Match racing reflections

BMW ORACLE Racing skipper Jimmy Spithill reflects on winning the RC 44 Match Racing World Championship.

Strong showings continue

After strong showings in the RC 44 Match Racing World Champoinship, BMW ORACLE Racing team sailors are off to a solid start in the fleet racing portion of the regatta.

BMW ORACLE Racing, featuring team CEO Russell Coutts as tactician, holds first after three races with the low score of 9 points on finishes of 2-5-2.

The yacht 17, with Jimmy Spithill as tactician, is second with 15 points with a 3-11-1.

The fleet racing differs from the match racing in that amateurs are at the helm. In the case of BMW ORACLE Racing local sailor Jose Juan Calero (helm, above) is guiding BMW ORACLE Racing while Anders Myralf (helm, below) of Denmark is back for his third stint at the helm of 17.

“I was not supposed to sail this event, but at last moment they asked me if I could skipper. I’m really enjoying the situation as you could imagine,” said Jose Juan Calero. “I feel like I’m in heaven. I’m learning quite a lot with these guys. It’s a life experience. I’m so happy.”

Myralf said he was happy with the first and third races, but not the middle one when they placed 11th. “We just need to sail odd-numbered races,” he quipped.

From the skipper

Jimmy Spithill comments on winning the RC 44 Match Racing World Championship:

It feels fantastic. We had some good preparation beforehand with our coach, Philippe Presti, and our teammates on BMW ORACLE Racing. As a team we’re sailing a lot better than when we first entered the class this year. It’s very satisfying; we had some tough conditions and some top competition.

We changed our J2, which we think is a big improvement. We’ve also incorporated some new crew. We have Piet van Nieuwenhuyzen on the bow in place of Brad Webb, who did a fantastic job, but piet is new for the event.

Kyle Langford, who sails with us and Torvar Mirsky, has been more involved in the tactics, which has helped out. That allows Skip Baxter and I to work on boatspeed and tactics. All in all, it was just a solid effort from everyone.

It was a close finish. We wanted the right-hand side at the start. We got it and unfortunately he crossed out to left. The key in the last few days has been damage control; try and hang in there and when the opportunity comes try and jump on it.

I’m really pleased with how boys went.

Gold and bronze in match racing at RC 44 Worlds

BMW ORACLE Racing skipper Jimmy Spithill and the crew of 17 – Skip Baxter, Jonas Hviid-Nielsen, Kyle Langford, Joey Newton, Bryce Ruthenberg, Piet van Nieuwenhuyzen and Matt von Bibra – have captured the gold medal in the match racing portion of the RC 44 World Championship for the Islas Canarias Puerto Calero Cup.

It is the first match racing victory for Spithill on the RC 44 circuit this year. Previously in 2005, Spithill won the ISAF World Match Racing Championship.

Spithill and 17 began their march towards the championship yesterday when they won the first race of the final against Terry Hutchinson and the Artemis crew in a light-air race. 

They completed the job today in continuing light winds by winning the second race on the finish line for a 2-0 victory. 17 trailed for a good portion of the race, but approaching the finish line 17 held the starboard-tack advantage and soaked low to poke its bow across 1 second before Artemis.

The team’s second entry at the world championship, BMW ORACLE Racing led by Russell Coutts, won the bronze medal. 

Coutts and crew – Juan Jose Calero, Dirk de Ridder, Ryan Godfrey, Ross Halcrow, Colin Orsini, Revelin Minihane and Chris Schirmer – also scored a 2-0 victory with a win over Paul Cayard and Katusha.

Coutts has previously won the ISAF World Match Racing Championship three times (1992, 93, 96).

RC 44 World Championship video

Team vs. team

Racing at the second day of the RC 44 Worlds was thrown into chaos due to light winds that were non-existent for most of the day. Of the two races sailed, however, one featured BMW ORACLE Racing’s two crews squaring off in a head-to-head match.

Skipper Jimmy Spithill exacted a measure of revenge on CEO Russell Coutts when he guided 17 to a victory over BMW ORACLE Racing. At the previous RC 44 event in Valencia in July it was Coutts who mastered Spithill.

Today, both crews fought for the right side of the racecourse off the start line, but it was 17 that got the favored side. On the right was a shift that 17 tacked into, and lifted away from BMW ORACLE Racing.

Coutts and crew kept it close at the leeward gate, rounding inside and tacking away to the right to clear air, but Spithill and 17 were able to maintain their cover and win the match.

It was an important win as Spithill and crew solidified the top spot on the leaderboard in the abbreviated format.

Spithill and 17 advanced to race Artemis in the championship for the match racing. They took a 1-0 lead this afternoon in light and streaky winds.

