| Ireland. ISAF Nations Cup Grand Final: Viva la France takes the double |
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; "ISAF Nations Cup 2006: © Event media")
| Saturday, 09 September 2006 | |
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Maritta Buwalda: France has won the double at the ISAF Nations Cup 2006 at the Royal Cork Yacht Club in association with Failte Ireland, the Irish Sports Council, and Smart Telecom. What a finish... the day began with partial cloud but as the gentle morning breeze slowly filled in to a steady 15 knots from the south east. The sun slowly broke through the clouds and by the time semi finals got under way it was a beautiful sunny Autumn day with a fresh breeze in Cork Harbour. The tension both on and off the water was immense, as both competitors and spectators waited in anticipation for the Semi finals & Finals. The final day of the series saw some of the best racing ever to be seen in Cork Harbour and those watching were treated to the extreme. FRANCE and USA were out of the starting blocks first and the French showed why they were the dominant force. A strong tide pushing the boats over the starting line made for some interesting pre start manouvers. In the first race of the day it was France who recovered the quickest from being pushed over the line and took the lead by heading out into the tide towards the shore. With a clear run on the semi's France moved into the Finals. Meantime Russia and South Aftrica(RSA) were producing first class match racing. Russia was trying to push RSA over the line in their first match of the semi final, but the South Africans managed to find at gap and got clear ahead. The South Africans showing better boat speed for the day and battled their way into the finals. The Finals began with the Open Event's first flight, tensions were high as the South Africians, the defending team, were trying to take the cup for a second time in a row with France looking to snatch it away. First flight saw both teams get a clear start at the committee boat end. France opened the gap slightly to leeward. A tacking dual up the 1st beat ensued but the excellent boat handling skills of the French gave them the extra boat length needed to pull away into clean air and take the first flight. The pressure on both teams began to increase. Could France take the next flight; - it would be game over, but if RSA took the race it was game on! France lead off from the start with RSA to leeward, with France a boat length ahead at the top mark . It was neck and neck downwind, coming into the leeward mark with RSA hitting the mark incurring a penalty. However France had an infrigment at the windward mark so they were even with penalties for the downwind leg. The hearts of the spectators were pounding and breath's were held at every gybe downwind. RSA slightly behind closed the gap , the French then shepherd RSA over to the starboard side of the committee boat. The South Africans then gybed in French water, made contact and a penalty was given to RSA, leaving them with a double penalty at the finish and France taking the Nations Cup. It was a European final for the womens event with world no 1 Claire LeRoy and Denmarks Lotte Pedersen taking up the gauntlet. France had to take a pre start penalty for luffing too high. An even start with DEN to windward but France reached the windward mark first with 2-3 boat lengths to spare. At the tope of the second beat France were able to clear their penalty recieved in the pre start and managed to stay ahead by a nose. Taking the first match of the women's final. France's second flight with Denmark was to be another close battle after a very even start with both teams covering each other up to the windward mark. An incident with a passing cruiser at the leeward mark caused competitors to protest. The umpires decided that it was not affecting their racing and racing continued on. It was France who clinced victory by a whisper. As the sun sets over the Irish skies it was been a sweet victory for some and for the remaining teams it has been top class match racing at the ISAF Nations Cup Grand Final 2006. ISAF Nations Cup Open Event Winners: FRANCE 2nd: RUS 3rd : USA ISAF Nations Cup Women’s Event: Winners : FRANCE 2nd: DEN 3rd: NED ISAF Nations Cup 2006 - Open Event Results of Round Robin Series Overall France Mathieu Richard – Won 15 Lost 3 Russian Eugeniy Neugodnikov – Won 14 Lost 4 South Africa Ian Ainslie – Won 14 Lost 4 Sweden Martin Angsell – Won 9 Lost 9 USA Brian Angel – Won 11 Lost 7 New Zealand Simon Dickey – Won 7 Lost 11 Argentina Juan Grimaldi – Won 10 Lost 8 India Mahesh Ramachandran – Won 3 Lost 15 Portugal Helder Basilio – Won 4 Lost 14 Ireland George Kingston – Won 2.5 Lost 15 Women’s Australia Nicky Souter – Won 12 Lost 4 France Claire Leroy - Won 13 Lost 3 Bermuda Paula Lewin – Won 9 Lost 7 Denmark Lotte Pedersen – Won 11 Lost 5 Netherlands Klaartje Zuiderbaan – Won 9 Lost 7 Ireland Mary O'Loughlin – Won 7 Lost 9 GB Lucy MacGregor - Won 5 Lost 11 New Zealand Jessica Smythe – Won 5 Lost 11 Brazil Rossana Ramos – Won 1 Lost 15 More information on www.matchrace.ie |
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