[Source: World Match Racing Tour] Lake Constance left it right until the last moment to get uncooperative at Match Race Germany. An ominous-looking rain cloud was on its way across the third largest lake in Europe from Switzerland, sucking all the wind out of the vicinity and causing PRO Rudi Magg to draw proceedings to a close.

This handed victory at Match Race Germany to British helm Ian Williams and his American/Australian crew of Mal Parker and Bill Hardesty, supplemented on this occasion by stand-ins Graham Spence and Willem Van Waay. Williams’ GAC Pindar crew won today’s single Finals match against Adam Minoprio and his all-Kiwi Team Alpari FX crew of Nick Blackman, Chris Main, Tom Powrie and David Swete; reigning Alpari World Match Racing Tour champion (Williams), up against the 2009 champion (Minoprio).

A little slow out of the blocks in the Semi Finals yesterday, Williams was 1-2 down against Johnie Berntsson’s Stena Sailing Team crew as proceedings came to a close last night. However the GAC Pindar crew fought back this morning to take the next two points, to gain their berth in the final.

In his Semi Final match Minoprio had less to do this morning, scoring a come-from-behind win against France’s experienced Mathieu Richard and his GEFCO Match Racing Team to take him through on a 3-1 scoreline.

Ian Williams starts the 2013 season with a victory! Langenargen, 20 May 2013. Photo copyright Brian Carlin / Alpari World Match Racing Tour

“We had a nice lead, maybe 8-10 boatlengths during the first run,” explained Richard after a long team de-brief. “But then we ran out of wind, and completely stopped while they had a little breeze coming from behind. Often in those conditions it is not too bad to be behind and they showed us that today as they were able to overtake us. It is very disappointing and a bit frustrating, but that is how it is.”

Otherwise the Frenchman, who heralds from La Baule on the Atlantic coast, was pleased with the performance of his GEFCO Match Racing Team in what is their first Tour event since St Moritz last year. Richard will be back for Korea Match Cup next week followed by Stena Match Cup Sweden at the beginning of July.

In this afternoon’s only Finals race, held once again in very light winds, Minoprio held up his hand, acknowledging that he had made a meal of the pre-start. “I forgot how long these boats take to gybe and I wasted a minute doing two gybes so we were late for the line. It was my mistake, I was kicking myself at the start of the race.”

From there all he could do was chase the GAC Pindar crew around the course, who in turn did an immaculate job of covering their Kiwi opponents.

Minoprio felt the Race Committee was correct to draw racing to a close prematurely and was gracious in defeat. “There is no wind at the moment,” he observed. “Ian sailed better than us in the one race we had and he won Qualifying – he deserves the win here. We sailed very poorly in that final race against him and we didn’t deserve it.”
However Minoprio reckoned it was a solid start to his come-back season. “Second is good points for the overall Championship and puts the pressure on everyone else.”

Williams was pleased with victory, a first in his lengthy match racing career at Match Race Germany, even if the last part of the event was curtailed. He felt he sailed the last race well.

“It was really light which meant manoeuvres were really costly. We did a nice job of keeping Adam down – he had to do a couple of gybes in the last minute before the start and that cost him a bit of speed which allowed us to be faster and closer to the line at start time. Then we did two less tacks on both beats and that is what allowed us to draw away by the finish.”

Ian Williams starts the 2013 season with a victory! Langenargen, 20 May 2013. Photo copyright Brian Carlin / Alpari World Match Racing Tour

Victory at Match Race Germany, makes for a solid start to Williams and the GAC Pindar team’s campaign to win the Alpari World Match Racing Tour for a record setting fifth time.

“I haven’t been here in Langenargen for a couple of years,” admitted Williams. “They put on a great show here. The conditions are often difficult, but I like the big boats, they are impressive. Plus there is a good crowd turn-out here and the event works well for the local economy, so long may it continue.”

James Pleasance, Executive Director of the Alpari World Match Racing Tour felt that the beginning of the 2013 season had gone well: “It has been a fantastic week for the first stage of the 2013 Alpari World Match Racing Tour, and a good shakedown event for all the teams. The boats here are bigger and heavier and the teams have really had to find their stride in the variable lake conditions. But a great win for Ian and GAC Pindar, and against a former Tour Champion in the final as well. This Tour season is going be very close indeed.”

