[Source: Match Cup Sweden] In a 3-0 battle between two of the world’s best match racing sailors, Peter Gilmour, Australia, won over Mathieu Richard, France. Although Richard tried tricks, found wind streaks and sailed on top of his performance, the next to 50 year old Gilmour won his 7th title in Marstrand. His nick name King of Marstrand is well earned, as well as his Hall of Fame legend titles that he was honored with earlier this week. The King is back. French Sébastien Col took third place over countryman Damien Iehl. A crowd of well over 100 000 people over the week watched the 15th Match Cup Sweden.

Peter Gilmour wins Match Cup Sweden. Marstrand, 5 July 2009. Photo copyright Dan Ljungsvik

Full report, photos and video to follow

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

[Source: World Match Racing Tour] Day 5 of Match Cup Sweden was ladies day with the Women’s semi’s and finals scheduled. The fantastic weather continued today with a 10-12 knot sea breeze from the west north west which enabled a course to be laid right in the middle of Marstrand fijord in front of the VIP pavilion and the masses of spectators who swarmed all over the rocks. Katie Spithill emerged victorious after a five match slug fest which saw Katie Spithill come back from two nil down to snatch victory by less than a metre.

The semi finals started just after 10am and both went to 3-1 with Anna Kjellebrg (SWE) and Katie Spithill (AUS) outclassing their opponents. In the matches between Anna Kjellberg and Linda Rahm (SWE), Rahm started out well with a lead in the first but was soon overhauled by Kjellberg on the downwind, Rahm came back with a win in the second but in the third and fourth matches although it was close Kjellberg had a little extra something to make it to the final. In the Lucy McGregor (GBR) vs Katie Spithill (AUS) head to head, both teams had great opportunities to advance to the final with many lead changes throughout the competition. Spithill capitalized on every opportunity she was handed and with some smart and fast sailing set up a meeting with local favourite Anna Kjellberg.

Katie Spithill (right middle) celebrates with Stacey Jackson, Olivia Price, Sam Boyd, Jess Eastwell, and Nicole Douglas after winning the final of the Women’s Match Cup Sweden. Marstrand, 4 July 2009. Photo copyright Dan Ljungsvik

In the Petit Final Linda Rahm (SWE) handed a master class to Lucy McGregor (GBR) beating her in the first by over 10 boat lengths and in the second match Rahm put two pre-start penalties on McGregor and then kept a loose cover on her to the finish 5 lengths ahead and take 3rd place.

Finals flight one saw a big pre-start scuffle. Spithill got the upper hand by pressing Kjellberg in the lead up to the start which resulted in Kjellberg shooting over the line early. A tack around and a re-start gave Spithill a big lead. Kjellberg was not about to give up and battled back playing the shifts and showing awesome boat speed. By the first mark Kjellberg had worked her way to the right of Spithill and as they came together Kjellberg dialed Spithill down then dived around the mark ahead by half a boat length. From then on Kjellberg was never bothered and extended her lead to over 10 lengths. Spithill must have been left thinking what happened.

In flight two it was Kjellberg’s turn to lead the way crossing the line first and getting a cover onto Spithill from the start. At mark one it was Kjellberg ahead but with Spithill breathing down her neck. Kjellberg held her nerve and rounded mark two by a boat length. Kjellberg continued to extend her lead to go to match point.

The third flight started on split tacks, Spithill on the left at pace and Kjellberg shooting to get around the starboard mark. Spithill pounced on the opportunity to get ahead and led around the track never giving Kjellberg the chance to get back into the race.

The fourth flight began with a classic dial-up and at the start both boats were over. Spithill was on the right and after both boats came back together Kjellberg received a penalty for tacking too close to Spithill. There was a close tacking duel upwind and the boats rounded mark one of the three lap race overlapped. Downwind Kjellberg attacked and got into a rolling position but Spithill defended well forcing Kjellebrg wide of the mark and retained the lead. Spithill sailed the shifts on the second beat and run eking out a three length lead. Kjellberg tacked immediately round the fourth mark but a bad tack by Spithill meant that Kjellberg was able to wriggle free of Spithills vice-like grip and claim the power of the right. Kjellberg used it well and after a furious tacking duel rounded the final mark ahead by a nose. With a penalty outstanding Kjellberg’s only choice was to slow down and try and offload the penalty by forcing Spithill into an error. Spithill stayed calm and when the opportunity arose she dived for the line rolling over the top of Kjellberg to take it to a fifth race decider.

