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Kiwis flying in the breeze to lead.

29 August 2010

	28 Aug 2010




	Back-to-back wins in today's rich diet of one windward-leeward race followed by an exciting 20 miles coastal race sees Emirates Team New Zealand seize the overall lead of the Caja Mediterráneo Region of Murcia Trophy regatta for the TP52 Series.

	In blustery winds which topped 22 knots at times and produced some exciting downwind racing, the Kiwi Audi MedCup 2009 champions produced a performance which was entirely reminiscent of their dominant form here last year when they clinched the 2009 overall title. They lead Quantum Racing across the finish line of the windward-leeward, and were comfortably ahead of Artemis in the coastal circuit. The two winning guns for Emirates Team New Zealand contrasted sharply with the fortunes of TeamOrigin. After a hard won third in the windward-leeward the British team still lead the regatta overall by six points but in the coastal race Ben Ainslie's crew broke their forestay and had to struggle around the final four miles of the 20 miles circuit under mainsail only finishing 11th. Emirates Team New Zealand's afterguard read the breeze and current pattern best and were able to use their speed edge in the brisk conditions to win the windward-leeward - gaining more than 30 seconds on the downwind, choosing an inshore line against Matador who had rounded the first mark in second place. Quantum Racing (USA) staged the best recovery of the race, gaining on the second beat from seventh place to cross second. The coastal race started spectacularly with wind shift in the final countdown which suddenly placed a premium on being able to get clear of the line on port tack, Synergy, Artemis and Bribon looked to have read this change best but by the windward mark of the short opening upwind-downwind loop, Emirates Team New Zealand had forced their way back into contention, rounding third behind Synergy and Artemis. Again the inshore, right side on the downwind leg paid for the Kiwi champions and they were able to round the leeward gate mark with a small lead which they progressively increased on the long 5.5 miles windward leg. A bold call from Matador (ARG) on this long upwind leg, breaking away to the inshore flank gained for Guillermo Parada's crew, finding positive current flow and a lifting breeze which allowed them back into contention, turning the most easterly mark just behind Emirates Team New Zealand. But Matador suffered a small problem on the short reaching leg when they could not drop their gennaker quick enough when the breeze went ahead and they lost two boats, dropping to finish fourth. So Emirates Team New Zealand were the first to enjoy the affectionate cheers of the passionate crowds when the coastal race finished spectacularly in the tight confines of Cartagena harbour, with Artemis getting second and Pedro Mendonca's Portuguese team on Bigamist 7 taking third. Breaking ties at the top in the GP42 With their all-pro crews and their latest designs suited to today's breezy conditions, Madrid-Caser Seguros (ESP) and Islas Canarias Puerto Calero (ESP) would have been predicted to dominate today's races in the GP42 series. But instead consistency, minimal mistakes, and just good solid sailing rewarded the two owner-driver teams who have burst through to the top of the rankings in a near-reversal of yesterday's leaderboard. Roberto Monti (ITA) driving his AIRISESSENTIAL (ITA) overcame a mediocre start to the event yesterday to vault into the lead on a three-way tie-break with Peninsula Petroleum (GBR) and Madrid-Caser, earning the day's best scores of 3-1-1. This is a phenomenal result for this AIRESSENTIAL all-Italian team guided by tactician Gabriele Bruni (ITA) who have until now not been able to break through to the top of the standings in the 2010 season. In the broader view of the season standings, 2009 GP42 season champion Islas Canarias Puerto Calero's (ESP) two last-place finishes today have moved them another point back to five points behind Madrid-Caser. But there's only four points separating the front to the back in this highly-competitive fleet, and three races remain for tomorrow. The schedule for Sunday has been amended, advancing the possible start time by one hour in an effort to allow three windward-leeward races to be sailed. Caja Mediterráneo Region of Murcia Trophy TP52 Series Day 4 1. Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), 4+2+5+4+3+1+1,5= 20,5 points 2. TeamOrigin (GBR), 3+1+3+2+1+3+16,5= 29,5 3. Matador (ARG), 1+4+1+5+8+5+6= 30 4. Artemis (SWE), 5+6+2+10+4+6+3= 36 5. Quantum Racing (USA), 9+5+6+3+7+2+7,5= 39,5 6. Bribón (ESP), 7+11+4+1+10+4+12= 49 7. Luna Rossa (ITA), 2+7+9+6+2+9+15= 50 8. Synergy (RUS), 8+3+7+11+6+7+10,5= 52,5 9. Audi A1 powered by ALL4ONE (FRA/GER), 6+8+11+8+9+10+9= 61 10. Bigamist 7 (POR), 11+9+8+9+11+11+4,5= 63,5 11. Cristabella (GBR), 10+10+10+7+5+8+13,5= 63,5 Photos Chris Cameron:

