was looking Bjorn was the one altering course and not giving me room to keep clear.” A downwind tussle saw Williams behind but a smoother rounding at the leeward mark enabled him to tack on to a better shift and by the top mark was overlapped on the inside. Hansen wasn’t giving up and managed to luff around the mark and accelerate over the top of Williams to take back the lead. The shifty conditions that characterised the day were still to the fore and Williams’ crew spotted more wind and a shift that helped them roll over Hansen and scrape through to victory. The rest of the day didn’t quite go Williams’ way with losses to newcomer Phil Robertson (NZL) and his WAKA Racing team and also to the French Team of Mathieu Richard.

Mathieu Richard is tied in second place. Troia, 17 June 2009. Photo copyright Wander Roberto

Richard put in a solid performance, to end the day on 4-1 commenting that “We felt good today and were starting well which helped a lot. We had a great race with Ian Williams, as we always do. The key moment was on the first beat when we dialled him down then managed to slam dunk him. He tried to luff but couldn’t get to us, which really killed his speed. We look forward to tomorrow and hope to carry on the momentum.”

Overall it was a good day for the French with Philippe Presti and his French Team making the best of the conditions. Presti said “We sailed really well today, the crew work was excellent and Christian (Pontieu) was calling the tactics perfectly. I feel confident after today and am really enjoying the racing. We had a great win against Mathieu (Richard), it’s been a while since we beat him so we’re very happy.”

Young kiwi Phil Robertson races for the first time in a World Match Racing Tour event. Troia, 17 June 2009. Photo copyright Wander Roberto

Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing, finished the day unbeaten with 5 wins. Amongst them was a win over fellow Perth resident Torvar Mirsky (AUS). The Mirsky Racing Team attacked from the start leading Gilmour back to the line and ending up in a nice lee bow position as the boats headed left. Gilmour showed his mastery of the SM40 by holding his lane for long enough to tack back and with a lucky left shift managing to squeeze around the top mark ahead. Mirsky came back with a better spinnaker set allowing him to get a leeward overlap. Gilmour remained unfazed, working on his boat speed and narrowly gybed across Mirsky’s bow to lead round the bottom mark. Another left shift made it easy work to the second windward mark and Gilmour eased away to take the win. After racing Gilmour said “It was quite tricky out there with the tide and shifty wind. I think a lot of teams struggled with their starting strategy today and passing lanes were hard to come by. We’re pretty happy with the way things worked out today.”

With a similar weather forecast for tomorrow everyone is looking forward more spectacular sailing in the beautiful Troia Resort.

Results from Day 1
Peter Gilmour, AUS, YANMAR Racing 5-0
Philippe Presti, FRA, French Team 4-1
Mathieu Richard, FRA, French Match Racing Team 4-1
Torvar Mirsky, AUS, Mirsky Racing 3-2
Adam Minoprio, NZL, ETNZ/BlackMatch 3-2
Ian Williams, GBR, Bahrain Team Pindar 3-2
Sebastien Col, FRA, French Team/K-Challenge 3-2
Bjorn Hansen, SWE, Team Onboard, 2-3
Phil Robertson, WAKA Racing, 2-3
Ian Ainslie, RSA, Team Proximo, 1-4
Alvaro Mourinho, POR, Seth Sailing Team, 0-5
Andrew Arbuzov, RUS, 0-5

Richard romps through to Match Race Germany Quarterfinals

[Source: World Match Racing Tour] The weather gods sent beautiful sunshine and a testing, shifty 8-10 knot breeze which enabled the race committee to complete a further 8 flights of the round robin on Day 2 of Match Race Germany.

The morning began with Francesco Bruni maintaining his winning form by taking his first two matches from the only German competitor Carsten Kemmling and the Swiss entry Eric Monnin. It was not until his next match that Bruni failed to maintain his clean scorecard. It was Frenchman Mathieu Richard who managed to skilfully take a win from the consistent Italian. Bruni was also deemed responsible for a collision during the match which resulted in damage to Richard’s boat and so the umpires inflicted a further 0.5 point deduction to his score line. However Bruni was not deterred by this defeat and went on to win a further two matches against current Tour leader Adam Minoprio and defending Tour Champion Ian Williams.

“We were not expecting so many points in the first two days of racing, for sure we are happy. It was a challenging match against Richard but a good start and winning the right side was key for winning in today’s conditions.”

Mathieu Richard had a successful day winning all three of his matches taking his winning tally to seven and solidifying his position as the leader on the scoreboard. The French man was rightly pleased with the days results.

Highlights from the second day of Match Race Germany 2009. Langenargen, 29 May 2009. Video copyright 1080 Media

“Today was a good day although I feel we were a little bit lucky with the shifty conditions. We were behind Monnin and Bruni but a combination of the wind shifts and some luck enabled us to get ahead. The team is doing a great job and we feel good with our performance. A good performance increases our confidence and our motivation to win. I hope it will last until the end of the week but we will have to see. ”

Old master Peter Gilmour of Yanmar Racing team put on a typically aggressive display in all three of his matches today, securing three wins in the process and edging him closer to the Quarter Finals. However he was deducted 1/3 of a point after the umpires decided that he shared some of the responsibility for a collision with Damien Iehl which resulted in damage and for which Iehl himself was deducted 2/3’s of a point.

