Malcesine RC 44 Cup starts tomorrow

[Source: RC44] The fourth regatta of the RC 44 Championship Tour 2009 starts tomorrow on Lake Garda. The RC 44 fleet welcomes Frank Pong and his new Team Jelik, from Hong Kong. DHL, the Class’ logistics partner, announces that around 16 tons of CO2 have been compensated thanks to their innovative GoGreen campaign.

Fifteen knots of wind, great sunshine and flat water: those are the conditions that the ten teams involved in the Malcesine RC 44 Cup hope to get this week. Lake Garda is situated about 65 metres above sea level between the Alps and the Po plain; it is the largest lake in Italy. The northern part of the lake is surrounded by mountainous peaks that create a funnel effect and generate the local winds – the Ora between midday and the early hours of the evening and the Vento between midnight and mid-morning.

Frank Pong’s Team Jelik sailing for the first time in the RC44 championship Tour, with Adam Minoprio calling tactics. Malcesine, 7 July 2009. Photo copyright Nico Martinez

Organised by Fraglia Vela di Malcesine, the regatta begins tomorrow with the match racing event. Winner of the last regatta and leader of the Championship Tour, Chris Bake’s Team Aqua with Cameron Appleton at the helm is one of the favourites of the series, alongside Torbjorn Tornqvist / Dean Baker’s Artemis and Larry Ellison / Russell Coutts’ BMW ORACLE Racing, who won the match race event in Malcesine last year. Also to be reckoned with, Maciej Nawrocki and Karol Jablonski’s team Organika, second of the match race event in Austria last month and Igor Lah / Sébastien Col’s Ceeref.

The fleet regatta will take place from Friday 10 till Sunday 12. The long distance regatta - the DHL Trophy - will count for double; it will most probably take place on Saturday.

The ten RC 44’s have been training hard over the past days. This morning, Frank Pong’s Team Jelik, who join the Class for the first time, had a first “lake trial” with 20+ knots of wind. “Now I understand why everybody says that Lake Garda is such a fantastic place for sailing”, said Pong. “It was absolutely awesome.”

The teams involved:
(Name of team, owner, pro sailor)

Team Aqua, Chris Bake / Cameron Appleton
Team Ceeref, Igor Lah / Sébastien Col
Sea Dubai, Yousef Lahej, DIMC / Markus Wieser
BMW ORACLE Racing, Larry Ellison / Russell Coutts
Team Organika, Maciej Nawrocki / Karol Jablonski
Puerto Calero Islas Canarias, Daniel Calero / Jose Maria Ponce
Artemis, Torbjorn Tornqvist / Dean Barker
No Way Back, Pieter Heerema / Ray Davies
Team Austria, René Mangold / Christian Binder
Team Jelik, Frank Pong / Adam Minoprio

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

Alinghi's Ed Baird wins MIMR round robin clear by only one point

[Source: World Match Racing Tour] In contrast to yesterday’s stately emphasis on timing and speed in light air, today’s match racing action was fast and furious in a breezy Round Robin run-up to the Quarter-Finals of the Marseille International Match Race. Out of a top-ranked field of 12 teams competing for a piece of the €50,000 total purse, only eight have survived this day to carry on in the competition of this first stage in the 2009 World Match Racing Tour.

Leading this pack is Ed Baird (USA) and his America’s Cup-winning crew from Alinghi, whose 5-4 win-loss record of the day would not seem remarkable except that he managed to defeat not only the top two seeds in the competition yesterday - reigning World Champion Ian Williams (GBR) and his Bahrain Team Pindar and Sebastian Col (FRA) and his French Match Racing Team/K-Challenge – but also yesterday’s undefeated Paolo Cian (ITA) and his Team Shosholoza.

Having won this Stage One of the competition, Baird has earned the right to choose his opponent in tomorrow’s start to the first-to-three point Quarter-Final round.

Ed Baird loses to Torvar Mirsky. Marseille, 13 March 2009. Photo copyright Gilles Martin-Raget

Appreciative of his team of Lorenzo Mazza, Pieter Van Nieuwenhuijzen, and Warwick Fleury, Baird said “The three guys sailing with me have really earned their living this week. Today especially, with so many starts, tacks, and gybes, we had a lot on all day. It was tough out there, we got beat up by the wind more than anything.”

The wind was tough on race managers from the YC Pointe Rouge as well, who kept busy trying to keep on top of a breeze which flicked back and forth and up and down between a weak offshore Mistral and a late onshore sea breeze. Choosing the correct side of the course was critical in many of today’s nine flights, but even those that chose well had to stay sharp, lest their leads earned early evaporate in the warm Mediterranean sun.

On how he felt getting back into Tour competition, Baird said “It’s great to be out there again with a chance to get back out and race these guys - it was fun!”

While Cian’s impressive 7-0 score yesterday assured him some place in the Quarter-Finals, no one else in the field had such a certain outcome, and even Cian succumbed to lose to all four of his opponents today. In fact, no less than five teams were tied on six points in the 4th through 8th slots in the results.

So the pressure was on for all teams to perform in every match, and the final eight not known until the very last flight. Accordingly, Chief Umpire Alfredo Ricci and his 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, some deciding matches even as late as on the finish line.