America's Cup

28 August 2010

Coxcreek just posted this in the forums.

If you can wade through the broken translation, it makes for interesting reading.

Scoop.
BMW-Oracle Racing will announce it officially next Tuesday, but voilesetvoiliers.com is able to assert it to you from today: the defender of the next Cup of America cut between monohull and multihulls! The 34th edition will compete on 72 feet catamarans (22 metres) endowed with rigid wings, very certainly in 2014 in San Fransisco.
Besides the rigid wing, motors will be allowed to raise appendices, the crew should limit itself to a dozen and the objective is to attain 1,2 times wind speed to windward and 1,6 times offwind. From memory, USA 17, the 27-metre trimaran with its 72-metre wing, exceeded wind speed in certain conditions of more than three times in Valence last February.
In summary, catamarans in future should resemble big Extreme 40's but endowed with wings. Oracle has already bought two new X40's.
Spectacular benefits of Extreme 40 of Oracle with onboard cameras during tests mass media, at the end of July in Valence, influenced the future of the Cup.
The competitors rally In Carthagène, in the South of Spain, where this week the fourth stage of Audi MedCup is being run, are united a majority of the future competitors as Team New Zealand, Team Origin, Artemis, Synergy and All4One. Debates turn a lot around information which circulate bit by bit.
The Anglo-Saxon, however predominantly favourable to the monohull, receive news warily but confirm that they will participate in the 34th edition, even in catamaran. For Team New Zealand and Team Origin, it doesn't much matter the support, they will be present.

Hamilton Island Wrap up

28 August 2010

From Lesley Haslar

They did it - they brought home the cup.

Tran Tasman rivalry kicked off again at Audi Hamilton Island Race Week 2010. Australia had worked hard in 2008 holding on tight to the South Pacific Cup; but when it was up for grabs again in 2010, the Kiwis decided to 'bring it home'. Jim Farmer's Georgia and Rob Bassett and Brett Russell's Wired, took the task in hand and went to battle from day one: Georgia versus Shogun in IRC Grand Prix Division, Wired versus Nikon Spirit of the Maid in Performance Racing Division One.

Sunshine - warm breezes - cloud - cold breezes...they had it all over the eight days; boats were tested in all conditions making it a fair contest overall.

Wired started the race week on a high taking first place in race one (corrected time). At 4 races to 2 on the last day - Wired against Nikon Spirit of the Maid, she still had to push herself yet again for that last point. Final score in Performance Racing Division South Pacific Cup, Wired - 5, Nikon Spirit of the Maid - 2.

Georgia also worked hard on her last day. With 6 wins to 2 against Shogun, she was already in a good place; but determination is the name of the game on for crew on Georgia and in the last race of the regatta they finished in fourth place, Shogun at number 5.

In the Series placings: Georgia came in Second in IRC Grand Prix Division - Wired with a Third in Performance Racing Division One.

Even better - the South Pacific Cup is coming home to New Zealand.Well done skippers and crews on Georgia and Wired

A good breeze and sunshine at Audi Hamilton Island Race Week 2010

It's a week of competition and entertainment both on and off the water. Two boats from New Zealand are competing in the South Pacific Challenge.

The New Zealand team of two: In Grand Prix Division Jim Farmer's Georgia (Botin and Carkeek) against the Australian boat Shogun; In Performance Racing Division Rob Bassetts Wired (Bakewell White 52) against Nikon Spirit of the Maid.

Day one in the South Pacific Cup: Wired popped the champagne cork as Performance Racing Division winner and Shogun took first place against Georgia in the Grand Prix Division. End of day one - EQUAL.

