Torvar Mirsky wins Portugal Match Cup

[Source: World Match Racing Tour] In only their second full season on the World Match Racing Tour, Torvar Mirsky (AUS) and his Mirsky Racing Team of Kinley Fowler, Kyle Langford, Tudur Owen, and Graeme Spence have claimed their first win at the Troia Portugal Match Cup. Victory here for the 24-year old skipper puts him in company with other world-famous match racing legends who have been champions at this event, including Peter Gilmour, Chris Dickson, Peter Holmberg, and Ed Baird. And for their efforts, Mirsky and team have won 10,000 Euros of the 50,000 Euro prize money purse.

“It’s been six years in the making, but we’re finally here,” said an exuberant Mirsky. “So many times we’ve been so close, but just unable to get through, and today everything just came together for us. I’m still a bit stunned we’re here!”

Highlights from the final day of the Portugal Match Cup. Troia, 21 June 2009. Video copyright World Match Racing Tour

Mirsky took his fellow antipodean Adam Minoprio (NZL) and his Emirates Team New Zealand/BlackMatch team in just two matches of the first-to-two point Final, displaying a smooth sailing style and impeccable sense of timing both in the pre-starts and around the track. It is this same style that also in only two matches got him past Mathieu Richard (FRA) and his French Match Racing Team in the first-to-two point Semi-Final.

Mirsky Racing Team was not on fire throughout the entire event, however, as they barely qualified to the Quarter-Finals on a 6-6 win-loss record in the Round Robin. That all changed yesterday, however, as they went on to win all but one match in the Quarter-Final, Semi-Final, and Final rounds.

And while the first match of the Final was decided fairly early in the game as Mirsky took and extended on his winning start, the second match was far from easy. At the top mark the Kiwis were at the mark zone on the left, and attempted to force out the Aussies from claiming room with a hard luff. Amidst a heated exchange and calls for room, Mirsky managed to slip inside and around the mark in the lead, which he kept throughout the match to the finish.

Excellent performance by Mirsky Racing Team that score their first ever victory in a World Match Racing Tour event. Troia, 21 June 2009. Photo copyright Wander Roberto

“We enjoy a good rivalry with Adam and his team,” said Mirsky, “and actually trained with him over the past week in Valencia. He’s been doing so well lately, we needed this win just to slow him down!”

Indeed, in the overall World Championship leaderboard Minoprio’s runner-up finish here has earned him another 20 points to maintain a healthy 12 point lead. And on the strength of his exciting 2-1 win over Richard here in the Petite-Finals, Ian Williams (GBR) and his Bahrain Team Pindar have jumped up to the runner-up position, but only a point over Richard. And Mirsky has vaulted 25 points ahead to go from eighth to fourth.

Overall Results
1st Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing
2nd Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch
3rd Ian Williams (GBR) Bahrain Team Pindar
4th Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team
5th Philippe Presti (FRA) French Match Racing Team
6th Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing
7th Sebastien Col (FRA) French Match Racing Team/K-Challenge
8th Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Team Onboard
9th Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing
10th Alvaro Marinho (POR) Seth Sailing Team
11th Ian Ainslie (RSA) Team Proximo
12th Andrew Arbuzov (RUS)

Mirsky Racing Team take on France

[Source: Mirsky Racing Team] Mirsky Racing Team went into the day knowing they were one win away from a guaranteed top 4 placing and a semi final berth.

Facing the French Match Racing Team (Phillip Presti) in the moderate Portuguese sea breeze, MRT dominated the prestart and rounded the first top mark with a 5 boat length lead.

MRT displayed strong crew work to defend and even extend their lead to sail to victory over the French veteran.

"Although on paper, our last 2 regattas results have not been so great, we did learn a lot and we are now putting those lessons into practice. We are sailing quite well and are happy with our progress and really look forward to the semis", said MRT helmsman Torvar Mirsky after their morning quarterfinal victory.

The victory early in the day allowed MRT to sit back and watch the other quarterfinals battle it out a much sought after semi final place.

