Match Race Germany on Lake Constance - Day 1
by Sean McNeill 12 May 2005 18:52 BST
Sten Mohr (red chute) heads up to take Bertrand Pacé’s transom, who has a tear in his spinnaker on day one of the Match Race Germany © Swedish Match Tour / Guido Cantini
BRILLIANT CONDITIONS ON LAKE CONSTANCE
Glorious weather allowed Match Race Germany to get off to a fantastic start
In glorious conditions today on Lake Constance in southwest Germany, 18 match races were held on the opening day of the 8th annual Match Race Germany, Stage 6 of the Swedish Match Tour 2004-’05 season.
The winds ranged from the southwest to the northeast and varied in strength between 5 and 12 knots, and there was abundant sunshine for the 12 crews competing in the event with stunning views of the Swiss and Austrian Alps, which tower over the lake. Group A began the day with three flights and Group B completed it also with three flights.
Denmark’s Jesper Bank, the skipper of Germany’s first-ever America’s Cup challenge United Internet Team Germany, streaked to a 3-0 lead in Group A. His biggest win came against American Ed Baird, the leader of the Swedish Match Tour and a helmsman for the Team Alinghi syndicate.
With the race started Bank took the left side of the racecourse and Baird the right. When they tacked to converge in the center of the racecourse it looked as if Baird might have good position on starboard tack. But then Bank found a puff that allowed him to sail a higher course and he easily crossed Baird. Although Baird kept the match close, he couldn’t overcome the early deficit.
Another skipper who faired well in Group A was Ian Williams (GBR). Competing in his first Swedish Match Tour event, Williams finished 2-1 and is tied for second in the Group A standings.
Williams, 28, has taken a sabbatical from his job as a lawyer to campaign actively on the Tour. He wants to find out if there’s a future for him in professional sailing, be it the America’s Cup or another arena.
Today he learned a lesson about boat setup in his final match against Staffan Lindberg (FIN), who is placed seventh on the Tour leaderboard.
“He was a little faster because he was pressing a bit more on the jib,” said Williams. “He was trimming harder and sailing lower, pressing down on the jib more. There are fine differences at this level.”
After shifting around to the north/northeast, the wind strength increased in the afternoon and seemed to catch some competitors off guard. In the match between Bertrand Pacé (FRA), of the BMW Oracle Racing Team, and Sten Mohr of Denmark, Mohr broached in a puff that rolled down the course when he tried to get to windward of Pacé.
“We didn’t want to get pinned to leeward so we came up just a little bit,” said Mohr. His maneuver happened to coincide with the puff, and he rounded up.
“When the puff hit I was sitting on the afterguy and it lifted me straight up in the air about six feet off the deck,” said Pacé’s crewmember Eric Doyle. “When the kite blew out I dropped back down to the deck.”
Pacé didn’t lose control because most of his spinnaker was torn. The black and white sail tore near one of the clews while being hoisted and eventually split when the puff hit. Pacé held on to win the race despite the bottom half of the sail flapping in the wind.
In the last flight for Group B Ben Ainslie (GBR), of Emirates Team New Zealand, withdrew a protest he filed over a drifting leeward mark. He withdrew it because, according to Chief Umpire John Standley, the race committee acted appropriately.
“The rules call for the race committee to replace the mark with a boat flying code flag M, which they did promptly,” Standley said. “It didn’t have a significant impact on the outcome of the match.”
Swedish Match Tour partners include Swedish Match, BMW and the Match Race Association. Swedish Match Tour Official Sponsors include Musto, Sebago, Travel Places, Trident Studio and Wedgwood.
For more information on the Swedish Match Tour, its competitors and events, and a link to the Tour’s broadband TV channel, please visit the official Tour Web site, www.SwedishMatchTour.com
Match Race Germany 2005 Round Robin Standings:
Group A (after 3/5 flights)
1. Jesper Bank (DEN), 3-0
Crew: Henrik Blakskjær, Michael Haestbeck, Thomas Jacobsen, Markus Wieser
2. Staffan Lindberg (FIN), 2-1
Crew: Nils Bjerkås, Johan Karlsson, Carl-Johan Uckelstem, Robert Sharp
3. Ian Williams (GBR), 2-1
Crew: Chris Gowers, Steve Mitchell, Mark Nichols, Mark Williams
4. Ed Baird (USA), 1-2
Crew: Nils Frei, Yann Gouniot, Piet Van Nieuwenhuyzen, Dean Phipps
5. Ian Ainslie (RSA), 1-2
Crew: Charles Nankin, David Rae, Alexander Runciman, Mark Sadler
6. Jan Eike Andresen (GER), 0-3
Crew: Tobias Aulich, Eric Hoeger, Carl Noel, Florian Weser
Group B (after 3/5 flights)
1. Ben Ainslie (GBR), 2-1
Crew: Ray Davies, Andy Hemmings, Richard Meacham, Chris Salthouse
T. Peter Gilmour (AUS), 2-1
Crew: Rod Dawson, Mike Mottl, Kazuhiko Sofuku, Yasuhiro Yaji
T. Sten Mohr (DEN), 2-1
Crew: Jeppe Blak, Niels Gramkau, Thomas Hartwig, Henning Lambertsen
T. Bertrand Pacé (FRA), 2-1
Crew: Dirk De Ridder, Eric Doyle, Zack Hurst, Brad Webb
5. Sébastian Col (FRA), 1-2
Crew: Tanguy Cariou, Matt Cornwell, Gilles Favennec, Teva Plichart
6. Mathieu Richard (FRA), 0-3
Crew: Greg Evrardi, Olivier Herledant, Frederic Rivet, Yannick Simon