WMRT- Chicago Match Cup

[Guest]

No rest for the kiwi match racers as they head straight to Chicago this week

 

World’s Top Match Racers Prepare to do Battle in Chicago

 

The Alpari World Match Racing Tour takes to the water (Practice day) on Lake Michigan tomorrow as Chicago Match Cup, the newest event on the world’s premier sailing series, welcomes the sport’s top talents to the fourth stage of the season, running from 10 – 15 July.

 

Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Mekonomen Sailing Team extended his lead at the top of the Tour leaderboard with a win at STENA Match Cup Sweden last week and will now face seven of the other eight Tour Card Holders as he looks to build on his ISAF Match Race World Ranking, which sits at a career-best second position. Hansen, said: “We’ve got two wins already this season which is very good and we can go into these coming events without too much pressure. We’re up at the top on 62 points and the other guys have got to get the results to match us.”

 

Amongst the Tour Card Holders looking to challenge for the season’s remaining points are reigning ISAF Match Racing World Champion, Ian Williams (GBR) GAC Pindar and talented young Frenchman Pierre-Antoine Morvan (FRA) Vannes Agglo Sailing Team, both of whom have shown some early season form during the first three Tour events. Morvan competes in the full Tour for the first time in 2012 and sat joint top with Hansen after two events. He is confident that the smaller TOM 28 class keelboats in Chicago and those in upcoming events will suit his team: “We thought that the first three events on the Tour would be hard for us with bigger boats but the next three [Chicago Match Cup, St. Moritz Match Race, Match Race France] should be good.

 

“We went to the Chicago event last year and finished second, just losing out to [Keith] Swinton in the Final. We’ll be very good with the technique in the boats so I think we can have a good run of results.”

 

Williams, who currently sits third on the leaderboard and is aiming for a record-equalling fourth Tour title this season, lost out to Hansen in the final of the recent STENA Match Cup Sweden. Asked about his Tour title ambitions, he said,: “We need some good results now to get close to Bjorn [Hansen] but at the moment they’re doing everything they can to make it hard for us.

 

“The remaining events are an even bigger priority now. We’ll do our best and see if we can come back in the second half of the season, starting in Chicago.”

 

In addition to the Tour Card Holders, four qualifiers and wildcards will compete at the event for their share of the $100,000 prize purse, including Taylor Canfield from the US Virgin Islands, Jordan Reece from Australia, Don Wilson from Chicago, and Sally Barkow from Wisconsin. Tod Reynolds, Director at Chicago Match Race Centre, believes that the attending crowds to Lake Michigans Navy Pier are in for some fine sailing action, saying: “We're excited that in only three years we've built the Chicago Match Race Center to where we can comfortably host an event on the Alpari World Match Racing Tour. This says a lot about the depth of the organization here and all the efforts made by everyone to get to this point. All the fan base we've generated so far and the new fans we will attract this week will be left with a positive impression not only of the skill and mastery shown by the teams in the event this week, but also how Chicago can be a perfect place to display these talents.”

 

In addition to the world class sailing action which kicks off on Wednesday 11th July, tomorrow will see media take to the water for a Pro-Am fleet race, which will run between the day’s practice sessions. Chicago Match Race Centre (CMRC) will make a $25,000 donation to the Judd Goldman Adaptive Sailing Foundation, a public/private partnership with the Chicago Park District, which provides sailing for the physically disabled and inner city youth.

[Guest]

No PR release so far from the World match Racing Tour, but unforutintly both Kiwi skippers will have to sail off in the 8 boat repercharge tomorrow with the top four boats going through to the quarters.

 

If you would like to have a laugh at a first time sailing reporter in a pre start then look at this from cbs

 

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/video/74952 ... -michigan/

[Guest]

Kiwi Match Racing continue to struggle this season whil Waka Racing are through to the quarters.