Katie Spithill and Anna Kjellberg both lunging for the line in the final of Match Cup Sweden. Marstrand, 4 July 2009. Photo copyright Dan Ljungsvik

And what a decider it was. After an even start it was nip and tuck for the first two laps with both teams fighting hard to press home the advantage. As they came around the last leeward mark Kjellberg tacked first and the ensuing tacking duel up the final beat saw Kjellberg edging back into the race and forcing Spithill off to the left each time. At the top of the beat Kjellberg misjudged the layline and Spithill tacked under her lee bow and then extended towards the mark rounding inches ahead. Kjellberg came back down the run sailing higher and faster eating up the gap between them and then gybing to starboard and forcing Spithill to gybe, Kjellberg luffed but Spithill kept clear in the windward position and started to roll. Kjellberg held her lane and pushed Spithill across the course before gybing for what she thought was the closest end of the line. A fumbled gybe onboard Kjellbergs boat gave Spithill the chance to lunge for the line and even a desperate gybe back onto starboard by Kjellberg to force Spithill into an error couldn’t stop the Australian from breaking the line with her spinnaker first.

An eleated Katie Spithill congratulated her crew of Sam Boyd, Jess Eastwell, Olivia Price, Nicole Douglas and Stacey Jackson adding that “This is totally unbelievable, I really hasn’t sunk in yet. The crew have just done a fantastic job this week. Today was all about how to race the boats, learning from Anna who gave us such a beating in the first race we had to work out fast how to match her.”

Tomorrow will see the men take to the water for their semi finals and finals. Mathieu Richard (FRA) stepped up to the plate and chose to face Sebastien Col (FRA) in the semi’s leaving Peter Gilmour (FRA) to face Damien Iehl (FRA). Richard decided not to choose Iehl for personal reasons but would not elaborate as to why leaving him with a Hobson’s choice of Col or Gilmour, the world number one or the six time champion. Weather forecasters are predicting overnight change with the possibility of some showers. No matter what the weather brings sparks are sure to fly here in Marstrand.

Semi Final Results
Anna Kjellberg (SWE) v Linda Rahm (SWE) 3-1
Katie Spithill (AUS) v Lucy McGregor (GBR) 3-1

Petit Final
Linda Rahm (SWE) v Lucy McGregor (GBR) 2-0

Final
Katie Spithill (AUS) v Anna Kjellberg (SWE) 3-2

Match Cup World Match Racing Tour Semi Final
Mathieu Richard v Sebastien Col (FRA)
Peter Gilmour v Damien Iehl (FRA)

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

Highlights from the 5th day of Match Cup Sweden. Marstrand, 3 July 2009. Video copyright World Match Racing Tour

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

[Source: World Match Racing Tour] Fantastic racing conditions allowed the organizers of Match Cup Sweden, Stage 5 of the World Match Racing Tour, to complete the repechage round which saw Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Berntsson Sailing Team and Sebastien Col (FRA) French Match Racing Team/K-Challenge emerge as the final two skippers that will join Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team, Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing, Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team, Damien Iehl (FRA) French Match Racing Team, Magnus Holmberg (SWE) Victory Challenge and Philippe Presti (FRA) French Match Racing Team in the Quarterfinal Round, scheduled for tomorrow.

The repechage round was full of excitement. Johnie Berntsson was on fire winning all three matches including a nail biter against Adam Minoprio. It started badly for Berntsson as he was awarded a penalty just after the start for tacking too close to Minoprio. It didn’t deter Berntsson and he was hot on the heels of Minoprio after rounding the first mark even managing to roll him down the run. As they approached the leeward mark outside the zone Berntsson managed to hook Minoprio on port tack subsequently luffing him tacking inside him then bearing away to offload the penalty. Berntsson then luffed on starboard tack to take Minoprio away from the leeward mark before turning back to lead around the buoy. The Swedish crowd went ballistic egged on by on-water commentator Martin Sohtel who sounded like he was about to explode. The action wasn’t over as Berntsson tacked right in front of Minoprio infringing him and earning a red flag immediate penalty due to the controlling position that Berntsson gained. Minoprio held the lead to the top mark and had to take Berntsson way above it in order to stay ahead. As the boats headed downwind Minoprio threw in a gybe too close to Berntsson and was awarded a penalty for his trouble but Minoprio remained ahead and as the teams approached the restricted zone on the left hand side of the course Minoprio hoisted his jib, dropped his kite and started attacking Berntsson. Berntsson followed suit and both boats played cat and mouse as Minoprio tried to offload his penalty. Berntsson stayed calm and parried every attack whilst slowly pushing Minoprio towards the finish. Berntsson’s plan won out and he crossed the line as Minoprio desperately tried to throw in his penalty turn. A pleased Johnie Berntsson said “We didn’t perform well in the first stage clearly needing some time to play catch up. We made many mistakes but now we are getting into our stride. My crew were brilliant and today I just hung out at the back and they got me round the course. It’s when I do my own thing that it all goes wrong.”

