[Source: Mirsky Racing Team] MRT faced the inform Frenchman Sebastien Col who battled his way through the repechage to scrape through to the quarter finals in a best of 5 series.

With an extra two days sailing under their belts, the French Match Racing Team came out firing in the first race to win the prestart and defend on the one sided course to sail to victory.

MRT attacked hard but could not force an error on the current world number one team who brought their A-game today.

The following two races were a similar story with the French Match Racing Team gaining the right hand side of the course and essentially the race.

“They simply sailed better than us today, the start was crucial and Seb and his guys had the edge on us. We always knew it would be difficult to go out and race someone who had made it through the repechage round. It’s a pretty big high for them to make it through such a tough round, but again all credit to the French Match Racing Team who are definite title contenders”, said MRT’s Torvar Mirsky.

Despite the disappointment of not making the semi finals, MRT dominated the celebrity fleet race where they won both races by a considerable distance which entertained the large crowds of Swedish holiday makers who made their way down to watch the racing.

The afternoon saw MRT face the local Berntsson Sailing Team in the all important 5th-8th sail off. With World Match Racing Tour points at stake MRT found their rhythm to inflict a penalty on the Swedes in the prestart then sail comfortably in the fading sea breeze.

Next on the radar was Victory Challenge skipper and recent Match Cup Sweden Hall of Fame inductee, Magnus Holmberg. A close race saw MRT lead for the first lap before Holmberg showed his expertise when he managed to position himself inside MRT at the final top mark and defend down the final run to leave MRT with 6th place.

“We are happy with where we are at at this stage of the year. We are developing as a team and always improving. We are all really hungry to win so when we dont, it hurts, but its just more motivation to keep on going”, said Bowman Graeme Spence.

At the half way stage of the World Match Racing Tour MRT are still in a very strong position to take out the title.

With a two month break before the next event, in Saint Moritz, Switzerland the team will use the time off from the World Tour to persue other sailing projects both as a team, with owners and individually.

For more information regarding the team’s itinerary in the months of July and August you can email each team member individually for a copy of their sailing CV and calendar

Helm – Torvar Mirsky – torvar@mirskyracingteam.com
Main/Tactics – Kyle Langford – kyle@mirskyracingteam.com
Trimmer – Kinley Fowler – kinley@mirskyracingteam.com
Trim/Pit – Tudur Owen – tudur@mirskyracingteam.com
Bowman – Graeme Spence – graeme@mirskyracingteam.com

Original post by noreply@blogger.com (Valencia Sailing) and software by Elliott Back

[Source: World Match Racing Tour] Day Two of Match Cup Sweden, stage 5 of the World Match Racing Tour saw more beautiful weather, more spectators and of course more great match racing. Marstrand turned on the weather and entertainment for spectators and sailors alike. With interactive games, boat trips and numerous hospitality stands it was easy to get distracted from the on-water action. But one look out on to Marstrand Fijord and the calibre of world class sailors easily reminded you there is some top class sailing happening.

Today saw Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing, Damien Iehl (FRA) French Match Racing Team and Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team finish first, second and third respectively from Group A. They were joined by French Match Racing Team members Mathieu Richard (FRA) Philippe Presti (FRA) and Magnus Holmberg (SWE) of Victory Challenge from Group B. All six now qualify for the quarterfinal round which will start on Friday. The remaining teams from both groups will now go through to the repechage which will be a full round robin where each skipper will race against each other team. The top two skippers from the repechage will then go through to join the other quarter finalists.

Day Two was once again dominated by the French with three members of the French Match Racing Team all through to the quarterfinals. Leading the way in Group B with 5 wins was Mathieu Richard, his only loss coming at the hands of countryman Philippe Presti. Richard said “We are very pleased with winning the Round Robin but it is just one part of the regatta, there is much more to go yet. We had a good day and we managed our strategy very well, there was no set thing to do and flexibility was the key. We sailed well in the light and also managed the gear changes as the wind came up. It will be tricky now to have two days off, I think the guys winning the repechage will be in a strong position having have more racing practice.”

In Group A Peter Gilmour showed why he has won this event six times, losing only to the last two winners of Match Cup Sweden, Bjorn Hansen and Mattias Rahm. When asked if he had been particularly aggressive during the round Gilmour said “Not really, that’s just normal,” then he added “Everyone out there was working really hard and there was no easy win. The Round Robin is really just practice for the quarter final and when we get there we’ll see some people under pressure.”

