Williams Trumps Match Race France

Englishman Eclipses World's Top Match Racers
(Marseille, France)- The reigning Alpari World Match Racing Tour champion, Ian Williams won the Match Race France title and moved up to take the overall lead of the Tour. Williams did it by defeating the young New Zealander, Will Tiller 2-0 in a downpour and freshening breeze off Marseille in the matched fleet of J/80 one-design racers. The final was delayed by light winds, so the race committee shortened it to the first to two points. When it did freshen enough to start racing, the rapidly increasing breeze came with heavy rain - not exactly Mediterranean conditions! It did not put Williams off his game however, with a shut-out in the first race, he then passed Tiller at the final mark in the second race to close it out.

The overall Tour leader, Bjorn Hansen added no points to his score at Match Race France, after finishing ninth, while Williams scored 25 points for his win. It means that Williams now takes a nine point lead into the final two events of the year, the Gold Cup in Bermuda next week, and then the season finale, the Monsoon Cup in early December in Malaysia.   For some great YouTube video action   For more World Match Race Tour sailing information

J/80 Match Race France

World's Top Match Racers Sailing 80s In Marseilles 
(Marseille, France)- As the world’s top match racers arrive in Marseille for Match Race France this week, they embark on two crucial events in two weeks, which could transform the Alpari World Match Racing Tour (AWMRT) leader-board ahead of the season-finale Monsoon Cup in December. Pierre-Antoine Morvan believes his Vannes Agglo Sailing Team can be one of the surprise packages.

Morvan (FRA) Vannes Agglo Sailing Team comes to his home regatta after a podium finish at the recent St. Moritz Match Race and a strong performance at last week’s final warm-up, Internationeaux de France de Match Racing in Pornichet, where he lost in the final to compatriot Mathieu Richard.

Morvan holds a Tour Card for the first time this year but has proved his abilities against the world’s top match racers, establishing joint third position in the overall Tour leader-board. He now feels that a win at his favorite event of the season can set up an exciting showdown for the Tour title. He said: “We have been looking forward to this event, it will be a great feeling to sail the Alpari World Tour in France. We know the boats as we use the J/80’s at home and we know the event from previous years.  If we win Match Race France, we can start thinking about winning the whole Tour. Coming into our first full season we were targeting a top 5 finish. Now I think we can do a good event here and go to the Monsoon Cup aiming for the podium and challenging for the title hopefully.”

Twenty-five points are available to each the winner of Match Race France and the subsequent Argo Group Gold Cup in Bermuda (1-7 Oct) and should one team manage to win both, they could transform their season as Johnie Berntsson managed in the 2011 season, taking a podium finish at the last event of the season.

Berntsson (SWE) Berntsson Sailing Team went into last year’s final three events in mid-table but managed to take second place at both the Argo Group Gold Cup and Monsoon Cup, securing a third overall in the premier international sailing series. Having recorded a season-best fifth place at the recent St. Moritz Match Race and currently sitting in eighth position on the leader-board, he is hoping that he can recreate that late run of results once again. He said: “I’m expecting us to finish strongly again this year, perhaps even more so than last year. It is still wide open this season I think, there are a few teams that could come through to challenge and we’re one of them."

Match Race France sees wildcard entries from local favorite and 2011 event winner, Damien Iehl (FRA) Wind 2 Win, former ISAF Match Racing World Champion Adam Minoprio (NZL) Black Match and recent Women’s Elliot 6m Olympic Champion, Tamara Echegoyen (ESP) Echegoyen Team.

