Great start to Match Race Germany

by Sean McNeill on 13 May 2005 In glorious conditions today on Lake Constance in south-west 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.

Winds ranged from the south-west to the north-east, varying in strength between 5 and 12 knots with abundant sunshine for the 12 crews competing in the event.

At a great venue, with stunning views of the Swiss and Austrian Alps that tower over the lake, Group A began the day with three flights. Group B completed also completed their 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.

The race got underway with Bank taking the left side of the racecourse and Baird the right. When they tacked to converge in the centre 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 to easily cross Baird. Although Baird kept the match close, he could not 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.