Spithill and Brady show early match form

by Sean McNeill on 5 May 2005 Pre-regatta consensus among the 70 sailors competing in the Toscana Elba Cup, Stage 5 of the 2004-’05 Swedish Match Tour, was that there wouldn’t be any easy outs.

The 14-team field is stacked with America’s Cup champions, Olympic medalists and world champions from all forms of sailing, from ice-boating through the Olympics to the America’s Cup. But it was the established match-racers who had difficulty in the opening flights.

Skippers such as Swedish Match Tour leader Ed Baird (USA), of Team Alinghi, and three-time America’s Cup winner Russell Coutts (NZL), of Coutts Racing, are 1-2. Past Swedish Match Tour champion Peter Holmberg (ISV), of Team Alinghi, is 0-3.

At the top of the fleet, James Spithill (AUS), of Luna Rossa Challenge, in Group A and Gavin Brady (NZL), of BMW Oracle Racing, in Group B both won all three of their matches and lead their respective groups.

‘It’s tough match-racing in light winds, it’s not always exciting’ said Brady, a helmsman for BMW Oracle Racing. ‘This event has a good format. There’s enough racing scheduled to get the job done and move to the quarterfinals, but if you don’t get it done, there’s another chance in the repecharge round.’

Brady’s Group B fought not only each other, but also lighter winds than Group A did in the morning. While the wind averaged around 8 knots for Group A’s four flights, Group B contended with winds lighter than 5 knots for much of the afternoon. Throughout the day the wind was from an easterly direction, blowing into the Bay of Porto Azzurro.

The conditions were ripe for upsets, and there were plenty. Coutts, a Finn gold medalist in 1984, lost matches to Iain Percy (GBR), of +39 Challenge and a Finn gold medalist in 2000, as well as Ian Ainslie (GBR), of Team Shosholoza, himself a two-time Olympian in the Finn class.

In Group A, Ben Ainslie (GBR), of Emirates Team New Zealand and a double Olympic gold medalist (Laser in 2000, Finn in 2004), left the day with a 2-2 mark in his first Swedish Match Tour event since 2001.

‘We made a few key mistakes in the ones we lost,’ said Ben Ainslie, ‘but it was nice to bounce back and win after the losses.’

Ben Ainslie said the key was the pre-starts. In the two losses he got stuffed in the pre-start. But he also won his final match of the day against Baird by stuffing him in the pre-start.

Ainslie earned a penalty against Baird when the American tacked too close in the final moments of the four-minute sequence.

‘From our boat it didn’t look too close,’ said Baird. ‘But from the umpires’ boat, which is following behind, it might’ve looked too close.’

Holmberg surprised everyone by going 0-3 to be the only winless skipper after the first day. Holmberg, one of the craftiest skippers on the Tour, said he could’ve done better all around.

‘We’re not putting our plan together,’ said Holmberg. ‘The other guy is getting the first shift off the line. We got what we wanted, but it wasn’t the right thing. Our starts were just OK; they could be better. It was tough to pass.’

While there were few passing opportunities in the early racing, the afternoon action saw many passes, mainly due to the light and streaky easterly. Thierry Peponnet (FRA), of the K-Challenge, dropped his match to Coutts on the first run after leading around the first windward mark.

‘It’s a shame, we could’ve had one there,’ said Peponnet. ‘(Coutts) got a puff on his side of the course that we never saw.’

Peponnet had one of those go his way when he beat Karol Jablonski (POL), of Desafio Español, after trailing at the first three mark roundings. Peponnet closed up on Jablonski from behind, and then beat him in a jibe to starboard to on the run to the finish.

While Coutts won that match against Peponnet, he lost his match against Ian Ainslie on the run to the finish. Coutts led Ainslie around the first lap of the two-lap windward-leeward racecourse, but lost the lead when Ainslie’s crew beat Coutts’ in a jibe to starboard. Ainslie then rolled over the top of the all-time America’s Cup-winning skipper.

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 flight-by-flight results, information on the Toscana Elba Cup and Swedish Match Tour, and a link to the Tour’s broadband TV channel, please visit the official Tour Web site: www.SwedishMatchTour.com.