Monsoon Cup, Cian, Mirsky e Minoprio avanzano al turno successivo
Match RaceVelaWorld Match Race Tour 5 Dicembre 2008 Zerogradinord 0
World Match Racing Tour – Terengganu – Dopo sedici voli, quindi a un solo turno dalla conclusione del Round Robin, la Monsoon Cup ha emesso i primi verdetti.
Passano ai quarti di finale Paolo Cian, primo con nove vittorie e due sconfitte, patite per mano di Ian Williams e Ben Ainlsie, l’australiano Torvar Mirsky, secondo con otto punti ma con soli dieci match al suo attivo, e Adam Minoprio, terzo con due punti di vantaggio su Magnus Holmberg, Mathieu Richard, Sebastien Col, Ian Williams, Ben Ainslie e Peter Gilmour.
Il volo diciassette, in programma domani mattina, servirà per capire chi, tra i sei skipper a pari punti, acquisirà il diritto di accedere al turno successivo. Mentre Williams, Col e Holmberg paiono avere i favori del prostico dalla loro – sfideranno rispettivamente il già eliminato Berntsson e i già qualificati Mirsky e Minoprio – per Ainslie e Richard il discorso è diverso.
I due campioni, infatti, saranno contrapposti in un match che potrebbe sancire l’eliminazione dello sconfitto.
Ricordiamo che la Monsoon Cup è valida come ultima tappa del World Match Racing Tour. A guidare la classifica del circuito iridato è Ian Williams su Sebastien Col e Mathieu Richard.
Per consultare i risultati clicca qui.
[flashvideo filename=video/matchrace/MonsoonCup08_terza.flv /]
Video courtesy Monsoon Cup.
MONSOON CUP, CIAN, MIRSKY AND MINOPRIO AHEAD TO QUARTER FINALS
[Monsoon Cup Press Release] Race day three in the 2008 Monsoon Cup. Flight reports and results below. Racing was abandoned at 05.00 pm with flight 17 to be sailed tomorrow morning. A tense night for most skippers; this last flight wil determine the quarterfinalists at this year’s Monsoon Cup.
Flight 12
Wiliams v Col
Ian Williams and Sebastien Col go into this match with an equal number of wins from the previous days racing. They are both on the cusp of quarter final qualification so every match result today will be vital.
The match is off in a soft breeze. Williams is just slightly ahead of Col as they trade tacks on their way to the top mark. Rounding the mark for the first time Williams leads by four boat lengths. Keeping to the right hand side of the course Wiliams used the current to take his boat smoothly to the bottom mark opening up his lead on Col. The breeze continued to be shifty with the race committee shortening the course. Clearly the current was also having a substantial was having effect on boat speed and direction. Tack for tack on the second work Col could not get ahead of Williams. Gradually the breeze lightened off more the decision to tack and loose speed would have been on the minds of each team. A sweet little puff off the left hand shore and Williams opened up his lead again. Round the top mark for the second time and Williams took the breeze and current with him to lead by more than five boat lengths.
Result – Williams d Col
Minoprio v Nurul Ain
Minoprio’s starting style will challenge Nurul Ain’s Perak Sailing Team. Nurul Ain’s results to date do not fairly reflect the latent talent and sheer determination of Nurul and her team members. She claims to be somewhat daunted by the skill level of her opponents. However, this is one team who are prepared to continue putting in their very best in every match they contest.
Result – Minoprio d Nurul Ain
Holmberg v Richard
Third on the World Match Racing Tour leader board, but with only two match wins so far, Mathieu Richard is on the back foot and fighting for survival in the Monsoon Cup. Magnus Holmberg has had a better event with four wins, but with the awarding of a penalty against him for Level C damage to Williams’ boat in the re-sail match yesterday, he goes into this match with three wins on the score board.
The race committee moved the start line back towards the regatta venue to catch the building sea breeze. This then moved the start line back into the current which has been a huge challenge for all match starts.
It was a split tack at the start and Richard tacked back onto port to cover Holmberg. Both sailed to the right hand side before starting tacking duel on the way to the top mark. Holmberg carries a penalty going into the top mark. At the top mark for the first time Richard leads within less than a boat length.