One such match was in Flight 12 in a hotly-contested race between Col and Bjorn Hansen (SWE) and his Team Onboard. Perhaps feeling the pressure to perform as the local favourite, Col made an uncharacteristic error which he would have normally avoided when Hansen, in the lead but carrying a penalty, lured Col to sail between him and the signal boat at the finish. The infraction cost him two penalties from match umpires Philippe Gomez and Arnault Mante, with the first offsetting Hansen’s to clear him without doing a turn to finish and win the match, and the second requiring Col to do his own turn before finishing himself.

But for as many tactical errors as there may have been amongst this talented field, there were also some moments of absolute brilliance. Perhaps with skills learned in winning the qualifying Y’s Cup event, in Flight 10, Damien Iehl (FRA) and his French Match Racing Team pulled off an impressive double-gybe manoeuvre while remaining overlapped to leeward of Torvar Mirsky (AUS) and his Mirsky Racing Team on their final approach into the leeward mark. The move conferred luffing rights to Iehl, who then copped a penalty on the Australians they could not shake before the finish.

Young gun Adam Minoprio finishes the round robin in 6th place. Marseille, 13 March 2009. Photo copyright Gilles Martin-Raget

Moves like this gave Iehl a 7-4 record, the highest among the non-Tour Card teams and third overall in the Round Robin. Baird, Cian, and Iehl will be joined by Col, Williams, Mirsky, Mathieu Richard (FRA) and his French Match Racing Team/French Spirit, and Adam Minoprio (NZL) and his ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing Team on Saturday morning in the first-to-three point Quarter-Final, due to start at 1000 local time.

Final Results
1. Ed Baird (USA) Alinghi 8-3
2. Paolo Cian (ITA) Team Shosholoza 7-4
3. Damien Iehl (FRA) French Match Racing Team 7-4
4. Sébastien Col (FRA) French Match Racing Team 6-5
5. Ian Williams (GBR) Bahrain Team Pindar 6-5
6. Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing Team 6-5
7. Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team 6-5
8. Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team/French Spirit 6-5
9. Philippe Presti (FRA) French Match Racing Team/French Spirit 5-6
10. Pierre Antoine Morvan (FRA) French Match Racing Team 3-8
11. Bjorn Hansen (SWE) 3-8
12. Ian Ainslie (RSA) Team Proximo 3-8

Sébastien Col holds on to top spot in match race rankings

[Source: ISAF] Sébastien Col and Claire Leroy maintain the French domination at the top in the ISAF World Match Race Rankings released on 4 March 2009. France’s top match racers continue to lead the way in the ISAF World Match Race Rankings, holding both world #1 positions within a total of 10 skippers placed in the top-20 across the Open and Women’s Ranking lists. Sébastien Col (FRA) stays top of the Open Rankings ahead of the 2007 and 2008 ISAF Match Racing World Champion Ian Williams(GBR), and another member of the all-conquering French Racing Team, Mathieu Richard (FRA).


Both Col and Williams were in action at the major event in the latest Ranking period, the ISAF Grade 1 Louis Vuitton Pacific Series held in Auckland at the start of February. Col, Williams and Italy’s world #4 skipper Paolo Cian were amongst the regulars from the World Match Racing Tour who seized the opportunity to line up against some of the sport’s biggest stars in America’s Cup class boats. However it was the big names who dominated proceedings, with Kiwi skipper Dean Barker leading Emirates Team New Zealand to victory in the final over America’s Cup Defender Alinghi, with American Ed Baird at the helm.

Barker climbs over 150 places from #312 in the Rankings to #147, whilst Baird, a three-time winner of the ISAF Match Racing World Championship, is slightly higher at #122. Baird is likely to become a bigger feature on the Ranking list as the year progresses, with the announcement he will lead an Alinghi team on this year’s World Tour circuit.

The Calero brothers dominate day one of the RC44 fleet race event

[Source: RC44] Sailed in very light winds, today’s races have been difficult for the crews, who struggled to find the favoured side of the course and get some speed because of the chop. Steering respectively BMW ORACLE Racing and Team Puerto Calero Islas Canarias 1, Daniel and José Juan Calero are the heroes of the day, with a victory for each of the local brothers.

This is one of the best days of their life: José Juan and Daniel Calero have both won a race today, one day one of the fleet racing event, beating some of the best teams in the world and achieving a dream.

Highlights from the 3rd day of racing. Puerto Calero, 27 February 2009. Video copyright RC44

The conditions were particularly difficult, with a light breeze and fairly strong chop. The first regatta started just after lunch time, under a gray sky and with 5-6 knots breeze. Team Ceeref took an excellent start, and extended its lead alongside BMW ORACLE Racing throughout the race. The Slovenian team made a rare mistake during the last downwind leg, letting the American boat – helmed by Daniel Calero - cross the arrival line first.

The second race started soon after, in similar conditions. Thanks to a great start and a perfect strategy, team Puerto Calero Islas Canarias 1 took an early lead, followed by Artemis and Ceeref. José Juan Calero kept concentrated at the helm, maintaining a small lead over Torbjorn Tornqvist's Artemis. Race Officer Peter Reggio made a wise decision to shorten the course after the second beat, as the wind was dying completely. The local team won the race ahead of Artemis and Ceeref to the great joy of helmsman José Juan Calero and the whole team.

Start of the RC44 fleet race. Puerto Calero, 27 February 2009. Photo copyright Nico Martinez

BMW ORACLE Racing and Ceeref share the lead with 5 points, ahead of Puerto Calero Islas Canarias 1 and Artemis (6 points). Two more days of fleet racing are scheduled.