Once the quarterfinals were completed MRT were paired up to race the other French Match Racing Team skipper Mathieu Richard in the semi finals.

The breeze shut down and the competitors were not able to start the semi's.

The semi final races will be held tomorrow morning followed immediately by the finals to decide the 2009 Troia Match Cup champion.

Eight teams qualify for Portugal Match Cup quarterfinals, but Hansen and Presti are already on the ropes

[Source: World Match Racing Tour] After a long day stretched to the limits of sunset, Round Robin racing has been completed along with three flights of two pairs in the Quarter Final stage of the Troia Portugal Match Cup. Eight teams have advanced to this next stage in the competition out of 12 who came here for a slice of the 50,000 Euro prize money purse at the beautiful Troia Resort.

After a fitful start in the morning and an entire flight of matches abandoned for lack of wind, the westerly seabreeze finally filled to perfect strength, with 8-14 knots available all afternoon to complete the six flights of three matches left in the Round Robin. Emerging from the pack as winner of this stage on the strength of 9 wins was Philippe Presti (FRA) and his French Match Racing Team, though he went 1-1 on the day. His success in this stage was also due to a tie-break with fellow member of the French Match Racing Team Mathieu Richard.

Highlights from day 3 of the Portugal Match Cup. Troia, 19 June 2009. Video copyright World Match Racing Tour

Others advancing to the Quarter-Finals include, in order of finish in the Round Robin, Peter Gilmour (AUS) and the YANMAR Racing Team, Ian Williams (GBR) and his Bahrain Team Pindar, Adam Minoprio (NZL) and his Emirates Team New Zealand/BlackMatch team, Sebastian Col (FRA) and his French Match Racing Team/K Challenge, Torvar Mirsky (AUS) and his Mirsky Racing Team, and Bjorn Hansen (SWE) and his Team Onboard.

While finishing in 9th place and therefore not advancing to the next stage, its noteworthy to mention the extraordinary efforts put in by Phil Robertson (NZL) and his WAKA Racing team. In his matches against two other young Down Under talents, fellow Kiwi Minoprio and Aussie Mirsky, Robertson was extremely tough, taking both to their limits amidst heated pre-start and mark-rounding action. He and his team got beaten for not having quite that extra polish the others have in having spent the last two years in Tour competition, but his performance today certainly makes him one to watch for the future.

Quarter-Final pairings will be as follows: Presti vs. Mirsky; Richard vs. Hansen; Gilmour vs. Minoprio; and Col vs. Williams. And as the sun started descending into the Serra Arrabida, three flights of the Quarter-Finals were completed for the Presti-Mirsky and Richard-Hansen matches.

One victory on Saturday and Mirsky can be in the semifinals. Troia, 19 June 2009. Photo copyright Wander Robertor

With the depth of talent here at this event, it is perhaps of no surprise that the Round Robin winner is already on the ropes, as Presti has lost two to Mirsky in the first-to-three point round. Mirsky showed excellent timing and near-flawless teamwork to win his first two before falling to Presti in the critical third match.

Meanwhile it is Richard who has Hansen in a must-win situation for their first encounter tomorrow, having won the first and third matches in this stage. Their matches were particularly contentious, with furious tacking and gybing duels, numerous lead changes, and even a penalty in the first against Richard which he was just barely able to shed on the finish line.

Quarter-Final action resumes on Saturday morning at the Troia Portugal Match Cup.

Round Robin Results
1st Philippe Presti (FRA) French Match Racing Team
2nd Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team
3rd Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing
4th Ian Williams (GBR) Bahrain Team Pindar
5th Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch
6th Sebastien Col (FRA) French Match Racing Team/K-Challenge
7th Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing
8th Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Team Onboard
9th Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing
10th Alvaro Mourinho (POR) Seth Sailing Team
11th Ian Ainslie (RSA) Team Proximo
12th Andrew Arbuzov (RUS)

BlackMatch go unbeaten on day 3 and qualify for Quarterfinals of Portugal Match Cup

Hello from BlackMatch in Portugal,

Today we went unbeaten winning all 3 of our races and qualified for the quarterfinals in 5th position, not a bad birthday present for the BlackMatch skipper Adam Minoprio, who turned 24 today.