FINAL RESULTS
Ian Williams (GBR) GAC Pindar vs Adam Minoprio (NZL) Team Alpari FX 1-0

PETIT FINAL RESULTS
Mathieu Richard (FRA) GEFCO Match Racing Team vs Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Stena Sailing Team 1-0

FINAL SEMI FINAL RESULTS
Mathieu Richard (FRA) GEFCO Match Racing Team vs Adam Minoprio (NZL) Team Alpari FX 1-3
Ian Williams (GBR) GAC Pindar v Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Stena Sailing Team 2-2

LEADERBOARD AFTER STAGE 1 – MATCH RACE GERMANY
1 Ian Williams (GBR) – Team GAC Pindar 25
2 Adam Minoprio (NZL) – Team Alpari FX 22
3 Mathieu Richard (FRA) – GEFCO Match Racing Team 19
4 Johnie Berntsson (SWE)- Stena Sailing Team 16
5 Taylor Canfield (ISV) – USone 14
6 Björn Hansen (SWE) – Mekonomen Sailing Team 12
7 Karol Jablonski (POL) – Jablonski Sailing Team 10
8 Pierre-Antoine Morvan (FRA) – Vannes Agglo Sailing Team 8
9 Phil Robertson (NZL) – WAKA Racing 4
10 Keith Swinton (AUS) – Black Swan Racing 2
11 Philip Buhl (GER) – STG/NRV Youth Team 0
12 Sven Erick-Horsch (GER) – NRV Match Race Team 0

[Source: Alpari World Match Racing Tour] With the sun getting low in the sky, at the end of play GAC Pindar skipper Ian Williams and his long term French rival Mathieu Richard of GEFCO Match Racing Team hold a 4-1 scoreline, along with Pierre Antoine Morvan’s Vannes Agglo Sailing Team. The three teams’ single losses were respectively to Adam Minoprio, Bjorn Hansen and Ian Williams.

“We were a little nervous because a lot of teams have sailed these boats before and we haven’t,” said Williams. “It is an unusual situation for us to be the less experienced team, but our upwind boat speed was really good.” The GAC Pindar crew narrowly won their match against Morvan after there was a big luff at the top mark and the Frenchman ended up picking up a penalty for going past head to wind.

US Virgin Islander Taylor Canfield and his USone team ended the day on three wins along with Keith Swinton’s Black Swan Racing, Bjorn Hansen’s Mekonomen Sailing Team and the Adam Minoprio-skippered Team Alpari FX.

Canfield won against Hansen, Robertson and Jablonski, but lost to Berntsson and Richard. “Light conditions in big heavy slow boats is always challenging and I don’t think we are totally comfortable with all of our manoeuvres and timing in these boats just yet,” admitted the 24-year-old. “As the day went on we started to figure it out a bit and got the boat going well.”

Adam Minoprio makes his comeback in the Alpari World Match Racing Tour. Langenargen, 16 May 2013. Photo copyright Brian Carlin / Alpari World Match Racing Tour

In Canfield’s match against Richard there was a long dial up and then, with 1 minute 30 to go, both boats were still a long way over the line but the Frenchman won the favoured committee boat end and it was game over from there.

USone had more success against Karol Jablonski when, after they had roundly dispatched the Polish former America’s Cup helmsman pushing him behind the committee boat, Jablonski retired, switched on his engine resulting in his receipt of a black flag from the umpires. Jablonski admitted that they had had a major communication breakdown on board. “We basically just retired and used the time to do a debrief. We are a new team and we don’t sail enough to get everything done the way I like to do it. When you do two events per year it is tough to compete with the best teams here.”

Adam Minoprio’s Team Alpari FX was initially docked a half point for a collision with Pierre Antoine Morvan during a tacking duel in Flight 2, when the stern quarters of the two teams’ boats touched as they attempted to separate. “In my mind it was a port-starboard and he didn’t start avoiding early enough and we had to avoid him and our sterns touched,” said Minoprio, providing his viewpoint of the incident. At the time the umpires took a different view and red flagged Team Alpari FX requiring them to carry out a penalty turn immediately, docking the Kiwi team the half point for causing damage. But at a hearing after racing neither Minoprio nor Morvan were found to have broken the avoiding contact rule (rule 14) and the half point penalty was removed from Minoprio’s scoreline.