Joining Gilmour direct into the quarter finals was his old rival and local hero Magnus Holmberg, still looking for that elusive victory at the event that he started 15 years ago. “I was very happy with the team today, we haven’t spent much time together as a crew but it seemed to click very well. There was a nice mode on the boat. We’re learning in each race and really enjoying the racing. My kids love this week and with some time off now I get the chance to spend time with my family so everybody is happy.”

At the opening ceremony yesterday there was a fitting tribute to two of the Tour veterans. In its 15th year the organizers of one of the Tours most successful events have created the Match Cup Sweden Hall of Fame in order to honor the great skippers of professional sailing. The first two inductees were Magnus Holmberg and Peter Gilmour who were both very gracious of this recognition and vowed to continue to keep the younger generation coming through the match racing ranks on their toes. “Magnus and I still have some fuel in the tank to stay ahead of the younger guys that we see making their way on the World Match Racing Tour,” said Peter Gilmour “it is genuinely a real honour and I am sure that more will join, there is plenty of potential out there.”

Results from Day 2
Group A
Peter Gilmour, AUS, YANMAR Racing, 4-2
Damien Iehl, FRA, French Match Racing Racing Team, 4-2
Torvar Mirsky, AUS, Mirsky Racing, 4-2
Sebastien Col, FRA, French Match Racing Team/K-Challenge, 3-3
Mattias Rahm, SWE, Stena Bulk Sailing Team, 3-3
Bjorn Hansen, SWE, Team Onico, 2-4
Adam Minoprio, NZL, ETNZ/BlackMatch, 1-5

Group B
Mathieu Richard, FRA, French Match Racing Team, 5-1
Philippe Presti, FRA, French Match Racing Team, 4-2
Magnus Holmburg, SWE, Victory Challenge, 4-2
Ian Williams, GBR, Bahrain Team Pindar, 3-3
Peter Wibroe, DEN, Wibroe Racing Team, 3-3
Johnie Berntsson, SWE, Berntsson Sailing Team, 1-5
Francesco Bruni, Team Joe Fly Match Racing, 1-5

Original post by noreply@blogger.com (Valencia Sailing) and software by Elliott Back

[Source: Mirsky Racing Team] Coming off their win in Portugal last week, MRT got off to a steady start today in Sweden, with 2 wins and 1 loss in glamorous conditions. Holding true to its reputation, the 15th edition of Match Cup Sweden brought in crowds of sailing enthusiasts who lined the rocks to lap up the sunshine and watch the action packed racing.

In a rematch of the Troia Portugal Match Cup finals, MRT faced off against BlackMatch Racing in the last match of the day. The two teams came out firing, with an intensive prestart which saw the Australian team come out on top with a penalty over BlackMatch Racing. Mirsky managed to pin the Kiwis out of the box, and in an attempt to get back to the line, Minoprio tacked right into MRT, earning himself a penalty.

“I was sure there was going to be fibreglass flying everywhere!” said Tudur Owen, “I had to brace myself, but these boats are so quick to turn, so we just managed to avoid them. From there we managed to maintain our lead to finish the day on a high note.”

Tomorrow’s racing kicks off early, with the teams starting at 9.

MRT is proudly supported by Line7, Harken and the Royal Perth Yacht Club.

Original post by noreply@blogger.com (Valencia Sailing) and software by Elliott Back

[Source: World Match Racing Tour] The beautiful island of Marstrand located an hour north west of Sweden’s second city, Gothenburg, plays host to Match Cup Sweden, the 5th stage of the 2009 World Match Racing Tour, this week. On the occasion of its 15th anniversary the organisers are expecting 140,000 people to enjoy the sights, sounds and carnival atmosphere. Promoter of Match Cup Sweden Pierre Tinnerholm said “It’s going to be another spectacular week of racing and partying. As one of Sweden’s biggest sporting events we look forward to welcoming everyone to the Island to watch the Match Racing and enjoy all the shore-side festivities too.”

It’s been a busy couple of weeks for Swedish sailing with the Volvo Ocean race pitstop here in Marstrand and the 9th leg finish in Stockholm both of which drew huge crowds to welcome the round the world sailors and see them off on their final leg to St Petersburg.

Torvar Mirsky is unbeaten in the opening day of Match Cup Sweden. Marstrand, 29 June 2009. Photo copyright Dan Ljungsvik

The next seven days will see two events intertwined, the 14 team World Match Racing Tour event and an 8 team women’s Grade 1 event, which is sure to be a build up event to the ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Championship being held in the same boats just up the coast in Lysekil at the end of July. As a result of the expanded program the Tour event started today at 8am with practice sessions between 8 and 12. A short break between 12 and 1pm was taken to allow any issues with the boats to be fixed and at 1pm sharp racing got under way. The format sees the 14 teams split into two groups of 7 for a round robin each, the top three of both groups go to the quarter finals, the rest go into a repechage round to select the final two for the knockouts. From there follows the usual semi finals and finals with the finals scheduled for Sunday afternoon. The ladies will race a double round robin followed by semi finals and culminating in the finals on Saturday afternoon.

