Stockholm, May 25, 2007 - The Ericsson Racing Team will enter two boats in the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09. After recruiting skipper John Kostecki, designer Juan Kouyoumdjian and boat builder Killian Bushe last year, the team announces today that a second boat bearing its colours will be raced by a Nordic crew and skippered by Swede Anders Lewander.
The Ericsson Racing Team has decided to build two boats in its bid to conquer the Volvo Ocean Race in 2008 - 09. "This is without a doubt the best way to go about building a strong campaign", comments John Kostecki, skipper of one of the boats. "It will allow us to conduct full scale speed testing and also helps us with our sail program by allowing us to test different sail configurations."
Alongside Kostecki's international crew, the second boat will be raced by an all Nordic team with a Swedish skipper. Anders Lewander, who will lead this team, is a newcomer in the Volvo Ocean Race and his profile is different from the usual offshore professional sailor. "We want to bring new people to the event", comments Managing Director Richard Brisius. "One of our goals is to contribute to building experience of top level offshore sailing among sailors in Scandinavia. There are some very skilled sailors in the Nordic region and we want to give them the opportunity to gain the experience required in international offshore sailing."
Anders Lewander has a strong background in dinghies sailing, having been a member of the Swedish National Sailing Team. Amongst different and very varied sailing experiences - ranging from 49ers to Archipelago Raid - he has also sailed around the world on board Cheyenne/Playstation in the Oryx Cup 2005. He has been working for North Sails Sweden since 1994, and is a very experienced sail maker.
"I am very pleased to join such a strong and professional team", comments Anders Lewander. "This is a fantastic opportunity, that suits my personality. I am eager to learn and to share my knowledge. Make no mistake, not having done the race before does not mean I do not aim high. We will be a competitive crew and part of a very strong campaign. I look forward to taking on this great challenge."
Lewander's crew will benefit from five time Whitbread / Volvo Ocean Race veteran Magnus Olsson's experience. Technical Director for the Ericsson Racing Team in 2005-06, "Mange", has been appointed by Lewander as coach and advisor to the Nordic crew. "His experience will be of great benefit to our team and I eager to get started", comments Lewander.
The two crews will be part of one same team and the two boats will compete on an equal basis. Both of them will be built by Killian Bushe next to Ericsson's headquarters in Kista (Stockholm).
"The fact of having two competitive crews in the next race will allow us to train efficiently and to improve a lot before the start of the race", comments Richard Brisius. "It will also give the opportunity to a Nordic crew to sail and hopefully perform well around the world."
Valencia, Spain – Don Wilson’s day-to-day life in the world of proprietary derivatives trading bears close resemblance to his approach to sailing – it is all about the disciplines of managing risk and reward.
Risk and reward was also part of the calculation that drove the Chicago businessman to bid $102,600 on eBay for the chance to race as 18th man on USA 98 today. “I figured there was a reasonable chance that BMW ORACLE Racing would be the challenger for the America’s Cup and that would give some reasonable expected value to this experience,” he said. “Also, the money was going to a good cause.”
The auction was an initiative by BMW North America in support of one of the car maker’s long-standing charitable causes, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, a foundation for breast cancer research. Wilson’s generous bid was the highest amount paid in support of charity for an 18th man ride with BMW ORACLE Racing.
Wilson only heard about the auction from a friend as it neared its closing date, so entered his bid and won the trip of a lifetime to Valencia as the guest of the team. Part of the prize was also a superb Girard-Perregaux watch, which was presented to Wilson by Gino Macaluso, president of the exclusive Swiss watch company.
Wilson is a keen amateur sailor and owns a small fleet of race yachts including a J105, a Melges 24, a Tartan 10 and a couple of Tom 28 yachts.
Wilson first learned to sail as an 11-year-old when his family moved to Zurich, Switzerland. He returned to the USA to attend the University of Chicago and later went on to found his own business, DRW Trading Group, which has offices in Chicago, New York and London and deals in the arcane world of proprietary derivatives trading.
These highly specialized markets are characterized literally by an infinite variety of maturities, contract specifications and exotic modifications. Understanding the derivatives markets implies an ability to fathom quickly the nuances of the listed markets.
