St Moritz Match Cup

[Guest]

Kiwi Match Dominate the early rounds

 

Laurie Jury made an early statement of his intentions at the St. Moritz Match Race in Switzerland today as he took five wins from five in shifty winds on Lake St. Moritz and put himself in a good position ahead of the second day of qualifying tomorrow.

 

Jury (NZL) Kiwi Match Sailing was in excellent form, taking victories against reigning Tour Champion Ian Williams (GBR) GAC Pindar and two-time St. Moritz Match Race winner, Mathieu Richard (FRA) Loire Atlantique Sailing Team who gained a wildcard entry to the event. Jury finished the day by beating compatriot Josh Junior (NZL) Wellington Spirit, leaving himself on the brink of Quarter Final qualification.

 

Jury, said: We’ve come away with five wins which is really good for us as a lot of them were really tight today. We had a race against Keith [swinton] which we just won right on the finish line and a close one with Morvan and Ian [Williams] which came out of penalties so it feels like we’re sailing well but we’ve sailed the same way before, not had decisions going our way and lost all five. The level we are sailing at on the Tour, a good day and a bad day haven’t got much between them so we just need to keep focused and carry on doing what we’re doing.

 

We had a really good training sesison yesterday in a bit of breeze, put some pressure on ourselves and the guys did a really good job with the boat speed and the boat handling. I’d say that was what did it for us today.

 

When commenting on his plans for the remainder of the qualification round, Jury said: We’ve got to keep pushing ourselves and trying to learn as much as we can. It’s great to get a jump on the lead, especially as we missed out on the Quarters in the last two events. Ideal situation now is to take the first place and go straight through to the Semi’s.“

 

Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Berntsson Sailing Team also made the most of the first day’s sailing, taking three commanding victories from three against Swiss crowd favourite Eric Monnin (SUI) Okalys Corum, who competes in his tenth St. Moritz Match Race, former Tour Champion Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing and young Kiwi Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing, who was condemned to a third defeat of the day.

 

Berntsson, said: “It was a perfect start for us, especially here at a venue which we know can have some of the trickier conditions. I think here you have to be prepared that you won‘t win all your races at this regatta, so it’s especially pleasing to come in unbeaten.”

 

Lining up against local skippers on the first day of racing is often seen as a disadvantage but Berntsson was confident ahead of his first match against Monnin, following their practice day on Lake St. Moritz, saying: “In the practice session yesterday we were on the water with Eric Monnin and we felt really good. We thought that there was an opportunity to take an advantage out of the start, which we saw today as his timing was slightly off and that helped us a lot. In that first match we got to choose our positioning and that was important for the win.

 

“Today overall it was that early control in the starts which was key, managing to get ahead or at least to an area where we got the first puff of wind. It was a bit shifty out there and in our second race we changed the decision on which side to take just 40 seconds before the start and managed to get a big puff out on the right, which made all the difference. That one could have gone either way.”

 

Mathieu Richard and Ian Williams also finished the day on three wins with two losses to sit third and fourth respectively in the qualification table after day one. Ian Williams carries 2.5 points through after having been deducted a half point for a collision between the two skippers in a match that Williams ultimately won.

 

Of the Swiss skippers, Eric Monnin secured good wins against Robertson and Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Mekonomen Sailing Team, to leave himself on two wins from three after the first day’s sailing. He said: “We have two wins already but we’re very aware that it doesn’t change a lot and it will take more than that to make it to the quarters. I think the totals needed will be quite high to progress, maybe five or six points from qualification. We hope to go through to the next round but we’ll continue tomorrow as one of the underdogs and try to win the matches we need to go through.

 

“It’s great for us to compete in our home regatta but we try every year to keep the pressure off ourselves because everyone is looking to us as a Swiss team. We’ve approached the event well this year, just aiming to enjoy each victory or take each loss one at a time.”

 

Phil Robertson knows that his team need to perform well in St. Moritz to keep the pressure on the top three going into the second half of the season. A disappointing session saw his team slump to three defeats from three, Robertson commenting: “We just couldn’t get anything right today. There wasn’t that much specifically that we need to change. We did a lot of things wrong but it was just standard sailing really.

 

“It was very, very shifty and quite hard to pick as well. We got two of the three starts we wanted but just couldn’t capitalize in the end.”

 

With everything still to play for, the St. Moritz Match Race continues with a second qualifying round tomorrow, starting from 11:00AM CET.

[Guest]

In case anyone was interested in the results/standings...

