domingo, 2 de junio de 2013

Richard wins again at the Korea Match Cup 2013!

Richard wins again at the Korea Match Cup

Mathieu Richard has won the Korea Match Cup after beating Taylor Canfield 2-0 in the Final. Attributing his win to great team work and mental resilience, Richard and his French team mates on GEFCO Match Racing Team looked very at home today on the KM36 keelboats racing in light to moderate breezes under bright blue skies. Their mastery of Jeongok Harbour was well rewarded with a prize of 625,000 Korean Won, around US$55,000, from a total prize fund of approximately US$222,000.

Taylor Canfield was pleased with his week’s work, even if the American made a rare error of judgement in the final start. “It was a do or die situation, but we had them [the French] on the ropes for most of the pre-start. It all came down to that last decision, and unfortunately it didn’t go right for me.” Canfield left Richard to take the left-hand end of the start while he tacked away for the committee boat end. Trouble was, he gave the start boat a good smack, putting a large hole in the side and was given a penalty for his efforts. It was all about killing time and distance for the start line, but Canfield still crossed too early and had to turn back for a restart. A comeback for Canfield was looking unlikely and although he closed the gap, Richard never looked seriously threatened. The French started celebrating a few boatlengths before crossing the finish line.

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Richard won here three years earlier and was hard pushed to say which of his two Korea Match Cup victories were more special. “I think both victories were fantastic for us. We are a new team with a new sponsor and our team work was very good, and we stayed calm, we showed good mental strength through the knock-out stages.”

If anything the greater drama came in the Petit Final to decide 3rd and 4th overall. Adam Minoprio looked to have the race well in control against Ian Williams, but Team Alpari FX allowed GAC Pindar to split away from them on the final beat. The British skipper closed the gap and again looked for some separation on the final run to the finish. When the boats converged towards the bottom of the run, Williams on starboard was able to force Minoprio to gybe away.

When they came back together, this time Minoprio steered up behind Williams and instead of being met by a defensive gybe, they swapped sides. Now Williams was on the disadvantaged side and when he tried to wriggle past the Kiwi boat, Minoprio forced the Briton into a luff, both boats flogging their gennakers as they rounded into the breeze. Minoprio had been looking to stick a penalty on Williams and while he failed to get it, the Kiwi was able to turn towards the line first and scrape across the finish line to claim 3rd place.

Minoprio was surprised at the manner of his win. “We wanted to get closer to the finish boat, and fortunately he let us. It was a case of each of us trying to give each other the win, luckily for us he gave it to us at the last cross.”

To lose the Semi Final and then the Petit Final was a tough way to round out a regatta that Williams had dominated for much of the week. “There are some days in match racing when things don’t seem to go your way,” said Williams, whether it’s powerboat chop as you’re trying to tack, or a wind shift going against you. I think we had one of those days. I think we sailed fast and smooth, but we made a few misjudgements, especially in the start. Then again we made the Semis, and there are eight other guys who didn’t, so it’s not too bad, and we’re still in the championship.” The Korea Match Cup is the only title on the Alpari World Match Racing Tour to have eluded the four-time World Champion. “We feel strong here, we feel this is one of the best events on the Tour, and we’ll be back next year for at least one more shot at the title.”

Present to watch the final day’s racing was the Governor of Gyeonggi Province, Kim Moon Soo, who is promoting the region as a major destination for sailing and marine tourism in Asia.

Event organiser Kim Dong Young said: “People were worried what the Korea Match Cup would be like once the Korea International Boat Show was no longer at the same venue, but look how many people came to watch the racing today. After six years the event has never looked better.”

James Pleasance, Executive Director of the Alpari World Match Racing Tour said: “The Korea Match Cup has cemented its position as one of the flagship events on the Tour, and the teams love racing the boats on this challenging stretch of water. We’ve had a change of leader on the 2013 leaderboard and the competition is hotting up as we go to Sweden a month from now.”

FINAL RESULTS

Mathieu Richard (FRA) GEFCO Match Racing Team beat Taylor Canfield (ISV) USone 2-0

PETIT FINAL RESULTS

Adam Minoprio (NZL) Team Alpari FX beat Ian Williams (GBR) GAC Pindar 1-0

SEMI FINAL RESULTS

Mathieu Richard (FRA) GEFCO Match Racing Team beat Ian Williams (GBR) GAC Pindar 3-1