“Actually, sailing is very similar,” said Wilson. “It is as risky as you want to make it. If you make it riskier than you should, you pay the consequences. It is all about finding opportunities and deciding on the right amount of risk to take.
“When you are racing, you are constantly assessing the probabilities of windshifts and weather factors and then you make good risk-reward decisions based on those elements.”
If some people choose to find their recreation in areas completely different from their day-to-day working lives, Wilson is happy to adopt a businesslike approach to his sailing. “I am fine with that. It is a very different format and environment.”
Although he is keen on sailing, he has never been near an America’s Cup event before. “I am not a spectator sports type of person,” he said. “I prefer to be out there doing it myself.”
Of course, from his privileged vantage point at the back of the yacht, the 18th man is not allowed to participate, or even speak, during the racing, but Wilson was perfectly content to be a spectator on this occasion.
Afterwards, Wilson was upbeat about the experience. “It was definitely a lot of fun to be right there in the action,” he said. “The racing was very close. It was a great experience – definitely well worthwhile.”
Valencia, Spain. The Louis Vuitton Cup semi-final mountain got steeper today as BMW ORACLE Racing went 3-1 down against Luna Rossa Challenge, but the USA team remained confident about fighting back. The two yachts engaged in a spirited battle all the way around the course, with very little difference evident in boatspeed. Racing in a steady 10-12 knot seabreeze, the course presented few passing opportunities and, despite strong tacking and gybing attacks upwind and downwind, USA 98 was unable to break through. “We never feel good about losing and being 3-1 down is not where we wanted to be at this stage,” said BMW ORACLE Racing navigator, Peter Isler. “But, there is still a long way to go and the strategy remains to go out and win one race at a time. We have confidence in the crew and the boat and we are determined to go out there and turn it around.”
Race summary: The afterguards of both teams in the Louis Vuitton Cup semi-final engaged in a battle of nerves out on the race course as they separated right across the course by 2.7km. The split took place on the second windward leg after Luna Rossa Challenge led around the first two marks by 13 seconds and 12 seconds respectively. In a steady breeze and with very similar boatspeed, the two yachts reconverged after the split with no significant change in their relative positions. At the start, skipper Chris Dickson and the BMW ORACLE Racing crew fought for and won the right hand side. It was close round the first windward mark and even closer round the leeward mark as the yachts split through the gate and then marched away from each other in that massive split. When they rounded the final mark, Luna Rossa Challenge had a 28 second lead. USA 98 mixed it up again downwind, throwing gybe after gybe to keep the pressure on the Italian team. BMW ORACLE Racing gained all the way, but was unable to find a passing opportunity and trailed by 23 seconds at the finish.
Quotes from BMW ORACLE Racing navigator, Peter Isler: “We wanted the right hand side at the start and everybody did a nice job of getting it. After a drag race on starboard, we both tacked over and Luna Rossa Challenge was marginally ahead. On the long port tack, we expected a right hand shift, but the wind was remarkably steady. It was as if the two boats were tied together and that half boatlength advantage remained for Luna Rossa.
“The big split in the second windward leg was like a battle of nerves. As we split through the leeward gate, the Italians made an effective gain of a couple of boatlengths by sailing a shorter distance. We were looking for something to go our way on the left, but the shift did not come. When we came back together, the gap was about the same. We threw a lot of tacks and gybes at them and our guys did great work. But, without any mistakes on the Italian boat and no big windshifts, we could not erase their lead.”
LONG BEACH, Calif.---Everybody knew the Russians were coming to the Long Beach Yacht Club's 43rd Congressional Cup, presented by Acura, but not a French revolution.
"La journee de Francais!" said Mathieu Richard.
With four wins and one loss, Thursday was a very good day for him, the No. 2-ranked match racer in the world, and even better for Damien Iehl, whose 5-0 rush punched him from out of the backwash into contention for the fourth slot in Saturday's semifinals. That will be determined Friday in the last three round-robin matches that loom as an up-tempo scramble.
Russia's "Lord of the Sail" team led by Eugeniy Neugodnikov went 4-1 to jump into fourth place and sit on the bubble at 9-6, one point ahead of Iehl and Scott Dickson of Long Beach at 8-7.
