Argo Group Gold Cup in Bermuda - Day 1
by Alpari World Match Racing Tour 23 Oct 2014 10:56 BST
23-26 October 2014
Dirk-Jan Korpershoek collides with Francesco Bruni's boat on day 1 of the Argo Group Gold Cup in Bermuda © Charles Anderson / AGGC
Despite the best efforts of Tropical Storm Fay and then Hurricane Gonzalo, the Argo Group Gold Cup, the sixth stage of the 2014 Alpari World Match Racing Tour, set sail on Bermuda's Hamilton Harbour today, albeit postponed by 24 hours.
Holding a slender lead after the opening day is surprisingly not one of the eight Alpari World Match Racing Tour card holders, nor one of the America's Cup teams, but an amateur crew from Poland. Marek Stañczyk builds and sells boats for a living, while in his crew are a lawyer and a computer programmer.
Stañczyk's team was the only one to end the day on four points (Ian Williams' GAC Pindar crew won all its races, but was docked 0.5 points for a collision). "For sure we are very motivated to sail as well as we can because one of our crew members died recently and we have two new crew members," explained Stañczyk, whose finished second overall in this year's Polish match racing circuit. "We just sailed relaxed. We were maybe slower in manoeuvres than other crews with our hoists and drops, but our boat speed was good."
The clinching match of the day for the Poles came in the final flight when they lined up against Switzerland's Eric Monnin, also unbeaten at that point. Monnin explained: "We controlled him at the start, but in the end he was able to tack away. We followed him with a little gap, but he got better wind. Then we were behind him all the time, although we got closer at the finish."
Monnin confirmed that most vital today was reading the shifts and puffs right: "That got you quite a long way in front. It looked easy, but it wasn't. Even when there was a small gap between boats you could have big differences."
This is Monnin's 11th consecutive Argo Group Gold Cup. "For us it is the last event of the season, but we also like the island, the people and the boats, because they are going a bit back in time."
With a substantial line-up of teams – 20, representing 13 nations – Qualifying has been split into two groups and today the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club's race committee managed to complete five flights in each. Racing was held under an overcast sky in a southerly breeze requiring a course to be set-up across the Harbour. However the wind blowing off the land made conditions extremely challenging for the crews.
As Team Alpari FX's Keith Swinton described it: "They were really difficult conditions, probably the toughest we've had to race in all year on the Tour – very shifty with big holes in the breeze. It was really hard to make decisions, you just had to keep calm and sometimes you'd lose a lot, but then you might get it back later."
In Group 1, Team Alpari FX got off to a disappointing start losing to the Raymarine/Ocean Electronics team of Royal Bermuda Yacht Club Commodore Somers Kempe. They then went on to win their next three matches, ending the day second in Group 1 to Ian Williams' GAC Pindar team, level with France's Pierre-Antoine Morvan's Vannes Agglo Sailing Team and Stena Match Cup Sweden winner Björn Hansen.
Argo Group Gold Cup defending champion Francesco Bruni was not in the best of spirits coming off the water on 1.5 points, a half point having been deducted due to a collision during his team's boisterous second match against Ian Williams. "We were in the lead in many races, but it was not easy with the wind shifts," bemoaned the Luna Rossa skipper. "We made a couple of bad decisions about when to tack or when to gybe, so the lead was changing all the time. We should have been in much better shape."
However one of Bruni's wins was also one of the most compelling races of the day. Up against Dutch skipper Dirk-Jan Korpershoek, Bruni picked up two penalties at the start for barging but managed to rid himself of one while pulling into the lead and extending. However he was unable to get rid of his last penalty and was forced to match race his opponent past the finish line and beyond. A prolonged series of dial-ups ensued by which time all the other matches in the flight had long since finished. Finally Korpershoek gently collided with the Italian team's yacht cancelling out their penalty, Bruni then calmly bore away to gain the point.
Qualifying continues tomorrow, however the weather is set to turn again overnight as a front associated with a depression off the US East Coast brings rain and 20+ knot winds to Hamilton Harbour. Five days after Hurricane Gonzalo's strike, the locals are barely likely to notice.