Hannahs Point was pretty busy. Boats kissing the coastline, just a mingling of boats all shapes and sizes. Communication was often loud and clear, not to be repeated on Crew.org.....

Results (corrected time) Day 1 Performance Racing: Wired in first place out of 14 starters followed by Questionable Logic - Pandora - Stomp - Dream lover - Iago - One O Nine - Colortile - Rock N'Roll - Funnelweb - Ophir - Mondo - Jackpot - Nikon Spirit of the Maid

Results (corrected time) Day 1 Grand Prix Division: Loki took first place out of 16 starters followed by Living Doll - Wild Oats X - Shogun - Scarlet Runner - Georgia - Yendys -Blackjack - You're Hired - Alacrity - After Shock - Velocci - Terra Firms - Secret Men's Business - Wedgetail - Lahana

Day two: Wired started the day in pre-race with two whales - for the audience leaning over the railing at Hamilton Island Yaht Club. Who won? Wired kept clear 'calling for room'. The breeze steady 7-10 knots - a downwind start with Dent Island to port. After rounding Dent they headed over to Pine Island and Long Island.

Georgia has moved forward race by race, a good day on the water. There's more to come from Jim Farmerand his crew later in the Regatta. A little short on crew-chats today as the writer was required on the Golf Course at Dent Island.......

Results (corrected time) Day 2 Performance Racing: Questionable Logic took the prize - followed by Iago - One O Nine - Wired - Stomp - Colortile - Rock N' Roll - Pandora - Dream Lover - Ophir - Funnelweb - Jackpot -Nikon Spirit of the Maid - Mondo (RAF)

Results (corrected time) Day 2 Grand Prix Division (Race #2): Loki did it again in First place followed by Wild oatsX - Secret Men's Business - Blackjack - Living Doll - Georgia - Yendys - Shogun - Alacrity - Afterchock - Veloce - Terrafirma - Wedgetail - Lahana - Scarlett Runner - You're Hired

(Race #3) - Loki up front - followed by Blackjack - wild oats X - Georgia - Living Doll - Shogun - Yendys - Secret Men's Business - Lahana - You're Hired - TerraFirma - Scarlet Runner - Alacrity - Veloce - After Shock - Wedgetail

As of today (Sunday) - New Zealand is leading in the South pacific Cup.

Phil Robertson Maintains His Lead at Day 2 of the Knickerbocker Cup

28 August 2010

Port Washington, NY - Phil Robertson, Waka Racing (NZL) has maintained his lead through day 2 at the Knickerbocker Cup, winning a tie breaker with Eugeniy Neugodnikov, Synergy (RUS), 9-2. Bill Hardesty, LineHonors.com (USA) is a close third, followed by Anna Tunnicliffe, Gus (USA). By the end of the Full Round Robin, 8 teams advanced to the quarter finals, in a first to win three knock out. In addition to Robertson, Neugodinkov, Hardesty and Tunnicliffe, the teams advancing to the quarter-finals are: Dave Perry, Team Perry (USA), Sally Barkow, Team 7 Racing (USA), Taylor Canfield, Team ISV (ISV) and William Tiller, Full Metal Jacket Racing (NZL). Late afternoon in the quarter-finals found Robertson over Perry 2-0, and the Negodnikov vs. Barkow and Canfield vs. Hardesty tied, each winning one match. Racing will continue early Saturday morning, with very light wind conditions predicted.

Lots of protests, lead changes and a few photo finishes highlighted the day. The young Tiller team came on strong today, winning matches against Robertson, Perry and Corbett. All three matches found Tiller behind on the first leg, only to catch up and overcome them by the finish. Hardesty pushed Canfield over early in his one match in the quarter finals and went on to win.

Lots more racing before one can predict who will triumph in the 2010 Knickerbocker Cup. Of the six teams vying for the East Coast Trifecta, only Canfield, Hardesty and Tiller remain.

Thomson Reuters is a major sponsor of the 2010 Knickerbocker Cup. The world's leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals, Thomson Reuters combines industry expertise with innovative technology to deliver critical information to leading decision makers in the financial, legal, tax and accounting, scientific, healthcare and media markets.

