PORTUGAL MATCH CUP UPDATE ARCHIVE
PT PORTUGAL MATCH CUP
Cascais, Portugal
July 19-24, 2005


UPDATE ARCHIVE


UPDATE 19 // July 23, 2005, 5:10 p.m.
Ben Ainslie has opened a 2-0 lead in one semifinal match and Peter Gilmour and Peter Holmberg are tied in the other at the PTPortugal Match Cup. Ainslie won two straight versus Jes Gram-Hansen. Gilmour won their first match before Holmberg rebounded to win the second. The rest of the semifinals, each a first to 3 points series, are suspended until tomorrow. Racing for 5th through 8th places is about to occur.

UPDATE 18 // July 23, 2005, 3:15 p.m.
The second half of the quarterfinals is completed at the PTPortugal Match Cup. Ben Ainslie will race Jes Gram-Hansen in the bottom half of the semifinal bracket, while Peter Gilmour will race Peter Holmberg in the top half.

Gram-Hansen beat Chris Law 2-0 in their quarterfinal match and Ainslie beat Staffan Lindberg 2-1 in a back and forth match that featured shifty winds more than clinical match-racing moves.

The winds are from the north/northeast and very shifty. The strength is anywhere between 8 knots and 20 knots as the windward mark is off the beach and under the hotels lining the shore.

The race committee has decided to begin the semifinals rather than hold the races for 5th through 8th.

UPDATE 17 // July 23, 2005, 10:00 a.m.
Day 4 of the PTPortugal Match Cup stands to be a busy one. Two matches in the quarterfinals have to be completed, followed by racing for 5th through 8th and then the start of the semifinals. The wind is blowing out of the north/northeast, which is a bit more shifty than the northerly wind. But it’s blowing 12 to 16 knots and suitable for racing. Racing is scheduled to begin at 11:00 a.m.


UPDATE 16 // July 22, 2005, 6:40 p.m.
The Quarterfinal Round at the PTPortugal Match Cup has been postponed until tomorrow. Shifty winds forced PRO Joao Pedro Cascais to postpone the two remaining flights.

UPDATE 15 // July 22, 2005, 6:05 p.m.
Peter Holmberg and Peter Gilmour have advanced to the top half of the Semifinal Round at the Portugal Match Cup. Holmberg defeated Michael Dunstan 2-0 in his quarterfinal match, the same score by which Gilmour beat Bertrand Pacé. The wind briefly built to 20 knots for the first flight, forcing the use of jibs. But then it got shifty and streaky and dropped to 6 to 10 knots. The second half of the quarterfinals is up next with Staffan Lindberg facing Ben Ainslie and Jes Gram-Hansen racing Chris Law.

UPDATE 14 // July 22, 2005, 3:10 p.m.
The Quarterfinal Round is set to begin at the PTPortugal Match Cup. The race committee has set the windward mark and start/finish line, and the sailors are heading to the racecourse. The wind is blowing from the north between 12 and 15 knots, a more manageable strength than yesterday’s boisterous 20-plus knots. Racing is expected to resume shortly.

UPDATE 13 // July 22, 2005, 1:00 p.m.
The Pro-Am regatta is still underway at the Portugal Match Cup and it appears that the Quarterfinal Round won’t begin until around 3:00 p.m.

UPDATE 12 // July 22, 2005, 10:00 a.m.
The northerly flow is established again early in the morning in Cascais, Portugal. Day 3 of the PTPortugal Match Cup, Stage 1 of the 2005-’06 Swedish Match Tour, won’t begin until 12:00 p.m. First up is the event’s pro-am regatta, which will consist of three fleet races. After that it’s onto the Quarterfinal Round, a knockout round where the first to 2 points advances to the Semifinal Round.


UPDATE 11 // July 21, 2005, 8:15 p.m.
After some thrilling racing in the Repechage Round, Chris Law and Michael Dunstan have advanced to the Quarterfinal Round. Law won the round with a 4-1 record. Dunstan placed second after winning a three-way tie-breaker with Ian Williams and Hamish Pepper. Each had a 3-2 record, but Dunstan beat both Williams and Pepper to gain the nod. Afonso Domingos and Manuel Marques placed fifth and sixth. More to come.

UPDATE 10 // July 21, 2005, 4:05 p.m.
Jes Gram-Hansen (DEN) won the Group B round robin with a 4-1 record. He defeated Bertrand Pace (FRA) in the final flight to create a tie that was broken in the Dane’s favor by virtue of his head-to-head win. Ben Ainslie (GBR) placed third at 3-2, also winning a head-to-head tiebreaker against Ian Williams (GBR). The two Portuguese crews, Afonso Domingos and Manuel Marques, placed 4th and 5th with 1-4 and 0-5 records, respectively.

Gram-Hansen, Pace and Ainslie join Peter Holmberg (ISV), Staffan Lindberg (FIN) and Peter Gilmour (AUS) in advancing to the Quarterfinal Round, scheduled for tomorrow.