Downwind and they are right on each matching gybes. Richard led around the bottom mark leading by more than three boat lengths. On the work for the second time and sailing the right hand side of the course, Richard dominates. Holmberg sailed into a light spot loosing valuable distance on Richard. Holmberg then closed the gap with a wind shift and quick tack, just enough to challenge Richard on the downwind leg. Richard went around the top mark for the second time still in control of the match. Holmberg still had a penalty to complete. A little puff and Richard pulled away to win the match.
Result – Richard d Holmberg
Ainslie v Gilmour
Can Dato’ Peter Gilmour and his Yanmar Racing Team slip into the top eight with a solid round of match performances today ? He faces ISAF Sailor of the Year Ben Ainslie, a relative newcomer to the match racing circuit, who has had four wins in this event to date.
Result – Gilmour d Ainslie
Flight 13
Richard v Minoprio
Result – Richard d Minoprio
Holmberg v Nurul Ain
Result – Holmberg d Nurul Ain
Cian v Ainslie
Ainslie was almost early on the start, but a quick bear-away and he recovered from what could have been a bad start. After the start they crossed and Ainslie was ahead of Cian. Ainslie lead around the top mark, but Cian was right on top of him. They sailed downwind on different tacks; an interesting decision by Ainslie not to cover Cian on this leg. The day continued to shift challenging both the teams and the race committee. Back on the breeze the teams anxiously looked for the correct top mark. Ainslie led around the (correct) top mark with a massive lead on Cian as the clouds rolled in and the breeze built.
Result – Ainslie d Cian
Gilmour v Swinton
Result – Gilmour d Swinton
Flight 14
And the rain came – a monsoonal downpour to clear away any cobwebs. Refreshing and challenging for the competitors. This may be time when the tables will turn for Col, Richard, Holmberg and Berntsson who are all facing the chance of missing out on quarter final qualification.
The rain eased and so did the wind.
Ainslie v Holmberg
This is a make or break match for Holmberg. Holmberg lead out of the start and at the first cross on the windward leg Holmberg was two boat lengths ahead of Ainslie. Holmberg opened up the lead by the first time round the bottom mark as he took the left hand side of the course leaving Ainslie to sail to leeward. Another great run downwind and Holmberg took out the match winning by about four boat lengths from Ainslie. At the end of this match Ainslie and Holmberg are equal with five wins.
Result – Holmberg d Ainslie
Nurul Ain v Cian
Result – Cian d Nurul Ain
Berntsson v Swinton
A terrible start for Berntsson as Swinton dominated the match at the start and never let go.
Result – Swinton d Berntsson
Mirsky v Gilmour
For the second time in this event Gilmour hit the start boat during the pre-state sequence against Mirsky. Luckily for Gilmour the match was postponed.
The match started in very light conditions on a very short-leg course. Gilmour started on the pin end on port. Mirsky also started on port to leeward. Gilmour was awarded a penalty on the first work for what appeared to be a noticeably slow tack. Gilmour had to dip Mirsky as they tacked for tack up the work and Gilmour tried to neutralise his penalty. Around the top mark, Mirsky had the lead. Up the work for the second time the Mirsky Racing Team’s crew was perfect as they were constantly challenged by Gilmour. Gilmour picked up a big distance on Mirsky at the start of the second downwind leg. Spilling dirty air into Mirsky’s spinnaker Gilmour picked up a massive amount of distance to be back on the Mirsky stern and back into contention. On the final work Gilmour needed another half a boat length to take the lead from Mirsky. He still had his earlier penalty to contend with. Mirsky still held the lead around the top mark. Gilmour was right on Mirsky’s stern. Gilmour had good speed on the run, but just not enough to take out Mirsky.
PG ‘I don’t think the penalty was the decisive factor. We thought the left was best, but Mirsky favoured the right, and he won,’ Gilmour said.
Result – Mirsky d Gilmour
Flight 15
Still some great matches to come this afternoon with Col, Richard and Holmberg all fighting for the final berths in the quarter final group. Cian, Mirsky and Minoprio are all safely through to the quarter finals.
The start boat has been moved out away from the regatta venue and into the river stream. This will make for some very interesting pre-start incidents and penalties as the breeze continues to remain light.
Swinton v Nurul Ain
Swinton d Nurul Ain
To read the results click here.
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