The Colgate 26 is the official boat of the 2010 Knickerbocker Cup.

For more information: www.manhassetbayyc.org and www.sailgroove.org.

Results after the Full Round Robin:

Phil Robertson (NZL) 9-2

Eugeniy Neugodnikov RUS 9-2

Bill Hardesty (USA) 8-3

Anna Tunnicliffe (USA) 7-4

William Tiller (NZL) 7-4

Taylor Canfield (ISV) 6-5

Sally Barkow (USA) 5-6

Dave Perry (USA) 4-7

Reuben Corbett (NZL) 3-8

Henrique Haddad (BRA) 3-8

Sergey Musikhin (RUS) 3-8

Nicolai Sehested (DEN) 2-9

TeamOrigin open a lead

28 August 2010

Britain's TeamOrigin 1851, skippered by three times Olympic gold medallist Ben Ainslie, sailed to their strongest day yet on the Audi MedCup Circuit, scoring a third, a second and a first place to lead the Caja Mediterráneo Region of Murcia Trophy by eight points after five races have now been sailed off Cartagena

TeamOrigin (GBR) stayed consistent across a testing day of racing over which the starts were always high pressure affairs, when the bulk of the TP52 fleet tussled for the favoured right hand side of the race track upwind. Often that put a high premium on being best positioned towards the committee boat, right end of the start line.

Again TeamOrigin generally started strongly, balancing risk and reward through the stressful final countdown, but also showing good speed in the sub 10 knots SW'ly breezes. While they really minimised mistakes, their main regatta rivals, Alberto Roemmers Matador (ARG) were not quite so fortunate.

After winning the first race, seizing the opportunity presented to them within the final 200 metres of the finish line when TeamOrigin gybed away into lighter wind, Matador could only follow up with a fifth and eighth to finish the day third overall behind Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL).

In the second race it was Ian Walker (GBR) and the crew of Spain's Bribon which triumphed, followed across the finish line by TeamOrigin.

While TeamOrigin were able to extend progressively over second placed Luna Rossa in the third race, winning comfortably, circuit leaders Emirates Team New Zealand looked to have made a costly error when they stuck to the right side of the first downwind leg, breaking from the line taken by all of their main rivals.

That cost them three places, but a smart final beat - when they recognised the breeze swinging back right - allowed them to quickly absolve themselves and they finished a solid third.

It completed a solid day for the Kiwi team, Audi MedCup Champions of the TP52 Series, as they posted a 5,4,3 to extend still further their overall Circuit lead, while TeamOrigin have finished in the top three in every one of the five races so far.

Three different boats won each of today's three races: Matador, Bribón and TeamOrigin in the TP52's and Peninsula Petroleum, Islas Canarias Puerto Calero and Madrid - Caser Seguros on the GP42's.

First win of the seasson for Bassadone
Madrid - Caser Seguros lead the GP42 Series with their 2,3,1 scoreline today two points ahead of John Bassadone's Peninsula Petroleum who won the first race and finished second in the third, but partners these scores with a fifth in the second race to lie two points behind the leaders.

In the GP42's today Madrid-Caser Seguros's gained another four points in their slim lead over Islas Canarias Puerto Calero (ESP) in the overall standings.

But another interesting story is in the impressive performance put in by the current runner-up, Peninsula Petroleum , who, except for a last-placed finish in the second race could have taken the early lead themselves.

New to the GP42 Series this season, this team was hampered in the first two stages by bad luck and a broken masthead crane but has been improving at each stage, and are now enjoying their first time on the leaderboard up among the frontrunners.

The schedule for the TP52's has been changed to offer one windward-leeward tomorrow followed by a 20 miles coastal race.

