From the Blogs- Tack by Tack - Mark Chisnell

by Mark Chisnell on 21 May 2007
From the website of writer and professional saiboat racer, Mark Chisnell (GBR) who is based in Valencia and provides a daily commentary on www.tackbytack.com, which includes a real time blow by blow account of the match of the day:

14.53:
I can see 6-8 knots on most of the Met buoys, so hopefully this is just a matter of waiting for it to settle in direction, rather than another lost day... There's also a lot of swell, so it's going to be a really tricky day to get the boat moving. And these are conditions that we haven't seen these boats race each other in before, so that might shake things up a bit too. All to play for.

14.50:
But, the bad news is that the breeze is not looking as good as predicted... We have our old friend, the AP, the postponement flag up.

14.44:
Ohh.... And there's the first one slipped through already...

14.43:
The 'cliche alert' buzzer is set to high intensity today... I think it could be a big day for them. So what do we think of the change? It's hard for it to work - when was the last time Sten Mohr raced with Brady, Doyle and Isler? They're going to have a tough time building an instant relationship to match the one at the back of the Luna Rossa boat... Who will have the sniff of blood in their nostrils...

14.33:
The axe has swung at BMW Oracle, with skipper and helmsman, Chris Dickson, stepping off the boat. Whether it was 'self-swung', or someone did it for him is not immediately apparent...

On the team's website Dickson is quoted as saying, 'We brought our best package in the Semi Finals, but we have not achieved the results we were hoping for, so in my capacity as CEO I fully support any moves that will give us a chance to win. We are a fighting team and will never give up.'

You can make what you will of that...

What really matters is that today Jimmy Spithill and Luna Rossa will face Sten Mohr, Oracle's Danish B boat skipper, in the pre-start. Mohr didn't have much of a baptism in the Louis Vuitton, the last time he was on the boat was for the loss to China Team - but if I remember rightly, he did a nice job in the pre-start. Gavin Brady stays on tactics and is promoted to skipper.

Keener eyes than mine spotted that Larry Ellison wasn't on BMW Oracle yesterday, despite being listed by ACM on the crew sheet. His name is still on the crew list today, and I'll try and check he's on the boat...

Preamble
Finally, unmistakably, unquestionably, incontrovertibly... it is must-win day for Oracle and Desafio. One more loss and they are packing to go home. Can either team find a miracle to turn around the horrendous losses we saw yesterday? Somehow, I doubt it, but that's not going to make it any less compelling to watch.


You can see the rest of this story on www.tackbytack.com start at the bottom of the text and read up for a blow by blow account of the day's racing in real-time