First day of racing at Match Race Germany. Langenargen, 16 May 2013. Photo copyright Brian Carlin / Alpari World Match Racing Tour

The two German teams of leading Laser sailor Philipp Buhl and German National Match Racing Champion Sven Erik Horsch have yet to get off the bottom of the leaderboard, with Horsch on no wins and newbie match racer Buhl’s only victory taken off his fellow countryman. Johnie Berntsson is also on a single win as is Karol Jablonski.

Match Race Germany defending champion New Zealand’s Phil Robertson and his WAKA Racing team has also got off to a slow start on just two wins against Berntsson and Jablonski. “It was tough,” said Robertson. “We led around the top mark in four out of five but we lost it downwind. So we are just ironing out the creases.”

The qualifying series continues tomorrow with the start time scheduled for 0900.

STAGE 1: Match Race Germany – Qualifying Round
Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar 4-1
Mathieu Richard (FRA) GEFCO Match Racing Team 4-1
Pierre-Antoine Morvan (FRA) Vannes Agglo Sailing Team 4-1
Taylor Canfield (ISV) USone 3-2
Keith Swinton (AUS) Black Swan Racing 3-2
Adam Minoprio (NZL) Team Alpari FX 3-2
Björn Hansen (SWE) Mekonomen Sailing Team 3-2
Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing 2-3
Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Stena Sailing Team 2-3
Philip Buhl (GER) Deutsches Youth America’s Cup Team 1-4
Karol Jablonski (GER) Jablonski Sailing Team 1-4
Sven Erick-Horsch (GER) NRV Match Race Team 0-5

[Source: Congressional Cup] Not to mention Ed Baird, who had been away from the game for a few years but holds a share of third place at 3-2 with Italy’s Simone Ferrarese.

It must mean something that Richard, Williams and Baird are all former winners of the event’s traditional Crimson Blazer—Williams the last two—because the conditions were so atypical Long Beach, with its normally reliable southwest sea breeze a no-show until late in the afternoon.

Veterans and newcomers alike were boggled when the wind shifted around the clock through the afternoon—first from southeast, stirring up sand on the beach, then turning a hard left with a nor’easter from downtown and finally to the familiar southwest with velocities varying from 12 to 18 knots, with gusts to 22 over a choppy, course of whitecaps.

PRO Randy Smith and his mark boat laborers had their hands full all afternoon. The second round robin flight was abandoned after two of five races when the wind did a 180. Competitors suddenly found themselves dropping their spinnakers on the downwind legs of the two-lap matches around the 0.4-nautical mile windward-leeward course, then raising them after rounding the “leeward” mark to go … uh, upwind?

Even Williams’ four-time world champion GAC Pindar team suffered confusion that they thought cost them their only loss of the day, to Richard.

“We had a penalty to erase, and we knew that you can do that with just a jibe and a tack downwind but have to do a [270-degree] circle upwind,” Williams said, with some humor in his tone of voice.

But although they were sailing downwind toward the breakwater inside the Long Beach outer harbor they instinctively did the full upwind maneuver, which cost them just enough extra time for Richard to win by 16 seconds.

Richard agreed, “That may have made the difference.”

Nevertheless, Williams said, “It was a good day for having good guys on the front of the boat getting the sails up and down.”

Later, during the second flight, the race course aimed at downtown Long Beach shifted again to southwest—”normal” Long Beach—and kicked up from 15 to 18 knots, with gusts to 22, causing Smith to abandon the flight with only two of five matches completed. The other three were sailed at the end of the day.

Richard, who won the Congressional in 2007, said the Catalina 37s are a handful in conditions they saw Tuesday.

“Handling the boat is not easy in the strong breeze,” he said, smiling, “but I guess we did better than the others.”

Two round-robin rotations will be followed by sailoffs through Saturday. Competition is at Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier on the Long Beach outer harbor starting at noon daily, conditions permitting.

The Congressional has a $60,000 purse, including $15,000 to the winner, along with the traditional Crimson Blazer.

[Source: Alpari World Match Racing Tour] The Alpari World Match Racing Tour has announced the names of the eight professional match racing skippers selected to compete on the 2013 Tour in a bid to be crowned 2013 ISAF Match Racing World Champion.

Four-time Tour Champion and British sailor Ian Williams returns to defend his title for a fifth time under the familiar colours of his GAC Pindar team.