Caja Mediterráneo Region of Murcia Trophy

TP52 Series
Day 3
1. TeamOrigin (GBR), 3+1+3+2+1= 10 points
2. Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), 4+2+5+4+3= 18
3. Matador (ARG), 1+4+1+5+8= 19
4. Luna Rossa (ITA), 2+7+9+6+2= 26
5. Artemis (SWE), 5+6+2+10+4= 27
6. Quantum Racing (USA), 9+5+6+3+7= 30
7. Bribón (ESP), 7+11+4+1+10= 33
8. Synergy (RUS), 8+3+7+11+6= 35
9. Cristabella (GBR), 10+10+10+7+5= 42
10. Audi A1 powered by ALL4ONE (FRA/GER), 6+8+11+8+9= 42
11. Bigamist 7 (POR), 11+9+8+9+11= 48

Photos from Chris Cameron:

Day One Concludes with Phil Roberston (NZL) leading at the 2010 Knickerbocker Cup

28 August 2010

Port Washington, NY - Phil Robertson, Waka Racing (NZL), with crew Garth Ellingham, James Williamson and Sam Bell have taken are in the lead on Day One at the 28^th Knickerbocker Cup. Upon arrival in Port Washington, Robertson made it known that he "came to win" the Cup this year, after coming in third place behind the 2009 Cup winner, Rueben Corbett, Black Sheep Racing (NZL) and Dave Perry, Team Perry (USA), a close second. Roberson's only loss was to Bill Hardesty, LineHonors.com (USA).

Eugeniy Neugodnikov, Synergy (RUS) has won all five matches against Sergey Musikhin, Rusteam (RUS), William Tiller, Full Metal Jacket Racing (NZL), Nicolai Sehested, TRE-FOR Match Racing (DEN), Barkow, Team 7 Racing (USA) and Anna Tunnicliffe, Gus (USA).

The wind was up on Manhasset Bay and PRO Sue Miller completed 13 flights and 39 matches, the most ever for the Knickerbocker Cup. Under beautiful blue skies, cool temperatures and good wind, the day was perfect for spectators, and kayakers, sail and power boats were out enjoying the view. For those who didn't make it out to the water, live streaming video was available at www.manhassetbayyc.org.

The Colgate 26 is the official boat of the 2010 Knickerbocker Cup.

For more information: www.manhassetbayyc.org and

www.sailgroove.org

Standings after Day 1:

Phil Robertson (NZL) 7-1

Eugeniv Neugodnikov RUS 5-0

Anna Tunnicliffe (USA) 5-3

Bill Hardesty (USA) 4-1

Sally Barkow (USA) 4-4

William Tiller (NZL) 3-2

Reuben Corbett (NZL) 3-5

Dave Perry (USA) 3-5

Henrique Haddad (BRA) 2-3

Taylor Canfield (ISV) 1-4

Sergey Musikhin (RUS) 1-4

Nicolai Sehested (DEN) 1-7

Little America's Cup

27 August 2010

Well, it's more fun than the big America's Cup.

SLAM Kiwi Match - Detroit Cup Round Up

27 August 2010

It's not often you go to a regatta with minimal expectations only to have them met or surpassed once you're there, but the Detroit Cup run by the Bayview Yacht Club is a regatta that did just that. Detroit may be a city facing a few issues, but one issue they don't have is how to run a sailing regatta. This club really turns it on to provide everyone with a great and memorable time in Detroit. In the words of the Commodore, "If you don't feel welcome after 5 minutes at Bayview Yacht Club, it's probably your fault."

This was our second year in Detroit so we came into the regatta with a bit of an idea of what to expect. The regatta format consisted of a single round robin, quarter finals, semi's and final's, but with 12 top class teams there wasn't a lot of room for mistakes. Added to that were conditions which tested the race committee's ability to get races away in some very tricky conditions.

The first two days of racing were almost perfect but typically, the weather on Saturday proved so uncooperative that only the final three flights of the round robin were able to be raced and the quarter finals had to be cut from the programme. This left a number of teams with a bit of a problem, as now only the top 4 teams would qualify straight through to the semi finals. So any early losses in the round robin now became very costly and several teams were fighting to keep their hopes alive, including ourselves. Our problem though, was that we had already completed all our races and were relying on other results to go our way to ensure we could finish inside the top 4. Fortunately our Kiwi friends from Full Metal Jacket Racing were able to come from behind in their last race to beat local hero, Chris Van Tol. This result was perfect for us as it meant Chris was taken out of the equation and we progressed to 3^rd on countback and into the semi finals.

