ACTION APLENTY
AT ACI HTmobile CUP
SPLIT,
Croatia (May 28, 2003) – Another lively
day of racing on day two of the Swedish Match
Tour’s ACI HTmobile Cup, saw injuries mount,
another squall upset the racing schedule and,
finally, leaders begin to emerge from the chaos
that has marked the regatta’s opening round.
Just
as the wind picked up from 10 to 20 knots prior
to the first starts of the day, Jesper Radich’s
trimmer Chresten Plinius received a blow to the
skull by the boom of his Jeanneau One Design 35.
Plinius was rushed to hospital where he received
four stitches but was back on board in time to
compete in the second flight.
“Sailing
is dangerous if you are more than 1.10m tall and
don’t duck!” joked Plinius, un-phased
by his injury. “At Bermuda [the Gold Cup]
I got five on top and one in the eye. So this
time I was lucky…”
Another
injury was sustained by Jes Gram Hansen’s
crewman Peter Blakskjaer on the practice day on
Monday. Blakskjaer, who does bow for the Swedish
Match Tour leader, slipped on the coach roof of
his boat and landed directly on his finger, breaking
it. For the ACI HTmobile Cup he has been replaced
by local Croatian Edi Pilav.
Today
racing was as difficult for the competitors as
it was for the race committee, although it allowed
all but one of the flights in the first round
robin to be sailed. The wind shifted constantly
throughout the day. “The wind was not according
to the forecast,” explained Principle Race
Office Alen Kustic. “The wind direction
was wrong totally. There was a small storm inside
the country close to Split and that changed everything.
The forecast wind was WNW and normally it would
have shifted during the day from northeast and
it would make a circle and come up again from
the north west. It didn’t.”
The
biggest incidents came as a squall, known locally
as a ‘Dirty Bora’ (because its wind
direction varies) passed over the fleet during
the first flight. At one point Kustic says it
was blowing 35 knots at sea level, and probably
40 knots at the masthead. As the gust hit a number
of boats were laid flat and were pinned for around
30 seconds, their crew helpless. To add to the
frustration of the race committee the weather
mark dragged anchor in the gust.
Worst
affected by the conditions was Gram Hansen whose
boat broached while he was locked in a downwind
luffing match with Sweden’s Magnus Holmberg.
This was the start of a bad day for the Swedish
Match Tour leader, losing four races and winning
just one. “It was not a good day,”
the Dane commented on his return to Split’s
ACI Marina. “We lost too many. It is not
good enough. It was very very very difficult conditions
and a couple of times we just got stuck. But that’s
sailing. It’s another day tomorrow. We’ll
see if the damage can be repaired.”
Making
the best of the conditions was Australian America’s
Cup helmsman James Spithill with his crew, all
of whom sailed with him on the OneWorld race boat
in the America’s Cup. “In the Bora,
it was amazing. We finally got the boats to plane
downwind. I thought it would never happen. It
only took about 30 knots!”
Spithill
has dropped just two of the eight races he has
sailed in this first flight. Twice today he won
after coming from behind. “It was real boat-on-boat
stuff and just our speed and tactics were able
to help us out a bit. I’m pretty happy with
our speed. Upwind we are sailing really well.
Charlie [McKee] is doing a great job on tactics.”
To
add to the complications caused by the ‘Dirty
Bora’ was the northwesterly flowing current
that in the light winds that prevailed this afternoon
caused several boats to collide with marks and
pick up penalties as a result. This fooled even
old hands like Holmberg, narrowly the regatta
leader after today’s racing. “I messed
up the start against Karol Jabolski. That was
the race we lost. I got stuck at the pin end and
hit the mark. We were early and there was quite
a lot of current. So he managed to get on top
of us and get to the favored side of the course.”
Tomorrow
the wind conditions look like they will be equally
awkward with a northwest breeze established offshore
and a northeasterly onshore.
ACI
HTmobile Cup Leaderboard
Skipper
Wins Losses
1.Magnus Holmberg, (SWE/Team Holmberg) 7 2
2.Karol
Jablonski, (POL/Jablonski Sailing Team) 6 2
3.James
Spithill (AUS/Team Spithill) 6 2
4.Jesper
Radich (DEN/Team Radich) 5 2
5.Jes
Gram Hanson (DEN/Team Victory Lane) 4 4
6.Paolo
Cian (ITA/Riviera di Rimini Sailing Team) 4 4
7.Chris
Law (GBR/”The Outlaws”) 4 4
8.Mattias
Rahm (SWE/Team Stena Bulk) 3 4
9.Allan
Coutts (NZ/Alinghi Team) 3 5
10.Johnie
Berntsson (SWE) 2 6
11.Frane
Brate (CRO) 0 9
ACI
HTmobile Cup Round Robin Results
Flight
4
Berntsson
def. Cian
Jablonski
def. Spithill
Holmberg
def. Gram-Hansen
Coutts
def. Brate
Rahm
def. Radich
Flight
5
Law def. Berntsson
Cian
def. Jablonski
Holmberg
def. Brate
Rahm
def. Coutts
Radich
def. Gram-Hansen
Flight
6
Spithill def. Gram-Hansen
Rahm
def. Law
Cian
def. Coutts
Berntsson
def. Brate
Jablonski
def. Holmberg
Flight
7
Spithill def. Radich
Gram-Hansen
def. Law
Cian
def. Brate
Jablonski
def. Coutts
Holmberg
def. Berntsson
Flight
8
Radich def. Law
Spithill
def. Rahm
Jablonski
def. Brate
Holmberg
def. Cian
Coutts
def. Berntsson
Flight
9
Holmberg def. Spithill
Law def. Brate
Jablonski def. Gram Hansen
Radich def. Berntsson
Cian
def. Rahm
For
all the latest news and information about the
Swedish Match Tour, visit www.swedishmatchtour.com.
About
the Swedish Match Tour
·
The Swedish Match Tour is comprised of nine of
the world's leading professional sailing events
and is proving to be the ultimate battleground
of sailing.
·
In addition to more than US$800,000 in individual
event prize money, the Swedish Match Tour awards
US$200,000 to the top eight sailors on the Swedish
Match Tour, with the first-place skipper netting
US$60,000.
·
In addition to a US$60,000 first prize, the winner
of the Swedish Match Tour receives the official
Swedish Match Tour Championship Trophy, 15"
(30 cm) high with 22 carat gold gilding, produced
by Swedish Match Tour sponsor Wedgwood. Additionally,
Wedgwood supplies runner-up prizes for second
and third places as well as commemorative plaques
to each event organizer.
·
The Swedish Match Tour produces 155 hours of television
coverage reaching more than 427 million households
worldwide.
·
Swedish Match Tour partners include Swedish Match,
Octagon and the Match Race Association.
·
Swedish Match Tour sponsors include Colorcraft,
Champagne Mumm, Musto, Selden and Wedgwood.