Gold medallist Echegoyen is excited about taking on the world’s top match races and thinks her team can really hone their abilities amongst a world class professional field. She said: “The Olympics was a great experience and something that made me very happy. This is the a very different challenge and it’s the first time I’ve entered a men’s event at this level. It’ll definitely be a challenge and one I can really learn a lot from every day. It’ll be really good for our development. I am expecting that perhaps the racing will be slightly more aggressive and with the bigger boats, it is likely to be a bit more physical than we are used to. Let’s see how we get on.”   For more World Match Race Tour sailing information

Cherry Defends RYA National Match Race Crown

(London, England)- Racing J/80s on the Queen Mary Reservoir just underneath the flight paths from Heathrow Airport, Nick Cherry defended his RYA National Match Racing title this weekend for the fourth time! Eleven teams showed up to do battle, with skippers and their crews having earned their berths at the grand final through five qualifying rounds, their positions in the ISAF Match Racing world rankings, or as defending champion.

In addition to Southampton’s Cherry, the impressive line-up of teams that qualified include Skandia Team GBR and Women’s Match Racing World Champion, Lucy Macgregor; Britain’s top ISAF ranked skipper, Poole’s Mark Lees; and Mark Campbell-James who holds three RYA National Match Championship titles (2009, 2008, 2005).  "The kids" also joined the party in the form of the RYA’s Youth National Match Racing Champion James French. Said young James before the regatta stared, “We are really looking forward to the finals at the Queen Sailing Club where we will have the opportunity to race against some of the best match racers in the country. We are as prepared as we can be and are looking forward to competing against a lot of the older teams at the event. Having competed in the Governor’s Cup, I hope my experience will pay dividends and that we can get a good result come the end of play on Sunday."  This group of match-racing mercenaries all got underway Friday morning (18 November) with a 22 flight round-robin which was followed by knock-out quarter-final and semi-final rounds before the Champion was to be decided in the final round on Sunday 20 November. 

At the end of the day, the event was overshadowed by frustrating sailing conditions across the course of the three day regatta only allowing for a number of round robin races to take place. With an array of match racing talent in attendance at Queen Mary Sailing Club (Staines), the first day of the grand final welcomed a promising 10-12 knots allowing for nine flights to take place before poor light meant racing was abandoned mid-afternoon.

Day two of the Championships was another slow start for the 11 teams who had qualified for the event over the course of the year. With light, intermittent winds flicking left to right, the race committee managed to make it through to flight 15 by the close of play on day two (Saturday 19th November).

With no racing on the Sunday due to heavy fog (!?), Nick Cherry was awarded the prestigious title on his percentage of wins in the round robin stages. Across the two days of racing, Cherry and his crew won six out of the seven races while Mark Campbell-James won seven but lost two therefore finishing in second place with a lower percentage of wins to that of Cherry. Skandia Team GBR’s Lucy Macgregor finished the weekend in third after winning three out of her four races.

On winning the trophy for a second consecutive year and for a staggering fourth time (2011, 2010, 2007, 2006), matching that of fellow match racer Mark Campbell-James who finished runner-up for a second consecutive year, Cherry commented: “We are delighted to win! Looking at the trophy Mark CJ is the only skipper with his name on it as many times and one was a first equal - So I’m claiming the most outright wins of this trophy!  

Cherry skippered his crew of Matty Adams, Connor Myant, Sam Richmond to a total of six out of seven race wins giving them an 85.7% win percentage clinching them the 2011 RYA National Match Racing title.

“One of the main things that went well was our draw in the pairing list! We ended up racing most of the lower ranked teams and none of the top seeds so have to acknowledge that was a factor. Our closest race was against BUSA ladies, skippered by my girlfriend Charlotte Lawrence which after several lead changes came down to inches at the finish. That was certainly a battle I was glad to win,” said Cherry.

“Although I haven't done a lot of match racing this year due to my focus on the Figaro with the Artemis Offshore Academy, we have sailed as a team for a long time and were always confident we could put up a good fight. Going into the event I would have certainly put Skandia Team GBR’s Lucy Macgregor and her crew as favourites, having trained with them earlier in the year it's obvious that their hard work and new coaching setup has made them a strong unit. I was also looking forward to a good race with Team Wight Match, having crewed for Sam in Bermuda last month it could have been a bit of a grudge match if there had been wind on Sunday!”