Taylor Canfield (ISV) USone beat Adam Minoprio (NZL) Team Alpari FX 3-0

OVERALL RESULTS

1 Mathieu Richard (FRA) - GEFCO Match Racing Team 31 points

2 Taylor Canfield (ISV) - USone 28 points

3 Adam Minoprio (NZL) - Team Alpari FX 24 points

4 Ian Williams (GBR) - Team GAC Pindar 20 points

5 Keith Swinton (AUS) - Black Swan Racing 17 points

6 Johnie Berntsson (SWE)- Stena Sailing Team 15 points

7 Phil Robertson (NZL) - WAKA Racing 12 points

8 David Gilmour (AUS) - Team Gilmour 10 points

9 Björn Hansen (SWE) - Mekonomen Sailing Team 5 points

10 Pierre-Antoine Morvan (FRA) - Vannes Agglo Sailing Team 3 points

11 Kim Taejeong (KOR) - Gyeonggi Match 0 points

12 Park Gunwoo (KOR) - Busan Match 0 points

ALPARI WORLD MATCH RACING TOUR

LEADERBOARD AFTER STAGE 2 - KOREA MATCH CUP

1 Mathieu Richard (FRA) - GEFCO Match Racing Team 50

2 Adam Minoprio (NZL) - Team Alpari FX 46

3 Ian Williams (GBR) - Team GAC Pindar 45

4 Taylor Canfield (ISV) - USone 42

5 Johnie Berntsson (SWE)- Stena Sailing Team 31

6 Keith Swinton (AUS) - Black Swan Racing 19

7 Björn Hansen (SWE) - Mekonomen Sailing Team 17

8 Phil Robertson (NZL) - WAKA Racing 16

9 Pierre-Antoine Morvan (FRA) - Vannes Agglo Sailing Team 11

10 Karol Jablonski (POL) - Jablonski Sailing Team 10

- David Gilmour (AUS) - Team Gilmour 10

IMAGE CAPTION: Mathieu Richard wins Korea Match Cup 2013. Gyeonggi Province, Korea. 2 June 2013 Photo: Subzero Images/AWMRT

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Play of the Day 'Oh Boy!' Finals Match 2 Canfield Crash

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Taylor Canfield during the finals of Korea Match Cup 2013. Gyeonggi Province, Korea. 2 June 2013 Photo: Subzero Images/AWMRT

Mathieu Richard wins Korea Match Cup 2013. Gyeonggi Province, Korea. 2 June 2013 Photo: Subzero Images/AWMRT

2013 Alpari World Match Racing Tour Calendar:

Stage 1: May 15 – 20 - Match Race Germany, Langenargen, Germany

Stage 2: May 28 – June 2 - Korea Match Cup, Gyeonggi, South Korea

Stage 3: July 1 – 6 - Stena Match Cup Sweden, Marstrand, Sweden

Stage 4: Aug 6 – 11 - Chicago Match Cup, Chicago, USA

Stage 5: Oct 7 – 13 - Argo Group Gold Cup, Hamilton, Bermuda

Stage 6: Dec 2 – 7 - Monsoon Cup, K.Terengganu, Malaysia

(Provisional dates and may be subjected to changes)

2013 Tour Card Holders:

Johnie Berntsson, Stena Sailing Team - Sweden

Taylor Canfield, USone Sailing Team - US Virgin Islands

Bjorn Hansen, Hansen Sailing Team - Sweden

Adam Minoprio, Team Alpari FX - New Zealand

Pierre-Antoine Morvan, Vannes Agglo Sailing Team - France

Phil Robertson, WAKA Racing - New Zealand

Keith Swinton, Black Swan Racing - Australia

Ian Williams, GAC Pindar - Great Britain

Daily Review Finals Day - Korea Match Cup 2013 - Alpari WMRT

Daily Review Finals Day - Korea Match Cup 2013 - YouTube

Mathieu Richard, GEFCO Match Racing Team won the Korea Match Cup for the second time beating Taylor Canfield, USone 2-0 in the final.

Follow all the action on www.wmrt.com - 2013 © AlpariWorld Match Racing Tour

Classic Sailing - St Mawes Race of the 2013 Classic Sailing Pilot Cutter!

The start of the first St Mawes Race of the 2013 Classic Sailing Pilot Cutter Review.

Sun, wonderful wind and flat seas, stunning racing – well done to all the 15 pilot cutters.
More Racing today from St Mawes at 2.00pm (Sunday 2nd May 2013)

Learn about the Pilot Cutters http://tinyurl.com/pilot-cutters

Join our Facebook Competition and you could get to sail on one.

Classic Sailing

Alpari WMRT - Korea Match Cup - Comeback kid Minoprio barnstorms into the Semis!

Comeback kid Minoprio barnstorms into the Semis

Gyeonggi-do, Korea (2 June 2013): After sneaking into the Quarter Finals of the Korea Match Cup yesterday, Adam Minoprio steered Team Alpari FX to a 3-0 victory and a spot in the Semi Finals.

Minoprio won against his fellow Kiwis, Phil Robertson and WAKA Racing. The third and concluding match was the most exciting and controversial. After a flurry of simultaneous gybes, luffing matches and counter moves, Robertson copped a penalty from the umpires, then another in quick succession. The rules say that when you’ve got two penalties you’re obliged to clear at least one of them immediately. But in trying to manoeuvre in order to clear the penalty, Robertson fouled Minoprio a third time and gave the umpires no choice but to raise the black flag, signalling instant disqualification for Robertson.