Group 1 Results After Flight 5:
1. Ian Williams (GBR) GAC Pindar 3.5-0
2. Keith Swinton (AUS) Team Alpari FX 3-1
3. Pierre-Antoine Morvan (FRA) Vannes Agglo Sailing Team 3-1
4. Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Hansen Sailing Team 3-1
5. Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Stena Sailing Team 2-2
6. Francesco Bruni (ITA) Luna Rossa 2-2
7. Arthur Herreman (FRA) Match The World 1-3
8. Somers Kempe (BER) Raymarine/Ocean Electronics 1-3
9. David Storrs (USA) Pequot Racing Team 0.5-3
10.Dirk-Jan Korpershoek (NED) Korpershoek Racing 0-4
Group 2 Results After Flight 5:
1. Marek Stanczyk (POL) Henri Lloyd Rainmaker Racing 4-0
2. Eric Monnin (SUI) Swiss Match Race Team 3-1
3. Taylor Canfield (ISV) US One 3-1
4. Staffan Linberg (FIN) Alandia Sailing Team 3-1
5. Nathan Outteridge (SWE) Artemis Racing 2-2
6. David Gilmour (AUS) Team Gilmour 2-2
7. Chris Poole (USA) Riptide Racing 2-2
8. Mathieu Richard (FRA) LunaJets 1-3
9. Lance Fraser (BER) Digicel Bermuda 0-4
10. Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing 0-4
To follow all the action please visit, www.wmrt.com
Quotes for the Day: thanks to Talbot Wilson
Marek Stanczyk:
We had a great result today and in part it is because we are missing our friend and a fellow crewmember, Dominick Niskiewicz, who has been here for two prior Gold Cups. He passed away this year. So we are glad we did so well today for him.
Ian Williams:
We had a lot of tough races and shifty conditions today. It was a very difficult day on the harbor with more penalties that we would like. We are looking forward to a better day tomorrow.
Taylor Canfield:
There was some really tough competition out there this year and we are facing a southeast wind so that makes things very challenging. Hamilton Harbor always is a challenging place to sail. We did lose the first race to Chris Poole and then put together wins for the next three. Racing here for the first day is difficult but it gets more comfortable as you go along.
Nathan Outteridge:
This is the kind of racing that I am not entirely accustomed to and at 2-2 we have our work cut out for us tomorrow. I am someone who likes to sail everything and I am getting up to speed. I just hope we can sail well tomorrow and sail the shifts well. What is great about being out here is I see some of the colleagues I knew sailing 49ers and even as a junior match racer. It is great to be around people I have sailed with all my life.
Chris Poole:
We came out swinging today and we have a new crew and it is our first time sailing together in competition. We feel we did pretty well with 2-2 on the board. We have five more races to go to see what will happen.
Keith Swinton:
It was a pretty tricky day, disappointing and I got a bit of a hiding from the RBYC Commodore Kempe, but we got it together and sailed well for the rest of the event.
Johnnie Berntsson:
It is still in our hands at 2-2 but I think we were a bit lucky today as there were a lot of penalties and we might have had a few more as the day went. But, we are just happy to be here and the sailing is great so far.
Francesco Bruni:
We still have a chance but we have not sailed as well as we could today. We were leading all of our races at some stage but in this game you cannot make mistakes. So, we have five races tomorrow and we are hoping we do better.
Somers Kempe:
Sometimes you get beat by Hamilton Harbour but out of our four races we had one win against Keith Swinton. That race went down to the wire and we slid a bit in the next three. But, we definitely felt that there was no reason why we should not be out there. We need a few more lucky breaks and maybe we will get that tomorrow. There are no easy races, that is for sure but we treat every race separately and we try to learn from each one. Unfortunately, the round robin does not give us that much room to learn.
Richard Storrs:
This is my first major event and I am 70-years old so this has been thrilling for me. Just getting an invitation to this premier match racing event is a thrill. So, this is a major event for me and I am just honoured to be here.