Cherry added: “We had some good close races this year, however I think the key to our success was always sailing in a low risk style by just doing enough to get the points on the board. Out teamwork is also a crucial factor in our success as well as our experience and of course this weekend the weather was also a big factor.”

The event this year has been a huge success and an enormous "Thank You" on behalf of everyone must go to the Royal Thames Yacht Club for all their help and support in running yet another successful RYA National Match Racing Championship.  For further sailing information on the RYA National Match Racing

BERLIN ONE Wins BMW Cup

(Berlin, Germany)- In early October, the J/80 team called BERLIN ONE took the German BMW Sailing Cup Championship. This victory in the national final of the world's largest international regatta series for amateur also secured the team's invitation to the International Final in spring 2012, when BERLIN ONE will be up against the national winners from Italy, New Zealand, Austria, Portugal, Spain and Turkey. Jantz and his crew on BERLIN ONE earned their ticket to the Germany Final by winning the regatta on the Lake Wannsee at the beginning of July.  The event was organised by BMW Niederlassung Berlin, in cooperation with the 'Verein Seglerhaus am Wannsee' sailing club.

"We experienced the fascination of competitive sailing at close hand, with excitement right down to the final race, and all against the unique backdrop of HafenCity. That is what makes amateur sport and the BMW Sailing Cup so special," said Magnus Wiese at the presentation ceremony, Chief of Events/ Tradeshows/ Sports Marketing for BMW Germany. Wiese and Oliver Kosanke, Chairman of the cooperating Muhlenberger Sailing Club, presented the prizes and congratulated all 14 teams.

"It was a thrilling and extremely exciting final, which was thoroughly enjoyable. We did everything right in the first of the final races. The maneuvers worked brilliantly and we coped very well with the conditions on the Elbe. However, we discovered just how narrow the margin between success and failure can be in the second final race. We were leading when the gennaker dropped into the water as we rounded the final buoy. Third place was just enough to clinch the overall victory at the 2011 BMW Sailing Cup. We are now looking forward to the International Final," said Jantz.

Professional coach Hannes Baumann, who, as bowman alongside Tobias Schadewaldt in the 49er class, is well on course for the 2012 Olympic Games, congratulated his team on its excellent performance on these difficult tidal waters. 14 professional yachtsmen and women, including Ulrike Schumann and Olympic hopeful Kathrin Kadelbach (470 team with Friderike Belcher), really got into the swing of things throughout the entire final weekend as they cheered on the teams they trained from the shoreline.  For more BMS Sailing Cup sailing information

BMW Berlin Match Race Preview

(Berlin, Germany)- What do Jochen Schumann, Markus Wieser, and Bjorn Hansen - the match race world elite have in common?  They're guests competing in Wannsee on J/80s soon!  These World class sailors will participate in the 20th edition of the Berlin Match Race, that was initiated by prominent members of both organizing clubs, Achim Kadelbach (VSaW) and Peter Barnikow (BYC).

Markus Wieser, multiple World, and European Champion is looking forward to challenging his adversary of last year in the finals, Björn Hansen from Sweden, who won the 19th Berlin Match Race and currently is 4th in the world ranking list. Mads Ebler, the Danish European match race champion in 2010, will also be fighting for every inch of the race. Undoubtedly the helmsmen William Tiller (New Zealand) and Keith Swinton (Australia) and their crews have had the longest journey to Berlin. Having travelled all the way around the world, returning empty handed is not an option for them. In the fight for the title Markus Wieser will be challenged by the top German sailor Jochen Schumann, twice winner of the America´s Cup and Olympic Games, who would also like to reclaim the victory and prize money (totaling about 20,000 Euro)!  The race will be sailed on J 80 class boats from 2nd to 6th November.  For more BMW Berlin Match Race sailing information, please visit the BMW Sailing site

  

TIGRINA Wins RHKYC J/80 Spring Regatta

(Hong Kong, China)- On the weekend of May 14-15, the Royal Hong Kong YC hosted their annual Spring Regatta and had an enormous turn-out for their one-design classes.  This year's event also served as the inaugural Spring Regatta for the club's J/80 fleet.