Nobody is in the semis for sure---not even Richard (12-3), the third overall leader in the first thee days, or New Zealand's Simon Minoprio (11.75.-2), whose quarter-point penalty from earlier in the week probably won't matter anymore, and certainly not Sweden's Johnie Berntsson, who slipped from first to third when his nine-race win streak turned sour into three consecutive losses before he righted himself with a photo-finish win over Richard in their last race.
On the other hand, Richard and Minoprio are home free with only one more win, and Berntsson would join then with two, regardless of tiebreakers and other results.
The only certainty, with no past champions in the field, is that the ultimate winner will be wearing the traditional Crimson Blazer for the first time. Sailors currently competing for the America's Cup at Valencia have won 10 of the last 11 and 13 of the last 17 Congressional Cups: BMW Oracle's Chris Dickson (1990-91) and Gavin Brady (1996-97, 2006), Emirates Team New Zealand's Dean Barker (2000, 2005) and Terry Hutchinson (1992), and Alinghi's Peter Holmberg (1998-99, 2001-02) and Ed Baird (2004).
This younger generation, with similar ambitions, has Simon Minoprio, 24; Eugeniy Neugodnikov, 25; Brian Angel, 26; Przemek Tarnacki, 29; Mathieu Richard, 30; Damien Iehl, 31; Martin Angsell, 33; Johnie Berntsson, 35; Scott Dickson, 36, and Andrew Arbuzov, 41.
Conditions Thursday mirrored the first two days, starting under a gray and gloomy marine layer with 5 knots of wind and improving to sunny and 12 knots by day's end.
Principal race officer Randy Smith's committee ran five rounds for the third day in a row, allowing them the luxury of starting an hour later Friday so everyone can sleep in. Racing will start at 12:30 p.m., conditions permitting.
Iehl said of his stunning effort, "We were much more happy with our boat speed and maneuvers. We focused really hard on that."
Their problem wasn't getting off the line. "[Wednesday] we won three starts and lost the races," Iehl said. "We were very slow."
Berntsson, who lost to Brian Angel, last-place Martin Angsell of Sweden and Neugodnikov, said, "We knew the other teams were improving."
Iehl said, "Friday we'll sail them one by one and see what happens."
The total purse will be $41,000, including $10,000 to the winner.
Valencia, Spain. BMW ORACLE Racing retained its lead in the Louis Vuitton Cup round robins after winning a riveting pre-start battle against the Italian Mascalzone Latino Capitalia team in Valencia today.
All the action was in the pre-start, with skipper Chris Dickson making a hair-breadth judgment to hook USA 98’s bow behind the transom of the Italian yacht and force them over the startline early. By the time Mascalzone Latino Capitalia had circled back to re-start the match, USA 98 had leaped away into an unassailable lead.
“Chris Dickson did a masterful job of judging the time and distance to perfection in the closing seconds of the pre-start,“ said BMW ORACLE Racing navigator, Peter Isler. “After that start, the remainder of the race was pretty much a formality.“
Race summary: All the action came in the last 10 to 15 seconds of the pre-start duel with Mascalzone Latino Capitalia set up to leeward of USA 98 up at the Committee Boat end of the line. The Italians were trying to close the door and prevent USA 98 from squeezing into the narrow gap between them and the Committee Boat. But, at the last possible second, Dickson drove the bow of USA 98 down and then hooked up underneath the Italian boat, turning the tables and forcing them above the line. The advantage to the BMW ORACLE Racing team was too much for the Mascalzone crew to overcome and USA 98 led by 53 seconds at the first mark, 1 minute 15 seconds at the second, 1 minute 14 seconds at the third and finally crossed the finish line 57 seconds ahead.
Quotes from Peter Isler: “Chris Dickson did a great job in the pre-start. There was current sweeping across the line, making it difficult to get the time and distance right. Mascalzone Latino Capitalia were in a strong position, but they got a little greedy and tried to close us out at the Committee Boat. Chris got the bow down and pushed them over the line early. We have practised those moves a lot. Credit needs to go to Brad Webb on the bow as well. He and Chris have great communication going and were able to judge it with split-second accuracy.“
SANTA CRUZ, Calif.---Like anxious gladiators sizing up the Roman Colosseum, the 58 entries in the 2007 Fullpower Melges 24 World Championship take to Monterey Bay Saturday and Sunday for the “Pre-Worlds” prelude.
