[Source: World Match Racing Tour] 

Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar 5-0
Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Berntsson Sailing Team 5-0
Pierre-Antoine Morvan (FRA) Extreme Team Morbihan 4-1
Torvar Mirsky (AUS) The Wave Muscat 3-2
Damien Iehl (FRA) French Match Racing Team 3-2
Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Mekonomen Sailing Team 3-2
Francesco Bruni (ITA) Bruni Racing 2-3
Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing 2-3
Jepser Radich (DEN) Adrian Lee & Partners 1-4
Eric Monnin (SUI) Oklays Corum Sailing Team 1-4
Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team 1-4
Jérôme Clerc (SUI) Team CER 0-5

[Source: World Match Racing Tour] Mathieu Richard believes his chances of winning the 2011 Match Racing World Championship have all but disappeared and is now citing a third ‘King of the Mountains’ title at the St. Moritz Match Race as the boost he needs to realise his new goal of an overall podium finish.

On the eve of the 2011 St. Moritz Match Race, Richard and his French Match Racing Team find themselves in a very different situation to last season when they entered the sixth stage of the World Match Racing Tour with a commanding Championship lead. A disappointing season so far leaves them languishing in eighth place, forcing them to reassess their goals: “Mathematically it is still possible for us to win but we are realistic about things. Our aim now is to get closer to the leaders to try and achieve a podium finish overall. ”

It will be a difficult week for Richard with a further seven of the nine Tour Card Holders competing in St. Moritz, a group headed by Tour leader Francesco Bruni (ITA) Bruni Racing. Richard though is in bullish mood and believes it is Bruni who carries the most pressure: “Last year we were obviously under a lot more pressure than we are now – the leader always feels it more. We are naturally very competitive so I’d prefer to be on top and under the pressure that I know Francesco will be feeling now.”

Aside from less pressure, Richard has every reason to be confident. The conditions on Lake St. Moritz are traditionally challenging but it’s a venue that he seems to tune into well: “Racing here really suits our team’s style, we have won twice and we like it very much. The small boats and shifty conditions are a great challenge and it can make it very tricky with tactics and trimming but that’s what we like.”

While Richard may feel his chance to win the 2011 Championship has passed, Jesper Radich (DEN) Adrian Lee & Partners is only 22 points adrift of Bruni and has prepared well for what is not only his St. Moritz debut but also an event that could determine his title chances: “We’ve had a couple of days to practice and I’ve also spent two and a half weeks sailing in another light boat to prepare for these [Blu26] boats here.”

“We will need to achieve top results at the remaining events to beat the top guys. There are enough points yet to be won and lost. It’s really how you end your season that counts, the teams who pick up their game now will be the ones that win.”

The first Qualifying Session will kick off tomorrow and feature Tour leader Francesco Bruni and title contenders Torvar Mirsky (AUS) The Wave Muscat and Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Mekonomen Sailing Team in the first flight. Catch the preview on The WMRT Morning Show with Hannah White at www.wmrt.com from 1100 local time (GMT +2) and a review of the day on The WMRT Today Show after racing finishes. Live coverage begins on Thursday 1 September from 1400 to 1600 local time (GMT +2).

Teams for St. Moritz Match Race 2011
Francesco Bruni (ITA) Bruni Racing
Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar
Torvar Mirsky (AUS) The Wave Muscat
Jepser Radich (DEN) Adrian Lee & Partners
Damien Iehl (FRA) French Match Racing Team
Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Mekonomen Sailing Team
Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team
Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing
Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Berntsson Sailing Team
Pierre-Antoine Morvan (FRA) Extreme Team Morbihan
Eric Monnin (SUI) Swiss Match Race Team
Jerome Clerc (SUI) Team CER

2011 ISAF World Match Race Tour – ranking after five stages
1 Francesco Bruni (ITA) Bruni Racing – 81pts
2 Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing – 74pts
3 Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar – 71pts
4 Jesper Radich (DEN) Adrian Lee & Partners – 59pts
5 Torvar Mirsky (AUS) The Wave Muscat – 59pts
6 Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Mekonomen Sailing Team – 57pts
7 Damien Iehl (FRA) French Match Racing Team – 57pts
8 Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team – 53pts
9 Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing – 39pts
10 Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Berntsson Sailing Team – 34pts