In a clear demonstration that they've begun to master sailing J/80s fast are Andrew Moore's team on TIGRINA, taking the Spring Regatta with a 1-2-1 to win with 4 pts.  Second was Lucinda Ho and Sam Phillips racing MOZZIE with a 3-1-4 tally for 8 points.  Third was Bruce Perkins on DELIAWITE with a 5-3-2 score for ten points.  Rounding out the top five were Clark/ Bulmer racing JASMINE to fourth and Pauline Kong sailing FIGURE OF EIGHT to fifth.   For more Royal Hong Kong YC sailing information

  

French Win J/80 WMRT #1

(Marseilles, France)- Damien Iehl and his French Match Racing Team made the perfect start to their World Match Racing Tour season after defeating Bertrand Pace's Aleph Sailing Team in an all French Final at Match Race France in Marseille. Surprised?  Most French sailors in J/80s wouldn't be.  After all, only 107 J/80s recently sailed Spi Ouest-France.  Many French sailors are fast in J/80s.

This was Iehl's second ever victory on the World Match Racing Tour following his win at Match Race Germany in 2008 (also in J/80s) and his early justification for being awarded a Tour Card for the 2011 season. The victory caps a week in which the Frenchman has been in majestic form, firstly by Qualifying in second position, then defeating the 2003 Tour Champion Jesper Radich (DEN) 3-1 in the Semi-Finals and finally Pace in the first all French Final on the Tour since 2007.  Sailing Photo by Nico Martinez/ www.nicomartinez.com.   Sailing Photo Gilles Martin-Raget / Match Race France

  

Challenge Regatta La Trinite- J/80 Sail Training

(La Trinite Sur Mer, France)- An increasingly popular regatta on the French J/80 circuit is the J/80 Trinite Challenge Regatta held each spring.  This year, a record twenty-one boats are participating that include some of the best J/80 teams in France, some famous ones, too!

On Saturday, one might call it a "muscle-training day" as the fleet was met by a southerly 20-25 knot breeze.  Both sailing coaches, Aymeric Belloir and Arnaud Walter proposed a series of sailing exercises on the theme of many practice starts, then throwing in a half dozen short races of 1 or 2 laps. Finally, at the end of the day, a multitude of jibes downwind in the channel for a beautiful finish under spinnaker at the harbor entrance!  It was an enjoyable, if not exhausting, day for the fleet.  A lot was learned and many learned how to plane faster as well as gybe more efficiently.

Sunday's sailing out on the waters off Societe Nautique Trinite were beautiful.  Sunny day with very shifty  4-6 knot westerly winds.  It was a challenging day for the tacticians.  Nevertheless, while some teams managed to stay out of trouble and play the shifts and puffs well, others faltered badly.  Keeping their record clean was Yves Tabarly on DAITEM-ALARME with a 1-1 record (yes, same famous Tabarly family keeping up the tradition of success on the sea).  Second is Ponroy sailing JINGLE with a 2-3, third Mack on GIGO with an 8-2, fourth is Bruno Trouble on COYOTE with a 6-8 taking some fun time-out from his Louis Vuitton America's Cup 34 duties and fifth is Waiter on ARNO SKIPPER sailing to a 12-4.  One more weekend left of racing and training for this tough group of competitors getting ready for the J/80 Worlds in Denmark coming up very soon.   For more J/80 France sailing information.   

