Match Race Germany - Team Alpari FX 2nd in Langenargen

by Team Alpari FX on 11 Jun 2014 At Match Race Germany 2014, Team Alpari FX finished second in Langenargen. Following a promising opening round we progressed to the quarterfinals, dispatching current world champion Taylor Canfield 2-0. In the semi-final we continued our good form defeating Phil Robertson 2-0, in light and variable conditions on the final day of racing. Progressing to the final the conditions only allowed for a single race and unfortunately our opponent Ian Williams got the better of us to take the title. The team is very happy with the result and the standard we have set in the opening regatta!

Arriving in Langanargen it was obvious we were in for a week of light air sailing. Lake Constance is renowned for its light breezes and with a big high-pressure system bringing warm temperatures the week was no different. We began the regatta with confidence after two days of training in some good conditions, winning races against Taylor Canfield, David Gilmour and Nicolai Sehested.

As the regatta progressed it was obvious it would be a war of attrition. Long days on the water waiting for wind and even a 5.30am start to try and get through the program. Fortunately the race committee kept things rolling and by day three we had completed the round robin. Our scorecard read six wins five losses, it could have been much better but we lost our last three races to Ian Williams, Phil Robertson and Mathieu Richard in some very close matches. Despite the losses we managed to get some real positives out of these races and learnt a couple of new tricks in the heavy boats.

The afternoon of day four provided some of the better conditions we had all week, allowing the quarterfinals to get underway. We were up against Taylor Canfield, a good challenge for us against the reigning world champions and a team we haven’t performed our best against recently. On this occasion we hit our straps and defeated Canfield 2-0. The key points coming in both starts, where winning the right hand side of the course proved the difference. With both boats using spinnakers for extra speed in the pre-start we out positioned the American team in both starts something we had worked hard on in previous races.

Ian Williams had the pick of semi-final opponent and he went with Mathieu Richard and his LunaJets team, leaving us to race kiwi Phil Robertson. We had a good handle on the conditions and continued on as against Canfield defeating Robertson in the final race of the day. We were up early again to try and finish off the semi-final but the breeze would not co-operate. After a long wait they managed to get back into the semi-final. Despite being 1-0 up, a win for Robertson would potentially put him into the final because of his higher position in the round robin if we ended 1-1. Fortunately we made the right moves picking the better lay line into the top mark, giving us some breathing space to sail the fastest way around the remainder of the course. 2-0 to us and into the final against Ian Williams!

As the deadline for the last start of the day neared we went into what would be a single race final against last year’s Match Race Germany winner. We did a nice job early escaping from the port entry and turning back to the start line at a nice time for us. Williams did a nice job of judging his timing and made it a little hard for us to get back to the line exactly where we wanted. Both boats ended up on the line early with us to windward but in a marginal position. Unfortunately we didn’t have enough space to get onto port tack and get a speed build off the line and ultimately ended up resting against the start boat. After a quick fend off we were on our way but with a penalty and a deficit to chase. There weren’t many passing lanes of the course, but we still managed to eat into Williams lead and by the finish were only half a length behind but not close enough to influence the race. Upon crossing the line Williams was informed it would be the final race of the day as we had reached the final day time limit. It was frustrating not to be given another chance to race but a fair result given Williams dominance during the round robin.

We are happy with the result, a good beginning to the year especially in one of our weaker events. We have some improvements to make which is a good feeling and will begin this week when we sail the Royal Southern Match Race in Hamble, U.K. Next stop on the Alpari Tour is Stena Match Cup Sweden in just over two weeks! Thanks for the support!