They said:

Daniel Calero, helmsman, BMW ORACLE Racing: "This experience is absolutely unique for me. For anyone who loves sailing, this team is just one of the best in the world. When Russell asked me to steer the boat, I was very nervous and felt a big pressure. To win the first race today was just extraordinary. And then my brother wins the second regatta; it’s just extraordinary."

José Juan Calero, helmsman, Team Islas Canarias Puerto Calero 1: "I couldn’t be happier because my brother and I have both won a race today. This is my first race and I am full of emotions. This is a gift! It also shows how great our team is, and that we can do it. The race was complicated, but José Maria Ponce gave me great advice. His strategic advice was just perfect."

Daniel Calero helms the BMW Oracle to victory in the first race. Puerto Calero, 27 February 2009. Photo copyright Nico Martinez

Sébastien Col, tactician, Ceeref: "It was difficult to get the boat going because of the chop. The key factor was to establish a good communication between the helmsman and the trimmers. We also tried to keep clear from the other boats. The crew positioning is also very important in those conditions. Altogether, we weigh 680 kilos, so it is important to be centered, and positioned quite forward. I also think that it is essential to stabilize the heel, at approximately 15-18 degrees in this wind, so that the helmsman keeps a consistent feeling at the helm."

Islas Canarias Puerto Calero sails to victory in the second race. Puerto Calero, 27 February 2009. Photo copyright Nico Martinez

Fleet-race, provisional results after two races:
(Ranking, name of team, helmsman, results, points)

1) BMW ORACLE Racing, Daniel Calero, 1, 4 – 5 points
2) Ceeref, Igor Lah, 2,3 - 5 points
3) Puerto Calero Islas Canarias 1, José Juan Calero, 5, 1 – 6 points
4) Artemis, Torbjorn Tornqvist, 4, 2 – 6 points
5) Team Aqua, Chris Bake, 3, 6 - 9 points
6) Team Organika, Maciej Navrocki, 8, 5 – 13 points
7) Puerto Calero Islas Canarias 2, Carlo Morales, 6, 8 – 14 points
8) No Way Back, Pieter Heerema, 7, 7 – 14 points

Team Ceeref, with Sébastien Col, remains the best RC 44 match race team

[Source: RC44] Replacing James Spithill for this event, Sébastien Col and the Slovenian team Ceeref have dominated the match race event of the Puerto Calero RC 44 Cup, winning all their matches. Cameron Appleton and Team Aqua finish second, and Russell Coutts’ BMW ORACLE Racing third.

Winner of last year's match race championship, the Slovenian team Ceeref started the 2009 championship in unknown – yet very reliable – hands with substitute driver Sébastien Col. The French match race champion proved to be the right person, leading his new team to victory and dominating the tournament by winning all of his matches.

Highlights from the 2nd day of racing. Puerto Calero, 26 February 2009. Video copyright RC44

The conditions were once again light and irregular today in Puerto Calero, and Race Officer Peter “Luigi” Reggio did his very best to conclude the round robin before the night, changing the course constantly to match the wind direction changes.

The first flight of the day – the fourth altogether – finally started at 1:30 PM after numerous postponements. Both Team Aqua and No Way Back had fairly easy rides against BMW ORACLE Racing (penalised by a premature start) and Organika. As for Artemis and Ceeref, they had to contain the attacks of the two Spanish entries, Puerto Calero Islas Canarias 1 and 2, sailing aggressively and keeping in touch with the best. Led by Philippe Presti, team No Way Back was still unbeaten at this stage, which is a great achievement considering the fact that it is their first RC 44 regatta. The rest of the day proved however to be harder for them.

Sébastien Col was unbeatable on the helm of Team CEEREF. Puerto Calero, 26 February 2009. Photo copyright Nico Martinez

Ceeref made the break in the fifth flight after beating BMW ORACLE Racing with a very comfortable margin and taking a two points lead over their closest opponents. The sky started to turn grey, looking as threatening as some of the manoeuvres attempted by the two Spanish teams – directly opposed to each other during the sixth flight. The outcome of this friendly – or was it? – dual was a victory by the Spanish match race champion José Maria Ponce on Olympic champion Luis Doreste, ESP 1 beating ESP 2.

At this stage, Ceeref could not be reached anymore and a fierce battle for the second and third podium positions started between Team Aqua, Artemis, No Way Back and BMW ORACLE Racing. Very solid till then, Artemis – helmed by owner Torbjorn Tornqvist with Dean Barker’s advice – suffered in the end of the day, loosing to Ceeref and BMW ORACLE Racing. Unlucky earlier in the day, Russell Coutts and his team got it right against Philippe Presti, Torben Tornqvist and Karol Jablonski, climbing back to third overall. As for Team Aqua, brilliant throughout the tournament, it finishes the event in the second spot, having only lost to Seb Col and Philippe Presti. A good season start!

Philippe Presti is another of the helmsmen that make their debut in the RC44 class. Puerto Calero, 26 February 2009. Photo copyright Nico Martinez

They said:

Sébastien Col, helmsman, Ceeref: "I am very happy with the way we sailed this tournament. The team is great, and we were all very calm and concentrated throughout the event, even when we were making mistakes. Michele Ivaldi did a great job at the tactics, he has been great and I have learned a lot of things by sailing with him."