Tabares Wins J/80 Match Race Qualifier

Sailing J/80s In Club Canarias Match Race
(Islas Canarias, Spain- Feb 22)- Over the past weekend, a qualifying regatta in J/80s took place at the Real Club Nautico de Arrecife in the Canary Islands to decide the representative of the club in the next Canarios Club Match Race to be held on March 11-13 in Lanzarote.

The four finalists had been racing and practicing quite hard to win the honor of representing the RCNA club in this prestigious match race event.  At the end, one of RCNA's best known J/80 sailors, Rayco Tabares won the event on his J/80 HOTEL PRINCESSA YAIZA. Second was Nete Arms with TGA ADVISERS.  Third was Alfredo Gonzalez with the OKUPA III and Juan Pablo Rompeltien with BODEGAS EL GRIFO ended up fourth.

The mode of competition was under the Round Robin system. In the first round, the HOTEL PRINCESA YAIZA beat OKUPA III. At the second round, TGA ADVISERS defeated BODEGAS EL GRIFO. At the third round, Rayco bdeat Juan Pablo and with two wins climbed the ladder into the final. In the fourth round, Nete defeated Alfredo to also go into the final with two victories.  In the Finals between the Rayco Tabares on HOTEL PRINCESA YAIZA and TG ADVISERS' Nete Arms it was very close in the first race, but with Rayco winning.  The second race of the best of three match clearly went to Rayco Tabares, winning the series 2-0.

The Canaries Match Race event will take place in the capital of Lanzarote, close to the coast, between the zone from the Islet Reef and the harbor, making it even more beautiful and close to the viewer, with ideal condition and winds between 12 and 14 knots.   For more J/80 Spain and Canary Islands sailing information.   

Japan Wins Gold Match-racing J/80s

(Guangzhou, China/ Shanwei Sailing Center- Nov. 20th)- Japan won the Gold Medal in Open Match Racing of Sailing at the 16th Asian Games in co-host city Shanwei. This is a tribute to the long-term focus of the Japanese Sailing Team in the match-racing arena, no doubt helped by the presence of Peter Gilmour and his influence on the Japanese America's Cup programs over time. A surprise Silver Medalist was the Indian team skipper by Balraj Balraj.  Third was Korea getting the bronze led by Sungmin Cho.  Here are the standings for the Asian Games Sailing medalists and their crew:

1. Gold- Japan- OKAMOTO Yasuhiro- skipper, SAKAMOTO Wataru, WADA Daichi, YOSHIFUJI Hiroaki

2. Silver- India- BALRAJ Balraj- skipper, HELEGAONKAR Trunal, SINHA Atool, TARAPORE Farokh Fa, YADAV Shekhar Sing

3. Bronze- Korea- CHO Sungmin- skipper, KIM Sungwok, LEE Dongwoo, NAM Yongjin, PARK Gunwoo

Read more about their in the Sailing section here on the Asia Games 2010 site.   

J/80 BMW Sailing Cup Finals

Germans Compete For Match Race Supremacy In Hamburg
(Hamburg, Germany- Nov. 6-7)- How's this for a headliner- "BMW Yachtsport 2010.  BMW ORACLE Racing wins the America's Cup, while the BMW Sailing Cup, the largest international amateur regatta series, enters its fifth season".  The BMW Sailing Cup has evolved over the past 5 years, according to BMW Yachtsport, into "the biggest amateur sailing event in the world. A sporting challenge, team spirit and joy in sailing are just a few reasons why the BMW Sailing Cup is enjoying increasing popularity.  Six J/80 sailing yachts are made available to amateur crews and each event can take up to 90 sailors in 18 equal strength teams for each regatta on the circuit."  Add in world famous, gorgeous, sexy, Der Spiegel tabloid star and Olympic Gold Medal figure skater Katarina Witt, and you have an amazing feast for the eyes to savor over a few days of sailing on the famous Hamburg harbor.

