International Championship Match Race Series for the Canada’s Cup

by CMRC on 15 Oct 2010 Final preparations are underway to tomorrow’s start of exciting big-boat match race action in the 2010 International Championship Match Race Series for the Canada’s Cup, being held as the final event of the year at the Chicago Match Race Center (CMRC). This event is a prestigious symbol of sailing supremacy on the Great Lakes since its inception by the Royal Canadian YC in 1896 as a challenge trophy between representative yachts clubs of the US and Canada.

The venerable trophy has arrived and is ready to award on Sunday to the winner of a first-to-five point series of match races between rival teams sailing Farr 40’s from the US and Canada. Don Wilson’s Team Chicago Match Race Center sailing Convexity will represent the US, while Grant Hood’s challenging Vincere team from the Port Credit YC will represent Canada. Both teams bristle with Grand Prix-level talent from numerous America’s Cup, Olympic, and Volvo Ocean Race events.

'The boats and teams are measured, so all systems are ready to go,' said CMRC Director Bill Hardesty. 'We have an excellent race management and umpire team assembled, so all we need is some favorable weather to get started.'

And that they will have, with brisk autumn conditions in the forecast: Small Craft advisories are posted for tomorrow’s northerly breezes, predicted at 11 to 17 knots with gusts to 25. Windward-leeward 4-leg courses will be set offshore of Chicago’s Belmont Harbor, with matches targeted to be from 60 to 75 minutes in length, and no races can be sailed in sustained winds exceeding 22 knots. The Regatta Chairman will be CMRC’s Mary Anne Ward (USA), the Principal Race Officer will be Bill Canfield (ISV), Race Committee representatives will be Tom Rinda (USA) and John Weakley (CAN), and the Chief Umpire will be Flavio Naveira (ARG).

Sailing Instructions outlining details of the racing format for the event are posted at CMRC’s website, www.chicagomatchrace.com.

Both teams must comply with Farr 40 class rules that specify no more than four ISAF-classified Group 3 (professional) sailors on the crew, and that the helmsmen must be Group 1 (amateur) sailors.

Hood’s Vincere team includes Curtis Florence, Dave Jarvis, John Gunderson, Gerry Mitchell, Andy Horton, Matt McDonough, Chelsea Davidson, Dani Gamache, and Mike Wolfs. Coaching will be James Lyne and Rossi Milev, and the Boat Captain is Kyle Vowels.

Wilson’s Team CMRC includes Brent Ruhne, Mory Matias, Payson Infelise, Caroline Young, Zach Hurst, Michael Bradley, Jennifer Wilson, Mal Parker, and Eric Doyle.

Shoreside activities on the lakefront including competitor briefings, press conferences, umpire debriefs and awards ceremonies will be held before and after racing in and around the CMRC floating regatta center moored at the North end of Belmont Harbor.

Race tracking will be available on the CMRC website, courtesy of Kattack.

Official Partners of the CMRC include CME Group and the City Inns family of hotels, and NYSE LIFFE is CMRC’s official Boat Sponsor and Line Honors is the Official Clothing Supplier to CMRC.

http://www.chicagomatchrace.com