“I’ve always felt strong racing Phil,” said Minoprio. “But that last race was pretty exciting. The best races are when the crew has got heaps on, the boats are being thrown around and penalties are being flown. Fortunately for us everything went our way, which hasn't been the case in this regatta so far. The mojo has just flown in our direction rather than someone else's for once.”

Robertson was unhappy but philosophical about his harsh exit. “It’s a crap way to end, with a black flag. I don't completely agree it was the right call, but that's the way it is. So be it. There was a lot going on in a short amount of time, especially when you're on board, powered up, overpowered actually, trying to throw in a gybe at the bottom mark. A lot going on. It was really tough conditions out there.”

To lose to a rival Kiwi team added salt to the wound. “Yeah, it makes it a little bit harder. You always want to be No.1 in your own country, and to lose to Adam was, yeah, definitely disappointing. We felt pretty strong against him and we look forward to coming back in Sweden a lot stronger.”

Today’s Houdini escapologist was Mathieu Richard, skipper of GEFCO Match Racing Team, who went 0-2 down to Keith Swinton and Black Swan Racing. Then the French team hit their stride and won the next three matches to book their spot in the Semi Finals. “We felt we had not sailed so badly and we felt we could have won those two first matches,” said Richard. “So we decided not to change anything but to sail the best way we could and actually it worked. Getting 3-2 after 0-2, it’s a good feeling.” As winner of the Korea Match Cup in 2010, the experience seems to be helping the French. “Winning here in 2010 is good for the confidence,” said Richard. “We know we can sail well here, but that's all. All the other teams are sailing well too.”

Keith Swinton felt his team had sailed well even if the result wasn’t what he wanted. “There was nothing in it, just very close racing. We sailed just as well in the Quarter Finals as we did in the Qualifying stages, even if the result was very different. We've raised our game but disappointed not to be able to go further.”

Taylor Canfield has been one of the most consistent performers thus far in the regatta and today the USone team dispatched Johnie Berntsson and Stena Sailing Team 3-1. “I’m just really pleased with our boathandling and the crew keeping the boat going fast,” said Canfield, who believes they can go all the way. “We have what it takes. We just missed out on the Semis in Germany, so having another chance to prove ourselves is nice.”

Having sneaked into the Quarter Finals, Berntsson was unable to move further in the competition. “Some bad sailing from our side,” said the Swede. “But Canfield did a good job of forcing us to make mistakes. When they sail as well as they did, it's tough to beat them. Starts were really important here, and what this week showed is that we need to improve our timing for when we make our final approach to the start line.”

Reigning champion of the Alpari Match Racing World Tour, Ian Williams, beat the 22-year-old qualifier David Gilmour 3-0. But the Briton admitted: “The first two races could have gone either way, the score line's a bit flattering but we're just happy to make it to the Semis.” The young Australian was pleased with his week despite the 3-0 defeat. “On the score card it doesn't look very close but we had our opportunities. We were ahead all the way to the finish of the first race but we couldn't quite wipe off our penalty in time at the finish. Against such a well-polished team like Ian's, it's hard to win.”

Ian Williams picked Mathieu Richard as his Semi Finals opponent, saying: “Mathieu was the only one to beat us in the Qualifying this week and he beat us in the Final here three years ago, so we want revenge.”

Semi Finals got started late in the day, with the race committee looking to make best use of the strong wind. In each Semi Final, the first boat to 3 points will see it through to the Final tomorrow. Richard won the first match against Williams after pulling off the manoeuvre of the regatta, overtaking GAC Pindar at the leeward mark in a daring move that paid off handsomely. In the other flight, Minoprio crossed the start line slightly too early, being forced to return and leaving Canfield clear for a first-match victory.

Tomorrow is the final day, with the two winning teams from the Semi Finals set to contest the Final of the Korea Match Cup.

FINAL SEMI FINAL RESULTS AFTER FLIGHT 1

Mathieu Richard (FRA) GEFCO Match Racing Team vs Ian Williams (GBR) GAC Pindar 1-0

Taylor Canfield (ISV) USone Sailing Team vs Adam Minoprio (NZL) Team Alpari FX 1-0

FINAL QUARTER FINAL RESULTS

Ian Williams (GBR) GAC Pindar vs David Gilmour (AUS) Team Gilmour 3-0

Mathieu Richard (FRA) GEFCO Match Racing Team vs Keith Swinton (AUS) Black Swan Racing 3-2

Taylor Canfield (ISV) USone vs Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Stena Sailing Team 3-1

Adam Minoprio (NZL) Team Alpari FX vs Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing 3-0

IMAGE CAPTION: Prestart between Ian Williams and Bjorn Hansen during qualifying session 3 at Korea Match Cup 2013. Gyeonggi Province, Korea. 31 May 2013 Photo: Subzero Images/AWMRT