Williams, Domingos and Marques advance to the Repechage Round where they’ll join Chris Law (GBR), Michael Dunstan (AUS) and Hamish Pepper (NZL) in a five-flight round robin scheduled for this afternoon. The top two crews advance to the quarterfinals.

UPDATE 9 // July 21, 2005, 2:40 p.m.
Group B has completed its first three flights and Bertrand Pacé (FRA) has stormed to a 3-0 record, the only undefeated skipper in the group. The wind is blowing a solid 20 knots out of the north with gusts nearing 25 knots. It’s making for adventures in boathandling. Although crews are sailing with the non-overlapping jib, they’re still wrestling with the spinnaker and jibing the pole on the narrow decks downwind.

UPDATE 8 // July 21, 2005, 12:00 p.m.
The six crews in Group B are on the water and set for racing. Racing today should be wild and wonderful. The northerly wind is up to 20 knots and the seas are flat as the wind is blowing offshore. Group B features crews led by skippers Ben Ainslie (NZL), Afonso Domingos (POR), Jes Gram-Hansen (DEN), Manuel Marques (POR), Bertrand Pacé (FRA), and Ian Williams (GBR).

UPDATE 7 // July 21, 2005, 10:45 a.m.
Day 2 of Stage 1 of the 2005-’06 Swedish Match Tour should be a dandy. Fog this morning covers the valley and hills just north of Cascais, and a northerly flow to the wind has been established. It’s hoped that the wind will build to 15 to 20 knots this afternoon. Although it’s currently blowing 8 to 10 knots, Principal Race Officer João Pedro Cascais said he will wait until 12:00 p.m. for the first start to let the wind build. He also plans to run the Group B round robin as well as the Repechage Round.


UPDATE 6 // July 20, 2005, 7:15 p.m.
Group A has completed its five-flight round robin. Peter Holmberg won the group with a 4-1 record. He advances to the quarterfinals along with Staffan Lindberg and Peter Gilmour, who both finished 3-2. Chris Law (3-2), Michael Dunstan (2-3) and Hamish Pepper (0-5) move to the repechage round. Racing is done for the day.

UPDATE 5 // July 20, 2005, 5:35 p.m.
Group A has completed its first three flights and Peter Holmberg (ISV), Alinghi, has opened a quick 3-0. Peter Gilmour (AUS), Pizza-La Sailing Team, is right behind at 2-1, his only loss to Holmberg. The wind is blowing from the northwest around 8 knots and is very streaky on the water.

UPDATE 4 // July 20, 2005, 3:00 p.m.
With the westerly breeze blowing between 6 and 8 knots Group A has taken to the water to begin its round robin.

UPDATE 3 // July 20, 2005, 1:10 p.m.
The postponement remains in effect at the PTPortugal Match Cup. The winds are light and variable and the race committee will reassess the situation 2:00 p.m. They’re prepared to send the sailors out earlier if the wind develops, but it looks like it’ll be at least 2:00 p.m. before anything comes in.

UPDATE 2 // July 20, 2005, 10:40 a.m.
The start of the PTPortugal Match Cup has been postponed until 1:00 p.m. due to light winds. The race committee expects a westerly breeze will build, but not until the afternoon. The wind could build to as much as 10 knots by the end of the day.


UPDATE 1 // July 19, 2005, 6:00 p.m.
A light breeze around 5 knots from the west is propelling the crews as they practice for the 2nd annual PTPortugal Match Cup. Racing for the 100,000 euros (approximately $120,000) begins tomorrow. The light winds are being caused by the hot weather. Temperatures today are in the low 90s, and the forecast for the week calls for more of the same temperatures.

The event format splits the 12 teams into two groups of six, and each group races a single round robin (five races each).

Group A features Peter Gilmour (AUS), Pizza-La Sailing Team, Staffan Lindberg (FIN), Team Finland, Peter Holmberg (ISV), Alinghi, Chris Law (GBR), The Outlaws, Michael Dunstan (AUS) and Hamish Pepper (NZL), Mascalzone Latino-Capitalia.

Group B includes Jes Gram-Hansen (DEN), Gram-Hansen Racing, Bertrand Pace (FRA), BMW Oracle Racing, Ben Ainslie (GBR), Emirates Team New Zealand, Ian Williams (GBR), Manuel Marques (POR) and Afonso Domingos (POR).

The top three in each group advance to the Quarterfinal Round while the remaining six teams advance to a Repechage Round where they’ll sail another round robin. The top two from the Repechage Round advance to the quarters.

The Quarterfinal, Semifinal, Final and Petite Final are all knockout rounds. In the quarters, semis and final it’s first to score 3 points. In the petite final it’s first to score 2 points.

The flight schedule will be released tomorrow morning, but the crew list is now available.

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