Dean Barker, coach, Artemis: "It was very interesting to coach Torbjorn because it was his first match race event and it kind of forced me to think back about the essentials. It’s difficult, because there is always a little gap between what you would do and when it happens, because you have to say it first and it’s not easy to put your thoughts into words. You really need to anticipate a lot."

Cameron Appleton, helmsman, Team Aqua: "We have new guys on board, and Chris arrived throughout the event so we have grown as a team throughout the event. I think we sailed very well. Sometimes last year we were in a position to win but we just lacked that little winning spirit. We are now back up one step, and I am grateful to Chris for letting us put in place a great team & program."

José Maria Ponce, helmsman, Team Islas Canarias Puerto Calero 1: "I am not very satisfied with the way we sailed; there are a few races we could have won. Obviously, we need more time to get the feel and reach the right level. But our team is great and very compact and I already look forward to Cagliari."

Russell Coutts, helmsman, BMW ORACLE Racing: "This was really a tough day wind wise. There wasn’t a clear favoured side, and we struggled to find the right strategy. Ceeref and Seb Col obviously sailed very well today."

Locals Islas Canarias Puerto Calero are taking part with two teams. Puerto Calero, 26 February 2009. Photo copyright Nico Martinez

Match-race, final results:
(Name of team, helmsman, No of victories / defeats, points)

1) Ceeref, Sébastien Col, 7/0 - 7 points
2) Team Aqua, Cameron Appleton, 5/2 - 5 points
3) BMW ORACLE Racing, Russell Coutts, 5/2 – 5 points
4) Artemis, Torbjorn Tornqvist, 4/3 – 4 points
5) No Way Back, Philippe Presti, 4/3 – 4 points
6) Puerto Calero Islas Canarias 2, Carlos Morales, 1/6 – 1 point
7) Team Organika, Karol Jablonski 1/6 – 1 point
8) Puerto Calero Islas Canarias 1, José Maria Ponce, 1/6 -0 point (incl. one penalty)

Sébastien Col's season kick offs at Marseille International Match Race

[Source: K-Challenge] Back from the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series in Auckland, New Zealand, where Sebastien Col led K-Challenge's team against the best America's Cup skippers to launch the 2009 season, he will race again with most of them this year on the World Match Racing Tour. Sebastien will have the goal to reach what he missed last year for a few points only: the Match Racing World Champion title.

So this season looks very promising in terms of sailing show and duels, as most of these “top skippers” will already start the tour at the Marseille International Match Race in order to put all the chances on their side, and to get points, as the MIMR becomes this year the first official event of “sailing's ATP tour”, which is the World Match Racing Tour.

The competition will take place from 9 to 14 March on Marseille's fabulous race course, and will be organized with the support of YCPR (Yachting Club de la Pointe Rouge), which is Sebastien Col's yacht club.

Six teams are already qualified thanks to the new World Tour cards for all the World Tour's events:

1. Ian Williams (GBR) Bahrain Team Pindar – 2 x defending ISAF Match Racing World Champion.
2. Sébastien Col (FRA) French Team/K-Challenge – America’s Cup helmsman and ISAF ranked number one match racer
3. Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Team/Team French Spirit
4. Paolo Cian (ITA) Team Shosholoza
5. Adam Minoprio (NZL) Emirates Team New Zealand/Black Match Racing
6. Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team

Other top teams are also planning to compete in this year's World Match Racing Tour, such as Ben Ainslie (Team Origin) or Magnus Holmberg (Victory Challenge).

Sebastien Col's team in Marseille will be formed of Christophe Andre, Gilles Favennec and Pascal Rambeau.

Sebastien Col : "I'm very happy for my club, YCPR, and all the club members who helped this event to grow year by year with the support of the French Sailing Federation. It is a great asset for us to have a World Match Racing Tour's event here. We start this season leading the world ranking, and we will prepare the event with a training with the French team in Marseille with our sparring partners. I look forward to sailing again with Pascal Rambeau, as we did a very good test together last year: we won a grade 1 event in Berlin. Everybody in our team was happy to sail with Pascal. With Christophe Andre and Gilles Favennec, we have a very good team. It is up to us to be good and to work properly!"

Sebastien Col and his crew will take part this year to the ten events in the World Match Racing Tour's programme, and they will also sail the Congressional Cup (Long Beach, California, 23-28 March).

K-Challenge unveils crew for the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series

[Source: K-Challenge] K-Challenge is proud to introduce its crew list for the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series which will be held in Auckland, New Zealand, from 1-14 February 2009.

This team that was gathered by Sebastien Col will arrive in Auckland on January 23, in order to start the training with the nine other competing teams. FRA93 is now ready to sail again, and a training session against other teams is now being organized for January.

Stephane Kandler, K-Challenge CEO: “The Louis Vuitton Pacific Series will be a fantastic opening for the 2009 season for K-Challenge, who will represent France for this great event, which is going to be exceptional. Sebastien Col gathered a top quality team with him: they are sailors who have a huge experience of America’s Cup Class boats and of match racing, besides their impressive prize lists. Our goal will be to use the maximum out of this potential, and our leitmotiv will be to go as far as possible in the competition.”