Before the Germany Final got underway on Friday, Hamburg was visited by several celebrities and professional yachtsmen. After three races, TEAM NORD with Ulrike Schumann, Niko Mittelmeier and Phillip Buhl were able to celebrate their victory over Markus Weiser while stars like ultra-hot ice-skater Katarina Witt were enjoying their first experience out on the un-frozen water. The biggest winners, however, were the children-- 10,000 Euros were raised for the World Childhood Foundation!  That's a cause for celebration and kudos to BMW Yachtsport Team for supporting such an wonderful program!

A noteworthy prelude to this event was Germany's Championship of Champions held the week before, the winner was-  Markus Wieser.  Germany's sailing elite met in Hamburg the previous weekend for the 31st Championship of Champions. Only German, European and world champions in Olympic and international classes are invited to this exclusive and historically unique regatta. European Dragon champion Markus Wieser and his crew of Matti Paschen and Eberhard Magg defeated 35 other teams on Hamburg's Alster to win the Championship of Champions for the first time.

In the finale, which featured the top three teams, the BMW Yachtsport Ambassador (Markus Weiser) and his crew produced two immaculate races to leave the opposition in their wake: second place went to the team skippered by Denmark's Sten Mohr, who was part of the afterguard in the BMW ORACLE Racing team for the 32nd America's Cup and was at the helm of the then Challenger of Record in the semi-final of the Louis Vuitton Cup. German match race champion Stefan Meister came third.

"It is fantastic to win this important regatta for the first time," said Wieser. "We produced the best sailing in difficult conditions and with little wind, and were deserved winners. We won all the starts and always led coming to the first buoy. The fact that our crew is used to sailing in various boat classes, as well as in match and fleet races, really paid off. This versatility was the key to our success."  Despite their good performance in Berlin, Wieser ran into the chainsaw of a top-class field in Hamburg; the most important sailing regatta in the capital region all year.  For more BMW Yachtsport German sailing information      English version of BMW Yachtsport.  

British Crush Americans Sailing J/80s!

(Queen Mary Reservoir, London, England- Oct. 27-31)- Do recall, last weekend was Halloween.  The ghouls, skeletons and goblins were racing around frightening everyone about.  And, Count Dracula was reincarnate as the British team and just sucked the living blood out of those poor Colonialists.  Indeed, the oldest international team racing contest in the world took place this past weekend on Royal Thames YC's London sailing venue at Queen Mary Water in a fleet of 6 evenly matched J/80s jointly owned and managed by Royal Thames Yacht Club and Royal Yacht Squadron (based in Cowes, England).  And, the results were ghoulish, if not plain ugly and deadly for the Americans (Colonialists).

Britain wins for first time since Admiral Nelson's triumph in Trafalgar?  Or, perhaps the 1851 100 Guinea (America's) Cup? Well, not exactly.  1999, to be more precise.  Nevertheless, Andy Cornah and his fellow skippers Ben Field, Mark Lees and Jon Pinner - all members of the Royal Thames Yacht Club team racing squad - reversed more than a century (actually, decade) of American domination in the British-American Cup today with an emphatic performance on Queen Mary Water, West London to take the oldest prize in keelboat team racing by 7 wins to 2.

The British-American Cup, originally donated by the Seawahnaka Corinthian Yacht Club in 1922 as an International Challenge match in Six Metres has been held biennially ever since but was last won by the British in 1999. In 2008 yet another American win brought the Fourth Series of the Cup to an end after 16 matches. Rather than see the competition die Royal Thames challenged the USA to a Fifth series and put up a new British-American Cup. Although the guardians of the contest have always been yacht clubs (in the USA Seawahnaka, in Britain a number of Clubs) the competition is by tradition open, with selection trials held in both countries.

Selection trials for this year's event were held in April and since then Cornah and his team, determined not to preside over yet another British defeat, have practiced together assiduously. Most international team racing is three-on-three over short courses with races lasting about 12 minutes; the BA Cup is unusual in calling for teams of four boats a side, sailed over longer courses and with races lasting 40 minutes.  The tournament allows for up to 13 of such races, spread over three days, with the match going to the first team to win 7 races.