 

Jordan Reece, Phil Robertson, Johnie Berntsson and local skipper Sally Barkow have joined yesterday’s top four qualifiers in the Chicago Match Cup Quarter Final after a dramatic day’s Repechage round that was punctuated by thunderstorms on Lake Michigan at the fourth stage of the Alpari World Match Racing Tour.

 

Sally Barkow (USA) Team 7 Match Race struggled in the opening days of the event but her team came on strong on day three to progress into tomorrow’s Quarter Finals. The 2008 Olympian has raced often in the TOM 28’s used by the Chicago Match Race Center, having trained here for her bid to represent the US once again in this year’s Games. Sailing with a new team, she anticipated the slow start in this event. As teamwork has improved throughout the event, so have her chances as being one to watch in the knockout rounds. Barkow, said: “In these boats with five people there is a lot of communication to happen and I think we got that down a little bit better today.

 

“It’s a knockout now so it’s kind of like a whole new regatta. It just depends on who we sail and if we can play to our strengths we should be alright. We’ll hope for the best.”

 

One outstanding match on Barkow’s march towards the top of this round was against the fourth-place finisher of the day, Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Berntsson Sailing Team. In a match that saw close action throughout, Barkow managed to hold a slim edge on the final run to the finish, but not enough to comfortably gybe towards the line to take the win. So leaving nothing to chance and taking advantage of the Tour’s new rules giving no restrictions on proper course, she drove the Swedes well past the finish line before doing her spinnaker takedown and heading back upwind to the finish.

 

Another one of the wildcards coming into the event, Jordan Reece (AUS) Estate Master Sailing Teamalso made the most of his second chance to qualify for the knockout stages in the day’s Repechage, battling the seven other teams facing knockout to finish the day on top. Reece was pleased that his team had managed to secure progression after just missing out on the Qualifying cut yesterday. He said: “We had a really good start today, winning five straight and improving on everything that we wanted to and in our loss against Sally [barkow] we just lost it by 5 metres but had opportunities to win. It was a great day all round.

 

“Yesterday with the tie-break not going our way, we weren’t really happy with that so our performance today shows that we’re one of the top teams.

 

“We’ve had an extra day on the water more than some of the guys and although we’ve probably already over-achieved coming in as a qualifier and beating three of the Tour Card holders but tomorrow’s Quarter Final is a new start and hopefully we’ll keep getting the wins.”

 

One of Reece’s most exciting matches came at the very end of the day as a thunderstorm loomed to the west behind the City skyline. In the blustery winds off Navy Pier, Reece’s team kept control of the boat only slightly better than their opponent, Keith Swinton (AUS) Black Swan Racing Team, who copped a penalty but had the lead throughout most of the match. Unable to shake Reece off his tail, Swinton waited until the very last moment to do his turn on the finish line, yet missed taking the win by less than a metre. The loss was a heartbreaker for Swinton, who impressed on the first day of the competition and only narrowly missed the cut on a tie-break with Berntsson today.

 

Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racingstormed through to the next round, finishing the day 6-1 and has been in fine form on the Tour this year, recording 1st, 3rd and 4th place finishes in his second full season. Johnie Berntsson also did enough to progress to the next round, finishing the day 4-3 and narrowly progressed after a three-way count back, which dumped Keith Swinton (AUS) Black Swan Racing out of the event, despite the Australian’s excellent first day. Berntsson, said: “We lost some important races at the beginning but we got ourselves together and despite a few bad moments where I was yelling at the crew and not appreciating their efforts, they got it together and pushed me to win the last races. Thank god that I race with these guys.

 

“I think it was a combination of luck and mistakes early on and we just couldn’t get into the flow. I last sailed these boats in 2003 so we’re still learning and I’m confident we’ll get better and better.”

 

The Chicago Match Cup Quarter Final and Semi Final will commence on Saturday 14th July at 1000 CDT. The Final of the event is scheduled for 1400 CDT on Sunday 15th July.

