Croatia's ACI Cup to showcase top Match Race skippers

by Shawn McBride on 14 May 2001 The Official E-Newsletter of the Swedish Match Grand Prix Sailing Tour

Be sure to visit the official Web site of the Swedish Match Grand Prix Sailing Tour www.swedishmatchgp.com, hosted by Sports.com, for all the latest
news and information as well as official Tour merchandise from Line 7.


Nine skippers representing seven countries and five America's Cup syndicates will take to the waters off the coast of Spilt, Croatia, for the ACI Cup
2001, the sixth event of the Swedish Match Grand Prix Sailing Tour.

Sweden's Magnus Holmberg of Team StoraEnso and the Swedish Victory Challenge headlines the list of skippers. With three events remaining
Holmberg is also leading the Swedish Match Tour with 80 points.

Joining Holmberg off the coast of Dalmatia is Team New Zealand's Bertrand Pace. Pace is Holmberg's closest challenger for the overall
championship crown with 49 championship points entering the regatta. Pace, champion of the inaugural Swedish Match Tour, showed he is on top of
his game in 2001, winning the recent Steinlager Line 7 Cup in Auckland, NZ, in March. A strong showing in Split by Pace will add significant pressure
to Holmberg with only two events remaining on the Tour.

Other skippers lining up in Split include Gavin Brady of the Prada Challenge who has sailed extremely well at the last two events on the Swedish
Match Tour. Brady was a runner-up at both the Steinlager Line 7 Cup and the Sun Microsystems Australia Cup, finishing second to Pace in
Auckland and Peter Gilmour of Team Pizza La and the One World Challenge in Perth. Andy Green of the GBR Challenge and Chris Dickson of the
Oracle Racing Team are two additional America's Cuppers competing in Split. Danes Jesper Radich and Jes Gram-Hansen, regulars on the Tour,
will also be skippering entries. Rounding out the list of competitors is Italian Paolo Cian of Mascalzone Latino and the Croatian National Match
Racing Champion.

SPLIT'S SAILING HISTORY

It is fitting that the 6th stop on the Swedish Match Grand Prix Sailing Tour, the ACI Cup of Croatia, takes place in the lively port town of Split,
Croatia. Remarkably, it was in Split, over 200 years ago, that the first recorded sporting event in Croatian history occurred. Even more, the event
was a sailing race.

In 1764, two fishing boats representing the cities of Split and Makaraka raced from an islet near Milna, on the island of Brac, to the Split harbor.
Beginning with that first event, sailing and sports have become a major part of life in Croatia. Dalmatia is well known throughout the sailing world for
its rich sailing traditions and skilled Croatian sailors. While only the size of West Virginia, Croatia has also produced such sports stars as
basketball’s Tony Kukoc and tennis’ Goran Ivanisavic.

The leading nautical tourism company in Croatia, and the host of the ACI Cup is the Adriatic Croatia International (ACI) Club. Founded in 1983, the
ACI Club is a unique chain of 21 marinas in the Mediterranean, providing quality service to meet the specific needs of each yachtsman. The ACI has
also helped promote sailing as the national sport of Croatia.

To read this article in its entirety log on to www.swedishmatchgp.com

WORLD CLASS FLEET SETS SAIL FOR 2001 MATCH RACE LAKE CONSTANCE

A world class fleet has set sail for the 2001 Match Race Lake Constance (MRLC) in Langenargen at Lake Constance in the south of Germany. This
one and only German grade one event represents the seventh stopover of the Swedish Match Grand Prix Sailing Tour and will be presented by
Volvo. Twelve skippers representing nine countries and six America´s Cup campaigns will compete for a total prize purse of USD100,000 including a
brand new Volvo V40.


The starter´s list in Germany includes the 1996 ISAF Yachtsman of the year and three time Olympic champion Jochen Schümann, representing
Ernesto Bertarelli´s Swiss America´s Cup campaign as well as the current leader of the Swedish Match Tour Magnus Holmberg (Sweden) of Team
StoraEnso and the Swedish Victory Challenge. Other prominent matchracers such as Luc Pillot from France, Chris Dickson (representing the US
America´s Cup Challenge Oracle Racing Team) and the two young Danish top ten skippers Jesper Radich Johanesen and Jes Gram Hansen will
make this event very difficult to win for any of the competitors.

A FRESHWATER SAILING PARADISE

You close your eyes and picture a captivating European village filled with vibrant fruit and hop gardens, ancient castles, green meadows and
snow-capped mountains. Feeling a crisp summer breeze from the crystalline lake, you open your eyes to wind-filled sails darting across the water.

Sitting on the shorelines of Lake Constance in Southern Germany, your daydream is a reality as you watch sailboats race along the promenade, all
competing to win the Swedish Match Grand Prix Sailing Tour’s 7th event, Match Race Lake Constance. Now in its fourth year, the regatta takes
place on Lake Constance in the quaint town of Langenargen, Germany, May 31-June 4.

Lake Constance lies at the heart of the German, Austrian and Swiss borders. Measuring 40 miles in length, 8.5 miles in width and covering a total
220 square miles, it’s central Europe’s second largest freshwater lake. With lake conditions that change frequently, Lake Constance is known for
exciting, and often unpredictable, sailing.

Langenargen, located on the southern shores of Lake Constance, sets the scene for the top-notch sailing event. With a Mediterranean-like climate,
spectators can enjoy the warm weather on the harbour promenade well into the evenings, overlooking the amazing backdrop of the Swiss Alps to the
south and Germany’s rolling hills to the north.

To read the complete article log on to www.swedishmatchgp.com.

POINTS RACE HEATS UP

Sweden's Magnus Holmberg (80 points), sailing for Team StoraEnso and skipper of the Swedish Victory Challenge for the 2003 America's Cup, used consecutive
fourth place finishes at the Steinlager Line 7 Cup, in Auckland, NZ, and the Sun Microsystems Australia Cup, in Perth, Australia, to increase his overall lead in the
Swedish Match Tour Championship standings with three events remaining. Holmberg picked up 12 Swedish Match Tour championship points at each of the
regattas and now holds a 31 point lead over Bertrand Pace of Team New Zealand (49 points), defending champion of the Swedish Match Tour.

Holmberg will be competing at both the upcoming ACI Cup 2001 and Match Race Lake Constance presented by Volvo in his quest to win the Swedish Match
Tour championship.

Swedish Match Tour Championship

Leaderboard

1.Magnus Holmberg (SWE) 80
2.Bertrand Pace (NZ) 49
3.Peter Gilmour (USA) 45
4.Gavin Brady (ITA) 40
5.Ed Baird (USA) 36
6.Chris Dickson (USA) 34
7.Sten Mohr (DEN) 32
8.Peter Holmberg (USA) 27

NEXT ISSUE

The June issue of 'Match That' will feature wrap ups of the ACI Cup 2001 and Match Race Lake Constance and a look ahead to the Swedish Match Cup and the
Tour Championship finale.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO CONTRIBUTE…

Information to 'Match That' please e-mail Shawn McBride at shawn.mcbride@octagon.com.

'Match That' is the official e-newsletter publication of the Swedish Match Grand Prix Sailing Tour. 'Match That' is published monthly. For
up-to-date news and information from the Swedish Match Grand Prix Sailing Tour visit www.swedishmatchgp.com