Racing for the First Match of the Fifth Series began on Friday 29th October with four races sailed. The British opened well with a straightforward win, then fought off a determined American challenge to win more narrowly. In the third race all but two of the eight boats racing were over the line at the start but the British were slower to respond to the recall (with Cornah failing to respond at all) leaving the Americans the yachting equivalent of an open goal. The Yanks needed no second bidding. Stung, the British came back strongly to lead after Day 1 by three races to one.

Day 2 saw more close racing and the signs of an American resurgence (bloody Colonialists are sure hard to beat down, eh?).  They narrowly lost the first two races, then in the third managed by excellent and aggressive team racing to turn what looked at mark two to be a solid and unbreakable British 1-2-3 combination into an American 1-2-3 win.  In race four although Cornah for Britain led the race America held a solid 2-3-4-5 position at every mark until the last one. The 14 points thus scored would have been enough to give America their third win - but at that final tuning mark Cornah turned-in a true 'Captain's Innings' blocking and slowing all four US boats to allow his team mates to catch-up, re-engage and eventually convert their losing 1-6-7-8 placings into a winning 1-2-3-7.

This is a competition that has often seen the British start well then fade while the Americans dig deep, find new resolve and shift up a gear to pull the fat from the fire - it happened in 2008 in the USA, in 2007 and in 2003 in UK waters - so no British supporters risked so much as a smile as the boats lined up for the first race of a possible five today.  No one smiled when the Brits went round mark one in positions 1-2-3-7 (13 points) with the Americans 4-5-6-8 (23 points - lowest score wins). No one smiled when the Brits held that 1-2-3 while Ben Field, in the 7th-place British boat, ran such effective interference on the American boats that the gap between them and the leaders widened further. No one smiled as the Brits rounded the final mark still 1-2-3 - the order in which, at last, they crossed the finish line.  Then everyone smiled.  Well, everyone British, that is.  Good on ya mates!  Job well done!  Time for the Colonialist upstarts to head for home and lick their wounds, no tea party for them this time around.  Completel British American Cup sailing report.   British American Sailing Photo Credits- Ingrid Abery

  

IBerdrola J/80 Cup

(Palma Mallorca, Spain- Sept 17-18)- Sponsored by Iberdrola and the Hotel Association of Cala Millor, there were two amazing, incredible, wonderful days of racing in the match racing format sailing aboard J/80s off Palma.  The two finalists- HOTEL EDEN and MOYA HORRACH-The Art Gallery- had an fantastic fight with many lead changes over the course of eight races.  At the end of this titanic struggle for alien supremacy in the Iberdrola J/80 Cup, it was Team MOYA HORRACH-The Art Gallery winning by 6 to 2 over HOTEL EDEN.

Thanks to the organizers for their efforts, making available to the press and guests a catamaran where snacks and beverages were provided for all while enjoying the races. As well, hotel rooms for participants in the beautiful port of Cala Bona were also provided FOR FREE (yes, it's not a misprint).  Gee, sounds like a tough life-- qualify to race the Iberdrola J/80 Cup, get wined and dined, get given J/80s to match race, sail in a gorgeous port off Palma, stay in a hotel for FREE?  Hmmm.  Sounds like it's time to get a J/80 and do some real sailing.  Without a doubt, the amigos in Espana are having a fun time sailing J/80s, at some point the rest of the world will catch on.  Great mix of guys and girls on their boats, perhaps that's the secret. :)  For more Iberdrola J/80 Cup sailing in Spain.
  

Cherry Picks RYA Match Race Hat Trick

(Queen Mary Reservoir, London, England- Oct. 22-24)- Racing in a matched fleet of J/80s, Nick Cherry picked up a third Royal Yachting Association National Match Racing title, scooping victory in a thrilling final showdown.