Dave Perry qualified first and had the choice of opponent for the semi finals. He picked Taylor Canfield from the US Virgin Islands leaving us to race Detroit Cup defending champion Anna Tunnicliffe. The finals produced some great matches with most races going right down to the wire. Anna and her team had definitely bought their 'A' game, showing that the time put into their Olympic campaign has been paying off. We had a big piece of them in the pre-starts and were leading in both races, but Anna and her team proved that time together and time on the water pays and they were able to get around us in both races to win the semi final. Dave was pushed to 3 races by Taylor but eventually came out on top pulling a few old tricks out of the bag.

In a repeat of the Chicago Match Race petite final we had to race Taylor Canfield for 3^rd and 4^th. This time however we came out on the right side of the ledger easily beating him 2 - 0. Things weren't quite so one-sided in the final with Anna pushing Dave hard in all their races. Dave eventually came out on top however, confirming the master still has some lessons to teach his student.

To finish third against this field was good and another consistent result, but still just lacking the final touch to finish it off. This regatta completes our USA leg for now as we were unable to secure entry into the next regatta. We have really enjoyed our time here again and are really impressed with the things that are happening with Match Racing in North America. The clubs are putting in a lot of effort to ensure the sport reaches it's full potential. We would especially like to thank our hosts in both Chicago and Detroit; their hospitality is hugely appreciated and makes the trip that much more enjoyable. Thank you to SLAM and the RNZYS for supporting us and all our friends, family and supporters that follow our progress.

Final Results

Place Skipper

1 Dave Perry (USA)

2 Anna Tunnicliffe (USA)

3 Laurie Jury (NZL)

4 Taylor Canfield (USVI)

5 Bill Hardesty (USA)

6 Reuben Corbett (NZL)

7 Chris Van Tol (USA)

8 Henrique Haddad (BRA)

9 William Tiller (NZL)

10 Sergey Musikhin (RUS)

11 Nicolai Sehested (DEN)

12 Kent Colpaert (USA)

Audi MedCup

26 August 2010

	25 Aug 2010
	Fast starters TeamOrigin 1851 lead



	Cohesion, confidence and continuity made the difference today for Britain's TeamOrigin who lead the Caja Mediterráneo Region of Murcia Trophy off Cartagena. Islas Canarias Puerto Calero won the GP42 Practice Race.