 

St. Moritz Match Race – Competing Teams:

Laurie Jury (NZ) Kiwi Match 5 - 0

Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Berntsson Sailing Team 3 - 0

Mathieu Richard (FRA) Loire Atlantique Sailing Team 3 - 2

Ian Williams (GBR) GAC Pindar 2.5* – 2 (0.5 point deduction for boat collision)

Pierre-Antoine Morvan (FRA) Vannes Agglo Sailing Team 2 - 3

Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing 2 - 1

Eric Monnin (SUI) Okalys Corum 2 - 1

Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Mekonomen Sailing Team 1 - 2

Jerome Clerc (SUI) Team CER 1 - 2

Josh Junior (NZL) Wellington Spirit 1 - 4

Keith Swinton (AUS) Black Swan Racing 1 - 4

Phil Robertson (NZ) WAKA Racing 0 - 3

 

Weird how Jury and Robertson are from NZ and Josh Junior is from NZL. How hard is it for people to get these things right?

[Guest]

WAKA RACING FIND THEIR WINNING WAYS

 

On a day when a lack of wind eventually stopped racing at the St. Moritz Match Race, Phil Robertson profited from a return to the form which has seen him climb to fourth in the Alpari Match Racing Tour leaderboard after four stages.

 

Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing finished yesterday’s opening qualifying session with a disappointing three losses from three but showed no signs of repeating those results, beating Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing and current Tour leader Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Mekonomen Sailing Team before the wind became too light for sailing to continue.

 

Laurie Jury (NZL) Kiwi Match Sailing remains at the head of the qualifying table on five points, without having taken to the water on the second day of competition. Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Berntsson Sailing Team remains in second despite losing his unbeaten record to compatriot Bjorn Hansen (SWE) in his first match of the day. Berntsson, said: "We picked up a penalty in the pre-start against Bjorn but the outcome of that didn‘t affect the overall race, i don’t think. It was very much about starting well and getting the left side.We didn‘t manage to close the gap and he was in a controlling position for most of the way around. He did a good job in keeping us behind."

 

Berntsson went on to beat Jerome Clerc (SUI) Team CER to take his tally to 4 points but is hopeful that conditions will allow a full qualifying stage to be completed: "We’re pleased to be 4-1 which puts us in a good positionafter two days but we would prefer to be back out on the water completing Qualifying. We’re here as dedicated sailors and want to race as much as we can, perform well, and win because we are the best on the day."

 

Despite the loss to Berntsson, Clerc still feels that his team are in with a chance of qualifying for the Quarter Finals, having earlier beat rival Eric Monnin (SUI) Okalys Corum in their national battle on home water. Clerc, said: "We were very happy to beat Eric because it’s our third time at this regatta in St. Moritz and we haven’t beaten him before. He had a better start than us and was in front from the start but we got a good shift which allowed us to overtake and hold on for the win.

 

"We’re from Geneva, which is 6 hours away so it doesn‘t feel like a home event for us here. There isn’t a lot of pressure on us because we aren’t really one of the favourites so we’re here to learn and improve our match racing.

 

"So far i think we’ve done well because we have a new crew member for this event and if we can continue taking each match as it comes, we have a chance for the Quarter Finals."

 

St. Moritz Match Race – Results after Qualification Round 2:

 

Laurie Jury (NZ) Kiwi Match 5 - 0

 

Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Berntsson Sailing Team 4 -1

 

Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing 3 -2

 

Mathieu Richard (FRA) Loire Atlantique Sailing Team 3 - 2

 

Ian Williams (GBR) GAC Pindar 2.5* – 2 (0.5 point deduction for boat collision)

 

Jerome Clerc (SUI) Team CER 2 - 3

 

Eric Monnin (SUI) Okalys Corum 2 - 3

 

Phil Robertson (NZ) WAKA Racing 2 - 3

 

Pierre-Antoine Morvan (FRA) Vannes Agglo Sailing Team 2 - 3

 

Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Mekonomen Sailing Team 2 - 3

 

Josh Junior (NZL) Wellington Spirit 1 - 4

 

Keith Swinton (AUS) Black Swan Racing 1 - 4

[Guest]

Three Join Jury in St. Moritz Semis

 

A packed day of racing today saw the end of the qualifying session at the St. Moritz Match Race, as well as the Quarter Finals and one of the most exciting twists of the Tour season so far.

 

In an unusual situation, the bottom of the qualifying table provided a defining contest for the wider Tour standings in the very last match of the final Qualifying Session. Ian Williams (GBR) GAC Pindar found himself in a position where he would go through to the knockout rounds of the regatta at the expense of his closest rival on the 2012 Alpari World Match Racing Tour, Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Mekonomen Sailing Team, if he could come out on top of his rival.

 

Hansen went into the match knowing that a victory would not only eliminate Williams from the competition, but also give him an opportunity to extend his narrow lead at the top of the overall standings after Tour stage 5. Both skippers had previously stated the importance of the event on their overall ambitions for the season and after his victory, Hansen reiterated the importance of the win, saying: "It was fantastic to go through to the Quarter Final and we knew before the match with Ian [Williams] that it was probably our most important race of the season. We didn’t know for sure whether the win would put us through to the knockout stages but we were sure it would put us ahead of him which was well enough for us."