It was a good day for the French Teams with all four taking 2 wins. Also starting well was Torvar Mirsky (AUS) and his Mirsky Racing Team, fresh from his victory at Portugal Match Cup and the runner up here last year, Mirsky is clearly happy to be back and wants to go one better than his second place position from ‘08. Current World Champion Ian Williams (GBR) and the Bahrain Team Pindar crew had a solid start to the event and returned a 2-1 scorecard for the day.

Sebastien Col leads in the opening day of Match Cup Sweden. Marstrand, 29 June 2009. Photo copyright Dan Ljungsvik

Racing will continue tomorrow along with the women’s teams taking to the water for their practice session.

Results from Day 1

Group A
Sebastien Col, FRA, French Match Racing Team/K-Challenge, 2-1
Torvar Mirsky, AUS, Mirsky Racing, 2-0
Adam Minoprio, NZL, ETNZ/BlackMatch, 1-1
Damien Iehl, FRA, French Match Racing Racing Team, 2-1
Bjorn Hansen, SWE, Team Onico, 1-1
Mattias Rahm, SWE, Stena Bulk Sailing Team, 0-1
Peter Gilmour, AUS, YANMAR Racing, 0-1

Group B
Mathieu Richard, FRA, French Match Racing Team, 2-1
Ian Williams, GBR, Bahrain Team Pindar, 2-1
Philippe Presti, FRA, French Match Racing Team, 2-0
Johnie Berntsson, SWE, Berntsson Sailing Team, 0-2
Peter Wibroe, DEN, Wibroe Racing Team, 0-1
Magnus Holmburg, SWE, Victory Challenge, 1-0
Francesco Bruni, Team Joe Fly Match Racing, 0-1

Original post by noreply@blogger.com (Valencia Sailing) and software by Elliott Back

[Source: World Match Racing Tour] In having achieved a runner-up performance to Troia Portugal Match Cup winner Torvar Mirsky (AUS), Adam Minoprio (NZL) and his Emirates Team New Zealand/BlackMatch team have earned 20 points for their standing on the World Match Racing Tour leader board. This extends what was a shaky one-point lead to twelve points over a new runner-up, reigning match race World Champion Ian Williams (GBR) and his Bahrain Team Pindar, who finished 3rd in Troia.

But Williams does not enjoy the same buffer to his closest rivals, as only one point separates him from Mathieu Richard (FRA) and his French Match Racing Team in third, and Mirsky is only 3 points behind in fourth.

This is a race which now is looking more promising for the reigning World Champion, who has gotten off to a slow start this year. And having Richard only one point back is reminiscent of two years ago when Richard and Williams were neck-and-neck all season going right into the final event in Malaysia at the Monsoon Cup.

But the ascendancy of fresh new talent in Minoprio and Mirsky has put tremendous pressure on these and other Tour veterans this season. It is remarkable to consider these two teams, with an average crew age in their 20’s, are meeting and beating the world’s best, who have twice as much or more experience on both the World Tour and the America’s Cup.

“The Young Guns have definitely come out blazing this year”, says World Tour Director Craig Mitchell. “Minoprio in Marseille, and now Mirsky in Troia – it’s a testament to their training, focus, and talent to see them doing this well”.

But next week’s Match Cup Sweden, the fifth stage in the 2009 World Tour, may bring surprises for these teams, as some of the same faces seen in Troia will be back to challenge them, this time in the DS 37’s used in this event. There will also be Scandinavian-based teams who are experts in these boats there to provide some spectacular match race action on the Marstrand fiord.

Original post by noreply@blogger.com (Valencia Sailing) and software by Elliott Back

[Source: Mirsky Racing Team] It seems to have been a long time coming, but the Mirsky Racing Team blasted through the final stages of the Troia Portugal Match Cup yesterday to take out the title 2-0 over ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing of New Zealand. After being picked by the top qualifier, Mathieu Richard of the French Match Racing Team for their semi final showdown, MRT came into the day with all guns blazing – taking the French team down in the first 2 races, and qualifying for the finals.

Adam Minoprio of ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing also qualified, taking down current World Champions Bahrain Team Pindar in the third and final race of their semi final series, giving MRT the final they had been hanging out for. “We have a great rivalry with Adam and his team” said Torvar, “and both our teams have wanted to race off in a Tour final for a while now, so it was really a dream come true to get to race them and take them down!”