The lions will be turned loose on the same growling waters next Tuesday for five days of serious racing in the class’s 10th international classic, hosted by the Santa Cruz Yacht Club.
Eddy Eich, the reigning European Corinthian (amateur) champion, said, “The waves are bigger here than what we are used to in the Mediterranean. We have to tune up our boat for conditions here. We have to stiffen it up. People are using more tension on uppers and lowers [shrouds]. Hopefully, it will be windy [this weekend]. In light air we don’t have a problem, but we need some exercise in windy conditions.”
Eich, a world 6-Meter champion in 2005 who finished ninth in last year’s North American Championship here, will also try to line up with top contenders to “see how quick they go and try to tune our boat to get similar speed.”
Winning is not a priority right now.
“The Pre-Worlds have nothing to do with the Worlds,” Eich said.
Meanwhile, Vince Brun of San Diego, who won the first two Melges 24 Worlds in 1998 and ’99, withdrew after suffering a shoulder injury.
Chris Larson, an America’s Cup and Volvo Ocean Race veteran from Annapolis, offered a scientific insight into the prevailing conditions: It’s the water. The temperature of Monterey Bay generally runs in the mid-50s (F.) this time of year.
“We’ve been here a few days and seen the conditions that are Santa Cruz’s claim to fame,” Larson said. “It’s been cool and windy and the air is very dense because of the cool water temperature. The cold water will allow the air to sink lower and the density makes the wind stronger.”
Larson quipped, “It’s so much fun sailing downwind that it’s too bad we don’t sail [with a race course] two miles downwind and one mile upwind.”
Larson said a Melges 24 will do up to 17 knots downwind in 20 knots of wind.
“The limiting factor is the waves,” he said. “You’re going over one and planing into another one, and everyone on the boat is hanging on for dear life.”
Cedric Pouligny of France, who will be driving Mojo for a British crew that includes owner Miles Quinton, was less concerned with conditions than performance.
“We’re a brand new team this year, so we have no objective except to maximize what we do,” he said.
The team this year launched a four-year campaign aimed at eventually winning the Worlds. Pouligny won the Melges 24 European title in 2001 and was part of the 2004 Worlds winning crew in Marstrand, Sweden, with helm Seb Col aboard Philip Ligot’s Partner & Partners (P&P
Quinton said, “We’ve all sailed Melges for awhile but we’re still very young as a team. It is useful when you sail against the top boats. When we did Key West it was light to moderate and that was pretty good. We were 11th out of 60 boats. A lot of the same competitors are here, [and] all although there aren’t as many boats as there have been in Europe, all of the top Europeans are here. The top 20 is going to be just as intense.”
The Santa Cruz YC hosts have a full schedule of activities planned ashore. The hospitality will include on-site concessions run by local businesses offering specialty coffee and pastries by Java Junction, pre-ordered race lunches by Erik's DeliCafé and bottled water by Crystal Springs, available by the case.
There also will be post-race social events, with complimentary beverage most evenings provided by sponsors like Sierra Nevada, Pusser's Rum and Seabright Brewery. Hors d'ouevres will be available each night, with dinners on two nights, featuring Polynesian specialties from Aloha Grill and BBQ'd tri-tip by club member/restaurateur Walter Oliveri of Aldo's.
Valencia, Spain. Racing was abandoned after more than two hours of waiting for the wind to stabilise as black thunderstorms drifted across Valencia and played havoc with the wind.
There was breeze – sometimes up to 12-14 knots – but it was clocking right around the compass and eventually the Race Committees on both courses sent the Louis Vuitton Cup fleet ashore without racing.
It was a disappointment for fans hoping to see a battle of the big guns between BMW ORACLE Racing and Luna Rossa Challenge, both of whom top the leaderboard with 27 points each. Today’s cancellation means organisers will try to complete two flights of matches tomorrow to remain on schedule.
BMW ORACLE Racing will meet Luna Rossa Challenge first, followed by a bye.
