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MEASUREMENT DONE!
posted by Helena Lucas » September 4, 2008
We got through measurement safe and sound yesteday with no hiccups, which was a relief as it was a very thourough measurement this time. Today we finished off afew jobs on the boat and got out for a few hours sailing this afternoon.
Tomorrow will be nuch of the same with hopefully a bit of racing against the foreigners. -
Skippering iShares X40 Kiel
posted by Hugh Styles » September 4, 2008
Wow what an event Kiel has been. It was fantastic to be performing to a crowd, fly by’s were great fun and it was great to have the crowd cheering us on as we raced round the turning mark just off the beach.
For the ishares team its been a tough event, as in so many races we felt like we had started well and were good as we came towards the first mark. But for a few reasons we struggled to convert this into actual results.
We had some good training before the event against team Origin. We thought we could gain more out of the rig setup, so changed this and unfortunately it back fired. Once we reset the boat we were much faster and easier to accelerate out of boat handling situations.
Day 3 of the regatta, the Sunday was the best day for us, with some good solid race results to start with in the first few races. This set the standard for us and we fought tooth and nail, in the 16th and 17th races where we had some bad luck, to keep climbing the leaderboard.
This got us to the final 18th double point race and all to play for. We won the start at the starboard end of the line and extended on the fleet. Coming into mark one we were in the lead, with JPMorgan second. An issue with the spinnaker furler cost us the lead and by the bottom mark we were on the heels of JPMorgan, with another 2 laps to go. We waited patiently for another lap and then pounced as they had a really bad leeward mark rounding, getting inside their line and then extending up the next 2 legs to cross the finish line as the clear winners of the last race of the regatta, double points and great to finish off the regatta on a real high note! One of the boys on the team commented “your only as good as your last race, so watch out in Amsterdam!!” as we crossed the line.
Thanks to iShares, and all the partner sponsors, without whom we would not have been here and would not have this fantatic event to race in.
All the best.
Hugh
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6 DAYS TO GO
posted by Helena Lucas » September 2, 2008
It seems like an age since we stepped off the plane at Qingdao airport to our phones beeping with Kirsty’s text that the Star boys had won Gold!
We timed our arrival on the 21st of August to perfection, just in time for the big team GBR Party. It seemed to do the trick with getting over the jet lag and we spent the next couple of days catching up with everyone and congratulating them on such a great performance.
But it was soon down to business when they disappeared off to Beijing for the closing ceremony. After a long day in the dinghy park we all met up in the Sea View Gardens hotel to get a glimpse of the Olympic team on TV and watch Beckham kick his ball atop a Red London Bus.
The next couple of days were spent down at Yinhai marina, sometimes in the compound some times not, depending on whether the manager refused the British team entry or not over a minor financial matter. Adam and I spent a morning on the picket line planning the worst case scenario of a possible night raid to get our boats out, luckily it never amounted to that and the problem was solved
Since then its been productive days on the water and trying out the new lycra sailing fashion. The lycra leggings have been a huge hit with Sonar Steve who passed the comment “why do I always look like a gimp at the Paralympics”
Adam and I had been fortunate enough to be able use Annie Lush for a few days. Annie had come out to watch the Olympics and yngling racing and stayed on to do some 2.4 sailing. She took to the 2.4 like a duck to water and was right on the pace in the tuning, enjoying being in control and responsible for everything on the boat. However things changed a little when we started racing and she turned to me and said “the tactician and trimmer on board are awesome but I am having a little problem with the helmsman”
We moved into the village on the 30th and into our luxury 5 star hotel. We had been staying in the team house, having to fend for ourselves and put up with the boys toilet habits, So Sue and I embraced the Hotel with open arms. It also makes the whole training regime so much easier having a gym on sight, the boats in walking distance and the awesome work shop container where small miracles can be produced.
So it time to capture the dream and follow in the foot steps of the Olympic team.
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World Match Racing Tour
posted by erou » September 2, 2008
The first day of the Danish Open, Stage 5 of the World Match Racing Tour 2008 season saw 12 crews from 7 countries take to the waters off the Jutlandic peninsula. With a shifty gusty breeze that blew off the land up to 22 knots the teams were tested to the max. The morning session saw six teams take to the water to compete against one another. The afternoon session saw the other 6 teams take to the water. The second day of racing had wind ranging between 10 to 20 knots. Race officials took advantage of the conditions and completed 10 flights in the day’s schedule. Ian Williams ended the day 7-3. Mathieu Richard was pleased with his win loss record of 6-2 for the day. Torvar Mirsky finished the day on 5-3. Adam Minoprio finished 4-4 which leaves him with plenty to do. Johnie Berntsson also finished 4-4. With four flights left in the round it was all wide open with 6 teams capable of getting to the magic number of seven wins. It was Ian Williams that topped the Round Robin followed by Johnie Berntsson, Sebastien Col and Torvar Mirsky going to the Semi Finalists.
In semi final one against Johnie Bernsson, Ian Williams was over the line early but a big left shift propelled him back into lead. In the second match Berntsson struck back leading Williams from start to finish. In semi final two Torvar Mirsky capitalised on a big shift to get the jump he needed on Sebastien Col. Their second match was much closer. Col got a lead he defended well to the the finish.
The Danish Open ended today with Ian Williams (GBR) of Team Pindar taking 1st place in a best of three final against Sebastien Col (FRA) French Match Racing Team/K-Challenge. In the petit-final the results went to one all after Johnie Berntsson equaled the score by winning the second race against Torvar Mirsky. Berntsson then went on to win the third match. -
MedCup - Cartagena
posted by erou » September 1, 2008
Fighting to the end of each and every race and good downwind speed see Matador lead the Region of Murcia Trophy regatta into the final day, but they have only two points on Bribon. The remarkable ‘never say die’ team spirit aboard Alberto Roemmers’ Matador (ARG), complemented by some smart calls from Thierry Peponnet and a healthy dose of sheer downwind speed all contributed to the key gain of four places on the final run of the last race today which means the Argentinan boat will enter the last day of the Region of Murcia Trophy Regatta with a slender two points advantage over Jose Cusi’s Bribón.
Bribón took the final winning gun in Cartagena to win the Region of Murcia Trophy, their first regatta win this season. Quantum Racing head for Portugal having enhanced their Audi MedCup Circuit lead to 41.5pts. Gaining a two boat lengths advance on the final gybe of the last run of the final nail biting race was enough to clinch the Region of Murcia Trophy for José Cusí’s Bribón, winners of the fifth regatta of the Audi MedCup Circuit. It was a fitting climax, the final twists and turns settling a great event as Cartagena delivered a whole new set of challenges to the TP52 fleet in testing winds on a challenging race arena, complemented ashore by a warm and very enthusiastic reception on the docksides and around the streets of an historic City. Locals and visitors wholheartedly embraced the first ever visit of the MedCup Circuit to a fast emerging region of Spain and were rewarded when overall victory went to one of Spain’s best known racing yachts. After four days of moderately fresh breezes, the final two races were contested in a light sea-breeze which carried some big changes in direction to frustrate and challenge crews, particularly in the first windward-leeward contest. Bribón win the regatta by two points and regain second place overall on the Audi MedCup Circuit 2008, behind Terry Hutchinson (USA) and the crew of Quantum Racing (USA) who leave Murcia and head for the final regatta in Portimao having extended their overall lead from 30 points to 41.2 points.