We had some very close racing today, including exciting wins against fellow Kiwi Phil Robertson and eventual round robin winner Philippe Presti.

Our race against Philippe saw the birthday boy nail the start, we gained a two boat length lead and were heading to the favoured right hand side of the course as the wind gusted up to 25 knots. The Frenchman did a great job of staying close to us in the blustery conditions, managing to make significant gains down the first run as we both surfed downwind. Nearing the bottom of the run they gained an inside overlap and sailed us past the bottom mark however following the gybe back to the mark and the spinnaker drop we still had the lead and inside rights. The world number 6 then failed to give us room at the bottom mark and was handed a penalty by the umpires while we had a great rounding and sailed defensively for the remainder of the race to seal the win.

The end of the round robin saw an in form Presti finish on top, with fellow Frenchman Mathieu Richard in second and veteran match racer Peter Gilmour in 3rd. Presti had the first choice of who to race in his quarter final match and chose Torvar Mirsky, while Richard chose bottom qualifier Bjorn Hansen. Gilmour was next to choose and in a repeat of Monsoon Cup 2007, he chose us.

The other quarter finals are now underway and will continue until the sun goes down while the sea breeze is pumping, however our match up with Gilmour will not happen until tomorrow due to there only being 6 boats and we are hoping the breeze will kick in again tomorrow.

BlackMatch would like to again thank their sponsors FedEx Express and Line 7 New Zealand. We would also like to thank our yacht club the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron and Emirates Team New Zealand.

Philippe Presti takes the lead in Portugal Match Cup

[Source: World Match Racing Tour] The French have come on strong here in Day Two action at the Troia Portugal Match Cup, as Philippe Presti, Sebastian Col, and Mathieu Richard of the French Match Racing Team all sharing in the top four places along with yesterday’s day-end leader Peter Gilmour (AUS) and his YANMAR Racing Team. Presti, on 8 wins, leads the field with just few flights remaining in the Round Robin competition.

Not only by being two points clear, but in also having beat his closest rivals Gilmour, Col, and Richard, Presti is in a comfortable position to advance as the top seed into the next Quarter-Final stage of the competition. But he does have the current Tour leader, Adam Minoprio (NZL) and his Emirates Team New Zealand/BlackMatch team, and Andrew Arbuzov (RUS) to play tomorrow morning when competition resumes.

“We sailed well today, the team did great,” said Presti of his undefeated record on the day. “We just hope to keep up this momentum for the rest of the week.”

Video highlights from day 2 of the Portugal Match Cup. Troia, 18 June 2009. Video copyright World Match Racing Tour

Presti and his team had to master a variety of conditions today, ranging from a light offshore breeze in the morning, followed by a long hiatus of no wind, then building to a brisk seabreeze in the afternoon, and then finally moderating to a shifty westerly which died with the setting sun. Another important factor on the race courses here in Troia is the tide, which at times has been up to 2 knots in strength and can have a considerable effect on laylines to starting and rounding marks.

But it was the fresh seabreeze and not the tide that produced considerable excitement in one of Presti’s closest matches of the day, that against Gilmour. With Gilly closing in from less than a length behind on the last downwind leg to the finish, Presti gybed to starboard to defend, with Gilly gybing to windward. With Gilmour threatening now to roll over him to take the lead, Presti luffed hard, making contact with Gilly as boats heeled, spinnakers flogged, and penalty flags flew.

Presti’s team were unable to gather their spinnaker into the boat, so in running over it they slowed enough to allow Gilly to roll over the top and into the lead with just metres left to the finish line. But with an outstanding penalty turn to perform, the YANMAR team had to drop their kite, hoist their jib, cross the finish line but then head up into the wind and tack before being eligible to finish, and the French were able to just get there in time to take the win.