Valencia, Spain. A gear problem on USA 98 saw the team record its first loss of Louis Vuitton Cup Round Robin Two in Valencia today and saw China Team record its first win of the series so far. The problem came early in the first windward leg when the genoa sail pulled out of the headstay foil. Efforts by the crew to rehoist the sail proved fruitless when it tore out a second time and USA 98 was left sailing the first windward leg under mainsail only. China Team overtook and then extended to a lead which proved insurmountable in the end, despite significant gains by BMW ORACLE Racing on the remaining three legs.
Race summary: USA 98 dominated the start, luffing up sharply just before the gun to force China Team almost head to wind. At the gun, USA 98 leaped away into an early lead and was extending up the windward leg in a fresh 12-15 knot breeze when misfortune struck the BMW ORACLE Racing boat. China Team led by 5 minute 15 seconds at the first mark rounding. USA 98 reduced that by more than 1 minute downwind and the crew managed to hoist and secure a headsail for the second beat. At the finish, China Team led by 3 minutes 15 seconds.
Ian Burns, BMW ORACLE Racing design coordinator: „We will remove the rig and do a thorough inspection overnight. Obviously, we will take remedial action to ensure this does not happen again. We had a similar problem in Act 13, but the two incidents happened in completely different circumstances. We will be ready to race tomorrow.”
Sten Mohr, BMW ORACLE Racing helmsman: „Obviously, we are very disappointed at what happened today. We were looking forward to our race against China Team and were optimistic for a different outcome.”
LONG BEACH, Calif.---The Russians are coming to Long Beach, on their way to . . . the America's Cup?
Eugeny Neugodnikov and Andrew Arbuzov, currently sixth and 24th in the International Sailing Federation's world match race rankings, will be among 10 competitors in the Long Beach Yacht Club's 43rd Congressional Cup, presented by Acura, May 15-19, Tuesday through Saturday.
While the more familiar world-class talents duke it out in Valencia, Neugodnikov and Arbuzov are believed to be the first Russians to compete in a match racing event in the U.S. If Neugodnikov's performance matches his ambition, he'll be leading Russia's first America's Cup challenge the next time around.
Neugodnikov, 25, has been match racing only five years but claims success against two AC skippers on the world circuit---2-0 vs. James Spithill of Luna Rossa and 1-1 vs. 2000 Congressional Cup winner Dean Barker of Emirates New Zealand.
He has his own slick website with the name of his team (www.lordofsail.com/ ) in Russian and English, plus a few sponsors for support.
So how did he become No. 6 and climbing?
"We won the Yava Trophy 2006, a Grade 1 [event], and two Grade 2 [events], Sails of White Nights [and] Sopot MR," he said by e-mail.
His all-Russian crew is Ekimov Alexander, Kornev Nikolay, Besputin Konstantin, Pozidaev Mihail and Karelskiy Maksim.
He has only heard of a Catalina 37, the Congressional Cup workhorse for the last 15 years.
"I heard that the boat is good---but slow in the pre-start maneuvers!" he said.
Veteran match racing umpire Henry Menin has said of Neugodnikov, "I had the opportunity to watch and to umpire Eugeny in New Zealand. It was a pleasure to watch the progress he has made. He and the crew represent Russia in a very fine way.
"He also is the only one of the competitors who flies his national flag on his backstay for every race, so obviously he is very proud to be representing Russia."
Brian Angel, 25, a second-time competitor from Redondo Beach, said, "I've sailed against Neugodnikov a few times. He's a pretty wound-up skipper . . . pretty aggressive on the water and seems to have a lot of close races. He wins plenty of them, needless to say."
Neugodnikov said on his website, "The Lord of the Sail has the aim to take part in the largest and most prestigious world, European and Russian sailing regattas. The basic purpose in 2006-2007 is to rise to 3 to 6 (he's already there), to win the Open World championship and to [join] the world match racing tour. That's all to raise the prestige of Russia on the international sailing scene.
"The general purpose of the team: participation in the America's Cup, the greatest event in world match racing."
France's Mathieu Richard, No. 4 in the world, heads the Congressional Cup list. Others in order of rankings: Neugodnikov, No. 6; Damien Iehl, France, No. 10; Johnie Berntsson, Sweden, No. 13; Simon Minoprio, New Zealand, No. 17; Martin Angsell, Sweden, No. 22; Arbuzov, No. 24; Angel, No. 35; Przemek Tarnacki, Poland, No. 51; Scott Dickson, Long Beach, No. 101.