Mirsky Racing Team blitzes the Portugal Match Cup. Troia, 21 June 2009. Photo copyright Wander Roberto

Although the scorecard doesn’t show it, the racing was incredibly tight, with both teams throwing everything they had at it. The second race saw ETNZ/BlacMatch Racing come off the line with a slight advantage, but MRT maintained the starboard advantage, and managed to squeeze ahead at the first top mark with the kiwis snapping at their heels. “On the final downwind, we were making some big gains”, said Dave Swete of ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing, “we knew we didn’t have enough to win it, but it was good fun to give the guys a scare.”

This is the first World Match Racing Tour win for the young Aussies, but with Match Cup Sweden coming up next week in their favoured boats – the DS37’s, it could be just the first of many.

MRT proudly supported by Line7, Harken and the Royal Perth Yacht Club.

Original post by noreply@blogger.com (Valencia Sailing) and software by Elliott Back

[Source: World Match Racing Tour] In only their second full season on the World Match Racing Tour, Torvar Mirsky (AUS) and his Mirsky Racing Team of Kinley Fowler, Kyle Langford, Tudur Owen, and Graeme Spence have claimed their first win at the Troia Portugal Match Cup. Victory here for the 24-year old skipper puts him in company with other world-famous match racing legends who have been champions at this event, including Peter Gilmour, Chris Dickson, Peter Holmberg, and Ed Baird. And for their efforts, Mirsky and team have won 10,000 Euros of the 50,000 Euro prize money purse.

“It’s been six years in the making, but we’re finally here,” said an exuberant Mirsky. “So many times we’ve been so close, but just unable to get through, and today everything just came together for us. I’m still a bit stunned we’re here!”

Highlights from the final day of the Portugal Match Cup. Troia, 21 June 2009. Video copyright World Match Racing Tour

Mirsky took his fellow antipodean Adam Minoprio (NZL) and his Emirates Team New Zealand/BlackMatch team in just two matches of the first-to-two point Final, displaying a smooth sailing style and impeccable sense of timing both in the pre-starts and around the track. It is this same style that also in only two matches got him past Mathieu Richard (FRA) and his French Match Racing Team in the first-to-two point Semi-Final.

Mirsky Racing Team was not on fire throughout the entire event, however, as they barely qualified to the Quarter-Finals on a 6-6 win-loss record in the Round Robin. That all changed yesterday, however, as they went on to win all but one match in the Quarter-Final, Semi-Final, and Final rounds.

And while the first match of the Final was decided fairly early in the game as Mirsky took and extended on his winning start, the second match was far from easy. At the top mark the Kiwis were at the mark zone on the left, and attempted to force out the Aussies from claiming room with a hard luff. Amidst a heated exchange and calls for room, Mirsky managed to slip inside and around the mark in the lead, which he kept throughout the match to the finish.

Excellent performance by Mirsky Racing Team that score their first ever victory in a World Match Racing Tour event. Troia, 21 June 2009. Photo copyright Wander Roberto

“We enjoy a good rivalry with Adam and his team,” said Mirsky, “and actually trained with him over the past week in Valencia. He’s been doing so well lately, we needed this win just to slow him down!”

Indeed, in the overall World Championship leaderboard Minoprio’s runner-up finish here has earned him another 20 points to maintain a healthy 12 point lead. And on the strength of his exciting 2-1 win over Richard here in the Petite-Finals, Ian Williams (GBR) and his Bahrain Team Pindar have jumped up to the runner-up position, but only a point over Richard. And Mirsky has vaulted 25 points ahead to go from eighth to fourth.

Overall Results
1st Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing
2nd Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch
3rd Ian Williams (GBR) Bahrain Team Pindar
4th Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team
5th Philippe Presti (FRA) French Match Racing Team
6th Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing
7th Sebastien Col (FRA) French Match Racing Team/K-Challenge
8th Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Team Onboard
9th Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing
10th Alvaro Marinho (POR) Seth Sailing Team
11th Ian Ainslie (RSA) Team Proximo
12th Andrew Arbuzov (RUS)

Original post by noreply@blogger.com (Valencia Sailing) and software by Elliott Back

[Source: Mirsky Racing Team] Mirsky Racing Team went into the day knowing they were one win away from a guaranteed top 4 placing and a semi final berth.

Facing the French Match Racing Team (Phillip Presti) in the moderate Portuguese sea breeze, MRT dominated the prestart and rounded the first top mark with a 5 boat length lead.

