Portimao, Portugal – Race Day 2

Two races today for the MedCup fleet. The wind struggled to find stability and we did not start the racing until 1500.

The first race of the day was held in a light seabreeze from 240. The wind generally went right except the left paid because of pressure. CaxiaGalicia won the race with Artimus second. We on windquest finished 6th.

For the second race, after another sizeable delay waiting for the wind to stabelize, we had 15-18 knots from 315. Smooth seas and sun made for another spectacular race. Mean Machine used their patented committee boat start to jump out to a big lead that they held to the finish. Bribon was second and Christabella third. We managed an 8th after getting bounced around (boats tacking on us) up the first winward leg. We are happy with our consistency. We would like to move a bit higher up the top 10 list. Still a long way to go this week.

We are now 7th overall on Windquest.

Tomorrow is the coastal race which will be two series of windward leeward legs joined in the middle by a 4-5 mile reaching leg.

For complete results go to www.medcup.org

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TP 52 Update

Upon arriving up at the race village yesterday, all the sailors and teams were shocked to learn of the sudden death of Franco Rodino.

Franco was a lifelong photographer and sailing journalist from Italy. Franco suffered a heart attack in a RIB yesterday while out on the water doing what he loved to do…follow the races.

All of the TP52 fleet sends Franco’s family our sincerest condolences.

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Portimao, Portugal – Race Day 1

We had three races today in 16 to 28 knots. Top speeds of 22 knots were seen by all boats on the runs. With the offshore breeze, the sea was flat and the sky was clear and sunny. It was a beautiful day for the 19 boats here in Portimao.

The winner of the day was Valle Romano-Mean Machine with a 7th and two firsts. Second of the day was Artemis with Russell Coutts as tactician with a 2,3 and a 5. Third was CaixaGalicia with John Knostecki as tactician with a 3,4 and 10.

It was important to keep the boat upright during the gybes and almost everyone broached at least once.

We had a decent day on Windquest with a 10, 7 and 8 for 25 points, 8th overall. The fleet is tightly bunched in scoring with Siemens/Matador in 6th with 24 points and Stay Calm in 9th with 27 points.

It was a long day with the third race finishing at 1800. All the teams are still on their boats drying out the insides, folding sails, checking the rigs and it is 1915.

It all starts again tomorrow with the first warning at 1300. The forecast is for a bit less wind.

For complete results go to www.medcup.org

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SIEMENS MATADOR WINS TP 52 FLEET AT 26TH COPA DEL REY CAMPER AUDI.

Super Siemens Champions

Press Release.

Issued by 2007 Breitling MedCup TP52 Circuit.

Regatta 3 of 5, 26th Copa del Rey Camper Audi.

Palma, Mallorca.

Saturday Aug 4th 2007-08-04Day 5 of 5.

SIEMENS MATADOR WINS TP 52 FLEET AT 26TH COPA DEL REY CAMPER AUDI.

Corporacion CxG Caixa Galicia retain overall lead on the 2007 Breitling MedCup TP52 Circuit.

Alberto Roemmers’ Argentinian owned, Spanish sponsored Siemens clinched the overall title in the 22 strong grand prix TP52 class at the 26th Copa del Rey Camper Audi today on the Bay of Palma.

Twenty years after he last won the Mediterranean’s premier trophy on the Maxi Il Moro di Venezia Paul Cayard called the tactics successfully for owner Roemmers and skipper-helmsman Guilermo Parada, winning a closely fought series by just six points from Vasco Vascotto’s 2005 Breitling MedCup winning team on Mutua Madrilena.

A fifth place in the first race today meant Siemens entered the final race of 10 with a five points lead over Mutua Madrilena.

Caught flat-footed on the start line Cayard conjured a third from a poor opening, while Mutua Madrilena’s pair of sixth places left them second with Roberto Bermudez de Castro’s Corporacion CxG Caix Galicia finishing third overall.

For the second successive regatta Torbjorn Tornqvist’s Artemis wins the Corinthian Trophy.

Caixa Galicia still lead the overall standings on the 2007 Breitling MedCup TP52 Circuit.