[Guest]

Williams Books Final Date

 

Ian Williams will feature in tomorrow’s Chicago Match Cup Final after convincing wins in his Quarter Final and Semi Final to set up a tie against Bjorn Hansen or Jordan Reece, whose Semi Final will continue tomorrow morning.

 

The day’s sailing was again interrupted by thunderstorms and light, shifting winds in Chicago but Williams (GBR) GAC Pindar made the best of the tough conditions, beating Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Berntsson Sailing Team 3-1 in his Quarter Final and local favourite Taylor Canfield (USVI) Canfield Racing 3-0 in the Semi Final. Williams, said:“It’s been one of those days where you really have to keep your head out of the boat and be aware of the conditions. We were always fast and I think that’s what took us through.”

 

A great example of the reigning World Champion’s mastery at work was in his recovery from earning a penalty and losing the pre-start to Canfield in their last Semi Final match, but then passing and building enough of a lead to pull off his penalty turn on the second upwind leg. Williams’ choice of the favoured side of a huge wind shift on the first downwind leg helped him to this 3-0 vault into the Finals.

 

Commenting on the next round, Williams, said:“We’d rather race Jordan Reece in the Final but if we end up racing Bjorn [Hansen] in the Final it will be important in terms of the Tour leaderboard. We’re determined to win every race, whoever it’s against but if it’s Bjorn, it’ll be super important. We’ll have to wait and see what happens in their match tomorrow.”

 

Williams and Hansen have been battling it out at the top of the Tour leaderboard all season and Hansen has taken the advantage going into the Chicago Match Cup, having eliminated his opponent from STENA Match Cup Sweden as well as coming out on top in the final of the Korea Match Cup earlier in the season.

 

Taylor Canfield was disappointed to have been eliminated from his home regatta by Williams but feels that the experience will help in his drive up the ISAF World Match Race Rankings from 19th position, as he looks to secure a Tour Card for the 2013 season. Canfield, said: “I feel like the team came together well in tough conditions. It was a pretty positive event for us.

 

“We’d like to hop on the Tour next year if the funding is available and with bonus points from this event, hopefully that’ll help. If we can get the Tour Card for 2013 we’d love to be back at the Chicago Match Cup on home waters next year.”

 

In the remaining Semi Final, Jordan Reece (AUS) Estate Master Sailing Team leads 2-1 against Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Mekonomen Sailing Team, the match ultimately being postponed until tomorrow due to light winds. Hansen had been one of the favourites here in Chicago, coming off his victories in Korea and Sweden, and winning his place in the Quarter Finals early, but now he’s on the ropes, down 2-1 to the young Australians.

 

Reece, said: “We had another good day today sailing well in the quarters and then doing really well against Bjorn [Hansen] in the Semi’s to get back to 2-1 from a match down.

 

“We were a little bit nervous going into the match as we know that he’s on great form at the moment, but if we can do more of the same tomorrow and sail as we did today, we can pick up a win and move into the Finals.

 

The shifty breeze that caught out Canfield played out well for Reece in his last match with Hansen. After getting locked out of the start by the Swedes, Reece gained back enough to challenge them on the first run, and then by splitting to the left side on the second beat he received the same benefit Williams got to take the lead and put the series in his favour 2-1.

 

“The guys did an awesome job in tough conditions and when the winds are light and shifting like they were you just have to focus on your own race and rather than concentrating on the match racing it’s a bit more like fleet, finding the pressure, which we did really well at the end there.”

[Guest]

Williams Final Victory Closes Gap at the Top

 

Reigning Tour Champion Ian Williams was today crowned the 2012 Chicago Match Cup winner after a 3-0 battle against Australian youngster Jordan Reece, which also closed the gap on Bjorn Hansen at the top of Alpari World Match Racing Tour leaderboard, the Swede having won the day’s Petit Final to take third.

 

Williams (GBR) GAC Pindar went into this inaugural US Tour event desperate for a win, having finished second and third at his previous series events so far this season. Starting strongly despite an enforced crew change due to appendicitis suffered by his tactician and mainsheet trimmer Bill Hardesty, Williams kept true to his tactician’s wishes sent from hospital: “Tell Ian nothing fancy! Keep it smooth and fast!”

