Argo Group Gold Cup - Day 4
by Alpari World Match Racing Tour 11 Oct 2013 22:39 BST
8-13 October 2013
Ian Williams hits the bricks
It was another tense day on Hamilton Harbour where the first-to-three Quarter Final matches of the Argo Group Gold Cup, the penultimate event of the Alpari World Match Racing Tour were being played out. With the wind having veered into the southwest, racing took place under a scorching sun in a shifty 7-10 knots of breeze.
Francesco Bruni's Luna Rossa team was the only one to go through 3-0, taking Phil Robertson's WAKA Racing out of the competition. Sir Ben Ainslie's Argo Group-backed team and Taylor Canfield's USone both won their matches 3-1, respectively against Bjorn Hansen's eWork Sailing Team and Ian Williams' GAC Pindar. The only pairing to go the full nine yards was the Antipodean dust-up between Kiwi Adam Minoprio's Team Alpari FX and Australian Keith Swinton's Black Swan Racing, with Minoprio scraping through.
"It is incredible - I never thought we would win 3-0 against people who have been doing this for the last year full time," said elated Italian, Francesco Bruni, who finished the 2011 Alpari World Match Racing Tour in second. "I am very happy with how things are going with my crew."
Bruni added he was pleased that despite being a penalty down in the second race they had managed to extend away from their Kiwi opponent enough to carry out their turn.
The Quarter Final shock was certainly Ian Williams, the current Alpari World Match Racing Tour leader, being dispatched by defending champion Taylor Canfield. Coming out on top in Qualifying yesterday, Williams had been able to choose his opponent for the Quarter Finals and had picked the US Virgin Islands sailor as he represented his most major threat in the overall points for the 2013 Alpari World Match Racing Tour. Sadly his choice back fired and after the pair drew level on 1-1, Canfield's USone crew won the next two.
"We had a bunch of close ones," said Canfield of the racing. "I can't tell you the number of times we converged, coming back together bow to bow. None of the races was ever really over except the first one, when had put a nice lead on them up the first beat."
While the wind was further right today, it has still been blowing off the land making it particularly tricky for the tacticians. But Canfield said that as an ex-College sailor, he liked these conditions.
Another man experienced with going the right way in tricky conditions was Ben Ainslie's triple Olympic medallist tactician, Iain Percy. The Team Manager for America's Cup challenger Artemis Racing kept his cool today, helping Ainslie's team win three straight after losing the first race to Bjorn Hansen's team - not quite Oracle Team USA's comeback, but good enough.
"It was such a tricky day with the breeze all over the place, once you got off the start line it was about getting the shifts right," said Ainslie. "And the boats are quite tweaky in those conditions, so it wasn't easy for any of the teams."
Bjorn Hansen admitted that he and his crew didn't sail their best today. They were particularly sad to lose the second race when they had been leading but were a penalty down and had tried to carry out their turn coming into the final top mark, only for a wind shift to prevent this. The British Olympic legend closed in on them, and there wasn't enough runway to carry out their turn before the finish. "That was frustrating. They were just a bit better than us today," said the Swedish skipper.
Adam Minoprio, skipper of Team Alpari FX arrived back at the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club tired, but smiling. "It was a very long morning for us. Keith took it all the way to the wire, but it was good to get a win over him in the final race after all the smart-arse Aussie remarks he was making about us at the press conference last night!" he said.
All their races were won in the pre-starts and once across the line it was a case of the rich getting richer. Minoprio said he was kicking himself for the two he lost. In one he got stuck in a slow tack on the start line, enabling Swinton to sail away from them while in the other he got his time on distance wrong and was simply late starting.
The Semi-Finals are scheduled to start tomorrow at 1300, preceeded by the 5th-8th place series starting at 1000.
Andrew Simpson fund raiser
Last night Sir Ben Ainslie, Iain Percy and many from the Argo Group Gold Cup attended the Andrew Simpson Gold Cup Benefit, including an auction which succeeded in raising US$ 86,780 for the Andrew Simpson Sailing Foundation. Among the items that went for the most money were a Corum watch that fetched US$ 7,000 and a selection of Ben Ainslie's Oracle Team USA memorabilia, including his helmet and rash vest, that raised US$ 5,950.
This money will go to encouraging children to go sailing, by providing both equipment and coaching facilities. At present this is just in the UK and Bermuda. To date one generous donor to the Foundation has already provided eight Optimist dinghies for use in Bermuda.