With the modest S’ly seabreeze fluctuating between six and 10 knots through the day the SM Juan Carlos skippered Bribon looked for all the world to have won the first race today and in so doing atoned for one minor error yesterday which cost them a victory when they misread the number of legs of the course.

But Bribon were judged to have started early and were disqualified, handing the race win to Kiki Sanchex and Santi Lopez’s CAM.

Bribon’s protest against their disqualification was later denied.

Peter de Ridder and the Valle Romano Mean Machine scored what has become something of a 2007 trademark, a final race victory when they bolted from the pin end of the line and were first into the left side advantage.

Siemens Matador’s owner Roemmers’ enthusiasm and dedication on board the Judel Vrolijk designed TP52 belies his 80 plus years.

His first title victory in the Copa del Rey complements a string of international successes with his Alexia yachts including the Maxi World Championships, the Giraglia, Fastnet and Newport to Bermuda Races.

It comes exactly one year after he gave the green light to skipper Guilermo Parada during last year’s Copa del Rey, to start up the TP52 project in the Matador name

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Copa del Rey, Race Day 5

We Won!

Siemens/Matador won the Copa del Rey today on the bay of Palma with scores of 4, 5. Never did we finish out of the top 5 in an inshore race!

The boat was fast and when we were back in the fleet we were patient and found opportunties without taking big risks.

Very satisfying for the whole team. For Matador owner Alberto Roemmers this was his first win in the Copa del Rey. It is a pleasure to see a man of his experiences especially yesterday in 22. Knots of wind. Then for the Parada brothers, (Guellermo helmsman and Mariano strategist) lost their father on this day two years ago, Siemens, our great sponsor, won this regatta last year with Patches so two in a row, and for me, I won this regatta 20 years ago on I’ll Moro di Venezia with my friend Raul Gardini.

Winning isn’t everything but it sure is fun!

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Copa del Rey, Race Day 4

It was a good day for Siemens/Matador as we regained the lead.

With Princess Ellena di Borbon onboard, we had two good scores today, 3 and 5. Stay Calm of Great Britain won both races and moved into a tie with Mutua Madrilena, so both are two points behind us.

Two races were held in 22 knots, dropping to 14 knots of wind from 055-NE. The course was more open than in the southerly breeze so the fleet stayed quite compact. The first race was windy and the fleet enjoyed some planing conditions downwind. The wind steadily dropped as the day went on. Only two races were run.

So, tomorrow will be a big day with the top three boats within two points of each other and only two races scheduled. The four points awarded to Mutua Madrilena, after the conclusion of racing on Wednesday, could become decisive.

For complete results go to www.medcup.org

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Copa del Rey, Race Day 3

Tough day on the Palma Bay for us on Siemens/Matador. The race was a windward – leeward – windward, followed by a tour of Palma Bay with a long reach, then upwind and finally a long downwind fetch. The wind was anywhere from 165 to 210 degrees, in different parts of the bay.

We had a top ten race going until the last upwind leg. I went too far to the right…along the coast and there was much more wind out in the middle of the bay. Vasco Vascotto, with local Nacho Postigo as naviator, went the right way on every leg and won the race.

There was also a mid point score, where we were 7th.

So we slipped to 2nd overall, with Vascotto’s Mutua Madrilena in the lead by 10 points (they got a little help from the jury last night). Bribon, the boat on which King Juan Carlos sails, moved into third place.

The points are very tight and there could be as many as five more races, so plenty of opportunity to go either way on the leader board.

Complete results can be found at www.medcup.org. Sorry for the typos in previous days.

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Copa del Rey, Race Day 2

Another hard fought day out on the TP 52 course… they all will be! Three races were sailed on the bay of Palma de Majorca in winds as light as 6 knots up to 14 knots in the last one.

Good day overall for us on Siemens/Matador with all top five finishes of 2, 3, 5. Artemis with Russell Coutts as tactician, had the best day with a 5, 1, 1. Mutua Madrilena of Vasco Vascotto, who had the lead after yesterday, had two mid fleet finishes and one first place.

Overall: Siemens 14, Mutua Madrilena 26, Artemis 27.

The races are extreemly competitive and every error costs a couple of places.

Tomorrow will be a coastal race with a mid point scoring gate as well as the finish of course.