Sébastien Col holds second spot in Portugal Match Cup. Troia, 18 June 2009. Photo copyright Wander Roberto

When asked about this match, an understated Presti claimed “It was quite funny, this one.” His exhausted crew may have felt otherwise, but this latest recipient of a Tour Card is certainly on a roll for now and will look to continue his winning ways when Round Robin racing resumes early tomorrow followed by the Quarter Final Stage in Day Three of the Troia Portugal Match Cup.

Results from Day 2
Philippe Presti, FRA, French Team 8-1
Sebastien Col, FRA, French Team/K-Challenge 6-3
Peter Gilmour, AUS, YANMAR Racing 6-1
Mathieu Richard, FRA, French Match Racing Team 5-1
Ian Williams, GBR, Bahrain Team Pindar 5-3
Torvar Mirsky, AUS, Mirsky Racing 4-4
Adam Minoprio, NZL, ETNZ/BlackMatch 4-4
Bjorn Hansen, SWE, Team Onboard, 3-4
Phil Robertson, WAKA Racing, 3-6
Andrew Arbuzov, RUS, 2-5
Ian Ainslie, RSA, Team Proximo, 1-8
Alvaro Mourinho, POR, Seth Sailing Team, 0-7

Torvar Mirsky still in the hunt in Portugal Match Cup

[Source: Mirsky Racing Team] Day two of the Portugal Match Cup saw competitors face long delays and trying conidtions. Mirsky Racing Team sits with 4 wins and 4 losses with 3 races left in the round before the quarter final stage.

A 10am scheduled start was quite optimistic by the race committee as the first race was sent off in light conditions where MRT was defeated by Team French Spirit (Mathieu Richard).

With the dying breeze competitors were sent ashore and did not return to the water until the afernoon when the late sea breeze settled in.

The afternoon saw some close racing for MRT where they were narrowly beaten by the French Match Racing Team (Phillip Presti). "We made a slight mistake on the line and gave them a small advantage on the one way track, we sailed well to finish half a length behind him but just couldn't get those last few meters", said MRT's Graeme Spence.

The final race MRT comfortably defeated the local Seth Sailing Team (Alvaro Marinho) to finish off the day.

With 3 races remaining MRT is looking forward to a strong pefromance in the business end of the regatta.

A special thanks to Line7, Harken and the Royal Perth Yacht Club for their support.

Mirsky Racing Team sits 6th in Portugal Match Cup with 4 wins and 4 defeats. Troia, 18 June 2009. Photo copyright Wander Roberto

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

Positive start for BlackMatch in Portugal

Greetings from BlackMatch in Portugal,

Today was the opening day of the Portugal Match Cup which is the fourth event on the World Match Racing Tour. Despite a few hiccups today, we finished with 3 wins and 2 losses including a nail biting win against the world number one, Sebastian Col.

With very convincing wins against Andrew Arbuzov and Ian Ainslie we were unlucky to lose against Australian Torvar Mirsky. We had an excellent start against Mirsky and gained a massive advantage after a great start, however the wind was unbelievably shifty today and we were caught on the wrong side of a huge wind shift that handed them the victory.

David Swete on the bow for ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing at Troia Portugal Match Cup 2009. Troia, 17 June 2009. Photo copyright Wander Roberto

Following a narrow loss to an unbeaten Peter Gilmour we came out firing against the defending Portugal Match Champion Sebastian Col. Managing to force a penalty on him in the pre-start and gain an even start, the Frenchman sailed a great first beat and held a narrow lead into the first downwind. We had to fight to stay in touch as they gradually ground out enough of a lead to undertake their penalty turn which they did nearing the top mark. We lee bow tacked close to the French team and went to luff them in a defensive move, they failed to keep clear and were handed another penalty but still held the inside advantage at the top mark. They held their nerve and engineered their boat into a position to take yet another penalty turn and still hold a narrow lead as we gybed to the finish line. We however now had the inside advantage and luffed hard again to force them above the pin end of the finish line, it wasn’t until a final ‘nerve racking’ gybe back to the finish that we were able to roll them and take a very narrow victory.