The event was hosted by CEO and President of Argo Group, Mark Watson and his wife Ana Paula in their home. "We are incredibly grateful to them," said Ainslie.
Quarter-Finals Results:
Taylor Canfield (ISV) beat Ian Williams (GBR) 3-1
Francesco Bruni (ITA) beat Phil Robertson (NZL) 3-0
Adam Minoprio (NZL) beat Keith Swinton (AUS) 3-2
Ben Ainslie (GBR) beat Bjorn Hansen (SWE) 3-1
More information at www.argogroupgoldcup.com and www.wmrt.com.
Sir Ben Ainslie will race Adam Minoprio in Argo Group Gold Cup Semi Finals (by Talbot Wilson and Laurie Fullerton)
As the top finisher in the Group 2 Stage 1 Qualifying round, Sir Ben Ainslie (GBR) BART/Argo Group, who had defeated Bjorn Hansen (SWE) eWork Sailing Team earlier Friday to qualify for the Semi Finals, was first to pick his opponent for the Semi Finals of the Argo Group Gold Cup. Ainslie saying, "its not a nice lineup to pick from, but I choose to race Adam Minoprio."
Minoprio (NZL) Team Alpari FX replied, "We look forward to racing Ben. We sailed against him in the semis two years and missed. We hope to do better."
The other two semi finalists are Argo Group Gold Cup defending champion Taylor Canfield (ISV) USone sailing against Francesco Bruni (ITA) Luna Rossa. Bruni said, "We are just happy to be in the semis." Canfield added, "All the teams are tough.
This is certainly a star-studded semi final, one of the best in King Edward VII Gold Cup history. They are all reaching for the coveted 'Golden Grail' of match race sailing.
Sir Ben Ainslie from Lymington, England is fresh out of the 34th America's Cup where he was the spirit of the now famous Oracle AC72 comeback from the brink of sudden death. He has won the Agro Group Gold Cup twice, in 2009 and 2010. Ainslie is the most successful sailor in Olympic history having won four gold and a silver medal. Sailing with Ainslie are Iain Percy, Matt Cornwell, and Christian Kamp.
Francesco Bruni, from Palermo, Sicily was the America's Cup tactician for Luna Rossa and will play a key role in their next challenge. He is one of the most complete, eclectic and winning active Italian sailors in 30 years of the sport. He has won 7 world, 5 European and 15 Italian championships in different classes: from Laser to Offshore, from Star to 49er. He has also reached first place in ISAF's Match Racing World ranking. He has raced with Team Luna Rossa in three America's Cup campaigns (2003, 2007, 2013). Bruni's crew is Pierluigi de Felice, Xabi Fernandez and Nick Hutton.
Taylor Canfield from St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands blasted away the competition at last year's Argo Group Gold Cup and is the defending champion. Having picked up an Alpari World Match Racing Tour card for 2013, he is currently tied for second on the Tour and is #1 in the ISAF Open rankings. He won the Tour's Chicago Match Racing Regatta. Taylor and the USone team from the Chicago Match Race Center are defending the King Edward VII Gold Cup title. Sailing with Taylor are Rod Dawson, Dan Morris and Hayden Goodrick.
Adam Minoprio from Auckland, New Zealand is a former ISAF #1 Open ranked sailor. He was 2009 World Champion and is back as a Tour Card Holder for the 2013 season. He has had success this season finishing second in Germany, third in Korea and sixth in Sweden.
Minoprio returned to match racing after competing in the 2011-12 Volvo Ocean Race where he finished second. In Argo Group Gold Cup competition, Minoprio and finished second in 2009, and fifth in 2010 and 2012. Maybe here in 2013, it is his turn to hoist the cup. Joining Minoprio on the boat are Dave Swete, Nick Blackman and Tom Powrie.
In Quarter Final action Friday, Francesco Bruni (ITA) Luna Rossa swept his first three races against Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing to be the first skipper to reach the Semi Finals. Taylor Canfield (ISV) USone defeated Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar 3-1, Ainslie defeated Bjorn Hansen (SWE) eWork Sailing Team 3-1 and Minoprio went the full 5 match distance taking Keith Swinton (AUS) Black Swan Racing 3-2.
Quotes of the Day:
Francesco Bruni: "It is always very interesting out there on Hamilton Harbour as the race is never really finished until the very end - this is because in general - and especially today- it is a very shifty and puffy place to sail. What we have had is some very good boat speed and we have played it statistically very well. It is not always easy and in this kind of sailing it is never a one-way track. It makes match-racing here very interesting. Whenever you sail very close to shore with an offshore breeze, it becomes very hard to predict the shifts. The water is so clear here – however – you can see the shifts on the water sometimes. What you do have here is never really an issue of current – it is all driven by wind shifts."We have been to the semi-finals here before, but did not win our match then against Johnnie Berntsson. This time we are hoping to make it all the way."
