Conditions over the last three days have been tough for both the Race Committee and competitors at the Marseille International Match Race. The Principle Race Officer had to go scouring for wind on Marseille’s Outer Harbor for the final day.

Poland's Karol Jablonski overcame both a slow start earlier in the week and the regatta’s hottest skipper Bertrand Pacé, to win his second Marseille International Match Race in a row.

The Polish took the first race quite comfortably, but then watched the French battle back to even the score and force a third and deciding match.

In his semifinal, Jablonski dispatched of his opponent, the Frenchman Luc Pillot, former helmsman for America’s Cup le Défi Areva Challenge, 2-0, to gain momentum heading into his clash with Pacé, who likewise shed his opponent, France’s Matthieu Richard.

In the petit finals, the young French match racer Matthieu Richard defeated his fellow countryman Luc Pillot to finish third. In the sail-off, New Zealand’s Kelvin Harrap swept past native son Dimitri Deruelle to finish fifth.

The next event on the International Tour is the Congressionnal Cup in Long Beach, California, April 19/24.

Results

Finals : Jablonski def. Pacé, 2/1
Petit finals : Richard def. Pillot, 2/0
Semi-finals : Pacé def. Richard, 2/0 - Jablonski def. Pillot, 2/0
Sail-off : Harrap def. Deruelle, 2/0

Yesterday, weather forecasts predicted a force 7 to 8 south-east wind for today which was not very good prediction to pursue the competition. Fortunately, weather conditions were lighter than expected with a south east breeze scaling from 15 to 20 knots with gusts up to 28 knots in the morning.

The wind was still not stable in direction and strength coming from the shore. The sea was flat under a cloudy sky with no rain. In this kind of weather, the race committee managed to finish a second round Robin and postponed the semi-finals and the finals for tomorrow Sunday..

The day has been very intense with 5 flights and 15 tight matches. All the matches have been much disputed with very close sailing, a lot of position controls and sail by the rules usage.

The six sailors, who qualified on Thursday and Friday, struggled hard in this second Round Robin to win their place in the semi-finals. Bertrand Pacé, skipper of the New-Zealand team in 2003 America's Cup, dominated this round Robin with 5 victories over 5.

Karol Jablonski, Number 1 worldwide Match Race sailor, finished second and Luc Pillot, French team leader of 2003 America's Cup, won his qualification for the semi-final.

The last qualified for the semi-final is Matthieu Richard, current number 4 worldwide Match Racer, who managed to win 2 matches in spite of the accident of one of his team member: in a jibe, Matthieu Richard's crew member was hit in the head by the boom, cutting a part of his ear. The wound was not serious but the race committee preferred to send him to the nearest hospital and replace him for the rest of the day..

Tomorrow Sunday, the fourth and last day of the regatta, will see the semi-finals, finals and the matches for the 5 and 6 places. All the oppositions between the competitors to determine their final rankings, will be in 2 matches won, switching after each match, boats and side of entrance.

Bertrand Pacé who is the actual leader of the competition will announce the person he wants to sail against tomorrow in the semi-final during the official competition dinner of this evening.

Final RR 2 Leaderboard (Skipper/Wins/Losses)

1 Bertrand Pacé (FRA), 5/0
2 Karol Jablonski (POL), 3/2
3 Luc Pillot (FRA), 3/2
4 Mathieu Richard (FRA), 2/3
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5 Kelvin Harrap (NZL), 2/3 (1,5 pts)
6 Dimitri Deruelle (FRA), 0/5