Complete Scores at www.medcup.org

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Copa del Rey, Day 1, Races 1 & 2

Palma de Majorca, Spain

On Tuesday the TP 52 fleet raced races 1 & 2 on the bay of Palma de Majorca, Spain in mild conditions of 8-11 knots from the SSW. The wind was shifting quite a bit and was anything but steady. In both races the left side of the course was heavily favored and the leaders always came from that side. The exception was on the second windward leg of the second race when Bribon, with King Juan Carlos onboard got a private right hand shift of about 10 degrees, which brought him up from a distant 7th to equal for the lead. It is called the Copa del Rey! In the end Bribon finished third.

Vasco Vascotta had the best day with a 1, 2 score followed closely by Siemens/Matador of Alberto Roemmers with a 3, 1 and with some guy named Cayard as tactician. Third for the day was Platoon with 8 points and Jochen Schuman(Alinghi) on the helm and John Cutler(Desafio Espanol) tactician. The fleet is filled with the top talent in the sport in every position. There will be many ups and downs before the week is over.

The racing continues through Saturday.

For complete scores go to www.medcup.org

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WORLD SAILING LEAGUE UNVEILS SPEED MACHINE DESIGN

Today, the World Sailing League (WSL) unveiled the innovative design for their futuristic 70 ft catamarans that will be raced in the new global Grand Prix series, the premier annual sailing competition. The spectacular speed-machines represent the next evolution of sailing and will be the fastest one design boats ever built.

With towering masts of over 98 ft and foiled hulls sitting at almost 40 ft wide, these catamarans represent the forefront of design technology. The boats will be crewed by nine professional sailors and one select guest and will be capable of speeds up to 40 knots,

Designer Vincent Lauriot Prévost of VPLP explained the design philosophy: “We are very excited about this catamaran because she represents a step towards the future of racing. If we consider that monohulls were the racing standard, then multihull design has stretched the performance possibilities and now ‘outmodes’ the mono. Now these multihulls armed with foils will be the next generation that will overtake the conventional multihull. WSL will spearhead this new evolution.”

For WSL event owner João Lagos, the design launch represents an important step forward in the development of the World Sailing League: “We’ve been working hard for a long time to create all of the areas of WSL and have accelerated our efforts since our launch in February. Whilst venue development is an exceptionally important aspect of the project, the boats and their spectacular performance characteristics are integral to the WSL vision for creating fast, equally matched and coast hugging fleet racing. We always wanted to create something new and exciting in the sport and I believe that with this new design is the first important piece of our vision.”

Under a strict one design, no compromise philosophy the catamarans will combine speed, manoeuvrability and the ability to sail close to shore for optimum spectator viewing whilst the high mast and foils will ensure thrilling racing in a wide range of breeze.

The central pod and hulls will be constructed from carbon fibre prepreg foam sandwich to minimise weight, with single skin carbon fibre autoclaved prepreg used for the mast and beams. The centreboard on the pod will be 4.25 metres deep, with the option to raise it to 3.5 metres for racing close to shore. There will be five sails available to the teams, ranging from the 72 m2 staysail to a 260 m2 gennaker.

Legendary sailors Russell Coutts and Paul Cayard, founders of WSL, have been heavily involved with the design and planning process. Coutts commented: “Paul and I have been working on this project for some time now, so it’s fantastic to be at the point where we are starting to build these catamarans. These boats are going to be extremely quick and should represent the future of fleet racing. Vincent (Lauriot Prévost) and his team have done a great job and we can’t wait to take the first one for a test run on the water.”

With the design now finalised, fourteen of these spectacular catamarans will be built in Portugal, with the first due for completion in June 2008. The remaining boats will be built over the following 18 months, in time for promotional regattas around the world in 2009 and the first full year of the World Sailing League in 2010.

The name of this exciting new class will be announced at the unveiling of the first boat in July next year.

Design specifications

~ Weight: 5,700kg

~ LOA: 70ft

~ Width: 12metres

~ Mast height: 30 metres

Sail specifications

~ Main 168m2

~ Solent 115m2

~ Staysail 72m2

~ Code 0 155m2

~ Gennaker 260m2 (approx.)

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