 

Reigning ISAF Match Racing World Champion, Williams now finds himself facing a real challenge to keep within touching distance of Hansen ahead of the season-finale Monsoon Cup in December, where up to 38 points are available to the winner. He said: "That last one was a very important race and we didn‘t do a very good job. It’s not been a great regatta for us and we’ve struggled picking the breeze this week with the Northerly. It’s the first time for a while we haven’t been strong here so that’s something for us to go away and look at why that was.

 

"We need one more good result ourselves to make a set, France or Bermuda we need to do well at and we’ll see where we end up going into the Monsoon Cup after that.

 

"I guess we’ll have to wait and see how well Bjorn [Hansen] does in this event now. If he goes on and wins i think it’ll be very difficult for us. If he loses the Quarter Final, which obviously we’d hope for, there is still a chance."

 

Hansen‘s Quarter Final match up was against event wildcard and two time ‘King of the Mountain‘, Mathieu Richard (FRA) Loire Atlantique Sailing Team. The Frenchman managed to take the victory, not only helping Ian Williams‘ bid for a fourth Tour title but also reinvigorating the prospects of French compatriot, Pierre-Antoine Morvan (FRA) Vannes Agglo Sailing Team, who sits third on the Tour leaderboard after four events.

 

Hansen remained pleased with his lead but reflected on a missed opportunity, saying: "Overall we had a pretty average regatta and it isn’t all just about skills, you need to have a bit of luck and i think we’ve had a mixture of that on our way. The additional points on Ian [Williams] are still going to be really important but we had a chance to really pull away today.

 

"Conditions here are always difficult and we stuck to our beliefs in that last match against Mathieu [Richard]. We were first around the course, taking the side that we thought was best, then he got a puff and passed us which is always disappointing. That’s sailing."

 

Hansen had continued his dominance of the pre-start in the first match, pushing Richard to the start line and forcing his opponent to go over early, much like he did in his victory over Ian Williams. Richard did well to claw his way back into the match and kept Hansen within a managable distance for the majority of the race. On the final downwind, the frenchman saw his opponent struggle to fill his spinnaker in the dying breeze whilst he found a gust which propelled him over the finish line to take the first win.

 

That victory became doubly important as race officials were forced to reduce the Quarter Final format to a first to two points in the light conditions. After a brief postponement, Richard confirmed his place in the Semi Final, taking the second race despite carrying a penalty from the pre-start and winning the tie 2–0. Richard, said: "We were very lucky at times in the Quarters, it’s difficult with the conditions changing all of the time but this time it worked out well for us."

 

Morvan held off the challenge of Tour veteran and former World Champion Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing after picking him as Quarter Final opponent, winning 2-0 and setting up a last four match against Richard.

 

Richard, said: "We’re good friends with Pierre-Antoine, the teams know each other very well as we’re all from Brittany in the West of France and we’ve trained together a lot. It’s great to be together at a Tour event.

 

"Of course we can win this event but all of the teams in the Semi Finals are very good and that has been shown by the big names that have already been kicked off."

 

Whilst he also would have preferred to meet his countryman in the Final, Morvan is confident that his team can go one better than their second place in Switzerland last year. He said: "We are here for the win. We finished second last year and didn’t get a chance to race the final against [Torvar] Mirsky because of the conditions. We are very confident in these boats and think we have a good chance.

 

"Mathieu [Richard] is a good opponent and it’s a shame that we’re together in the Semi but we knew that was likely. With Hansen and Williams going out we will look at the overall leaderboard after this event and going into Match Race France we’ll see what we can do. But first we have to concentrate on the next match."

 

Laurie Jury (NZL) Kiwimatch Sailing Team progressed directly to the Semi Final as a result of his position at the top of Qualifying and the event’s shortened Quarter Final format. Those finishing 2-7 in Qualifying then made up the three Quarter Final matches

 

Jury now meets Keith Swinton (AUS) Black Swan Racing, who beat Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Berntsson Sailing Team 2-0 in their Quarter Final.

[Guest]

King of the Mountain Swinton Crowned in St. Moritz

 

A fantastic Final battle between two-time event winner Mathieu Richard and Keith Swinton was won by the young Australian whilst Pierre-Antoine Morvan gave his overall Alpari World Match Racing Tour challenge a boost with a third-place finish today.

 

Light and shifty Maloja winds held out just long enough on Lake St. Moritz to complete a tense Final battle between former Champion Mathieu Richard (FRA) Loire Atlantique Sailing Team and Keith Swinton (AUS) Black Swan Racing, who made it to his first Tour event Final in his first year as a Tour Card Holder for his best career result to date.

