British sailor holds tiebreak against Gilmour

by Sean McNeill on 13 Jul 2006 On the strength of an unbeaten day, Ian Williams has moved into the lead at the Locman Cup – Elba Island, the eighth and final stage of the 2005-’06 World Match Racing Tour season.

Williams (GBR), skipper of Williams Sail Racing, went 4-0 on the day to run his record to 7-1. He’s tied with Peter Gilmour (AUS), PST, on wins, but gained the tiebreak advantage when he beat Gilmour head-to-head in the next-to-last flight of the first round.

Cameron Dunn (NZL), Mascalzone Latino – Capitalia Team, is third at 5-3, followed by Staffan Lindberg (FIN), Alandia Sailing Team, at 4.5-3. Lindberg would be tied with Dunn but the Finn was penalized a half point yesterday for failing to avoid contact.

For Williams, his spot at the top of the leaderboard is unfamiliar territory after taking up match-racing full time last year.

'It feels like we’ve been improving all year,' said Williams. 'It feels like it’s coming together. I have the same crew as in Germany and that’s important.'

Williams placed third last month at Match Race Germany after faltering in the semifinal round. He lost that round to Gilmour, but exacted a bit of revenge today when he beat Gilmour handily.

Williams won the first cross, riding starboard across Gilmour’s bow. He led by about one boatlength at the windward mark, and then extended over the next three legs for the win.

'We had some faults and addressed them after that semifinal round,' said Williams. 'It was about the way we prepare for races. You get the preparation right and feel a little more settled in the races. There’s a little less to worry about and you feel more on top of your game.'

The day started slowly, with racing not getting underway until after 2:00 pm. Principal Race Officer Peter Reggio postponed this morning rather than racing in the light easterly winds that frustrated competitors yesterday. He decided to wait for the afternoon seabreeze to fill, and it was a good decision.

When the wind filled from the west it was between 12 and 15 knots. By the end of the day, around 6:00 pm, it was blowing 15 to 18 knots with gusts up to 20 knots.

The Williams-Gilmour match wasn’t the highlight of the day. The best match featured Williams against Dunn, two young match-racers who have been steadily improving from regatta to regatta. Sailed in the blustery wind, it was a doozy, with a couple of broaches and a lead change.

The pair split tacks at the start, with Dunn working the right side of the course and Williams initially the left. Dunn won the first cross more than halfway up the first leg and led by about one boatlength at the first mark.

The pair was overlapped more than halfway down the run to the leeward mark. After having just jibed to port a puff rolled down the course and the two crews luffed up when they temporarily lost control.

That was a key moment in the race. Dunn’s crew recovered more quickly, and seemed to surge ahead and break the overlap. But the umpires ruled that Williams still had an overlap and therefore buoy room rights on Dunn. That allowed Williams to jump into the lead.

Williams got a jump when the umpires penalized Dunn for minor contact. Making matters worse Dunn’s jib halyard broke. Dunn performed his 270-degree penalty turn as the crew worked to rehoist the jib.

The vagaries of the racecourse then played to Dunn’s advantage. Despite being behind by nearly 10 boatlengths he worked the left side of the next upwind leg. The right side had been paying all day, but late in the day there was some left angle in the breeze and Dunn used it to close to within two boatlengths. But that was as close as he would get, and Williams went on to win.

'That was a good race,' said Dunn. 'We got the start, got the first cross and led at the top mark, all by one length. Downwind we felt we had broken the overlap. We feel a little hard done by it.'

'It’s a very tricky course,' said Williams. 'It was heavily favored to the right early. We round the leeward mark ahead of Cam, and he’s got a penalty and broken jib halyard. Then seemingly out of nowhere he picks up a lefty.'

The 100,000€ (approximately $125,000) event runs through Sunday. The winner will be awarded the Locman Cup and the top team will be awarded the Elba Cup.

The World Tour Partner and Official Car is BMW (Munich, Germany). World Tour sponsors include Sebago (Rockford, Mich.), the Official Footwear Supplier, Travel Places (West Sussex, England), the Official Travel Partner, Wedgwood (Stoke-on-Trent, England), the Official Trophy Sponsor, and Musto (Essex, England), the Official Clothing Supplier.

For more information on the World Match Racing Tour, its competitors and events, please visit the official World Tour Web site, www.WorldMatchRacingTour.com. World Match Racing Tour television programs may be viewed on demand by clicking on the television icon on the home page of the Web site.



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For information about the World Match Racing Tour

Sean McNeill

Director of Public Relations

Tel: +1 401 662 1501

E-mail: smcneill@f10marketing.com



For information about Locman Cup – Elba Island

Andrea Lanzarotto

ISM Italia

Tel: +39 02 733 403

alanzarotto@iSMItalia.it



Locman Cup – Elba Island Provisional Standings

(After 10 of 20 scheduled flights)

1. Ian Williams (GBR) Williams Sail Racing, 7-1

(Crew: Bill Hardesty, Mark Nicholls, Simon Shaw, Mark Williams)

2. Peter Gilmour (AUS) PST, 7-1

(Crew: Christian Scherrer, Rod Dawson, Kazuhiko Sofuku, Yasuhiro Yaji)

3. Cameron Dunn (NZL) Mascalzone Latino – Capitalia, 5-3

(Crew: Matteo Auguadro, Maciel Chicchetti, Rasmus Kostner, Chresten Plinius)

4. Staffan Lindberg (FIN) Alandia Sailing Team, 4.5-3

(Crew: Johan Backman, Robert Skarp, Carl-Johan Uckelstam, Emil Wiberg)

5. Ian Ainslie (RSA) Team Shosholoza, 4-4

(Crew: Mike Giles, Charles Nankin, David Rae, Mark Sadler)

6. Thierry Peponnet (FRA) Areva Challenge, 2-6

(Crew: Benoit Briand, Tanguy Cariou, Herve Cunningham, Thierry Douillard)

7. Pierre Mas (FRA) China Team, 1-7

(Crew: Xavier Husson, Jeremy Koo, Charles Lim, Wearn Haw Tan)

8. Giovanni Segnini (ITA) Locman Sailing Team, 0-7

(Crew: Leonardo Chiarugi, Giuseppe Lallai, Cesare Landi, Enrico Menno)