[Source: The Wave, Muscat] The St Moritz Match Race has always been one of the preferred events of skipper Torvar Mirsky and his team, with the fast paced Blu26 Swiss lake boats suiting their style. The tricky mountain venue doesn’t lack challenges though, with the surrounding bringing gusty and sometimes unpredictable winds. Not to mention the competition, with a number of the world’s top match racing teams all fighting to be dubbed “King of the Mountain” by the end of the week.

Mirsky is approaching the task with a lot to prove. “This season has been a really turbulent one for all of us, but now that it is starting to settle down, we are going to finish what we started. I know all of my guys are in great form, and I am really looking forward to the chance of bringing home a top result.”

Support the Wave Muscat at www.mirskyracingteam.net or join their facebook page at The Wave Muscat Match Racing Team.

[Source: Volvo Ocean Race] Teng Jiang He, a 37-year-old businessman who goes by the nickname Tiger and only started sailing last year, will become the first Chinese sailor to compete in the Volvo Ocean Race after being named on the Team Sanya crew for 2011-12.

Team Sanya became the first Chinese entry in the Volvo Ocean Race when they launched their campaign in Beijing in June and skipper Mike Sanderson immediately began the search for the Yao Ming of sailing to form part of his crew.

Teng, born in a small farm village in the far northeast near the border with Russia, founded a successful construction company and sailed for the first time in May 2010.

After a five-week trial with Team Sanya, including a tough baptism in the Rolex Fastnet Race earlier this month, Sanderson was sufficiently impressed to offer him the chance of a lifetime.

“The Volvo Ocean Race is incredibly tough going and I was looking for someone with both the skill and the right attitude to contribute towards team performance,” said Sanderson, who skippered ABN AMRO ONE to victory in 2005-06, the second of his two wins in the race. “Tiger is definitely that person.

“From day one, Tiger has impressed everyone in the team. He is determined, focused and has an endless hunger to learn everything he can – both on and off the boat.”

To prepare for the race, Tiger has been spending two hours each morning at the gym, followed by 10 hours working with the team.

To relax, he has spent his evenings watching videos of former editions of the Volvo Ocean Race while his new team mates, many of them like Sanderson from New Zealand, have been teaching him a mix of English and Maori, including “Kia ora mate!” (Greetings, mate!”)

“Admittedly, sailing was not my career and I didn´t have that much experience compared to the others but I am very passionate about the sport and keep myself fit so I´m ready for this challenge,” said Tiger, who employed 300 people in his construction company before giving up the business world to sail.

“I also feel very proud to sail with Team Sanya, the first Chinese entry into this event.

“It´s a very special day for me — a dream come true. I hope that many Chinese people will become inspired to learn to sail through my experience and I also hope that we can encourage many people to visit the tropical destination of Sanya by promoting the profile of Hainan and Sanya through our beautiful race boat colours.”

Tiger will pull off a notable first when the nine-month, 39,000 nautical mile Volvo Ocean Race begins in Alicante on October 29. During the last edition, Guo Chuan was a Media Crew Member on the Green Dragon team but not classed as a competing sailor.

Team Sanya are one of six confirmed entries for the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12. The others are Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand, Groupama sailing team, PUMA Ocean Racing powered by Berg Propulsion and Team Telefónica.

Tiger Factfile:
– Teng Jiang He was born in China’s far northeast on July 21, 1974.
– Aged 18 graduated vocational school and moved south to Guangzhou.
– Founded a construction contracting company, which employs hundreds of workers.
– Is married and has two sons, aged three and six months.
– The thrill seeking car racer also enjoys a relaxing round of golf in his spare time.
– Began sailing in 2010 and has wide-ranging sailing experiences, inshore and offshore, on varying sized yachts.
– Will compete aboard Team Sanya in the physically demanding position of grinder.
– Described competing in the Volvo Ocean Race as his dream and said he hopes to inspire the nation.
– “For me this would be a dream come true – a dream team, a great skipper, a great crew and a boat that looks fantastic.’’