It went right down to the wire with a maximum five race final but it was two-time National title holder Nick Cherry (2007,2006) who finally walked away victorious this past weekend, walking off with the coveted crown for a third time at the 2010 RYA National Match Racing Championship Grand Final held at Queen Mary Sailing Club, Staines (about 15 minutes southwest of Heathrow Airport).  Nick had to overcome double defending champion Mark Campbell-James (2009, 2008, 2005), who was also looking likely to rack up a three straight wins hat-trick this year sailing with his newly crowned Extreme 40 Series Champion brother Paul.  Cherry kept his nerve right up until the last possible race clinching the 2010 title in the "thrilla from Manila" final "rope-a-dope" race.    

Entering the quarter finals on Saturday in pole position with a 100% unbeaten record Campbell-James retained his perfect score right up until the third race of the finals. But it didn’t take long for Cherry, who suffered defeats to Sam Pearson and Campbell-James early on in the round-robin phase, to find his winning pace. The Southampton based sailor stepped it up a gear and cruised through the quarter and semi-finals having not dropped a race, boosting his team’s confidence ready for the trophy deciding duel.

It was Campbell-James who took the first two wins looking to have all but sealed the crown. However race three saw a come-back from Cherry who edged ahead and forced the result to a fourth contest. Holding his nerve in impressive style Cherry and his crew, Matt Adams, Ed Hill and Connor Myant, pushed through with another win, this time more convincing, profiting from a lucky split on the start line enabling him to stretch out ahead.

With two wins a piece tensions were running high between the old rivals as they went into the fifth and final clash. Neck-and-neck right up to the second windward mark, the race could have gone either way. But pushing in front after a head-to-wind luffing match, Cherry rounded the mark first sealing the deal and crossing the line ahead of his opponent to swipe the title in an enthralling climax to the event.

A chuffed Cherry commented: "It feels really good to win again. When we were two races down we just said to each other we knew we could do it and we’re sailing pretty well. We didn’t get too down and just carried on and got stuck in! I think we got in tune with the shifts and started to sail the race course more effectively than our opponents and it came together for us. There was plenty of overtaking, hanging around head-to-wind at the windward mark and there was lead changing in almost every race. We’ve raced Mark a lot over the years and it’s always close. It’s what we know so we knew if we could just hold it together there was every chance we could win. We really enjoyed it!" he concluded.

A disappointed Campbell-James was eager to sing his opponent's praises: "It was good racing out there – we're a bit gutted but we were unbeaten until the last three races and those were the three that counted. Nick sailed well and we had a good fight on pretty much every race of the final."  With half his crew hailing from the same town as Cherry he joked: "My crew Paul and Nick are a bit upset about the Southampton rivalry but they’re good mates and they’ll get over it!"

The petit final saw Women’s World Match Racing Champions Lucy Macgregor and Annie Lush, plus crew, beat higher ISAF ranked skipper Ali Hall in three straight wins ensuring a well-deserved podium spot for this week’s Busan Women's International Match Race, (Korea) bound team.  The girls were a potent force in this year's event.  Even Campbell-James was treating them with the upmost respect and awe, stating that, "I think the girls are going to be on form – they’ve obviously been sailing well all year and they are World Champions. The interesting thing will be how much the level has moved on since last year with the girls having done so much and how the guys are going to fair against them. It’ll be interesting to see who comes out on top."

Racing was tight across all ten teams sailing at the Grand Final, and youngest competing skipper, James French, made a great event debut beating World University Match Racing Champion Andrew Shaw in one of his races.      

Long standing Umpire, Chris Simon, joined Cherry in taking home an accolade from the weekend picking up the Paul Banner trophy for his sportsmanship and outstanding contribution to International Umpiring; the event marking his retirement from his international role.  Final results and sailing information for J/80 RYA Match Racing.   Preview of the J/80 RYA Match Race sailing event.