“This year is a quality line up of skippers on the Tour”, commented Williams. “The list was well oversubscribed and that shows the high level of demand and competition that the Tour attracts. There will be some very close racing this year.’

Eager to snatch the title from Williams is 2012 runner-up Bjorn Hansen (SWE) with his Hansen Sailing Team, and 2012 podium finisher Phil Robertson (NZL) sailing with WAKA Racing. Robertson finished 3rd in the final Tour rankings at the end of 2012 following an impressive second place finish at the Tour finale event, the Monsoon Cup in Malaysia.

The 2013 Alpari World Match Racing Tour card holders. From top left, Johnie Berntsson, Taylor Canfield, Bjorn Hansen, Adam Minoprio, Pierre-Antoine Morvan, Phil Robertson, Keith Swinton and Ian Williams.

2009 ISAF Match Racing World Champion Adam Minoprio (NZL) also joins the line up of skippers with his BlackMatch team in a committed return to the Tour for 2013. A seasoned match racer, Minoprio is no stranger to the Tour, which will guarantee close racing between the current and former Tour Champions.

Competing on the Tour for the second year running are young Australian talent Keith Swinton and his Black Swan Racing team and French skipper Pierre-Antoine Morvan, keen to improve on his 2012 performance.

With two Tour event wins in 2012 including an impressive victory at the Tour finale event in Malaysia, Taylor Canfield (ISV), has also blasted his way onto the Tour after finishing 7th overall in 2012 counting just 3 results towards the overall standing. With the option of racing at all 7 events this year, Canfield’s prospects look very good to chase the title.

Completing the line up of skippers is Swedish sailor Johnie Berntsson. Sailing under his new sponsor, Stena Sailing Team, Berntsson is looking to re-create the form that brought him victory at the 2008 Argo Group Gold Cup in Bermuda and a third place finish on the 2011 Tour Championship.

James Pleasance, Executive Director of the Alpari World Match Racing Tour, was impressed with the level of interest from teams noting that 17 applications for Tour Cards were received but with only 8 places available the selection process had been very challenging.

“The Tour Card system is a means to provide event promoters with access to a consistent pool of the world’s top match racers and this year demand for the Tour Cards has remained very high,” he explained. “This ensures high quality racing at events but at the same time, a regular group of skippers allows the Tour to build profiles via PR, media messaging and television coverage. The level of interest this year is outstanding, proving that the Tour provides first class competition and exceptional value to sailors and sponsors.”

The 2013 season will consist of seven stages and teams will count results from their best five events, including their result at the final event, towards the championship. Invitations to six of the first seven events will be guaranteed for Tour Card Holders and invites to the final event will be taken from the leader board after the penultimate event, adding pressure on the Tour Card skippers to perform. Other non Tour Card skippers will also have the opportunity to compete on the Tour through wild card entries to events or by competing at qualifying events for each of the official Tour stages.

It was a huge gamble that Björn Hansen took on Friday morning and it didn’t pan out the way he would have liked. He had finished the round robin in second place and it didn’t come as a surprise when top-seeded Peter Gilmour picked the weakest opponent, that also happened to be his son, David Gilmour. What came as a surprise though was Hansen’s decision to race his closest opponent in the fight for the ALPARI World Match Racing Tour, Ian Williams. The British skipper was sitting a mere 2.5 behind Hansen and there was no doubt at all the fight for the world title would have been fierce. However, nobody was expecting it to be so short as it was decided a full day before the end of the Monsoon Cup.

After a slow start on Friday morning to finish the round robin under very light conditions, the unusually very dry and sunny weather allowed for a gentle and decent sea breeze to develop later in the afternoon. In fact, it might be called the Monsoon Cup but there has hardly been any substantial amount of rain in the last week or so. The only drawback is that racing has to start a bit later than scheduled and in the tropics at this time of the year sunset takes place quite early in the afternoon, leaving just about the sufficient time for racing.

All quarterfinals were fiercely fought and equally interesting, but Hansen’s decision to face Williams put the spotlight on that race as it was a make or break battle. As a result, our report today is focused on Hansen and Williams battling it out for the world title, prematurely…

Quarter final 1
What a race! The championship-deciding quarterfinals couldn’t have had a more interesting start. Ian Williams threw his match racing tricks on Hansen and forced him to a penalty at the committee boat. The Swede however had a plan, to take the right side of the course. He was off the starting line with slightly better speed at the pin end but quickly tacked and headed for the right, while Williams opted for the left. And the right paid as a big shift gave Hansen an immense lead which in turn offered him the opportunity to offload his penalty in the second beat, hold on to his lead
and score the first point.