Sebastien Col and his K-Challenge crew won the Portugal Match Cup. From left (holding the trophies) Olivier Douillard, Frederic Guilmin, Christophe André, Gilles Favennec and Sebastien Col. Troia, 28 September 2008. Photo copyright Wander Roberto

Crew list- Bow: Jean-Marie Dauris (United Internet Team Germany 2007, Le Défi Areva 2003)
- Mid-bow: Christophe André (Areva Challenge 2007, Equipe de France de Match Racing with Sebastien Col)
- Mast: Jann Neergaard (BMW Oracle Racing 2007, Alinghi 2003)
- Pit: Gilles Favennec (Areva Challenge 2007, Equipe de France de Match Racing with Sebastien Col, Le Défi Areva 2003)
- Pit Assist: Bruno Jeanjean (America’s Cup with the French teams in 1992 and 1995)
- Grinder: Federico Giovanelli (Desafio Español 2007, Prada Challenge 2003)
- Grinder: Carlo Castellano (Desafio Español 2007, Mascalzone Latino 2003, Il Moro de Venezia 1992)
- Trimmer / Spinnaker: Olivier Douillard (Areva Challenge 2007, Equipe de France de Match Racing with Sebastien Col, Le Défi Areva 2003)
- Trimmer / Jib: Christian Scherrer (+39 Challenge 2007, Alinghi 2003, Equipe de France de Match Racing with Sebastien Col)
- Grinder: Enrico de Maria (Alinghi 2007, 2003)
- Trimmer / Main Sail: Yann Gouniot (Alinghi 2007, France3 1995, Ville de Paris 1992, French Kiss 1987, France3 1983
- Traveller: Erwan Israel (Equipe de France de Match Racing with Sebastien Col)
- Helmsman: Sebastien Col (Areva Challenge 2007, Le Défi Areva 2003)
- Tactician: Rod Dawson (BMW Oracle Racing 2007, Oneworld 2003)
- Strategist: Fred Guilmin (Areva Challenge 2007, Equipe de France de Match Racing with Sebastien Col, Le Défi Areva 2003)
- Grinder : Virgilio Torrecilla (Desafio Español 2007, Bravo España 2000)
- Navigator : Philippe Mourniac (United Internet Team Germany 2007, Le Défi Areva 2003, Ville de Paris 1992)

Sebastien Col and his K-Challenge crew won the Portugal Match Cup. Troia, 28 September 2008. Photo copyright Wander Roberto

“It is a great satisfaction to have gathered a powerful crew for the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series with K-Challenge”, says Sebastien Col. “In this team, we will have seven sailors who took part to the 2008 World Match Racing Tour with me; moreover they all won at least one of the events of the circuit.

For the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series, I relied on several people to build the best team by co-optation, so that each person in the group has already sailed at least once with another one. So we have a group that starts with common human bases.

It has been a lot of work, but my method was to involve a maximum of team members in the building of the team, looking at the people working together on board.”

Jean-Pierre Champion, President of the FFVoile, French Sailing Federation concludes: “The crew looks really promising, with several young talents coming from the French Match Racing team, as for example most of the guys in the afterguard. This recruitment is the result of the work that the K-Challenge team carried out these last months. Besides, they are also the only French team competing in the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Louis Vuitton for the organization of that event which will mark the beginning of the 2009 season.”

Sebastien Col wins the Berlin Match Race

[Source: K-Challenge] Sébastien Col wins the Berlin Match Race with Gilles Favennec, Christophe André and Pascal Rambeau, in a very light wind of 4 to 6 knots.

After having won the semi-final against Damien Iehl, Sébastien wins the final against Philippe Presti.

Sebastien Col from Berlin : “today we really improved and we got better compared to the other days. We had a little lack of speed in the semi-final against Damien Iehl which was a very tight match, but we sailed well. Against Philippe Presti, we managed to start on the best side from the beginning, sailing on the right side of the race course. We’re very happy, and this was a very promising first experience with Pascal Rambeau.”

Sébastien Col races in the Berlin Match Race in very light winds. Berlin, 2 November 2008. Photo copyright Stephan Zimmermann

Next important competition will now be the Monsoon Cup in Malaysia, December 3-7, where the World Match Racing Tour title will be awarded.

Sebastien Col about the Monsoon Cup 2008:

“My first goal is the WMRT title, the second one is the Monsoon Cup regatta itself.

We will decide on Monday who will sail with Gilles Favennec, Christophe André, Christian Scherrer and I, that is to say we will decide which sailor will be in charge of tactics. Then we will see how we will prepare ourselves in the last run before flying to Malaysia.

We’re also looking forward to the confirmation of the entry list, as it could have an influence on the way we will manage the regatta. For the moment, we could face 10 teams with a very high level who could potentially win the Monsoon Cup. The confirmed entries are the 5 firsts of the WMRT, (Williams, Col, Richard, Minoprio, Mirsky and Holmberg), Gilmour, possibly Barker, Baird, Ainslie, one other sailor, and the 2 ones who went through the qualifications.

So we don’t think too much about the Monsoon Cup results, we will have to be ready in the best shape, highly motivated as always, and above all, we’ll have to be confident.

This year has already been a big “bonus” for us, and now there might be “a cherry on the top of the cake” as we say in French.

Our goal is to win the WMRT title, not pretending we can win the Monsoon Cup. This year has been a bit exceptional for us. I have met a lot of sailors and I have tested many crew configurations. We did a great job in the end as the results were there too. At the Monsoon Cup, we will fight hard and give our maximum, as we always do with my team.”