The Cartagena Trophy came to a close this afternoon. The TP52 and Soto 40 fleets took to the waters off the Spanish city and raced, once again, under magnificent conditions, with sunshine, a fresh breeze that topped 20 knots later in the afternoon and waves that have certainly produced some spectacular photos. The TP52′s had two windward-leeward races on schedule while the Soto40′s wrapped up the regatta with just one.

Bribón dominated the TP52 fleet this week and despite scoring a fifth in the very last race, they claimed the Cartagena Trophy, finishing 3 points ahead of Azzurra. In the Soto 40 class, Tony Buckingham’s Ngoni scored three bullets and five seconds in a total of eight races and was crowned winner of the Cartagena Trophy.

Nevertheless, today, for the first time ever since this website was created, I will not talk about the races. I will instead talk about Oliver. You can find exhaustive information, photos and videos from today’s racing on the official website, www.medcup.org

Who is Oliver and why do I think he’s so important to the sport of sailing, more important than the world’s top sailors that take part in the AUDI Medcup?

One of the five Soto 40 teams taking part in the Cartagena Trophy flies the Australian flag and is made up of seven young Australian sailors from Perth, one Welsh and a Malaysian female match racer. The average age onboard the first ever Australian entry in the AUDI Medcup is less than 25 years! Despite their age and their relative inexperience on those boats, the young Aussies didn’t finish last but will go back to their native Perth in fourth place.

Two days ago, early in the morning, while the fleet was docked and the crews were preparing their yachts, I went to the Australian boat to interview her skipper, Brent Fowler. He was busy showing around the yacht and explaining how things worked to a young boy, named Oliver.

Oliver is a 12-year old boy from Manchester, a sailor himself, that has been watching the live stream of the AUDI Medcup races on the internet since the beginning of the season. Whenever he could, he would turn on his computer and log on to the website to watch the TP52′s and Soto 40′s battling it out around the Mediterranean. He was in fact so thrilled that he asked his parents to spend one week in Cartagena just because he wanted to see the boats from close and have a chance to talk to the sailors!

It’s the first time in my life that I am told a 12-year old kid specifically chooses his holidays to visit the venue of a sailing event. So, Oliver came to Cartagena with his mother and was in the race village, every morning, to watch the crews prepare their yachts. After the boats docked out and went to the race course, Oliver would spend the day in front of the screen and would then go back to the dock to greet the teams and cheer for his favorites, the Australians.

I would never expect a kid to show the kind of admiration one usually expects towards a football team. He cheered for the Australians, helped them clean and tidy up the yacht every afternoon and even went to buy sweets on Sunday morning to bring them good luck for the final day of the regatta. Although he sails himself he doesn’t know any of the “rockstars” that sail on the leading teams of the circuit. He was cheering for the Australians because he thought they were “cool” and because they were the easiest to approach.

It’s encouraging to see kids like Oliver and maybe it shows that the internet can bring the sport of sailing to wider audiences. Even if Oliver is a sailor himself, he would have never known about this regatta or even this circuit hadn’t he watched the races online.

I also think it shows race organizers and teams the importance of portraying an image of openness. If we really want more young sailors we shouldn’t make the Olivers of the world feel intimidated. I don’t think there are thousands of 12-year olds that deliberately skip a week on the beach in order to see their role models! Oliver isn’t a VIP, he wasn’t flown in by the organization, he is just a kid that finds sailing teams as exciting as football or basketball teams.

Onboard the Australian Soto 40 team. Cartagena, 28 August 2011. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / VSail.info

Onboard the Australian Soto 40 team. Cartagena, 28 August 2011. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / VSail.info

Onboard the Australian Soto 40 team. Cartagena, 28 August 2011. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / VSail.info

Onboard the Australian Soto 40 team. Cartagena, 28 August 2011. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / VSail.info

Onboard the Australian Soto 40 team. Cartagena, 28 August 2011. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / VSail.info

Onboard the Australian Soto 40 team. Cartagena, 28 August 2011. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / VSail.info

Onboard the Australian Soto 40 team. Cartagena, 28 August 2011. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / VSail.info

A demanding final day on Lake Biel.