Round robin action will continue tomorrow and we are looking forward to notching up a few more wins in the hope of making the final 8. It is great to be joined at this regatta by fellow Kiwi Phil Robertson and his Waka Racing Team, we would like to wish them the best in their first world tour event.

Richard and Mirsky in the lead at Portugal Match Cup

[Source: World Match Racing Tour] Mathew Richard from the French Match Racing Team/Team French Spirit, the number one ISAF ranked sailor in the world, continued his excellent form after winning the recent World Tour event in Switzerland with a storming day at the Troia Portugal Match Cup, winning four of his five matches on the opening day.

With many of the world’s best match racing stars here sailing the SM40’s, the competition for the $125,000 prize money event has already proven fierce in the opening flights of the Round Robin phase. Richard defeated Manual Weiller from Spain, then local hero Alvaro Marinho in a close match, Kiwi Adam Minoprio, and rising Aussie star Torvar Mirsky, finalist in Match Cup Sweden, who had his wings clipped by a masterful French display in the first flight of the day.

Mathieu Richard takes on Alvaro Marinho at Troia Portugal Match Cup 2008. Troia, 24 September 2008. Photo copyright Wander Roberto

However, this seemed to only spur on the young antipodian, who went on to match Richard’s winning ways in the shifty 6-8 knot breeze, taking the next four matches. In his final race of the six man group, Mirsky was brilliant, shutting out Manual Weiller in the closing seconds before the start who then incurred a double penalty from the umpires in trying to recover his position – game over.

Mirsky was naturally delighted with his performance in tying Richard’s result and commented, “Today has been a great day. The wind is really good, the water is flat and the current makes for interesting racing. The conditions are perfect for sailing SM40’s and it’s been a fun day”.

Racing started mid-afternoon after a misty, breathless morning, the wind gradually filling from the west into the mouth of the bay into which the Troia peninsular juts, south of Setubal near Lisbon. As a beautiful nature reserve, Troia provides a spectacular setting to the contest, its sandy beaches and lush greenery a huge draw for visitors, with a championship golf course and a new luxury hotel completing the scene.

Torvar Mirsky and his Mirsky Racing Team are second after the 1st day of Troia Portugal Match Cup 2008. Troia, 24 September 2008. Photo copyright Wander Roberto

The second group managed only one flight before both the wind and the light faded, with reigning World Match Racing Tour Champion and current leader, Ian Williams from the UK, winning the battle of the Brits, taking down newcomer Nick Cherry in his very first Tour race. Frenchman Seb Col again showed his class having won the biggest event of the year in Korea, he defeated the hugely experienced Magnus Holmberg from Sweden in a spirited opening match. Meanwhile another America’s Cup veteran, Paolo Cian from Italy kicked off his challenge for the Troia Portugal Match Cup by beating Bjorn Hansen from Sweden, with a stunning sunset rounding off the day.

Everyone is looking forward to tomorrow with the anticipation of some top class sailing, as this strong group moves through their flights, every match promising to be a classic, such as the first one – Col v Cian while Williams takes on Holmberg. Quite a day in store with racing planned to start mid-morning once the breeze builds.

Results after day 1

1. Mathieu Richard (FRA),French Match Racing Team/Team French Spirit 4 - 1
2. Torvar Mirsky (AUS), Mirsky Racing Team 4 – 1
3. Damien Iehl (FRA), French Match Racing Team 3 - 2
4. Alvaro Marinho (POR), 2 - 3
5. Adam Minoprio (NZL), Emirates Team New Zealand/BlackMatch Racing 1 - 4
6. Manuel Weiller (ESP), 1-4
7. Ian Williams (GBR), Team Pindar 1 - 0
8. Paolo Cian (ITA), Team Shosholoza 1 – 0
9. Sebastian Col (FRA), French Match Racing Team/K-Challenge 1 – 0
10. Magnus Holmberg (SWE), Victory Challenge 0 – 1
11. Bjorn Hansen (SWE), Alandia Sailing Team Team 0 – 1
12. Nick Cherry (GBR), Cherry Racing 0 - 1