	Buoyed by their team's recent success, winning on their own home waters against the America's Cup defenders, Britain's TeamOrigin emerged with a third and a first place from the opening two races to lead the Caja Mediterráneo Region of Murcia Trophy regatta TP52 Series fleet by a single point ahead of the Argentinian flagged team on Matador. Skipper Ben Ainslie pointed to their team's heightened levels of confidence, cohesion and the fact that for the first time of this Audi MedCup Circuit season they are sailing with exactly the same crew as they had at the previous TP52 regatta as key components of today's strong opening. They made good starts and then capitalised with smart tactics reinforced by good boatspeed and handling. With the mainly easterly breeze topping 16 knots in the first race, and the second enjoying slightly gentler breezes, both times there were opportunities for the early leader to bank their gains and extend on the chasing pack, especially when the strong current was used to maximum advantage. Matador (ARG) with tactician Francesco Bruni (ITA) working with strategist Vasco Vascotto (ITA) won the first race when they read the current and the breeze at the top end of the first beat best, escaping with a small lead around the first windward mark which they were able to increase, to build a comfortable margin ahead of second placed Luna Rossa (ITA). The all-Italian team sailed an excellent first run, seizing an advantage on the right of the downwind where they hooked into a big band of additional wind pressure and gained relief from the relatively strong flowing current. TeamOrigin took second place just ahead of Emirates Team New Zealand. The strong desire of most of the fleet to go right from the start of the second race ensured that the committee boat, right hand end of the start line was extremely busy from 90 seconds before the gun. Three times Olympic gold medallist Ainslie on the helm of the British boat was first to emerge with speed out of the melée, which saw several boats shut out at the boat end of the line. With Iain Percy and Andrew Simpson, Star Olympic champions, calling tactics, TeamOrigin were able to quickly draw clear of second placed Synergy and sail their own race. The Russian team skippered by Karol Jablonski (POL) lost out on second to the Kiwi team due to one poorly executed gybe on the downwind leg, giving the New Zealanders their second place. Their 4,2 scoreline for the day added a further eight points to reigning champions' series lead over Quantum Racing USA) who opened with a ninth in the first race. The GP42 Series Practice Race was won by Jose Maria Ponce's Islas Canarias Puerto Calero team, the five boats being well tested in the brisk 12-15 knots breeze sailing a full course with three windward legs. Points racing for the GP42 Series begins tomorrow when the Islas Canarias crew will be looking to repeat their practice race success and repair the one point penalty they were docked for arriving late at the venue. Audi MedCup TV broadcasts live from 1250hrs tomorrow. Once again the enthusiasm and support for the visit of the Audi MedCup Circuit to the region was highlighted again last night when a large crowd turned out for the traditional Romans and Carthagenian show. Quotes of the day Ben Ainslie (GBR) skipper-helm TeamOrigin 1851 (GBR) : "We sailed really well today in the tricky conditions. The tracks were a bit one way and so that was not easy, so the starts were really quite critical. But Andrew Simpson and Iain Percy did a really good job of picking the right side of the course, the correct way, and the guys did sail the boat really well around the track. The boathandling was good, so we had a good day." "Everything went our way today. We made good starts and went the right way. We have the boat going well." "Overall it is still early for us to be looking at the overall standings, we would like to have a good regatta here, and to finish off the season with two regattas would be good for us. There is a long way to go with this one." "This is actually the first event that we have exactly the same crew as we had for the last regatta and that helps. We have been through a few transitions as a team, for one reason or another which is always unsettling, but we had a really good time in Cowes at the 1851 Cup and that obviously helps boost the confidence in the team a bit, keeping the same guys and the continuity does make a difference." Ray Davies (NZL) tactician Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL): "We had a really good day, extremely tricky conditions. The fact that there is a lot of current and it does a big circle around the bay, I think all the boats were trying to benefit from the current. Going upwind the right hand side was strong and the left going downwind. The second race everyone was trying to get to the right and there was a little bit of committee boat bias and so it was very busy at the committee boat end. And in that situation there is only ever one or two boats that are going to get out of those situations alive and luckily we did. Origin did, Synergy did too and that was pretty much the orser at the top mark. And we opened up a little more margin on Quantum Racing, overall-wise to put eight boats on them, at this stage in the regatta that is huge percentage wise. And so really at the moment we just need to keep our foot on their throat." Francesco Bruni (ITA), tactician of Matador (ARG): "We are satisfied. It was a good beginning, most of all for the good starts we made. Also today the current was the key to the race: is definitely a great course area from this point of view, nice to have a different dimension to deal with, even if it is strange to experience these conditions in the Mediterranean Sea." Cole Parada (ARG), trimmer Matador (ARG): "In the first race we wanted to start to the right because of the current, and we managed to be among the first to do that. And that was basically it, we had good speed and a couple of tight crossings in the first beat, but had things always more or less under control." "After that, in the downwind ETNZ and Quantum were very close but they gybed too soon and went out of the current, and that got us apart and we could sail more comfortably the rest of the race." "In the second one we were all knew the course better, so we all went to the right. At the start we had a small incident with ETNZ, we were well positioned in order to start to the right but we couldn't at the beginning." In spite of it we managed to be among the four or five first boats. We kept fighting with ETNZ, Synergy and Quantum throughout the whole race, but we managed to finish fourth, which is all in all a good result". Caja Mediterráneo Region of Murcia Trophy TP52 Series Day 1 1. TeamOrigin (GBR), 3+1= 4 points 2. Matador (ARG), 1+4= 5 3. Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), 4+2= 6 4. Luna Rossa (ITA), 2+7= 9 5. Synergy (RUS), 8+3= 11 6. Artemis (SWE), 5+6= 11 7. Quantum Racing (USA), 9+5= 14 8. Audi A1 powered by ALL4ONE (FRA/GER), 6+8= 14 9. Bribón (ESP), 7+11= 18 10. Bigamist 7 (POR), 11+9= 20 11. Cristabella (GBR), 10+10= 20 GP42 Series Racing starts tomorrow TV footage available on www.medcup.org/tv Photos from Chris Cameron:

Here's Des

25 August 2010

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