On the last and decisive day of the Tornado World Championships on Lake Biel, the wind gave the 37 Tornados reported from eleven nations, a extravagant, yet challenging final.

The anticipated cold front brought fresh westerly wind of four to six Beaufort. Shortly after ten clock, there was no holding back on the start line. Two false starts were the result. The teams then sailed three races in quick succession. The favourite was impressed by neither wind nor whitecaps and pulled away again. The Australian Brett Burvill Duffield and Ryan (AUS 327) won against the European champions from Greece, Iordanis Paschalidis and Konstantinos Trigonis (GRE 7) and the German reigning World Champion pair of Roland Gaebler and Nahid (GER 1).

In the second race of the day, the Greeks took victory but were OCS and the race was not counted for them. The mixed team of Roland and Nahid Gaebler took victory against the Australians. The native Jean-Marc Cuanillon and Michael Gloor (SUI 232) reached fourth place.

The wind picked up, and capsizes were the result. There have never been so many capsizes in a World Championships, Roland Gaebler said later, he and his wife were affected, they reached the third race of the day but still finished eighth.

The field pulled apart, another 18 boats lined up for the third race of the day. The victory came for the Greeks. In the intermediate standings after four races in total, they were slipped because of a jump start, despite two wins to seventh. Team Gaebler were in the lead before the Australians and Cuanillon / Gloor. The Swiss couple Martin and Julia Rusterholz was ranked 18, they were not able to finish the fourth race.

After a rest on land, the race committee sent the competitors out at 3 o’clock to the last, decisive and very exciting course. The west wind blew with up to force five Beaufort which was mixed with heavy rain. 22 Tornados took off and 20 of them finished. The race was won by the team Gaebler, followed by the Greeks. Thus, the championship was decided by a single point on the Germans, the Greeks brought the title.

This was the first time in Switzerland for the German team and they had not known what conditions they would have to reckon with. To win the title was, however, their goal, Nahid said, after the regatta. Gaebler was delighted at the title in the mixed category, which they brought against the Austrians Nicole and Dietmar Salzmann (AUT 3) and the Rusterholz paring.

The ten who had traveled as Mixed teams are hoping that the Tornado is in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 as the Mixed Multihull for the Olympics.

There is now time for the competitors to rest ahead of the Tornado European Championships on Lake Como, Italy from the 8th – 11th September.

America’s Cup Uncovered Episode 5

The start of the week might have been slow in Cartagena but the weekend started with a bang. Not only did Cartagena deliver the great wind conditions everybody was waiting for, the TP52 class showed, once again, that you can’t have more close and exciting racing and even a 30-mile long coastal race can be decided in the last half mile.

Today’s fresh breeze, topping 20 knots early in the afternoon, woke up the beast inside the TP52′s and offered spectators some spectacular racing up and down the coast of Cartagena. AUDI ALL4One had a perfect start at the committee boat end of the line and put immediately herself in the lead of the fleet, closely followed by Azzurra. The Franco-German yacht rounded the first weather mark ahead of the remaining 6 TP52 yachts. That’s where the first signs of trouble appeared for Azzurra. The Italians rounded the mark a few seconds behind AUDI ALL4One but were then unable to hoist their spinnaker for the first run. As a result, when the fleet converged at the leeward gate, the Italian-Argentinians were dead last.

Still, that didn’t put them down and a combination of excellent boat speed and tactics in the long upwind leg to the northernmost mark to climb places and reach AUDI ALL4One. Then in the long downwind leg to the Palomas island the Franco-Germans were clearly slower under spinnaker and Azzurra was able to overtake them and round the small island in the lead. Right behind them another fight was taking place between Bribón and Quantum. ALL4One was unable to stop Quantum’s advance and the American boat rounded the island in second place, behind Azzurra.