Sébastien Col wins Troia Portugal Match Cup

[Source: World Match Racing Tour] Second win on the 2008 World Tour, earned 2-0 against runner-up Magnus Holmbe

After a long day that started with having to defeat one of his own team mates from the French Match Racing Team, Sebastian Col (FRA) and his crew of Gilles Favennec, Christophe Andre, Philippe Mourniac, and Olivier Douliard have won the Troia Portugal Match Cup. Getting past Magnus Holmberg (SWE) and his Victory Challenge team 2-0 in an exciting Final series, Col and crew have taken the top prize of US$30,000 of the $125,000 purse and earned 25 points on the 2008 World Tour leaderboard.

“We started the day with a lot of pressure on us,” said the mild-mannered Col, “since we felt that any of us could win, so we didn’t sail very well. But after beating Damien Iehl, we relaxed and started to really focus, and I think we sailed much better against Magnus in the Finals.”

Col and his French Match Racing Team/K-Challenge crew had to get better, as the conditions became increasingly challenging throughout the day for the remaining teams in the competition. Besides the fresh 15-22 knot easterly blowing straight down the Rio Sada in front of the Troia Resort Marina, the other huge factor today was the strong tidal current, which reached a staggering 4 knots at its peak. This made pre-start and mark rounding tactics interesting and at times unconventional: for example, against the strong ebb current which lie nearly parallel to the wind, it was almost always better to tack than gybe in the pre-starts, and the mark roundings became tricky maneuvers at best. Windward legs were long, drawn out affairs, while runs were over in a flash.

But the day didn’t start with this strong ebb – in fact, it started with a weak flood and a cloud of uncertainty, as three teams in the morning’s final flight of the Round Robin had a shot for the last remaining spot in the Semi-Finals. With Paolo Cian (ITA) from Team Shosholoza defeating Torvar Mirsky (AUS) and the Mirsky Racing Team in the second match, all eyes were on the final run of the third match, where Bjorn Hansen (SWE) and his Alandia Sailing Team were fully entangled in a furious, spinnaker-flogging luffing match with Damien Iehl (FRA) and his quartet of crew from the French Match Racing Team on the final run to the finish. Just metres short of the line, Iehl’s one last luff managed to get his SM40 across by what PRO Miguel Allen said was “20 centimetres,” thus earning him the win and the tie-break to the Semis.

Since yet another member of the French Match Racing Team, Mathieu Richard, was on top from the Round Robin, he was free to choose Holmberg to play, the only non-French team in the stage. It didn’t start well for the mostly-Swedish team (which includes US-based trimmer Charlie McKee): down 2-0 in the first-to-three point series, and with an all-French final looking imminent, Holmberg rallied in the third match to lead Richard around the track and even draw a penalty on his French rival at their bottom mark turn. In a close fourth match, Richard got managed to get past Holmberg on the run towards the bottom mark, but the building ebb tide and an aggressive and clever defense of the inside position took the pair past the mark and had them both sailing back upwind to it in the face of wind and tide. A disastrous kite drop by the French allowed Holmberg to waltz through into a convincing win to bring the series even.

In the last match, Holmberg chose the right side of the beat, Richard the left, and while right was initially favored, it soon caved in, so when Holmberg tacked to cover the closing French, he did so a little too close, earning him a penalty. He still kept the lead by tacking back left, getting to the top and bottom marks first, and extending enough on the beat to do his penalty turn before Richard closed to within only 2 lengths at the finish downwind.

And while Col and Iehl tangled horns in all their matches, Col emerged from the series with his required three points in only four matches, with a collision to Iehl’s stern in a misjudged cross and resultant penalty being the only blemish to his record.

With a major wind shift requiring course realignment and a new boat to rig, the decision was made to shorten the Finals and Petit-Finals to first-to-two points. So, under increasing clouds, breeze, tide, and approaching rain, the stage seemed to have more fireworks among the two French teams in the Petit-Final, with Iehl and Richard taking one each under the watchful eyes of match umpires Manuel Santos Silva (POR) and Pedro Rodrigues (POR) before Richard finally prevailed in a relatively benign third match.

And in the Finals, Holmberg and Col initially split off to different sides of the first beat, with a shoal area on the left side providing a little more relief from the gushing tide than the beach side on the right. Since Col got there and controlled that side better, he led throughout the first match and even managed to extend enough to wipe off a pre-start penalty levied by match umpires Bill Edgerton (GBR) and Alfredo Ricci (ITA) in the second to take the overall win.

The Troia Portugal Match Cup was the seventh of nine stages on the World Match Racing Tour. “This was a great regatta for us,” said event Director Justino Machado, “and we look forward to having the construction completed here at Troia Resort for an even better event next year.”

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

Extreme conditions ... and surprising defeats at the Marseille International Match Race

[Source: Marseille International Match Race] The first flights were launched at 10am this morning in Marseille.

The everpresent wind stayed at around 30 knots for most of the day. Tough conditions for the teams, who all hoped it would get lighter during the afternoon. Towards 12, the race committee even considered postponing racing as the sailing conditions were getting really hard, but sportsmanship held the day and the flights went ahead.

Then from 4.30 pm onwards the wind dropped, the spinnakers came out, and the storm jib and reefs were replaced. At last the real match racing show could begin with tightly fought duels.

Jure Orel, Sébastien Destremau, Bertrand Pacé and Damien Iehl are the four skippers to leave the tournament after the round robin.

