Troia Match Cup, Portugal

On a 12-hour day which featured breeze conditions flip-flopping between land and sea, and varying from nearly nothing to a 40-knot rain squall, race managers at the Troia Portugal Match Cup managed to conclude four of the remaining five flights of the Round Robin to yield three of the final four teams to advance to Semi-Final and Final stages. On the strength of 9 wins each, two members of the French Match Racing Team took the top two spots, with Mathieu Richard on Team French Spirit winning the tie-break with Sebastian Col of K-Challenge to get the top spot. And on a late streak of winning four of his last five matches, Magnus Holmberg (SWE) of the Victory Challenge slid into the third place on seven wins, one point clear of a possibly massive tie-break situation in the final flight between five teams vying for the fourth and final spot for the next stage. And in the last few minutes of the next-to-last flight the seabreeze died and shifted quickly and a massive cloud brought lightning, thunder, rain and wind. With the storm taking its time to abate, PRO Miguel Allen decided to put off the final flight until next morning.

Troia Portugal Match Cup

After yet another picture-perfect day of match race sailing off the Troia resort venue, three French teams have emerged among the top four of the standings after 13 flights of racing at the seventh stage of the World Match RacingTour. ISAF number one-ranked Mathieu Richard (FRA) and his French Match Racing Team/Team French Spirit continued their winning ways adding three more wins to his score card, and losing only once to team mate Damien Iehl (FRA), who lies in fourth. And another team mate, Sebastian Col (FRA) and his French Match Racing Team/K-Challenge, has had an even better day, winning five matches to earn a 6-1 score to lie in third among the field of twelve teams at Troia Portugal Match Cup. The day’s racing started leisurely, with the westerly seabreeze filling in about midday to a perfect 8-10 knots before shifting around a bit as PRO Miguel Allen and his race management team did their best to adjust the courses. A strong ebb tidal flow cutting left to right across the course area also made for interesting tactics on both upwind and downwind legs, with long starboard tack beats and early gybes favoring those who could take and hold this position. A brief delay and course readjustment in the late afternoon allowed racing to continue in a new fresh westerly, with genoas traded for jibs in the last two flights.

Troia Portugal Match Cup

At the end of the first day's racing in the Troia Portugal Match Cup, only three of the twelve skippers had unbeaten records. Gavin Brady (NZL) of the BMW Oracle Racing Team won all three of his matches in the round robin, as did Peter Gilmour (AUS) of the Pizza-La Sailing Team. Five skippers, Sebastien Col (FRA), Mathieu Richard (FRA), Bjorn Hansen (SWE), Ian Williams (GBR) and Philippe Presti (FRA), won two of their three matches and Paolo Cian (ITA) and Staffan Lindberg (FIN) each had one win while Sally Barkow (USA), Eugeny Neugodnikov (RUS) and Alvaro Marinho (POR) suffered three defeats apiece.

It was a day of mixed wind conditions; the early westerly breeze gave way to a shifting northerly at the end of the third flight, but the race officer waited until this had largely settled before resuming the racing. No flights suffered as a result of the change but there were many close matches with all the match racing gambits employed.

In four flights of racing Thursday 26 July afternoon, six of the quarter finalists were decided, but it took another five flights, well into the evening, before the other two were able to claim their places. Throughout the day the northerly wind persisted in direction, although it varied in strength.

Gavin Brady (USA), Sebastien Col (FRA) and Mathieu Richard (FRA) were the first to claim their places from Group A; Brady the only one with a perfect 5-0 score. From Group B. Peter Gilmour (AUS), Ian Williams (GBR) and Philippe Presti (FRA) were the claimants, with Gilmour the only one with a perfect score. Gilmour and his Professional Sailing Team PST had a tough match with Presti and another close one with Staffan Lindberg (FIN) with the two boats just one length apart at the finish. The highlight of the Group B round was a match between old rivals Ian Williams with his Pindar Sailing Team and Paolo Cian (ITA). Williams wanted the left end of the start line, obtained it and started in a left hand shift. Cian went right and hooked into the first wind change, a substantial right-hander, and led for three legs of the course. Williams had closed towards the final mark and then gybe-set and went left into better pressure and was able to beat Cian to the line.

Results:

Group A:

Gavin Brady, USA, 5-0

Sebastien Col, FRA, 4-1

Mathieu Richard, FRA, 3-2

Bjorn Hansen, SWE, 2-3

Eugeny Neugodnikov, RUS, 1-4

Sally Barkow, USA, 0-6

Group B:

Peter Gilmour, AUS, 5-0

Ian Williams, GBR, 4-1

Philippe Presti, FRA, 3-2

Paolo Cian, ITA, 1-4

Alvaro Marinho, POR, 1-4

Staffan Lindberg, FIN, 1-4