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| SIXTH TOUR SEASON CHAMPING AT THE BIT |
| Tuesday, 27 July 2004 |
The new Swedish Match 40 is ready for competition at the Portugal Match Cup. (Guido Cantini/Sea & See)
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Portugal Match Cup PRO João Pedro Cascais (center, green shirt) conducts the first day skippers’ meeting. (Guido Cantini/Sea&See)
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A large crowd gathers at Cascais Marina for the Opening Ceremony of the inaugural Portugal Match Cup. (Guido Cantini/Sea&See)
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CASCAIS, Portugal (12:45 p.m.; July 27, 2004) — The competitors are anxious, the new boats have been christened. All that’s left is for the sixth season of the Swedish Match Tour to commence.
The Portugal Match Cup, organized by the Cascais Naval Club and Sun Sailing Team, kicks off the 2004-’05 Swedish Match Tour. It's the richest event on Tour with a 150,000 Euro (approximately $186,250) prize purse and 40,000 Euros (approximately $49,000) earmarked for the champion.
The new Tour event also marks the debut of the Swedish Match 40, the specially designed match-racer from Swedish designer Pelle Petterson. The crews practiced in them yesterday and the comments were varied, with many positives.
“They’re good fun,” said Peter Holmberg (USVI), helmsman of Team Alinghi. “They have a nice wide open cockpit and seem easy to sail.”
Unfortunately, the competitors will have to wait a bit before live competition. A light southerly breeze blew for a while this morning, but has died away and forced a shoreside postponement. Forecasts are calling for a 6- to 10-knot breeze.
The 12 crews have been split into two groups of six. Group A crews are led by skippers Ed Baird (USA), Michael Dunstan (AUS), Peter Gilmour (AUS), Geoff Meek (FRA), Philippe Presti (FRA) and Jesper RAdich (DEN). They’re expected to complete their single round robin today.
Group B is slated to sail its round robin tomorrow, July 28, and features crews led by skippers Russell Coutts (NZL), Peter Holmberg (USV), Chris Law (GBR), Staffan Lindberg (FIN), Francisco Neto (POR) and Bertrand Pacé (FRA).
Each group is scheduled to sail a single round robin with the top three advancing to the quarterfinal round and those placing fourth through sixth advancing to a repechage round.
The six crews in the repechage are scheduled to sail a single round robin with the top two advancing to the quarterfinals. The bottom four will be eliminated from competition.
The quarterfinals are a knockout series with the first scoring 2 points advancing to the semifinals. The semis are also a knockout series, with the first scoring 3 points advancing to the final and the losers moving to the petit final.
The bottom four from the quarterfinals sail a series of knockout rounds to determine places 5 to 8.
The final, slated for Saturday, is scheduled as a race to 3 points, while the petit final is a race to 2 points. (The Organizing Authority may vary the format, terminate or eliminate any stage, when conditions do not permit the completion of the intended format.)
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RELATED COVERAGE
PMC Standings, Results, Flight Schedule and Crew List
Photo Gallery
Portugal Match Cup summary
Swedish Match 40 Christened (July 24, 2004)
Sixth Swedish Match Tour Season Finalized (July 20, 2004)
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