Mathieu Richard leads Match Race Germany. Langenargen, 29 May 2009. Photo copyright Tobias Stoerkle

When asked to reflect about the jury’s decision to deduct a 1/3 of a point, Gilmour was very diplomatic “Any decision that goes to the jury we as sailors know anything can happen and the only guarantee is an outcome. The jury can see things differently and I may not agree. I respect the jury and the umpires have a difficult job and I appreciate what they do.”

While Bruni’s and Richards impeccable scores today assure them a place in the Quarter Finals, no one else in the field have yet secured such a certain outcome.

So the pressure is on for all teams to perform in every match and, with three races remaining for each team, the final six is still unclear at this stage.

The umpire team were kept busy all day, adjudicating on levels of aggressiveness not seen thus far in the competition. Whereas penalties yesterday were relatively few and far between, with half being for benign infractions like hitting marks, today the intense boat-on-boat action resulted in numerous penalties.

Tomorrow should provide a further spectacle for all the visitors that greet the shores of beautiful Lake Constance.

Current World Tour leader, Adam Minoprio and BlackMatch will have to race flawlessly in order to make it to the quarterfinals. Langenargen, 29 May 2009. Photo copyright Tobias Stoerkle

Results
Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Team 7-1
Francesco Bruni (ITA) Team Joe Fly 6.5-1
Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing 5.66-2
Ian Williams (GBR) Bahrain Team Pindar 5-3
Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing 4-4
Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Team Onboard 4-4
Sébastien Col (FRA) French Team/K-Challenge 4-4
Ben Ainslie (GBR) Team Origin 3-5
Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team 3-5
Damien Iehl (FRA) French Team 2.33-5
Eric Monnin (SUI) Team Search.ch 2-6
Carsten Kemmling (GER) 0-8

Valencia Sailing talks to Adam Minoprio

The young New Zealander match racer talked to Valencia Sailing on the eve of the Open de España Match Race in Calpe. Continuing the tradition of his small island country, Minoprio and BlackMatch came aggressively into the World Match Race Tour and won their first ever event in their second year in the circuit. Minoprio talks about his past, the present and his future in the Tour and, why not, the America's Cup. BlackMatch and the other 11 teams trained on Tuesday under, unfortunately, light and shifty conditions.

Valencia Sailing: Let’s start with a brief overview of your sailing background. I suppose, like most kiwi sailors, that you started in a very young age.

Adam Minoprio: I grew up in a farm in rural New Zealand. My father bought my first Optimist and we used to travel on weekends to the coast in order to have a little sail. From there I went on to race Optimist and started competing in Optimist events. I can’t remember too much of it right now but I really enjoyed it and wanted to do more each time. When I was 11 I won the New Zealand Optimist nationals and then went to the 1997 Worlds in Belfast. That was really my first taste of international sailing and from that point I felt I wanted to do more and really get into it. After that, I continued sailing the youth classes in New Zealand and went in a few more championships.

When I was 17 I joined the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron LION FOUNDATION Youth Training Programme. They have ten elliot 6m boats and they teach you how to sail keelboats and get you out on keelboats on Wednesday nights in southern Auckland. From there I was introduced match racing and went to youth regattas in Australia and America. I really enjoyed that and I learned about match racing, the World Match Racing Tour, the America’s Cup. I learned about all the top-level professionals, the lives they lived and led and thought it would be exciting to get into that. When I finished the youth training program in 2006, my mates and I decided to set up our own team, race in regattas, work our way up and hopefully get in the World Match Racing Tour. We developed a 5-year plan whose ultimate goal is to win the World Match Racing Tour in 2010.

On each step of our plan we decided we knew how much money we needed to raise. In the first years we had the support of Line 7 from New Zealand but after a couple of good results, people took better notice of us and FedEx joined us. All of us were students and last year was the first one we toured Europe full time. We started getting our act together, did very well in various events and ended up finishing the World tour 4th overall, something far beyond what anyone of us hoped to do. Our aim is to improve even further.

Adam Minoprio and BlackMatch Racing train on the eve of the Open de España Match Race. Calpe, 21 April 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Valencia Sailing: You are yet another top sailor from New Zealand that comes out of the youth training program. Is that the key to your nation’s success in sailing?

Adam Minoprio: The youth training program is the key to what you learn as a young sailor. It shows you what you can achieve and inspires you. We have figures such as Cameron Appleton, Gavin Brady and a bunch of others that went through the youth programs, sailing in the America's Cup, the Volvo Ocean Race the Farr 40 Worlds and many other top races. It shows what you can achieve if you put the effort. We also have great facilities, good boats and excellent coaches. It is the best you can have if you really want it and put the effort.

