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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.
Results
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