MRT displayed strong crew work to defend and even extend their lead to sail to victory over the French veteran.

“Although on paper, our last 2 regattas results have not been so great, we did learn a lot and we are now putting those lessons into practice. We are sailing quite well and are happy with our progress and really look forward to the semis”, said MRT helmsman Torvar Mirsky after their morning quarterfinal victory.

The victory early in the day allowed MRT to sit back and watch the other quarterfinals battle it out a much sought after semi final place.

Once the quarterfinals were completed MRT were paired up to race the other French Match Racing Team skipper Mathieu Richard in the semi finals.

The breeze shut down and the competitors were not able to start the semi’s.

The semi final races will be held tomorrow morning followed immediately by the finals to decide the 2009 Troia Match Cup champion.

Original post by noreply@blogger.com (Valencia Sailing) and software by Elliott Back

[Source: Mirsky Racing Team] Mirsky Racing Team went into the day knowing they were one win away from a guaranteed top 4 placing and a semi final berth.

Facing the French Match Racing Team (Phillip Presti) in the moderate Portuguese sea breeze, MRT dominated the prestart and rounded the first top mark with a 5 boat length lead.

MRT displayed strong crew work to defend and even extend their lead to sail to victory over the French veteran.

“Although on paper, our last 2 regattas results have not been so great, we did learn a lot and we are now putting those lessons into practice. We are sailing quite well and are happy with our progress and really look forward to the semis”, said MRT helmsman Torvar Mirsky after their morning quarterfinal victory.

The victory early in the day allowed MRT to sit back and watch the other quarterfinals battle it out a much sought after semi final place.

Once the quarterfinals were completed MRT were paired up to race the other French Match Racing Team skipper Mathieu Richard in the semi finals.

The breeze shut down and the competitors were not able to start the semi’s.

The semi final races will be held tomorrow morning followed immediately by the finals to decide the 2009 Troia Match Cup champion.

Original post by noreply@blogger.com (Valencia Sailing) and software by Elliott Back

[Source: World Match Racing Tour] After a long first-to-three point Quarter-Final series, four teams have emerged on top to compete in tomorrow’s Semi-Final stage of the Troia Portugal Match Cup, the fourth stage in this year’s World Match Racing Tour. Out of the four pairings of Quarter-Finalists, only one went to five matches before being decided, whilst the others were all completed after four.

The four Semi-Finalists are Adam Minoprio (NZL) and his Emirates Team New Zealand/BlackMatch team, Ian Williams (GBR) and his Bahrain Team Pindar, Mathieu Richard (FRA) and his French Match Racing Team, and Torvar Mirsky (AUS) and his Mirsky Racing Team. All four are currently lying in the top eight of the World Championship standings, holding, respectively, the first, third, fourth, and eight positions on the leaderboard.

Highlights from day 4 of the Portugal Match Cup. Troia, 20 June 2009. Video copyright World Match Racing Tour

There may be some metaphorical value in the fact that the one pair that went to five had the oldest and youngest skippers doing battle against each other, with both also being from the Southern hemisphere. In his matches against Tour veteran Peter Gilmour (AUS) and the YANMAR Racing Team, Minoprio had some highly spirited encounters to keep Chief Umpire Shane Borrell and his International umpire team busy with numerous whistles and penalty flags in nearly all their matches.

One of the reasons for this high level of aggressiveness was not just the usual incentive to win Tour points and a piece of the 50,000 Euro prize money purse, but that the 8-10 knot wind conditions were perfect for tight manoeuvring in the Swedish Match 40’s used in this event. Also, in the Rio Sado course area just north of the Troia Resort venue a strong flood current early followed by a strong ebb later in the day made the pre-start fight for the favoured end all the more intense in each match.

Young guns BlackMatch beat match race veteran Peter Gilmour and advance to the semifinals. Troia, 20 June 2009. Photo copyright Wander Roberto

Another particularly aggressive pair was the match-up between Ian Williams and Sebastian Col (FRA) and his French Match Racing Team/K-Challenge. Col had a good start to the series, winning their first match, but this ignited Williams determination, taking three straight by showing an aggressive style and smooth teamwork appropriate for the reigning two-time World Match Race Champion. Col won this event last year, and finished last year’s Tour overall as runner-up to Williams, but has been having problems finding his stride as yet this year.

Semi Final Pairings
Torvar Mirsky (AUS) v Mathieu Richard (FRA)
Ian Williams (GBR) v Adam Minoprio (NZL)

Original post by noreply@blogger.com (Valencia Sailing) and software by Elliott Back