Bertrand Pacé and Philippe Presti during the second day of the Marseille International Match Race. Marseille, 13 March 2008. Photo copyright Gilles Martin-Raget

They said

Mathieu Richard, World ranking list leader, First in the round robin
"We are really pleased and surprised with our performance. We are just starting our season with the MIMR after a long winter break, and we've won all our matches, it's brilliant. We've been able to adapt to the extreme sailing conditions over the two days. We've been able to sail all our matches with the spinnaker which is an advantage.

We are very surprised by the results of the round robin and the elimination of the two French skippers Iehl and Pacé who I thought were favorites for the final.

Damien Iehl, 8th in the world
The upset of the day was the elimination of Damien Iehl, member of the French Match Racing team.

"We've had a really long and hard day's sailing – we're not used to these conditions with lots of wind and waves, having to sail without a spinnaker, all a bit strange. We started the day with two successive losses which were hard for the team's moral. We found it hard getting back into the race. At the end of the day, when we were already pretty tired, we had to race against the leaders ... We are obviously disappointed, but we'll be back!

Sébastien Destremau, 629 world ranking, knocked out of the competition today
"We haven't done any match racing for 5 years. We are slowly coming back into the circuit this season. Finishing with just 2 points isn't great! The sailing conditions were really tough during the first two days: our team doesn't have the right reflexes and coordination yet. We had to fight the boat, the waves... The conditions were too tough for a warm-up. We could have won some matches, but we need more training. But whatever else, we had a fantastic time on the water and would like to congratulate the organizers for the welcome and great organization of this event."

Paolo Cian and Torvar Mirsky during the second day of the Marseille International Match Race. Marseille, 13 March 2008. Photo copyright Gilles Martin-Raget

Provisional Results of Round Robin
1. Mathieu Richard 10/10
2. Sébastien Col 8/10
3. Paolo Cian 8/11
4. Mads Ebler 6/11
5. Torvar Mirsky 6/11
6. Evgeny Neugodnikov 6/11
7. Andrei Arbuzov 5/11
8. Philppe Presti 5/11
9. Bertrand Pacé 4/11
10. Damien Iehl 4/11
11. Sébastien Destrémau 2/11
12. Jure Orel 1/11

James Spithill’s Team Ceeref wins the Dubai RC 44 Cup match racing event

[Source: RC44] Only half of the second round robin took place today due to the light winds. The Slovenian Team Ceeref wins for the second consecutive time in Dubai, ahead of Team Hiroshi – Citta de Milano (Sébastien Col) and Team ES Bankers Dubai (Russell Coutts).

Despite local advice, Race Director Peter “Luigi” Regio sent the six strong RC 44 fleet out on the water for the second Round Robin of the Dubai RC 44 Cup. A wise choice as the teams could sail six matches, allowing the Committee to establish a final ranking based on 21 matches. “You won’t get anything if you don’t try”, he commented with a smile at the end of the day.

The winner of the event is Igor Lah’s Team Ceeref, with James Spithill at the helm. “It’s a great start to our season”, he commented. “Yesterday, we were not happy with our sailing. We made a lot of little mistakes and lost matches that we could have won. We all wanted to do better today and that’s what we did.”

Equally happy with his performance was Team Hiroshi – Città di Milano’s pro helmsman Sebastien Col: “It all goes down to a couple of meters at the right moment”, he explained. Yesterday, we could have won all our matches but we lost two of them because of tiny mistakes. We had a thorough de-brief in the evening and the difference was clear today. All the guys on board realised how important every single meter is. They were hiking better, our tacks were better, we focused well on what we were doing and the result is there: we had two excellent matches.”

Russell Coutts’ Team ES Bankers completes the podium with victories against Cro-A-Sail and Team Sea Dubai this afternoon.

Four teams were sharing the lead after the first round robin. Team Sea Dubai, leader of the provisional ranking after day one, lost its advantage today, regressing to the fourth place. As for Team Aqua (Cameron Appleton), penalised by a collision yesterday and sailing below its usual level, it finishes fifth, ahead of Cro-A-Sail who only won one match.

The team owners will be back at the helm tomorrow for the fleet racing event. The weather forecast is good, with North-Westerly winds of up to 20 knots expected.

They said:

James Spithill, Team Ceeref: “We are all looking forward to starting the fleet racing event tomorrow. Igor Lah, the team’s owner, trained during two days and his progress is quite spectacular. I am very impressed by him: he has a good temperament; he is calm and has a good feeling. His results so far have been quite amazing considering that he had only sailed on power boats just a year ago…”

Sébastien Col, Team Hiroshi – Città di Milano: “The teams are very close. The fleet has definitely gained in consistency. Each mistake costs a lot but people throughout the fleet make less of them by the day. We are very pleased with our result, and particularly with our win against Russell’s team yesterday. It proves that we can win against any team and it is a good morale buster.”

Match-racing, final results

Note: half points have been awarded to teams who have competed against each other only once (in both round robins).

Ranking, number of victories/losses, points.

1) Team Ceeref (5/2) 3,5 points
2) Team Hiroshi (4/3) 3 points
3) Team ES Bankers Dubai (5/2) 3 points
4) Team Sea Dubay, (3/4) 2,5 points
5) Team Aqua (3/ 4 incl 1 penalty) 1 point
6) Cro-A-Sail (1/6) 1 point

Team Sea Dubai takes the lead on day one of the Dubai RC 44 Cup

[Source: RC44] After a complete round robin, the new team from the UAE, with Marcus Wieser at the helm, shares the lead with Team ES Bankers Dubai (Russell Coutts), Team Ceeref (James Spithill) and Hiroshi – Città di Milano (Sébastien Col). He is however the day’s winner thanks to the matches against his direct opponents.

