Berlin Match Race - Victory to Mathieu Richard in 21st edition

by Anne Stadtfeld on 5 Nov 2013 The winner of the 21st Berlin Match Race has been decided after an intense final between Mathieu Richard (FRA) and Eric Monnin (SUI), in which the French team kept their heads cool. In the small final Staffan Lindberg (FIN) and Felix Oehme (GER) fought for the third ranking place. Finnland won 2:0 against Germany, with that Oehme misses the step needed to go on the stage and places himself on the fourth position. The positions five to ten were already decided yesterday. Over all there were 72 matches to watch for the visitors on the spectator vessel close to the regatta.

The vessel 'Spreediamant' left the harbour daily at 10 am. For the sailors the ISAF Grade 2 event was an opportunity to earn points for the world ranking list and also the popular Berlin Match Race trophy. The Berlin Match Race is the oldest Match Race event in Germany.

Smooth- that’s how you could describe Mathieu Richard’s last day in the race. In eight races he and his team of Olivier Herledant and Francois Verdier only made two mistakes: in the Semi-finals against Oehme and in the final against Monnin, who sailed with his crew Simon Brügger and Julien Flaxa. However He won both races: the semi-finals and the grand finals (3:1). All races were sailed in the B/one class boats. 'We are so happy, that we were able to overpower the competitors and made the lead. We tried to dominate all of the starting’s and we managed to do so' stated Richard, who already sailed ten years ago in the Berlin Match Race and were placed on the second ranking place.

Staffan Lindberg and his team: Markus Rönnberg and Emil Nordlund, who missed his qualification for the grand final by seconds, sailed against the Oehme. Around-the-world-sailor against the Oldie in match racing. In the small final Lindberg won 2:0. 'It looked as if the result was obvious- but Lindberg is a really strong downwind sailor. In the semi-finals against Richard we learned a lot. The French ream was simply a better starter- out of our league. But we congratulate them for their victory!' states Felix Oehme. Not even the good luck wishing of the circa 100 person audience helped them in that case. Lindberg, whose sailing in the Berlin Match Race for the seventh time, saved himself the third place and put Oehme with his team of Felix von Meyerinck and Florian Weser on the fourth ranking position.

Already in the Semi-finals ended the luck fot Felix Oehme- he clearly lost against the later Race-winner Richard with 1:3. Too many penalty manoeuvres and the French’s huge Luck in the bumpy wind situations made the decision for him. The Semi-final between Monnin and Lindberg turned out to be a really long and intense race. After Lindberg took the lead with 1:0, Monnin made it equal with a simple 1:1 and then even took the lead with 2:1. But then it was Finland’s time to take the lead with 2:2. The last race Monnin then took the definite victory.

The other results for the fifth to tenth place are as followed:

5. Nicolai Sehested (DEN)
6. Keith Swinton (AUS)
7. Przemyslaw Tarnacki (POL)
8. Philip Bendon (IRL)
9. Joachim Aschenbrenner (DEN)
10. Mark Lees (GBR)

'It’s simple: A great event with great sailors, intense races and perfect manoeuvres. We saw every great moment of this Match Race- boat versus boat' says the vice chairman of the VSaW, Ulrike Schürmann. She commented the race herself with Nils Kaben from the spectator vessel.

Race officer Mark Bayer states: 'Around lunch time the sun came out of the clouds and brought a bit of wind with her. We had ten to fourteen knots. My team worked perfectly well: we started 72 matches! A great Event website