 

Williams, said: “It wasn’t straightforward out there, the conditions were very difficult with the light air and missing Bill [Hardesty] after he’d done a fantastic job all week was a tough change to make. Garth Ellingham [WAKA Racing] is also great sailor and he did a great job in the Final but obviously it takes a while to gel as a group.”

 

“The first couple of races were pretty dicey and they could have gone either way but I felt that as we improved and the communication was there, we did a much better job of controlling the start and controlling the race.

 

Jordan Reece (AUS) – Estate Master Sailing Teamdid well to make the Finals, the 21-year old’s first-ever in the Tour, as he kept the pressure on the World Champion in every match of the Finals. The closest he got to victory was in wresting the lead away from Williams on the first run of the second match, rolling over his rival in the light choppy conditions to take the lead into the bottom gate.

 

But Williams got the favoured right side on the second beat and with just a little more pressure managed to pull ahead of the Australians in the final approach to the second top mark. Despite a rush to challenge to retake the lead as he had on the first run, Williams managed to just stay ahead into the finish to take the win. Reece, said: “Right now we’re a bit disappointed but in a few hours I think we’ll be happy with a second place finish at our second Tour event. We’re a young team and this is a good start, showing that we have the ability to go against these top teams.

 

“Ian [Williams] just sailed a little bit better than us today. There aren’t too many big things to change and lots of positives that we can take from this into our next regattas.”

 

Despite taking a comprehensive 3-0 win, Williams was impressed with his 21 year-old opponent, saying:“For Jordan to be competing in the final of an Alpari World Match Racing Tour event so early on is a fantastic achievement. I can’t remember how long I was plugging away before I made my first Final but I think it was more like a year. It’s a great start for him.

 

“It is important for us to have gotten some points back on Bjorn [Hansen] in the overall leaderboard. We’ve caught him up a little bit and it looks like it’ll go all the way now.

 

“St. Moritz is a big point scorer so that’ll be an important regatta. We love that event and we’ve been on the podium there for the last six years so we’re looking forward to that one.”

 

Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Mekonomen Sailing Team missed out on the chance to renew his top-of-the-table rivalry with Ian Williams after a tight Semi Final against Jordan Reece which continued this morning, having been postponed at 2-1 to Reece yesterday. Reece made the best of the light winds to close out the match 3-2, progressing to the Final and leaving Hansen to battle it out for the 3rd podium position against local favourite Taylor Canfield. Speaking of the loss, Hansen, said: “Congratulations to Jordan [Reece] and his team, they just did it better than us yesterday and today. In that last race they got the better start and after that he just made the right choices and we couldn’t get him back.

 

“I’m really impressed with how they sailed the boat, they stay very cool when they’re in front and all credit to them. They have a lot of experience in these boats so they had an advantage there but once they get some more experience in the others we use on the Tour, I think they have the talent to make the step up.”

 

Tour leader Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Mekonomen took a 2-0 victory in the first-to-two point Petit Final against Taylor Canfield (USVI) Canfield Racing, but not without a fight. After winning the first match, Hansen nearly let Canfield take it to a third when he earned an immediate penalty on the first beat, giving the 23-year old the early lead. Hansen battled back at the second top mark rounding, owning the right side and the right of way as Canfield tried to squeeze around the Swedes at the mark. He did not succeed, however, and earned a penalty in the move, giving the lead back to Hansen, who held it throughout the final run into the finish.

 

Hansen said: “Taking the third spot was very important for us in terms of points on the World Tour. If we’d been offered two firsts and a third at this point in the season, we’d have taken it every day of the week.

 

“Our aim is to win this World Championship this year and I think we’ve put ourselves in with a great chance. There is still a long way to go before the end of the season but we’re really looking forward to the second half of the year, starting with St. Moritz. It should be a good battle for the Championship title.”