Valencia Sailing: This is now your second year in the World Match Racing Tour. How difficult was it for a young crew like BlackMatch Racing to compete in this level?

Adam Minoprio: Last year it was rather difficult. We were new and had never raced the other guys before. Some of the teams had been competing for more than 10 years while we went to Europe for more than couple of weeks for the first time. You know, when we had to race people such as Magnus Holmberg or Peter Gilmour we were impressed. We tried to do our best and last year was our learning year. Our mission was to learn as much as possible. We had a couple of good results and improved in each and every event. The more we improved, the more confident we got and in my view, success in the Tour is a combination of confidence and experience.

Valencia Sailing: The big breakthrough came last month in Marseille when you won a Tour event for the first time ever. How difficult was it? Did you expect it?

Adam Minoprio: We didn't expect it in the J80 class because the previous time we sailed a J80 boat we didn't have a huge success. We were hoping to compete and definitely get into the semifinals. It would have been a disappointment for us if we hadn't made it to the semis. It was a very tough field in Marseille and getting through to the quarterfinals was a big achievement. Then Ed Baird picked to race us in the quarter finals.

Valencia Sailing: That was a fatal error he committed.

Adam Minoprio: [Laughs] Yes. Last year, in every event we made it to the quarterfinals we were the team that others picked to race against. So, we wondered if that changed this year. When Baird picked us, he probably failed to notice that each time we were picked in the quarter finals we won. Of course, at the same time we were aware we had to race the America's Cup winner. It was a very tight match and to beat the America's Cup champion was a fantastic reward. Still, even after that victory we knew it wasn't over because we had to race 2 French guys that had lots of experience in J80's and were very competent match racers. Being in the semifinals and having achieved our goal we were able to sail much more relaxed and just enjoy ourselves. I think this is why we managed to sail very well and beat them.

Adam Minoprio and BlackMatch Racing train on the eve of the Open de España Match Race. Calpe, 21 April 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Valencia Sailing: What aspects in the World Match Racing Tour do you like and what do you think could be improved?

Adam Minoprio: What I like is that we go to a lot of fantastic locations to sail, a lot of different boats, there is a lot of fantastic people on the Tour and it's awesome racing everywhere you go. With the prize money we can make ends meet, so we can have a fun year, we are still young and don't have any mortgage payments to do. We are having a good time doing what we love. Hopefully we can go further from there. The only thing we don't like is that our home is in New Zealand, so we don't have home here in Europe. We are nomads traveling around. If we were Europeans it would be easier, we could go home between the regattas. That's the one part that could probably get us down a little but is also a motivation to succeed and in between the regattas we try to find other boats to sail so that we have less down time.

Valencia Sailing: Is it difficult to find sponsors for a team competing in the World Match Racing Tour?

Adam Minoprio: It is always hard to find sponsors but we had our sponsors not knowing we would have entered the Tour so we are pleased we ended up getting it. I think it would have been easier if we knew we had an entry in the Tour but, definitely, with the amount of TV coverage and the media the World Tour attracts it will be easier to find a sponsor.

Valencia Sailing: Let's talk about the future by mentioning three names. Russell Coutts, Dean Barker, Adam Minoprio. Is this the line of succession to the helm of the Team New Zealand America's Cup boat?

Adam Minoprio: [Laughs] I can only hope. It's going to be a long time before we even join this list of names and there is still a tremendous amount of work we need to do. It's a dream for the moment.

Valencia Sailing: Is it something you aspire to, you look forward to?

Adam Minoprio: This is definitely a goal.

Valencia Sailing: How difficult would it be to jump from these match racing yachts to an 85-90ft America's Cup yacht in, let's say 2-3 years? Do you have helming experience in bigger boats?

Adam Minoprio: I have driven some boats of that size, Maximus, a 100 footer, in New Zealand. I'm hoping to try and get more experience on bigger boats. I've done a few offshore races in 50 footers. It's going to be quite a long time before I get the opportunity to helm an America's Cup yacht, so I will be able to get a lot more experience.

Valencia Sailing: You have the support of Emirates Team New Zealand and its logo on your shirts. Does that mean you have any contractual obligation with them or could you go to any team that knocks on your door?

Adam Minoprio: I'm not signed up with Team New Zealand so I don't have any obligations. They have supported us and helped us get entry into World Tour events last year and as a result, we are very grateful to them. Ideally, being New Zealanders we would love to sail with them first. It's definitely our priority but you never know what could happen.

Valencia Sailing: Last but not least, Torvar Mirsky, the other antipodean young gun. Is he your toughest rival? Would you rather race against him or Peter Gilmour?

Adam Minoprio: They are both Australians so there is a lot of rivalry across the Tasman. He is another young guy on the Tour, he is of my generation of sailors and there will certainly be a lot of competition between us. We are good friends and we enjoy racing him, especially as of lately. Still, we wish him as much success as we have. Having another strong young guy adds value to the World Match Racing. There will is lot of competition and we always like to come out on top.