The final Flight of the repechage left Peter Wibroe needing a win and for Berntsson and Col to loose in order to get into a three way tie on 5 points and an increasingly complex count back depending on the results of the other matches in the flight. But today nothing could stop either Berntsson or Col who both blitzed their final matches against Bjorn Hansen (SWE) and World Champion Ian Williams (GBR) respectively to dive into the quarter final.

It was a disappointing day for Tour leader Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch and second placed Ian Williams (GBR) and his Bahrain Team Pindar. Both were swept out of the repechage and out the World Championship point scoring zone. Once again Williams has failed to make the quarter final round at Match Cup Sweden. Having competed at the event four times he might start to think there is a curse on him.

With all the intense action going on it was easy to forget that the event is only at the half way stage and all the quarter finalists were invited to the press conference to find out who would choose who. It was Mathieu Richard (FRA) who started the ball rolling pointing out that he hates the choosing rule as the trend at the recent events has shown that the picker has lost. Richard stepped up and chose fellow countryman Philippe Presti and assured a French Team member will make the semi’s. Next up was Peter Gilmour (AUS) who shied away from a home country match against Torvar Mirsky (AUS) saying that Mirsky was too hot to handle. He picked Berntsson which he felt could be popular because if he won then the crowd may forgive the Match Cup Sweden hall of fame inductee but if he lost then he would have been pushed aside by the young Swede taking a local one step further to the title. Due to Presti already being picked next up was Damien Iehl who wasted no time or talk on singling out Magnus Holmberg and giving no reason for the choice. Holmberg was just happy that he didn’t need to be the one to make the choice. That left the on form Torvar Mirsky up against a resurgent Sebastien Col. Col said of Mirsky “Torvar is on fire. He looks very comfortable here this week with all the beautiful girls around him.” Mirsky’s response was to assure everyone that he’d been in bed early every night and was ready for action.

With the women taking to the water this morning it was local hero Anna Kjellberg and Lucy Macgregor who emerged as the leaders from the round robin after both winning five matches to go on to secure their places in the semi final along with Katie Spithill (AUS) and Linda Rahm (SWE). Current World Champion and defending Match Cup Sweden Champion Claire Leroy struggled today surprising many by failing to make the cut. The ladies semi finals and finals are on Saturday and Lucy Macgregor will reveal who she will choose to race tomorrow night.

Tomorrows forecast promises more exciting racing with a steady breeze predicted all day. The pairs will compete in a first to the three point round to then go on and qualify for the semi finals. With it all to play for there will be some guaranteed action here in Marstrand.

Repechage Results from Day 3
Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Berntsson Sailing Team 6-1
Sebastien Col (FRA) French Match Racing Team/K-Challenge 6-1
Peter Wibroe (DEN) Wibroe Racing Team 5-2
Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch 3-3
Ian Williams (GBR) Bahrain Team Pindar 3-3
Mattias Rahm (SWE) Stena Bulk Sailing Team 3-3
Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Team Onico 1-6
Francesco Bruni (ITA) Team Joe Fly Match Racing 1-6

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

Highlights from the 3rd day of Match Cup Sweden. Marstrand, 1 July 2009. Video copyright World Match Racing Tour

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

[Source: World Match Racing Tour] The warm and sunny weather continued here in Marstrand, which brought spectators out in force today to watch the repechage round robin at Match Cup Sweden. As the crowd lounged in swim suits on the rocks overlooking the race area, 8 teams fought hard to determine who would make it to the next stage, the Quarter Final round, where eight will be competing for their share of the 1,000,000 SEK total prize purse in this fifth stage of the World Match Racing Tour.

With only two quarter final spots left the eight teams were focused on securing points towards their place in the next round. Racing ended today with four of the seven flight repechage completed. Sebastien Col (FRA) French Match Racing Team/K-Challenge, Ian Williams (GBR) Bahrain Team Pindar, Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Berntsson Sailing Team and Peter Wibroe (DEN) Wibroe Racing Team all ended the day with three wins.

Things looked better today for Col but Minoprio was in a very delicate situation. Marstrand, 1 July 2009. Photo copyright Dan Ljungsvik

Ian Williams was happy with his day “It’s our 4th year here and it takes time to get used to the peculiarities of the racing area but we think we’re getting a grip on things. We love the boats and at this event you really need to work hard on sailing the boat right.”

Johnie Berntsson finished the day with a close victory over his countryman Mattias Rahm “It was close all the way with Mattias and on the final run we managed to close up on him with some great trimming from the team and a little luck with the breeze rolling in from behind. I could see Mattias getting edgy and when he turned into the gybe we mirrored his course and made sure we were in a position so that he couldn’t luff us. All the odds were stacked in our favour and we managed to roll him.”

