Swedish
Match Tour - Full Day On Rainy Shinjuku Bay
Hayama, JAPAN (November 20, 2003) – The
action was plentiful on a rain-soaked second day
of the Nippon Cup 2003, the third event on Swedish
Match Tour 2003/2004.
Thirty-three
matches were raced on Shinjuku Bay as the Hayama
Marina Yacht Club race committee compensated for
an abbreviated first day of racing in an effort
to get the program back on schedule.
Seven-time
event winner Peter Gilmour of the Pizza-La Sailing
Team was impervious to the conditions, finishing
the day with a record of 6-1, the only blemish
coming at the hands of Team New Zealand skipper
Dean Barker and his Omega Match Racing Team. Gilmour,
going for his fifth consecutive Nippon Cup title,
now sits at 7-1 overall and in good position to
advance.
Oracle
BMW Racing’s Gavin Brady, with John Kostecki
among his crew this week, posted a record of 5-1
on the day to finish the round robin portion of
the regatta at 7-4. Brady now has to wait and
see if his seven wins are enough to advance to
Saturday’s semifinals.
Meanwhile,
Italy’s Paolo Cian of the Riviera di Rimini
Sailing Team and Dean Barker of Team New Zealand’s
Omega Match Racing Team were one step behind Gilmour
and Brady, posting records of 5-2. Cian and Barker
share similar scorelines of 6-2 overall.
“We
had a couple of small mistakes against Peter Gilmour
and Gavin Brady that cost us, but overall the
crew did an amazing job in the starts and on the
first beats, putting us in good position to win,”
said Cian.
Competing
in the inclimate weather is not just an inconvenience,
but also a challenge, even for the elite racer.
“Maneuvering
is harder, especially dropping and hoisting the
spinnaker, it gets sticky against the genoa. Also,
the deck is slippery,” explained Cian. “Overall,
the sails are not working properly and you need
to establish a different timing to your tactics.”
Nippon
Cup 2003 is Cian’s first time competing
in Japan and, like all of his fellow competitors,
he would like to make the most of his trip halfway
around the world.
“We
have three difficult races tomorrow against (Jesper)
Radich, (Luc) Pillot and Magnus (Holmberg) and
while we’re in pretty good position right
now, we’re going to need to win at least
one of those matches to advance to the semifinals.”
The
three local skippers competing in Nippon Cup 2003
had frustrating days. Yasutaka Funazawa, a four-time
Japanese national match racing champion was 2-5,
while both of his countrymen Eiichiro Hamazaki
and Takao Ninomiya were 0-6.
Hamazaki
and Ninomiya’s regattas are over, with records
of 2-9 and 0-11 respectively, eliminating them
from the next round.
The
wind, ranging from 10-12 knots, was significantly
fresher, and less shifty than yesterday, adding
to an increased intensity in the racing.
Round
robin action resumes on Friday morning at 9:00
am local time.
The
Nippon Cup 2003 features a single round robin
with the top four skippers advancing to Saturday’s
first-to-three points semifinals. Semifinal winners
advance to Sunday’s first-to-three wins
finals, while the losers square off in the petit
finals.
For
all the latest news from the Swedish Match Tour
visit www.swedishmatchtour.com.
Round
Robin Standings
Skipper
Wins Losses
1.Magnus
Holmberg, SWE/SeaLife Rangers 5 0
2.Peter
Gilmour, AUS/Pizza-La Sailing Team 7 1
3.Dean
Barker, NZ/Omega Match Racing Team 6 2
=Paolo
Cian, ITA/Riviera di Rimini Sailing Team 6 2
5.Jesper
Radich, Denmark 3 2
=Luc
Pillot, FRA/Team Pillot 3 2
7.Gavin
Brady, Oracle BMW Racing 7 4
8.Staffan
Lindberg, FIN/Team Henri Lloyd 4 4
9.Andy
Green, GBR/Team Racing Green 3 5
10.Yautaka
Funazawa, Japan 2 6
11.Eiichiro
Hamazaki, Japan 2 9
12.Takao
Ninomiya, Japan 0 11
Today’s
Round Robin Results
Flight 7
Barker def. Green
Gilmour
def. Cian
Lindberg
def. Funazawa
Flight
8
Cian def. Barker
Lindberg
def. Green
Gilmour
def. Funazawa
Flight
9
Cian def. Green
Barker
def. Funazawa
Gilmour
def. Lindberg
Flight
10
Green def. Funazawa
Barker
def. Gilmour
Cian
def. Lindberg
Flight
11
Lindberg def. Hamazaki
Brady
def. Cian
Gilmour
def. Ninomiya
Flight
12
Brady def. Lindberg
Cian
def. Ninomiya
Gilmour
def. Hamazaki
Flight
13
Lindberg def. Ninomiya
Gilmour
def. Brady
Cian
def. Hamazaki
Flight
14
Brady def. Green
Funazawa
def. Ninomiya
Barker
def. Hamazaki
Flight
15
Green def. Ninomiya
Funazawa
def. Hamazaki
Brady
def. Barker
Flight
16
Green def. Hamazaki
Barker
def. Ninomiya
Brady
def. Funazawa
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.
