Knickerbocker Cup Match Racing at New York - Day 2
by Andrea Watson 27 Aug 2005 09:17 BST
25-28 August 2005
Matteo Simoncelli vs. Terry McLaughlin on day two of the 2005 Knickerbocker Cup © Andrea Watson
Aggressive racing on day two
The international flags were limp and Manhasset Bay looked like glass all morning on the second day of racing at the 2005 Knickerbocker Cup, but after lunch, a great southerly appeared that had the Race Committee and teams scrambling to their boats to take advantage of the wind. By end of day, in the last shred of daylight, 8 flights were completed, for a two-day total of 13. According to Race Committee member Sue Miller, today’s racing “was a lot of fun. There were great starts, with aggressive upwind tactics.” One match race was especially exciting as two-time Knickerbocker Cup winner Terry McLaughlin (CAN) and rising star Peter Wibroe (DEN) screamed to the finish line with spinnakers flying. The photo finish was decided by PRO Sue Reilly who gave the win to Wibroe – who just inched out McLaughlin by less than a second. The finish was so close that even the video presentation by noted author Dave Perry that evening had everyone talking about “who really won that race.”
Top honors on Day Two went to Matteo Simoncelli (ITA), ITway Match Race Team, with Cesare Trioschi, Luigi Viale and Gian Matteo Paulin. “We’ve been focusing on match racing a lot and training every weekend in Ravenna,” said Simoncelli. “We aren’t used to racing in this size boat so the boat length will be challenging for us. I think we are o.k., and we feel pretty confident, thought the conditions here are tricky.” ITway Match Race Team is on a roll, Mark Campbell-James (GBR) is snapping at their stern, and Ian Williams is ready to go after a day off. And with good wind predicted for Saturday, it should be a great day of racing on Manhasset Bay.
Standings as of Friday, August 26, 2005:
Matteo Simoncelli (ITA) 7 wins, 1 loss
Mark Campbell-James (GBR) 6 wins, 2 losses
Ian Williams ((GBR) 5 wins, 0 losses
Simon Minoprio (NZL) 4 wins, 1 loss
Laurie Jury ((NZL) 4 wins, 4 losses
Peter Wibroe (DEN) 3 wins, 2 losses
Brian Angel (USA) 2 wins, 3 losses
Terry McLaughlin (CAN) 2 wins, 3 losses
Christian Hamilton (GBR) 2 wins, 6 losses
Jon Singsen (USA) 2 wins, 6 losses
Scott Dickson (USA) 1 win, 4 losses
Martin Angsell (SWE) 1 win, 7 losses
More information is available at www.kyc.net