For Sebastien Col things are looking a little better than in the preceding Tour events but he still feels on the back foot. “We are finding it harder than last year. We’re not capitalising on the opportunities to win matches and we’re feeling down in defeat and finding it hard to re-group and come back. It’s hard to pin point what is wrong, it’s just a little bit here and a little bit there. We hope that this is the bottom of the performance curve and we can build up from here and get better.”

Peter Wibroe received a late invite to Match Cup Sweden so has had less preparation time that some of the other teams. “I am satisfied with how we are going. We know the boats well and our boat handling and tactics have been good. We love being here having followed the event for many years from back home in Denmark. The venue is just perfect. Tomorrow will be a really tough day as 6 teams could still get through. It will probably be light in the morning when we race but we’re comfortable with light and shifty. It is all still to play for.”

Ian Williams still has every chance to qualify while for Francesco Bruni it is practically over. Marstrand, 1 July 2009. Photo copyright Dan Ljungsvik

On two wins apiece are reining champion Mattias Rahm (SWE) Stena Bulk Sailing and Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch. Unable to secure any points for the day were Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Team Onico and Francesco Bruni (ITA) Team Joe Fly Match Racing.

Alongside the Tour event this week Match Cup Sweden is also playing host to a women’s match race event. The women took to the water this morning with Claire Leroy (FRA) and local favourite Anna Kjellberg (SWE) leading the pack of eight entries. Both women won all three of their matches today and are looking forward to more racing tomorrow.

Clare Leroy is the defending champion here and also the current women’s world champion. “This year the goal is the World Championship and this event is a great indicator of who is going to be the best. We have done a lot of practice in Sweden and Denmark so that we can know the boats. We have improved our speed and are getting better at getting the best out of the boat. We feel we are more of a match against the Danes and Swede’s.”

Anna Kjellberg was the surprise performer at this event last year but with more experience under her belt she is here to prove that she can be one of the best. “I feel more nervous here at the press conference than out there on the water. We have been sailing the DS37 a lot and are very comfortable in the boat. We’ve been changing crews a lot over the last year and now I have a great team that has prepared a lot which has really helped. Match Cup Sweden is our preparation for the World Championship in Lysekil and we’re working hard to figure out what everyone else is doing right and wrong. Doing well here would give us a great psychological boost.”

Racing continues at 9am tomorrow with the remaining three flights of the repechage round followed by the last four flights of the women’s round.

Repechage Results from Day 3
Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Berntsson Sailing Team 3-1
Peter Wibroe (DEN) Wibroe Racing Team 3-1
Sebastien Col (FRA) French Match Racing Team/K-Challenge 3-1
Ian Williams (GBR) Bahrain Team Pindar 3-1
Mattias Rahm (SWE) Stena Bulk Sailing Team 2-2
Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch 2-2
Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Team Onico 0-4
Francesco Bruni (ITA) Team Joe Fly Match Racing 0-4

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

Highlights from the second day of Match Cup Sweden. Marstrand, 30 June 2009. Video copyright World Match Racing Tour

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

Hello again from BlackMatch,

Day two of Match Cup Sweden was one to forget for BlackMatch, it has been a long while since we went a day without out a win but today was a disaster and we had 4 straight defeats to finish last in our group. All is not lost however as we still have the chance to win our way through in a repecharge series which will start tomorrow for the bottom 8 teams.

With only a single win from our 6 matches, we have failed to put things together so far in this event and it would appear we are struggling, but the truth is that we are very much in the game and will come out fighting tomorrow for the two remaining quarterfinal berths. All of our matches today were very close and there are just key moments we can pinpoint that contributed to all of our losses, it is these mistakes that we need to eliminate if we are progress further in this event.

Perhaps a good example of this was in our match up against 6 times Match Cup Sweden Champion Peter Gilmour. We absolutely nailed the veteran in the pre-start, managing to lock him out above the committee boat end of the start-line, however the crafty Australian forced his way in between us and the boat end and although he was given a red flag penalty to be taken immediately, he still was only half a boat length behind after undertaking it. ‘Gilly’ then showed his class to stay in touch up the first beat and was hot on our heals going into the first downwind. He did a great job of initiating the gybe to the bottom mark whereas we held for too long and the following luffing situation saw them roll over the top of us to gain the lead, from here he defended well and took the victory.

We are in very good company in the bottom 8 repecharge series which includes the two previous Match Cup Sweden Champions Mattias Rahm and Bjorn Hansen, World number 1 Sebastian Col and current World Champion Ian Williams. Although we have an uphill battle from here, we are looking forward to the challenge ahead.

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

Highlights from the opening day of the Match Cup Sweden. Marstrand, 29 June 2009. Video copyright World Match Racing Tour

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