World Match racing Tour, Fremantle - Williams unstoppable

by Guy Nowell, Sail-World.com on 8 Mar 2016 Any thoughts that Ian Williams, six times World Match Racing Champion, might not be able to make the switch from monohulls to fast cats were stifled yesterday when he romped through the match racing knockout rounds with only one loss in 13 races.

In the ‘16’ round he beat Sam Gilmour 3-1; in the Quarter Finals it was Mattias Rahm, 3-0; in the Semis he took out Nicolai Sehested 3-0; and wrapped it all up with a 3-0 win over Hans Wallén in the Final.

Apart from the small blot on the copybook inflicted by Sam Gilmour, “it was a good run,” said Williams. Did he expect to win the event? “Quite honestly, no,” he said on the morning of the Finals. “We didn’t expect to get this far.” Williams says that he doesn’t regret the switch from monohulls to cats, or indeed the fact that now all the WMRT will be run in the superlight, superfast M32, instead of in a variety of different boats.

“A boat is still a boat. What’s more important is the crew and the tactical calls. The M32 is exciting to watch, and fun to sail, but is still the same boat as everyone else is using, so it has to be the crew that counts. It’s an extremely simple boat (mainsheet, traveller, furling line, gennaker sheet. No jib) so it is easy to grasp, but harder to perfect.” Williams was quick to compliment his crew: Mark Bulkeley, Garth Ellingham and Brad Farrand.

“There’s always a lot of focus on the skipper, but this really is a team sport. It’s pretty obvious which way to point a fast boat like an M32 so my job is relatively easy, it’s what the guys do in front of me that really counts.”

It was noticeable that the standard of sailing improved across the entire fleet during the six-day regatta. Asked if the crew of five days ago could have won the final, Williams said, “No chance. We’re so much better than we were, and of course we’re going to need to keep on improving throughout this year. We can’t afford to stand still.”

Hans Wallén was philosophical about losing to Williams in straight races. “We are happy, but maybe a little frustrated that we couldn’t make more of a fight. In the light breeze there is always a chance of a puff or a shift that can help you. In the strong breeze something can go wrong – on either boat! But in these moderate conditions and stable wind direction there were very few passing lanes,” said the Swede.

Williams had a couple of lucky breaks along the road to the final – in the semi-final matches Nicolai Sehested was penalised for an OCS, penalised himself with an unintentional gennaker unfurl, and worst of all – when on a way to a handsome victory in the third match – capsized after a gybe at the leeward gate with the boards in the wrong up/down combination. “We gave Ian two of those races on a plate. But overall we’re pleased with how we sailed this week. We’re new team, we’re fast, and we’ll come back strong for the next event.

Having explained to Thursday’s press conference at some length that he was the best sailor at the event and therefore the one to beat, Taylor Canfield never made it past the Quarter Finals, going down 3-1 to Nicolai Sehested. At the end of the 2015-2016 WMRT season, Canfield was pipped at the post for the WMRT Championship title.

Concerning the move to M32 catamarans, “Bring it on,” he said, presumably fancying his chances when the Tour moves away from them slow ole monohulls. Well, the top three finishers were definitely more Old Guard than Young Wharfies, so make of it what you will.

So, what do we make of this new-look World Match Racing Tour? The last week has packed in fleet racing, a slice of Pro-Am/sponsors/corporate action (call it what you will) and a full-blooded match racing knockout series. Those who predicted one runaway win after another have been proved substantially wrong. Finishing margins in the match racing were commonly metres rather than legs, and when the Fremantle Doctor was either ‘in’ or had not called at all, there were plenty of passing lanes on what turned out to be a really very feisty racetrack. When the Doctor was standing on the doorstep, it wasn’t quite so easy.

On the boardwalk, it all went down very well. The mixture of fleet and match racing was approved. The cats got the vote of the Man on the Beach. One TP52 owner who races regularly in Asia is proposing to charter his boat and plough the cash back into some M32 charters at the end of next year.

Inevitably, it’s a different style of match racing. The intense four-minute dog-fight is gone, and the reaching start puts a premium on hitting the line at speed and (preferably) in the leeward berth. Winning the first mark is good, but it’s not everything. Tacking is slow in a cat without a jib, so a one-tack strategy on the beat is going to be favoured. Bang the corner, every time, but there’s another skill to develop – how far out can you read the layline?

Even that is not a 100% winner – in Ian Williams’s semifinal against Matthias Rahm, and with Rahm comfortably in the lead, Williams tacked half way up the beat, tacked again, and crossed Rahm on port and comfortably.

To a certain point, this is experimental stuff. The rules are changing, and will continue to change in response to input from Umpires, competitors and Race Management. Touching a mark no longer call for a penalty. You don’t go back for an OCS (you slow down and round the first mark in last place). A mandatory two-tack beat has been suggested, and there’s more.

Håkan Svensson, owner of M32 builders Aston Harald who are the title sponsors of the World Match Race Tour, is a sailor himself. He sails an M32, and is very happy to put his money where his mouth is. Does that sound like a recipe for success? It does to me.

Standing by on 72.

WMRT Fremantle 2016 - Final Results

1. Ian Williams (GBR) GAC Pindar $US 33,000
2. Hans Wallén (SWE) Wallén Racing $US 23,000
3. Yann Guichard (FRA) Spindrift Racing $US 18,000
4. Nicolai Sehested (DEN) Trefor Match Racing $US 18,000
5. Matt Jerwood (AUS) Redline Racing $US 12,000
6. Murray Jones (AUS) Full Bants Racing $US 12,000
7. Taylor Canfield (ISV) US One $US 12,000
8. Mattias Rahm (SWE) Rahm Racing $US 12,000
9. Phil Robertson (NZL) Waka Racing $US 5,000
10. Evan Walker (AUS) KA Match/ CYCA $US 5,000
11. Steven Thomas (AUS) Royal Perth YC $US 5,000
12. Keith Swinton (AUS) Black Swan Racing $US 5,000
13. Eric Monnin (SUI) Albert Riele Swiss Team $US 5,000
14. Sam Gilmour (AUS) Neptune Racing $US 5,000
15. Chris Steele (NZL) 36 Below Racing $US 5,000
16. Nicklas Dackhammar (SWE) Dackhammer Racing $US 5,000
17. Sally Barkow (USA) Team Magenta 32 $US 5,000
18. Brett Burvill (AUS) Edge Racing Team NYC $US 5,000
19. Joachim Aschenbrenner (DEN) Royal Danish YC $US 5,000
20. Mark Whittington (AUS) South of Perth YC $US 5,000