Swedish Match- America's Cup comes to St Moritz

by Swedish Match + Richard Gladwell on 17 Aug 2005 This week, the venue for the 2005 Optimist World Championships become the arena for many of the top professional sailors from the America’s Cup circuit who will compete on the alpine lake of St. Moritz, Engadin, Switzerland.

Five America’s Cup teams set to do battle at the 3rd ISAF Grade 1 St. Moritz Match Race from the 16-21 August.

They will all be up against the number one sailor in the ISAF World Match Race Rankings Peter Gilmour (AUS), who looks set to renew his rivalry with World number two and ISAF Match Racing World Champion, Ed Baird (USA).

Also at short odds will be USA’s Mark Mendelblatt who won in Switzerland last year, and who in fcat has won all three Swedish Match events sailed in St Moritz. Crewing for Mendleblatt will be a couple of Kiwis, Dan Slater and Ed Smythe.

Slater was the 2000 NZ Olympic representative in the 49er class, and also finished fourth in this year’s World Int 14 Championships sailed off Takapuna. He will be making the transition back to trapezing after hiking his Finn last week to a second place in the European Finn Championships. Slater will also be making a welcome return to a five star hotel room and a comfortable bed in St Moritz, after sleeping for the past week or so in his boat trailer at the European Finn Championships in Sweden.

Mendelblatt’s other crewman will be Ed Smythe – a former 49er World Champion and 18ft skiff crew, who is a long time sailing compatriot of Slater’s. Smythe sailed with Mendelblatt in last year's event.

The lineup for the St Moritz event also includes number three in the Rankings, Mathieu Richard (FRA) and the winner of the ISAF Grade 1 Internationaux de France de Match Racing, Ian Williams (GBR).

Two teams of the Swiss America’s Cup Defender Alinghi and one team each of the challengers Emirates Team New Zealand, BMW Oracle Racing (USA) and K-Challenge (FRA) will compete on lake St. Moritz with the world’s best match racers. 'Here in St. Moritz, sailing fans can watch match racing on highest level and this from very close,' said Race Officer Christian Scherrer.

Apart from back to back winner of the ISAF Match Racing World Championship BAIRD, Alinghi is also sending ISAF Grade 1 PTPortugal Match Cup winner and last year's St. Moritz runner up Peter Holmberg (ISV) – both of them candidates for the spot as a helmsmen on Alinghi for the America’s Cup 2007.

Other big names in St. Moritz are those of Gilmour and Ben Ainslie (GBR). The Australian, who has participated five times at the America’s Cup, has had a fantastic year so far winning three ISAF Grade 1 events and finishing in the top three in all five he has entered.

The 28-year old Ainslie, one generation younger than Baird, Holmberg or Gilmour, holds two Olympic gold medals and recently won the ISAF Grade C1 Finn European Championship to add to the Olympic and World crowns he already held in the Finn. The Europeans aside, since his last Olympic victory, Ainslie has been concentrating on match racing and this seems to be paying off. In Portugal he registered his best result to date, getting to the final of the PTPortugal Match Cup, before the experience of Holmberg eventually overcame him.

'It’s a tough competition here in St. Moritz,' says Alinghi helmsman Baird. 'Naturally we want to win, but we have to be realistic. We are not used to sailing in the mountains and with these boats. But we are very motivated.'

Like last year, the St. Moritz Match Race will be sailed on Streamlines – an open three man keelboat, with two of the crew on trapeze wires.

St. Moritz Match Race Entrants
(America’s Cup team - ISAF World Match Race Ranking)

Peter Gilmour (AUS) – 1
Ed Baird (USA), Alinghi (SUI) – 2
Mathieu Richard (FRA) – 3
Sébastien Col (FRA), K-Challenge (FRA) – 7
Ian Williams (GBR) – 9
Staffan Lindberg (FIN) - 11
Eric MonniN (SUI) – 23
Peter Holmberg (ISV), Alinghi (SUI) – 62
Ben Ainslie (GBR), Emirates Team New Zealand – 91
Mark Mendelblatt (USA) – 189
Marcel Walser (SUI) – 332
Mark Bradford (AUS), BMW Oracle Racing (USA) – Not Ranked