Taylor Canfield: "During this race today we were always sailing with our head out of the boat. The toughest part was the wind direction and it was a lot like the finals last year. We really had to pick the best places to tack and at the same time we were trying very hard to extend our lead. With an IOD that is difficult... but at the top mark we were able to flop over Ian Williams and lead into the mark. We were able to hop back into a comfortable position once we got a little distance with him. Williams was carrying a penalty so that also gave us an edge.
"This was one of the hardest quarter finals because we were presented with going up against the defending world champion on our first meet-up. We were on the edge of being pushed out of the title but it looks better for us now.
"Granted we were a little bit out of phase on the first day of this event with two losses, but since then we started doing the things that work for us. When Williams picked us first – I believe they wanted to go all the way. We are feeling good about the win. We were able to hold him back.
"We are happy to get into the semi finals and everyone is on form so we just have to keep our cool. We have been managing to stay cool through it all. It is great so far."
Ben Ainslie: "It was really difficult out there and the day was windy with a lot of tricky shifts. Obviously we are really happy to be through the semi-finals. We are juggling a lot here in and out of the boat so staying focused has been a bit of a challenge but we are enjoying the racing and doing well."
Iain Percy, Ainslie's main trimmer added: "We always enjoy racing against Bjorn Hansen because he is such a gentleman. It was light and tricky winds so anything can happen and it really always comes down to the last weekend here. We just have to stay on form and although we are a little bit out of phase with match racing, it really does all come down to the last weekend."
Adam Minoprio: "Hamilton Harbor is a really special place to sail. The shifty conditions mean that you have to really know who is going to get the shifts but that is what makes it unique. The fifth and final race against Keith Swinton was three times around and the breeze was really shifty so our boat was going from 8 knots to 2 knots at times. It was really tricky.
"I can say by the final race it was all about the shifts and we prevailed to win the day. The last race came down to the shifts and we came into the top mark and Swinton tacked to find breeze and we kept our course. We got the shift and powered ahead and that is what gave us the race."
Updated results are at www.wmrt.com/component/wmrt/event_results/90.html
Team Alpari FX to face Sir Ben Ainslie in Semi Final of Argo Group Gold Cup (from Team Alpari FX)
A tightly fought quarterfinal contest against Australia's Keith Swinton went down to the wire, with Team Alpari FX managing to come out victors, 3-2.
Getting the early jump on Keith and his team in taking the first race, the world number 3 skipper came storming back in the second race to level the series. A win apiece in the following races set the trend of whoever won the start, managed to hold on and take the win, so at 2-2 it was all on for the last match.
In the shifty 5-12 knot gusty conditions, the race committee decided to shorten the course up and make it a three-lap race. As Ainslie, Bruni and Canfield had all won their respective quarterfinals convincingly, we were the only match up left on the course so all eyes were on the decider.
In a heated pre-start the deciding moment came in the last minute on the approach to the start line. Keith and his team, which includes recent America's Cup winner Kyle Langford, were being pushed and slightly early to the start line. They went for a tack in front of us and there was massive contact, resulting in an immediate penalty that luckily went our way. From then on it was just about staying in the pressure, with the shifty conditions contributing to a nervy atmosphere aboard our boat, however we held on to secure our spot in the semi final.
Tomorrow things do not get any easier for Team Alpari FX. In tonight's press conference Sir Ben Ainslie and his team chose to race us in the semi final, a right giving to them by virtue of being top qualifier.
Ben has been out of the match racing game for so long that he doesn't even have a match race ranking, but with four Olympic Gold Medals, a world Match Racing Tour Title and now an America's Cup win under his belt, not to mention his all star crew that includes best mate Iain Percy, they will be very very tough competition for Team Alapari FX. Although daunting, we have to draw solace in the fact that we have knocked Ben out of a semi final here in Bermuda before, having also beaten him 3-0 in the final of the 2009 Monsoon Cup. We will take this confidence into tomorrows match up and see if we can 'take the wind out of' Bens sails.
Team Alpari FX would like to thank Alpari and Line 7 Events Clothing for their support. Team AlpariFX are Adam Minoprio, Chris Main, Tom Powrie, David Swete and Nick Blackman.