The 2-3 miles separating Las Palomas from the port entrance would see two fierce match racing duels, one between Azzurra and Quantum and another one between ALL4One and Bribón. While the latter seemed to be wide open, it appeared that the former was decided and that Azzurra would be able to score this important win.

However, it ain’t over till it’s over! Half a mile before the finish line, a few hundred meters off the port entrance, the halyard of the mainsail broke on Azzurra and the mainsail came down! The Italian boat stalled, the crew was frantically trying to fix the failure and the other three leading yachts, one by one, took the opportunity to overtake them. Despite their troubles, Azzurra still managed to finish fourth.

Bribón extended its lead in the Cartagena regatta to 5 points and Quantum its own in the overall circuit scoreboard to 7.5 points.

Región of Murcia Trophy – Cartagena – 52 Series
Results after seven races:

1. Bribón (ESP), 2+5+1+2+2+3+3= 18 points
2. Audi Azzurra Sailing Team (ITA), 5+1+4+5+1+1+6= 23 points
3. Quantum Racing (USA), 3+2+6+6+4+7+1.5= 29.5 points
4. Container (GER), 7+4+3+4+3+2+9= 32 points
5. Audi Sailing Team Powered by All4One (GER/FR), 4+7+7+1+5+5+4.5= 33.5 points
6. Synergy Russian Sailing Team (RUS), 1+3+5++3+7+6+10.5= 35.5 points
7. RÁN (SUE), 6+6+2+7+6+4+7,5= 38.5 points
8. Gladiator (GBR), 9(DNC)+9(DNC)+9(DNC)+9(DNC)+9(DNC)+9(DNC)+13.5(DNC)= 67.5 points

Start of the TP52 coastal race. Cartagena, 27 August 2011. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / VSail.info

AUDI ALL4One leads in the first windward mark. Cartagena, 27 August 2011. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / VSail.info

RAN and Container round the first weather mark in 4th and 5th place respectively. Cartagena, 27 August 2011. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / VSail.info

First signs of trouble onboard Azzurra when they struggle to hoist their spinnaker in the first run of the race. Cartagena, 27 August 2011. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / VSail.info

AUDI ALL4One built an impressive lead in the first run of the race. Cartagena, 27 August 2011. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / VSail.info

Azzurra had a clear downwind speed advantage over AUDI ALL4One and took the lead in the long run to the Las Palomas island. Cartagena, 27 August 2011. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / VSail.info

AUDI ALL4One is overtaken by Quantum in the reaching stretch to Las Palomas island. Cartagena, 27 August 2011. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / VSail.info

The four leading boats start the last stretch of the race to the port. Cartagena, 27 August 2011. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / VSail.info

Even after nearly 30 miles, the four leading boats were close together. Cartagena, 27 August 2011. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / VSail.info

After leading for more than halfway through, AUDI ALL4One lies third in the stretch to the port. Cartagena, 27 August 2011. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / VSail.info

AUDI ALL4One and Bribón match racing for 3rd place. Cartagena, 27 August 2011. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / VSail.info

Disaster strikes onboard Azzurra half a mile before the finish line. A halyard block is broken and the mainsail falls down. Cartagena, 27 August 2011. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / VSail.info

Disaster strikes onboard Azzurra half a mile before the finish line. A halyard block is broken and the mainsail falls down. Cartagena, 27 August 2011. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / VSail.info

Disaster strikes onboard Azzurra half a mile before the finish line. A halyard block is broken and the mainsail falls down. Cartagena, 27 August 2011. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / VSail.info

Bowman Mamu Caputo climbs on the mast to fix the failure. Cartagena, 27 August 2011. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / VSail.info

The entire Azzurra crew is frantically trying to fix the failure in order not to finish last. Cartagena, 27 August 2011. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / VSail.info

A limping Azzurra enters into the port and is overtaken by Bribón. As a result, the Spanish yacht consolidates its leadership in thee Cartagena Trophy. Cartagena, 27 August 2011. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / VSail.info

Quantum, Bribón and AUDI ALL4One head to the finish line. Cartagena, 27 August 2011. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / VSail.info