Hansen gets a penalty at the prestart of the first quarterfinal race. Kuala Terengganu, 7 December 2012. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Vsail.info

Hansen looks back at Williams in the first run. Kuala Terengganu, 7 December 2012. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Vsail.info

Hansen rounds the bottom gate with an immense lead. Kuala Terengganu, 7 December 2012. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Vsail.info

Hansen has offloaded his penalty and crosses the finish line. Kuala Terengganu, 7 December 2012. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Vsail.info

Quarter final 2
Momentarily, I thought the second race of the quarterfinals would be a repeat of the first one but that wasn’t to happen. Just like the first race, Hansen got a penalty in the prestart but this time there wouldn’t be a huge tactical error by Williams to turn the tables around. Although Hansen hit the starting line at the pin end with slightly better pace, Williams got the right side, held on to it in the first beat and managed to stay comfortably ahead to the finish line.

Hansen gets a penalty at the prestart of the second quarterfinal race. Kuala Terengganu, 7 December 2012. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Vsail.info

Hansen in the first beat of the second quarterfinal race. Kuala Terengganu, 7 December 2012. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Vsail.info

Williams builds a comfortable lead in the first run. Kuala Terengganu, 7 December 2012. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Vsail.info

Williams rounds the bottom gate ahead of Hansen. Kuala Terengganu, 7 December 2012. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Vsail.info

Williams leads in the second run. Kuala Terengganu, 7 December 2012. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Vsail.info

Williams crosses the finish line ahead of Hansen and scores his first point. Kuala Terengganu, 7 December 2012. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Vsail.info

Quarter final 3
The third race was a fiercely-fought roller coaster that turned the tables and gave Williams the lead. Williams had a good start, went to the right-hand side of the course, crossed ahead of Hansen and then tacked, heading for the left. He picked the left shift and rounded the first top mark in the lead. Hansen had an excellent run and managed to be in contention at the bottom gate and went into the lead at the last weather mark. Despite the very short courses with legs of less than 500 meters, tactics can at times make the difference and that’s exactly what happened in the last run. Williams played the left shift, went as close as possible to the shore line and managed to get ahead, scoring an important second point.

Prestart of the third quarterfinal race between Björn Hansen and Ian Williams. Kuala Terengganu, 7 December 2012. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Vsail.info

Williams halfway through the first beat. Kuala Terengganu, 7 December 2012. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Vsail.info

Williams crosses in front in the first beat. Kuala Terengganu, 7 December 2012. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Vsail.info

Williams rounds the first weather mark in the lead. Kuala Terengganu, 7 December 2012. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Vsail.info

Hansen has an excellent run and catches up Williams at the bottom gate. Kuala Terengganu, 7 December 2012. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Vsail.info

Hansen in the second beat of the race. Kuala Terengganu, 7 December 2012. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Vsail.info

Hansen leads in the second beat. Kuala Terengganu, 7 December 2012. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Vsail.info

Hansen rounds the second weather mark ahead of Williams. Kuala Terengganu, 7 December 2012. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Vsail.info

Brilliant tactical move by Williams as he goes to the left, close to the shoreline, gets the better breeze, overtakes Hansen and scores a decisive second point. Kuala Terengganu, 7 December 2012. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Vsail.info

Quarter final 4
The fourth and final race of the 2012 Monsoon Cup quarterfinals was probably the most straightforward. Although it was a intense prestart, Williams got off to a better start with better speed and opted for the right hand side of the course. He was ahead at the first cross and managed to hold on to this lead throughout the race, despite Hansen’s attacks, especially in the first run. Williams could always feel Hansen hot on his heels but the Swede was unable to find a passing lane. After crossing the finish line ahead of Hansen, Williams not only advanced to the Monsoon Cup semifinals but, much more importantly, he equaled Peter Gilmour’s four World Match Racing Championship titles.

Start of the fourth quarterfinal race between Björn Hansen and Ian Williams. Kuala Terengganu, 7 December 2012. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Vsail.info

Williams is ahead at the first cross of the first beat. Kuala Terengganu, 7 December 2012. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Vsail.info

Williams rounds the first top mark in the lead. Kuala Terengganu, 7 December 2012. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Vsail.info

Start of the fourth quarterfinal race between Björn Hansen and Ian Williams. Kuala Terengganu, 7 December 2012. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Vsail.info

Williams squeezes in at the bottom mark. Kuala Terengganu, 7 December 2012. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Vsail.info

Williams leads Hansen in the final run. Kuala Terengganu, 7 December 2012. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Vsail.info

Williams crosses the finish line, comfortably ahead of Hansen. Kuala Terengganu, 7 December 2012. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Vsail.info

Celebrating a well-deserved victory and a world title! Kuala Terengganu, 7 December 2012. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Vsail.info

Celebrating a well-deserved victory and a world title! Kuala Terengganu, 7 December 2012. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Vsail.info

Photo gallery from the third day of racing at the 2012 Monsoon Cup:

Third day of racing at the 2012 Monsoon Cup. Kuala Terengganu, 6 December 2012. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / VSail.info

Third day of racing at the 2012 Monsoon Cup. Kuala Terengganu, 6 December 2012. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / VSail.info

Third day of racing at the 2012 Monsoon Cup. Kuala Terengganu, 6 December 2012. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / VSail.info

Third day of racing at the 2012 Monsoon Cup. Kuala Terengganu, 6 December 2012. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / VSail.info

Third day of racing at the 2012 Monsoon Cup. Kuala Terengganu, 6 December 2012. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / VSail.info

Third day of racing at the 2012 Monsoon Cup. Kuala Terengganu, 6 December 2012. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / VSail.info

Third day of racing at the 2012 Monsoon Cup. Kuala Terengganu, 6 December 2012. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / VSail.info

Third day of racing at the 2012 Monsoon Cup. Kuala Terengganu, 6 December 2012. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / VSail.info

Third day of racing at the 2012 Monsoon Cup. Kuala Terengganu, 6 December 2012. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / VSail.info

Third day of racing at the 2012 Monsoon Cup. Kuala Terengganu, 6 December 2012. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / VSail.info

Third day of racing at the 2012 Monsoon Cup. Kuala Terengganu, 6 December 2012. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / VSail.info

Third day of racing at the 2012 Monsoon Cup. Kuala Terengganu, 6 December 2012. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / VSail.info

Third day of racing at the 2012 Monsoon Cup. Kuala Terengganu, 6 December 2012. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / VSail.info

Third day of racing at the 2012 Monsoon Cup. Kuala Terengganu, 6 December 2012. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / VSail.info

Third day of racing at the 2012 Monsoon Cup. Kuala Terengganu, 6 December 2012. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / VSail.info

Third day of racing at the 2012 Monsoon Cup. Kuala Terengganu, 6 December 2012. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / VSail.info

[Source: ALPARI World Match Racing Tour] In one month, the world’s top match racers will arrive in Malaysia for the final event of the 2012 Alpari World Match Racing Tour season. Whilst Bjorn Hansen and Ian Williams are touted as the most likely winners of this year’s title, the stats suggest that the Monsoon Cup could well provide a twist in the tale of the season.

Spurred on after a disappointing regatta at Match Race Germany, Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Mekonomen Sailing Team has gone on to lead the overall table since the second event of the season. Consistent performances from fellow Tour stalwarts Ian Williams (GBR) GAC Pindar and Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing have seen two of the most successful Tour skippers ever progress to the knockout stages of every event that they have competed in, putting them in second and fourth overall respectively.

Hansen leads 9-5 head-to-head against Williams overall in 2012 and assuming both teams progress to the knockout stages of the Monsoon Cup, it would be interesting to see whether the Swede would choose to face his opponent at the earliest possible opportunity to try and eliminate him. The stats suggest he should – while Williams has achieved a podium finish in all but one of his Tour events this year, Hansen has beaten his biggest title rival in both of their knockout stage battles.

Will Ian Williams become the World Match Racing Champion for the fourth time? Kuala Terengganu, 27 November 2011. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / VSail.info

The high risk-high reward strategy has been a feature in the climax of previous Tour seasons as the world’s best helmsmen back their own ability. Ben Ainslie picked his nearest rival Mathieu Richard in the 2010 Monsoon Cup, despite holding an inferior head-to-head record against the Frenchman. He successfully eliminated his main contender and went on to win the season title.

After such a close season on the world’s premier sailing series, the high-scoring Monsoon Cup (1.5x standard stage points) means that the top eight teams are still statistically able to finish top of the pile. Looking at the current leaderboard after seven events, where can we expect the Tour Card Holders hope to finish overall in the season standings?

Sitting in third overall, Keith Swinton (AUS) Black Swan Racing has a real chance of stamping his impression on the world’s premier sailing series in his first full season. Victory isn’t out of the question should Hansen and Williams falter but the youngster could finish as low as eighth, depending on his result and the successes of those below him in the current standings. Swinton currently holds a 6.75 point gap over Gilmour in fourth place but those five Tour Card Holders below him are separated by just 8 points. Two places difference at the Monsoon Cup could change things for him significantly.

Demonstrating the potential shifts in the table, currently occupying that eighth spot is Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Berntsson Sailing Team, who is once again relying on a late season surge to power his way up the leaderboard. He secured a third place finish overall last year, which seemed unlikely before Final appearances at the Argo Group Gold Cup in Bermuda and the Monsoon Cup. He climbed the table from seventh place to the podium after the final event in 2011 and will hope to repeat that feat again come December.

A second place at the recent Argo Group Gold Cup in October has left him with a mathematically possible shot at the Tour title but a more realistic chance to reach the top three overall for a second consecutive year. In 2011, he had a 26.6 point gap to make up as well as relying on the results of those skippers above him. This year, that gap is 14.75 points but again, he will need the results elsewhere to go in his favour. Either way, Berntsson will have to target a Monsoon Cup Final appearance to give himself the best possible chance.

Skipper points overview and possible finishing positions:

Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Mekonomen Sailing Team
Max season Tour points: 142.25
Min (current) season Tour point: 104.25
Highest possible overall Tour finish: 1st
Lowest possible overall Tour finish: 5th

Ian Williams (GBR) GAC Pindar
Max season Tour points: 140
Min (current) season Tour point: 102
Highest possible overall Tour finish: 1st
Lowest possible overall Tour finish: 6th

Keith Swinton (AUS) Black Swan Racing
Max season Tour points: 121
Min (current) season Tour point: 83
Highest possible overall Tour finish: 1st
Lowest possible overall Tour finish: 8th

Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing
Max season Tour points: 114.25
Min (current) season Tour point: 76.25
Highest possible overall Tour finish: 1st
Lowest possible overall Tour finish: 8th

Pierre-Antoine Morvan (FRA) Vannes Agglo Sailing Team
Max season Tour points: 109
Min (current) season Tour point: 71
Highest possible overall Tour finish: 1st
Lowest possible overall Tour finish: 8th

Laurie Jury (NZL) Kiwi Match
Max season Tour points: 108.25
Min (current) season Tour point: 70.25
Highest possible overall Tour finish: 1st
Lowest possible overall Tour finish: 8th

Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing
Max season Tour points: 108
Min (current) season Tour point: 70
Highest possible overall Tour finish: 1st
Lowest possible overall Tour finish: 8th

Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Berntsson Sailing Team
Max season Tour points: 106.25
Min (current) season Tour point: 68.25
Highest possible overall Tour finish: 1st
Lowest possible overall Tour finish: 8th

The wildcards for the Monsoon Cup will be confirmed next week and may well shake up the status quo in the race for overall Tour glory. We have seen throughout the year how weather conditions, racing area, boat preference and team entries outside or the Tour Card Holders have had a huge impact on event results. Whilst head-to-head form and current standings are will give the competing skippers something to ponder as they assess their opponents in Malaysia, they know that nothing can ever be guaranteed in the heat of a one-on-one battle.

[Source: ALPARI World Match Racing Tour] Reigning ISAF Match Racing World Champion Ian Williams overcame a spirited performance by young Kiwi William Tiller and torrential conditions to win the Final of Match Race France. It was Williams’ fourth podium finish in five events this season which propels his GAC Pindar team to the top of the Alpari World Match Racing Tour (AWMRT) standings as the Tour heads into its penultimate event next week.

Williams arrived in the Final off the back of a hard-fought Semi-Final victory against Keith Swinton. Light conditions delayed the race start, eventually forcing the Race Committee to shorten the Final to a ‘first to two points’ format. When the breeze finally kicked in for the first match, Williams’ team had clearly recovered from their epic Semi-Final, winning the start and gaining an almost immediate two boat length lead up to the first windward mark. From there on, Williams’ team closed the door on Tiller, maintaining enough of a lead to not get sucked into a tactical battle. 1-0 and Tiller was already facing sudden death.

Tiller regrouped for the next match, the rain now beating down and the wind constantly picking up. Despite another poor start, a spirited Tiller managed to edge a lead over Williams round the first lap. Williams was not about to let this one slip though, and ground Tillers lead down on the second windward leg to round the final mark a boat length ahead. On the final downwind, Tiller had to attack but Williams’ boat speed, helped by some hard hiking from his crew, carried him to the line to take the victory by just over a boat length.

Ian Williams takes Match Race France and is now leading the ALPARI World Match Racing Tour. Marseille, 29 September 2012. Photo copyright Gilles Martin-Raget

“We’re super happy to get the win,” said Williams. “It was one of those days where everything was changing very, very fast, especially the wind shifts. We got a few more of the important things right than he did today. In those conditions, if you can’t concentrate on the details, you need to get the big stuff right. It was good for us that we didn’t have to go out and win another one but I think we would have if we’d had to.”

Asked if it was a ‘perfect win’, Williams said: “Not quite. We could have been dry. That would have been perfect!

“That win has put us firmly in the hunt now and that’s what we wanted. Every year it seems the guy that gets the early lead in the Tour tends to drop out towards the end. One year we had a 30 point lead and ended up going to Malaysia in 2nd place. Same for [Francesco] Bruni last year and this year it’s happened to Bjorn [Hansen]. He had a strong lead but dropped off his form in the last two regattas. It’ll be interesting to see who else is in the mix in December but you suspect whoever wins between us and Bjorn’s team in Malaysia will take the season title.”

It was Tiller’s first Tour Final which left the defeated Kiwi with mixed emotions: “We were happy to make it to the Final but disappointed not to make more of it. We felt we got things together as the week progressed but couldn’t keep it going into the Final.

“Well done to Ian and his team. He got two good starts and, although we took the lead in the second race, we made a few errors to let him back into it. Trailing in the second match of a first to two point Final, you’d like another chance but the conditions dictated otherwise.

“We’ll look to take this form into Bermuda where we’ll have another shot at beating Ian.”

In the day’s Petit Final, the winner of the previous stage at the St. Moritz Match Race, Keith Swinton (AUS) Black Swan Racing, went up against Laurie Jury (NZL) Kiwi Match in a first to one point format.

Jury carried a penalty from pre-start but lead throughout the encounter and elected to take his turn as he approached the top mark for a second time. A slight mistake was all Swinton needed to pass his opponent and hoist his spinnaker for the final downwind, taking a comfortable victory.

After taking third place and 19 Championship points which have pushed him up to 3rd place in the overall standings, Swinton said: “Those were tricky conditions but we managed to put the early pressure on with a penalty. We took the lead on the downwind and once we were ahead, we pushed on.

“We’re pretty happy with third and I think it’s well deserved. We pushed Ian [Williams] hard in the Semis and were maybe unlucky not to get to the Final.”

As for Jury, he felt the defeat was much his team’s own fault: “We’re obviously disappointed but more so because we kept making stupid mistakes. We decided to go left only to find the right was paying more and then the penalty in the pre-start. It is what it is, we can’t change anything now. We have sailed well this week but we’ve got some bits to work on.”

The Argo Group Gold Cup gets underway in Hamilton Harbour, Bermuda next week with the first Qualifying Session taking place on Tuesday 2 October.

Alpari World Match Racing Tour Standings – After 6 Stages:
Ian Williams (GBR) GAC Pindar – 102
Björn Hansen (SWE) Mekonomen Sailing Team – 93
Keith Swinton (AUS) Black Swan Racing – 79
Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing – 71
Pierre-Antoine Morvan (FRA) Vannes Agglo Sailing Team – 71
Laurie Jury (NZL) Kiwi Match Sailing – 65
Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing Team – 56
William Tiller (NZL) Full Metal Jacket Racing – 37
Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Berntsson Sailing Team – 35
Simone Ferrarese (ITA) Ferrarese Racing Team – 29