 

Swinton, said: "It is an amazing feeling, i’m a bit speechless. After we lost the fourth one we thought that maybe it was over and we wouldn’t have time to race the final race but we did and we just made sure that we learnt from the mistakes we’d made in the previous races.

 

"To take out the win is really, really special for us and really exciting. It’s absolutely brilliant. It’s been a long, hard day and i think this can kick start our season. Marseille is coming up and we’ll look forward to that one even more now."

 

The Final started with first match going to Richard. He pushed Swinton towards the committe boat at the end of pre-start, resulting in a touch between the boats whilst Swinton was tacking to avoid the committee boat, also crossing the start line early. In addition to having to restart, Swinton carried the resulting penalty for much of the match, leaving the Frenchman able to comfortably close out the match after extending his lead around the course.

 

Swinton took little time to regroup his crew, levelling 1-1 in the second match after an exciting finish. An energetic pre-start which saw Swinton take a controlling position as well as penalty picked up by his opponent in the pre-start for a port-starboard incident. A close race continued into a side-by-side turn around the final mark onto the last downwind leg.

 

Richard looked for a way to offset his penalty, slowing down to set up a tactical battle of wits and boat handling on the finish line. Swinton kept a cool head as Richard tried to push him wide of the finishing mark, rolling him and diving across the line to level the score.

 

Swinton failed to take match point at the first time of asking, losing a crew member into the water in the pre-start. As the boats split left and right off of the line, Richard made the better decisions throughout the match when looking for breeze on the course and took a very dominant lead with one lap still to sail. He crossed the line to level the scores once again.

 

The winner-takes-all final match was equally tight before Swinton found some good pressure on the left hand side to carve out a two boat length lead ahead of the final leg. His Black Swan Racing team finished with huge smiles on their faces.

 

Swinton went on to reflect on the day’s Semi-Final against Laurie Jury (NZL) Kiwimatch Sailing Team: "It certainly was very intesnse out there in the Semi’s with very light and extremely difficult conditions. It could have gone either way, Laurie sailed very well. We both had chances at times and we were fortunate enough to get the win in that one.

 

"We’ll have a look at the leaderboard tonight to see how we’re doing in the overall standings."

 

Richard didn‘t manage to complete the trio of St. Moritz wins that he had hoped for, but was pleased with the result and considered his future on the Tour next year, saying: "I don‘t know if we would have taken this result before we started but it’s a good result. We did some good sailing against strong opponents and i can only say congratulations to Keith [swinton].

 

"I’m not suprised at all to see these new young teams coming to the Tour and improving to beat the teams at the top level. We hope to be back to the Tour again next year and will try to take the win next time we do."

 

Pierre-Antoine Morvan (FRA) Vannes Agglo Sailing Team was also disappointed not to get closer to the ‘King of the Mountain‘ title which had eluded him in 2011 but was full of praise for his French compatriot, who beat him in the Semi-Final, saying: "We tried to sail as good as we can but Mathieu [Richard] was enough to win the two matches today. We were backing him in the Final but it wasn’t a win for either of us in the end.

 

"In the second match we stayed close and got a good puff after a split gybe in the last downwind but it just wasn’t quite enough and we lost. Maybe we were a little bit unlucky at times.

 

"Over the two matches against Mathieu i think there was only one metre in it. Unfortunately, in match racing, one metre is the same as one lake."

 

Looking at the wider Tour, Morvan can take some consolation in his points gain over the top two on the overall leaderboard, Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Mekonomen Sailing Team and Ian Williams (GBR) GAC Pindar, who were knocked out earlier in the event. He said: "It’s positive that a few of our close Tour competitors were knocked out before us here but would have been even more positive if we had won the event.

 

"We are looking forward to Match Race France first, where we know the boats really well and hopefully it’ll be one of our best results. We will see."

 

Having been the dominant team in the opening days of competition and winning qualifying to take an automatic passge to the Semi-Final, Laurie Jury (NZL) Kiwimatch Sailing Team found the opposition tougher on the last day of the regatta. He lost his last four match against Keith Swinton and was understandably dissappointed after going on to lose the Petit Final against Morvan to take fourth place, saying: "I don’t necessarily think that it was a disadvantage to get less time on the water, skipping the Quarter Finals. Watching the matches yesterday, it was a bit of a lottery so i’d rather have missed them if it meant guarenteed progression to the Semi’s.

 

"We’re still one of the fresher teams out there so we’re picking up experience in these events. We had a really tight Semi Final which was affected by the conditions and i think that might have spun our heads out a bit for the Petit Final. Overall we sailed alright and we’ll keep learning from events like this."

 

The race for Alpari World Match Racing Tour glory will resume at Match Race France in Marseille from 24 – 29 September. All of the teams have the option of using their score from that event as a contributor to their overall points total so it’ll be all to play for once again in France.