Dickson, an LBYC member, does not compete regularly on the circuit but this will be his 11th Congressional Cup.
The total purse will be $41,000, including $10,000 to the winner.
Spectators will have free front row seats for the racing with the start and finish lines located at the recently upgraded Belmont Pier. There will be expert commentary, a leader board and free parking. Food and beverages will be available in a new patio setting.
Valencia, Spain. BMW ORACLE Racing maintained its position at the top of the Louis Vuitton Cup leaderboard after winning two tough matches in Valencia today.
In both races, the first against the South African Shosholoza team and the second against Victory Challenge, the USA 98 crew came from behind to add four valuable points to their score. The wins leave BMW ORACLE Racing with 25 points, equal with Luna Rossa Challenge.
“The boat and the crew were the real winners today,“ said BMW ORACLE Racing navigator, Peter Isler. “Our boat is really strong in those dogfight conditions. Once another boat is ahead, it is always hard to get past. But if you have a fast boat, once you manage to get past, you are away.“
Race One summary: Shosholoza held the advantage and maintained it up the first windward leg and down the run to lead BMW ORACLE Racing by 7 seconds and 9 seconds at the respective marks. On the second windward leg, the two yachts split tacks, with USA 98 going out to the left and the South African team heading right. After a long separation, USA 98 gained the lead. At the final mark rounding, USA 98 led by 24 seconds and then extended down the run to finish with a 43 second margin.
Race Two summary: After 14 tacks up the first windward leg, USA 98 kept the action tight all the way against a 10° shift to the right which advantaged the Swedish team. USA 98 rounded the first mark 13 seconds behind at the first mark and 17 seconds behind at the second mark. Back up the windward leg the grinders and crew on USA 98 completed 17 tacks, gaining all the time. Once again, the approach to the mark was tight, with USA 98 on port tack ducking the transom of the Swedish yacht coming in on starboard. As the yachts crossed, skipper Chris Dickson spun up inside the Victory Challenge yacht and rounded the mark ahead by just 1 second and then luffed the Swedes, forcing them to tack away. Towards the end of the final leg, the afterguard on USA 98 had done a great job of positioning the boat in pressure and BMW ORACLE Racing took the match by 14 seconds.
Quotes from Peter Isler, BMW ORACLE Racing navigator:
“In the match against Shosholoza, we were able to gain big leverage out to the left on the second windward leg. Gavin Brady (tactician) and Eric Doyle (strategist) held their nerve out to the left and the wind went our way.
“The second match against Sweden was very close. Over the past three or four years our crew has done so much work with our in-house racing, so we have been in those close situations many times. The experience of pushing and pushing and keeping the pressure on all the way came good. The move we made at the second windward mark rounding is something we have practised many times before. If you play it right, you can make gains. If you get it wrong, it is game over.
“The final run to the finish was close all the way. Eric Doyle was up the rig calling the pressure. But it was a tricky day. The wind kept clocking around, so when Sweden was way across the course from us, they were getting the benefit of the shifts, but we were sailing in more pressure.“
Valencia, Spain. After three weeks of disruption because of too little wind, today’s racing was cancelled in Valencia because of too much wind. With winds constantly above 20 knots and gusting much higher, the Race Committees on both Louis Vuitton Cup courses sent the fleet ashore. The cancellation of today’s racing means doubling up the flights for tomorrow to maintain the Round Robin Two schedule. BMW ORACLE Racing will first meet the South African Shosholoza team, followed by the Swedish Victory Challenge syndicate.
According to Chris Bedford, BMW ORACLE Racing meteorologist, “The weather pattern we have been wanting to change for the past three weeks has, in fact, changed. What was driving the easterly gradient winds before was a low over Africa. Now we have a new low coming in off the Atlantic Ocean. A series of lows will be bothering us for the next few days with unstable winds – a mix of light and moderate conditions.“
Bedford explained that the sea breeze battled to get going in the past three weeks because the gradient breeze was easterly, when it needed to be westerly to get the proper circulation going. Now the new situation has produced westerly gradient winds, but they are too strong. “I guess it is a case of beware what you wish for,“ said Bedford, who said the outlook for tomorrow was for less wind than today, but very unstable in direction.