Dubai, March 3, 2008 – The day couldn’t have started better for the local team Sea Dubai, representing the organising club Dubai International Marine Club (DIMC). Indeed, Sea Dubai dominated its match against Team Ceeref - with no less than James Spithill at the helm – to take a first victory that was going to be followed by two more and result in victory in the first round robin.

A former Flying Dutchman and Dragon sailor (amongst others), Marcus Wiser, the team’s helmsman, was obviously satisfied with his debuts in the RC 44 Class. “We were helped by the light winds”, he explains modestly. “But we are obviously very happy. A lot of credit goes to our tactician Michael Hestbek, who was strategist on board the German entry during the last America’s Cup.”

Russell Coutts at the helm of Team ES Bankers Dubai. Dubai, 3 March 2008. Photo copyright Thierry Martinez

The light (6 to 8 kts of wind) but fairly stable conditions allowed for fifteen matches to be sailed today, under a nice sunshine and on flat water. Most races were very close, and the overall results confirm that the teams are becoming closer from each other by the day, generating one fascinating match after the next.

Indeed, four teams share the lead with three victories out of five matches each. Team Hiroshi – Città di Milano, with Sebastien Col at the helm, sailed up to the expectations after their very good 2007 end-season, with victories over Team Aqua (Cameron Appleton), Team ES Bankers (Russell Coutts) and Cro-A-Sail (Morten Henrikson). Russell Coutts’ Team ES Bankers confirms that it is at the top but defeats against Team Ceeref and Team Hiroshi – Città di Milano confirm that nothing’s ever acquired in this challenging Class. Finally, Team Ceeref also sits on top of the ranking; however, during last year’s Dubai Gold Cup, James Spithill was alone at this enviable position, unbeaten at the end of the round robin. Today, he needs to share the spot with three teams!

The level has definitely gone up a step and tomorrow’s second round robin will certainly be interesting.

The Dubai RC 44 Cup is the first event of the 2008 RC 44 Championship Tour. The weather forecast for tomorrow is good, with moderate winds and sunshine. The weather should deteriorate by Wednesday, with westerly winds of up to 25 kts expected. The match racing event will be concluded tomorrow Tuesday; it will be followed by three days of fleet racing, with the owners back at the helm.

James Spithill at the helm of Team Ceeref. Dubai, 3 March 2008. Photo copyright Thierry Martinez

They said:

Marcus Wieser, helmsman, Team Sea Dubai: “We had a couple of days training last week, and Russell, came with us on Saturday to show us some tricks. But today was our first real sailing day in race conditions. I am very pleased because we have a good speed and we made the right decisions.”

Russell Coutts, Team ES Bankers Dubai: “I always sail with the new teams before they start racing, but may be I will have to stop this… These guys (Team Sea Dubai) are obviously much better than we could have thought. It’s great for the Class, and we are happy to welcome a new very competitive team. Our day was OK, but it’s tough. The level is really high and there is good homogeneity within the teams. You just need to look at Team Aqua: they were clearly dominating last year but now it is harder. It’s a real challenge, for me and for everyone.”

Jaro Furlani, pitman, Team Ceeref: “The wind was fairly unstable and shifty, but we had a good day with three wins. All the matches were very close, so it was great. It is very interesting to sail with James Spithill, and other America’s Cup sailors. They bring us a lot and help us to improve our level of sailing.”

Match-racing, round robin 1

Ranking, number of victories/losses, points

1) Team Sea Dubai, (3/2) 5 points
2) Team Ceeref (3/2) 5 points
3) Team Hiroshi (3/2) 5 points
4) Team ES Bankers Dubai (3/2) 5 points
5) Team Aqua (1 -incl 1 penalty /3) 1 point
6) Cro-A-Sail (1/4) 1 point

Team Sea Dubai and Team Hirsohi - Città di Milano with Sébastien Col a the helm. Dubai, 3 March 2008. Photo copyright Thierry Martinez

Ian Williams and Sébastien Col train in Valencia

Given the absence of any important news this Sunday, this for once will be a "true" blog post!

Yesterday, after we left the two Alinghi catamarans continue their first training session, we spotted in the distance two yachts apparently involved in match racing. When we approached we were surprised to see the yachts helmed by two of the world's top match racers, Ian Williams and Sébastien Col.

Williams is the 2007 ISAF Match Racing World Champion and currently ranked 2nd in the ISAF Match Racing classification list while Col is close behind at 4th place. Just like the Defender of the 33rd America's Cup the two match racing stars had to put up with excruciatingly light wind conditions. At some point even the guests at the stern of the yachts could stand up with their hands in their pockets.

Most probably the two sailors were training for the upcoming events of the World Math Racing Tour. The morale of the story? The 32nd America's Cup definitely put Valencia in the world sailing map. Of all places, the two sailing champions chose Valencia to train and even they were here in relation to some sponsored VIP hospitality event, this fact only is a positive sign.

One only hopes that two parties involved in the 33rd edition of the world's oldest sports competition come to their senses and don't ruin it.

Ian Williams and Sébastien Col train in Valencia. Valencia, 23 February 2008. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Ian Williams and Sébastien Col train in Valencia. Valencia, 23 February 2008. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Ian Williams and Sébastien Col train in Valencia. Valencia, 23 February 2008. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing