World Match Race Germany

Making his debut on the Tour was Italy’s Francesco Bruni who was keen to make an impression against the well polished Tour regulars but with an undefeated scorecard and a smile on his face it was clear the first day had made a good impression on him. Bruni was able to extend his lead against two of his competitors which secured him the wins, however a tight race with the current world number one ISAF ranked match racer, Seb Col, put his skills to the test and he didn’t disappoint, using a combination of good strategy and boat on boat tactics to over come his opponent.

Mathieu Richard currently number two on the Tour standings and ISAF rankings also faired exceptionally well, winning four of his five matches. After the days racing was finished, an upbeat chief umpire Philippe Gomez was pleased with the successful start to the regatta.

WMRT - Match Race Germany

The picturesque town of Langenaren on the shores of Lake Constance will be flooded with sailors and spectators this week as Match Race Germany opens its doors.

As well as hosting the German leg of the World Match Racing Tour a week long festival has been planned. Live bands will take to the stage and food and entertainment will be on offer. Children will also have the opportunity to get out on the water in Optimist dinghies.

Amongst the competitors lined up for the Tour event are reigning World Champion Ian Williams (GBR) and Bahrain Team Pindar, number 1 ranked ISAF sailor Seb Col (FRA) with the French Team/K-Challenge, current Tour leader Adam Minoprio (NZL) of ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing and four time Match Racing World Champion Peter Gilmour (AUS) backed up by Yanmar Racing. The list of talent doesn’t stop there with Triple Olympic Gold Ben Ainslie and Team Origin starting their assault on the World Championship. Defending Match Race Germany Champion Damien Ihel with his French Match Racing Team is also back to try and retain his crown, a pretty tall order some might think.

Racing will take place a stones throw from the shoreline in Langenargen which is sure to see its share of visitors keen to watch the action and listen to the lively commentary throughout the day. The boat of choice is the Bavaria Match 35.

Match Race Germany is the second stop on the 2009 Tour and has $50,000 in prize money on offer. The next six weeks will see four Tour events tightly packed and by the end of the first week of July half the Tour will be completed. Teams will need to stay focused and fight for every World Championship point.

VOR Leg 7 Completed

Ericsson 4 again took maximum points this morning when she crossed the finish of Volvo Ocean Race leg seven in Galway in first position. She finished at 0054 GMT today after taking seven days, 10 hours, 33 minutes and 51 seconds to sail across the North Atlantic from Boston.

The North Atlantic threw everything it could at the seven-strong fleet, which revelled in the fast downwind conditions. Many of the crews have declared the sailing on this leg as the best they have ever experienced and there was plenty to contend with. Thick fog, a myriad of lobster pots followed by a whale exclusion zone, a scoring gate – which Ericsson 4 rounded in third place – and an ice exclusion zone to negotiate all added to the mix before the high-speed drag race to the finish, which proved to be a nail-biting thriller. Ericsson 4 sailed the first half of this leg conservatively, only rising to the top of the pack on 19 May, day four. The remainder of the leg was spent either in first or second place, with the exception of a blip on day six when the team dropped briefly to fourth place.

The crew of Delta Lloyd just gets better and better. Although finishing in fifth place this morning in Galway at 0339 GMT, the team had been up in the lead during this leg and was in contention for a podium finish right up until the last moment.

The fight for fifth place was hard fought. Telefónica Black was also leader of the pack in the first third of the leg, but once the fleet cleared the ice exclusion zone and turned downwind, Telefónica Black did not flourish. For Ericsson 3, who finished two hours later in seventh position at 0558 GMT today, leg seven could have been a leg the crew would rather forget

Leg Six Finishing Order Galway
1. Ericsson 4: 8 points
2. PUMA: 7 points
3. Green Dragon: 6 points
4. Telefónica Blue: 5 points
5. Delta Lloyd: 4 points
6. Telefónica Black: 3 points
7. Ericsson 3: 2 points

Delta Lloyd Leads!

The breeze is up and the Volvo fleet is rocketing downwind towards a predicted finish in Galway, Ireland early on Sunday morning. It’s the kind of sailing that everyone has been looking forward to and it is almost certainly the last time the boats will have the chance to show off their paces in the open ocean. The sailing conditions are absolutely stunning. Downwind, 25-30 knots, flat water and a red morning sun. It is smiles all round too on Delta Lloyd, who are in the lead today. Ahead of the cold front, the crews are playing the fortunes of the Gulf Stream, which, if in the right place, can give a boat a boost of nearly three knots. Scrutinising satellite images and recording surface temperatures gives a rough guideline as to where to look for the best current, the temperature gauge being the best tool as it shows the transition from colder to warmer water.

A New Game Starts

The fleet, led by Telefónica Black, is converging on the southeast corner of the ice exclusion zone just over three nautical miles ahead, where sheets will be eased and spinnakers hoisted as a new and exciting downwind game begins.

The crew of Green Dragon has been looking forward to this point of the leg. The forecast is for downwind sailing and much of it will be in very windy conditions. Earlier, when Telefónica Black set off along the 175 nm southern perimeter of the ‘ice fence’, quite suddenly they hooked into the warm waters of the Gulf Stream – two knots of east setting current and 16 degrees Celsius water temperature. Currently, just 12 miles separate pathfinder Telefónica Black, from Ericsson 4 and Telefónica Blue. Delta Lloyd leads the second string from PUMA, Green Dragon and Ericsson 3 who are having a torrid time after losing three positions at the scoring gate.

Telefónica Blue has averaged the highest boat speed of 17 knots over the past three hours and also holds the fastest 24-hour run of 269 nm. Computer routing software is predicting a finish in Galway early on Sunday morning based on current performance.

19 May VOR Day 4

The sun was out for a few hours and although it was still a bit foggy, it was a wonderful spring like day. The sea was flat and the boats went dry inside and out. And then, moist and cold again. Due to the fog everything gets moist and wet. And when things get wet, they get colder.

Crews are trying to keep their socks dry. When the mist went away for a few hours, the crews used the time to dry the boats and the gear. The crews are looking forward to the warmer water around the corner when they get closer to the Gulf Stream.

Green Dragon is out of last place and are less than an hour behind all the other boats after making big gains to the South. Being south was an advantageous thing.

Telefónica Blue continues to make her mark on the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09 when she was first past the scoring gate off Newfoundland, claiming four points. This comes on top of her recent wins inshore in Rio de Janeiro and Boston and her rounding the Fernando de Noronha Gate in first place on leg six.

Everything lined up perfectly for full points at the scoring gate until early yesterday morning when a couple of big whales appeared out of the thick fog. Ericsson 3 managed to avoid the first one, but only saw the tail of the next one as it dived just in front. The boat hit with both the keel and the daggerboard, and came to a complete stop with some bad noises from the appendages. The keel fin fairings were damaged or off in a big area, but the daggerboard was ok. Green Dragon and Delta Lloyd are just in front, and they are slowly pulling away.

Scoring Gate Order
1. Telefónica Blue at 03:11.24 GMT
2. PUMA at 03:12.04 GMT
3. Ericsson 4 at 03:33.05 GMT
4. Ericsson 3 at 04:06.02 GMT
5. Telefónica Black at 04:36.54 GMT
6. Delta Lloyd at 06:16.00 GMT

VOR, Boston to Galway

After a short postponement the last open ocean leg of the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09 got underway 16 May 2009.

There was some confusion around the time of the postponement which led to four boats racing half the first beat of the inshore course before turning back to restart 20 minutes later.

After the gun fired, the seven-strong fleet split immediately with PUMA (Ken Read/USA ) looking really strong on port tack, followed by Delta Lloyd (Roberto Bermúdez/ESP), Telefónica Black (Fernando Echávarri/ESP) and Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael/BRA), while Ericsson 3 (Magnus Olsson/SWE), Green Dragon (Ian Walker/GBR) and Telefónica Blue (Bouwe Bekking/NED) opted for a starboard tack start.

Fog descended on the course as Telefónica Blue screamed up through the fleet to lead round the first mark, followed by Telefónica Black, Green Dragon, PUMA, Ericson 3 and Ericsson 4. As the fleet approached the mark, a large freighter hove into view. The leaders had a clear rounding, but Delta Lloyd was forced to alter course by the ship and rounded in last place.

While the two Telefónica boats showed a clean pair of heels to the rest of the fleet, PUMA ate into Green Dragon’s margin and Ericsson 4 put pressure on PUMA.

At the second turning mark the two Telefónica boats, Blue and Black, led the fleet. PUMA stole third place from Green Dragon as they nipped inside at the mark, followed by Ericsson 4. Ericsson 3 sailed ‘through the eye of the needle’ between PUMA and Green Dragon as the fleet dropped their spinnakers and flew headsails for the final leg of the course.

The final order as the fleet left Boston and disappeared into the mist heading for Galway in Ireland, was Telefónica Blue, Telefónica Black, PUMA and overall race leader Ericsson 4.

The first boat is scheduled to arrive in Galway one week from today, but first the fleet has to cope with ice further south than normal, a scoring gate off the island of Newfoundland, a whale exclusion zone just off Boston, and an ice exclusion zone in the shape of a pouch hanging to the east and south of Newfoundland.

It this isn’t enough to keep the minds of the 77 sailors occupied, in 2005-06 on this Atlantic leg Bouwe Bekking and his crew had to abandon their yacht movistar and were rescued by the crew of ABN AMRO TWO who, days before, had had to cope with the loss of crewman Hans Horrevoets who drowned after being washed over the side. The 2,550nm leg seven to Galway promises to give the seven competing crews plenty to think about.

MedCup Completed

At times it was spectacular as the sea breeze off Alicante built to 17 knots at times, but it was never easy or straightforward as the Audi MedCup champions Quantum Racing (USA) eased into the overall lead of the City of Alicante Trophy Regatta after three close races today. In the GP42 Series which revelled in the sparkling conditions today, it is the Italian Roma Mk2 which leads.

Quantum Racing struck gold early, winning the first race of the day, threatening the kind of dominant performance which they displayed in certain conditions last season but it was their consistency across Races 3 and 4 of the TP52 Series which ensured they hold a three points lead over second placed Matador (ARG).

Matador, new this season, lead the overall standings after Race 3 but were slow off their final start and could only manage an eighth to share the same points tally as third places Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL).

Emerging as the day’s winner on an impressive 1-1-2 record in the GP42 Series, the Roma 2 team, led by skipper Paolo Cian (ITA), showed their experience from two previous years of GP42 campaigning in having strong starts and fast pace all around the course, but particularly so downwind where they often stretched their lead when ahead and closed the gaps when behind. Designed by Farr, the boat has just emerged from tummy-tuck surgery to the stern sections to better optimize performance downwind and in light air.

After three more windward-leeward contests in a gentler sea breeze today off Alicante an exciting final Sunday showdown is now in prospect with the City of Alicante Trophy at stake as only three points separates the top four TP52 Series boats on the 2009 Audi MedCup Circuit. In the GP42 Series the Italian boat Airis leads by three points.

In the gentler conditions Torbjorn Tornqvist’s new Artemis was the standout performer in the TP52 Series today bettering back-to-back second places when they won the third race of the day, to vault six places up the leaderboard sharing the same points aggregate as Emirates Team New Zealand.

The tight knit New Zealand team started their day well when they won the first race but a less than glamorous first beat in Race 7 saw them get a taste of life in the nether regions of the fleet. But as much as their first race victory of the season it is their ability to pull back a couple of places for a tenth that ensures they could rightfully claim joint tenancy at the top with Artemis.

Emirates Team New Zealand got the better of their duel with Artemis in the first race when they held on longer to the right of the first downwind. The early stages tested the mettle of Quantum Racing who rounded the windward mark down in tenth, but the current champions dug deep for a useful fifth.

In the second race it was the turn of the Portuguese crew on Bigamist 7, long standing competitors on the Circuit, to take their first ever MedCup Circuit winning gun. The team from Lisbon and Cascais, which numbers as many amateurs aboard as they have professionals, not only proved the value of their winter training at home on their Atlantic waters and the speed they are getting from their new boat – the former Platoon powered by Team Germany – but they remained cool and unflustered, holding their nerves to win Race 6 from Artemis.

Bribon looked to be well set to win the final race of the day when Artemis managed to get inside them near the top end of the second beat, getting a left hand windshift and a little extra wind pressure and that was enough to seal the first winning gun with his new Artemis for the Swedish owner-helm Tornqvist.

Quantum Racing remained steadily consistent concentrating on sailing safely and conservatively to post a 5,6.7 to leave them only one point off in third while Matador stayed largely under the radar today – never great but never terrible – to go into the final day with a deficit of only three points on the overall lead in the TP52 Series.

While yesterday Filippo Faruffini’s Roma 2, helmed by Paolo Cian (ITA) looked as though they might dominate the GP42 Series in their MedCup debut, what a difference a day makes, as a new leader has emerged and others in this class have started taking turns in the front of the pack.

A very modest trio of results across yesterday’s races proved a spur to the Matador (ARG) team to come out fighting today and score the best pair of scores in the TP52 fleet to win the City of Alicante Trophy today after a very close fought first regatta of the 2009 Audi MedCup Circuit.

From the disappointment of yesterday’s mixed bag of 7,5,5 Alberto Roemmers’ team had a long de-brief to analyse where they felt they had made mistakes. Perhaps it was the catalyst which set them up to eliminate their weaknesses, to start well in both races today, sailing fast and smart to clinch their first MedCup regatta win since 2007 when they won the prestigious Copa del Rey in Palma.

In 9-12 knots of sea breeze conditions and perfect early season Mediterranean sunshine the four leading protagonists Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), Artemis (SWE), Matador and reigning champions Quantum Racing (USA) lined up side by side off the start line in the first race. Emirates Team New Zealand profited from good upwind speed and an excellent start to win the first race and earn a four points lead.

As Matador seized the lead early on the first leg of the final race, Emirates Team New Zealand looked to have done enough to score a maiden regatta win with their new boat when they rounded fourth, less than a boat length behind Artemis and with a four boat cushion to Quantum Racing.

For the Matador team, who lead after Day 1, victory is a just reward for two and half months of hard work to prepare their new Judel Vrolijk design which was build near Valencia. Three excellent periods of training in Valencia and Palma ensured the team reached the season’s first regatta in good shape.

Just when the scorecard in the GP42 Series was taking on a familiar look, the extraordinary competitiveness of this class can turn things inside out. Going into the first of today’s two races, Roberto Monti’s (ITA) Airis, driven by Cameron Appleton (NZL), looked to have things well in hand with a three-point lead, good overall speed, and smooth teamwork.

Date of Next Match

After the court hearing yesterday, it was decided that the America's Cup Match can take place in the Northern Hemisphere regardless of the date, which Justice Kornreich said can be agreed through mediation. In the event of no agreement being reached, Alinghi, representing the SNG, will race BMW Oracle, representing the Golden Gate Yacht Club, in February 2010. In another important decision, Justice Kornreich ordered the GGYC to stick to the specifications of their Notice of Challenge and instructed the Challenger of Record to provide the Custom-House Registry as soon as possible.

Marazzi Sailing Penalised

Marazzi Sailing are penalised for being over the TP52 Class crew weight limit in Race 1 of the Audi MedCup Circuit.

As a result of being officially measured over the crew weight limit for the TP52 Class by a small margin, Switzerland’s Marazzi Sailing have been penalised three points from their aggregate score, effectively negating their opening race win at the City of Alicante Trophy regatta.

City of Alicante Trophy, Overall standings after 1 race and Audi Med Cup Circuit 2009 standings after 1 race:

1. Matador (ARG) 2pts
2. Bigamist 7 (POR) 3pts
3. Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) 4 pts
4. Marazzi Sailing (SUI) 4pts
5. Quantum Racing (USA) 5pts

Alicante, Day 1

The Audi MedCup Circuit's first ever Swiss flagged team won the opening race of the 2009 season to give their hopes of carrying on through the season the best possible boost at the City of Alicante Trophy regatta.

Marazzi Sailing, the campaign put together by Swiss Olympic Star sailor Flavio Marazzi with Germany’s four times Olympic medallist Jochen Schuemann, seized an early advantage on the first leg of the windward-leeward track when the breeze shifted slightly to the right and went on to lead at each mark to the finish.

It proved to be a long and slightly frustrating opening day to the season. A first attempt to get the opening race away had to be halted when the fitful breeze faded to just three or four knots at the leeward mark when practise race winners Bribon had a clear lead.

But the patience on the part of the competitors and the race officers paid off and the season’s first contest was sailed in 8-10 knots of easterly breeze which offered enough in the way of changes in direction and pressure to develop a typically interesting and challenging early season contest.

The overcast, slightly grey and humid conditions did nothing at all to help the breeze build and only one race could be completed for the twelve competing TP52’s.

Marazzi Sailing, the 2008 Reichel Pugh design Artemis, were always able to keep control of the fleet, extending slightly over Alberto Roemmers’ new Matador which took second place. Recovery of the day was that of the Portuguese team Bigamist 7 which was clearly over the start line early at the extreme left end of the start line. Tactician Hugo Rocha ushered helm Afonso Domingos towards the right flank of the course and they were well placed to also reap the dividend as the small wind shift arrived, going on to finish third.

Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) had a spirited joust at times with the current Audi MedCup Champions Quantum Racing (USA), and skipper Dean Barker and tactician Ray Davies kept the upper hand across the finish line to take fourth, 27 seconds ahead of the American boat.

The GP42 class had their practice race, running on the same course, with Islas Las Canarias Puerto Calero taking first gun.

City of Alicante Trophy, Race 1
1.Marazzi Sailing (SUI)
2.Matador (ARG)
3.Bigamist 7 (POR)
4.Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL)
5.Quantum Racing (USA)

MedCup Alicante Trophy

In 2007 Bribon won her maiden regatta to take the City of Alicante Trophy just days after being completed, built in near to record time, winning by a single point. And last year it was only one point which separated Bribon from retaining the Alicante trophy, finishing second to Mean Machine.

With French double Olympic medallist Thierry Peponnet steering, Bribon - which is completely unaltered since last season - lead at every mark of today’s curtain- raising practice race and crossed the finish line well clear of Portugal’s second placed Bigamist 7, Pedro Mendonca’s latest TP52 which is the former Platoon powered by Team Germany.

The hazy conditions which prevailed over Alicante denied any chance of the light, and times shifty and patchy breeze building to anything meaningful. Rarely did the wind top nine knots, but it was always enough for Bribon to keep the 12 boat TP52 fleet trailing behind. The typically understated Peponnet confessed later that part of their winning move, starting off the pin end, was as much as result of snaring a plastic bag around their keel two and a half minutes before the start gun. They crossed the fleet mid-way up the first beat, gaining a steady advantage after they tacked, and were more than 30 seconds clear as they lead away from the windward mark.

Notice of Challenge from Italy

The Defender of the 33rd America's Cup, the Société Nautique de Genève (SNG), today received an official Notice of Challenge from the Circolo di Vela Gargnano (CVG) with a certificate for a 90x90foot vessel as per the Golden Gate / BMW Oracle challenge for the 33rd America's Cup.

SNG welcomes the Italian entry; CVG was a challenger in the 32nd America's Cup and is world renowned for its prestigious Centomiglia regatta. It has now challenged with a multihull as per the Golden Gate challenge.

SNG and Alinghi have always supported a multi-challenger event and continue to do so. At a meeting on 23 April, the Swiss Defender asked the American Challenger of Record to open the challenger selection series. SNG continues to encourage a 33rd America's Cup with multiple teams from different nations; however the decision to accept the Italian challenge in a multihull lies with the Golden Gate Yacht Club and BMW Oracle Racing.

Alinghi/SNG cannot accept a second challenge without the agreement of the Challenger of Record, BMW Oracle Racing/GGYC.

BMW Oracle Closed Doors

The 33rd America's Cup defending yacht club, Société Nautique de Genève (SNG), regrets that the Challenger of Record, the Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC), rejected an invitation to resume talks on terms for the 33rd America's Cup. It also appears to have closed the door to other teams using its latest legal action to disregard Italian team Green Comm's challenge.

In a letter sent on 5 May, the SNG invited the GGYC to meet to continue discussions, including such areas as the date, the venue, the race format, the participation of other challengers and the presentation of the Custom-House Registry of vessel. To the SNG's disappointment, the GGYC responded simply by reminding the defending yacht club of the court hearing scheduled for the 14 May in New York.

The SNG plans to persevere with its appeal to GGYC to join its representatives around a table to discuss these matters face to face. The invitation to negotiate remains open.

Alinghi Starts Multihull Training

Alinghi, 33rd America's Cup Defender, has started its 2009-2010 multihull campaign in Switzerland launching the two Décision 35 catamarans that will be used as training platforms towards a multihull America's Cup in May 2010. The sailing team will be dedicated to multihull training, racing the Challenge Julius Baer on Lake Geneva for the rest of the season and withdrawing from other monohull commitments.

In addition to Ernesto Bertarelli's original SUI1, the team has chartered a second Décision 35 (SUI6) for the season and the two grand prix multihulls will race the eight events that span the summer, starting on 8 May with the Grand Prix Corum. Ed Baird will helm Alinghi SUI6 with Brad Butterworth as tactician while Ernesto Bertarelli, Alinghi president, will helm Alinghi SUI1. “Ernesto and his team have been strong in this class for years, we look forward to learning from and with them throughout the season,” said Baird. “We realise we have a lot to learn, and there will be a number of great crews to race against, so we're excited to have the opportunity to get back on the water in a competitive environment.”

The Alinghi multihulls will face a strong 10-boat fleet that includes some of the best offshore multihull sailors in the world, and while an Alinghi team has won the last two championships on the Lake, the group is candid in its expectations: “We are here to try to win, just as we did last year, but this season is going to be tough: the circuit has two new boats (Veltigroup and Banque Populaire) manned by highly professional multihull sailors with lots of experience, so the starts of the races will be more challenging. We will definitely be trying to keep the trophy in our hands though!” said Yves Detrey, Alinghi bow/mastman.

The first event, the Grand Prix Corum is from 8-10 May at the Société Nautique de Genève, so the Alinghi teams will start training from next Monday, “the D-35's represent a more sophisticated racing multihull than we have experienced before, and we need all the training opportunities we can get as we prepare for an America's Cup in multihulls,” Ed Baird concluded.