Day 1 at the RC 44 Worlds

Monday’s racing at the RC 44 World Championship saw varied results for BMW ORACLE Racing. Jimmy Spithill and the crew on 17 led their group with a 5-1 mark, while Russell Coutts and the BMW ORACE Racing crew finished tied for first with three others at 3-2.

According to crewmembers, Spithill was on fire in the pre-starts, which allowed 17 to get off the line with leads they could defend. Coutts and his crew, however, suffered through hard wind shifts and uncharacteristic breakdowns that hampered their record.

Said Joey Newton (below), headsail trimmer aboard 17:

We had a pretty good day. We lost one race to Cam Appleton (Team Aqua), but it was a close race all the way around. It’s tough to lose those races, but it was a good race. So we’re pretty happy.

Our race against Terry Hutchinson and Artemis ended up not being too close a race, fortunately for us. Jimmy did a real nice job in the pre-start and we cleared out a few boatlengths and just stayed there. It was nice for a change. Usually we end up back-strapping.

Jimmy was starting well. We had a few races where we were in front at the start with a penalty and well in front, so that makes it easy on the rest of the guys when you come off the line like that.

The conditions were challenging, it’s always challenging in offshore breeze. We expected heaps of breeze today and it turned out pretty nice at 12 to 16 knots, which is perfect.

Said Ross Halcrow (below), headsail trimmer on BMW ORACLE Racing:

We were a bit up and down, had a few problems. We lost a couple races we shouldn’t have.

In the race with the Austrians, AEZ RC 44 Racing, they had a good lead on us, then we overtook them and had a good lead and then they got a shift and overtook us. They came around the mark got a bit of pressure and rolled over us to the finish.

The last 2 or 3 races we sailed w/the smaller jib because we stripped the halyard cover and the hanks off the J2. So it was unfortunate we couldn’t sail with that sail. We sailed with the J3 and were happy to manage our way through to win those races.

We didn’t have the best of days and were up and down so happy to get wins we’ve got. It was just one of those days, unfortunately.

RC 44 Worlds Update 1

Posted:1405 local

In shifty winds amid rain squalls, the first three flights of the RC 44 World Championship for the Islas Canarias Puerto Calero Cup have been completed.

BMW ORACLE Racing’s two entries, led by CEO Russell Coutts and skipper Jimmy Spithill, are 1-1 and 2-0, respectively.

Spithill and crew aboard 17 have defeated Team Sea Dubai, led by Markus Wieser, and Peninsula Petroleum, a new entry led by Englishman John Bassadone.

Coutts and crew aboard BMW ORACLE Racing defeated Ray Davies and No Way Back in the first flight. In Flight 2 they found themselves on the wrong side of a windshift and lost to AEZ RC 44 Racing Team.

Both crews had one bye in the first three flights. In Flight 4, the two crews square off against Russian crews. BMW ORACLE Racing takes on Paul Cayard and Katusha n Match 1 while 17 races Synergy in Match 3.

The binary blog

The RC 44 World Championship Islas Canarias Puerto Calero Cup begins tomorrow with the match racing portion of the regatta up first. The conditions are forecast to be windy and wet, as a cold front brings squally weather in the morning.

“Somehow, the weather gods got word that a regatta is to happen and will arrange for a somewhat unusual week of conditions,” Bedford said. “Winds are expected to become somewhat fickle and changeable this week as a series of weather systems moves across the central Atlantic and toward southwestern Europe, disturbing the normally reliable trade winds that blow across Lanzarote.”

The first warning signal tomorrow is scheduled for 1130 local. Team crew lists for the RC 44 World Championship Islas Canarias Puerto Calero Cup.

BMW Oracle Racing: Russell Coutts, Juan Jose Calero, Dirk de Ridder, Ryan Godfrey, Ross Halcrow, Colin Orsini, Revelin Minihane and Chris Schirmer.

17: Jimmy Spithill, Skip Baxter, Jonas Hviid-Nielsen, Kyle Langford, Joey Newton, Bryce Ruthenberg, Piet van Nieuwenhuyzen and Matt von Bibra.

In honor of today’s binary date, a “dockside mystic” presented his top 10 reasons why BMW ORACLE Racing could win the RC 44 World Championship:

No. 10: Two boats entered.

No. 9: Heads-up navigation.

No. 8: A grey mare not ready for the glue farm.

No. 7: Exalogic.

No. 6: Two hulls? Not this week.

No. 5: The weatherman digs the moon.

No. 4: 1851 – A long, long time ago.

No. 3: Local guest helmsman.

No. 2: Cloud computing.

No. 1: The team CEO founded the class.

BMW ORACLE Racing set to tackle RC 44 Worlds

BMW ORACLE Racing, winner of the 33rd America’s Cup, returns to racing action next week at the RC 44 World Championship Islas Canarias Puerto Calero Cup.

The team has two crews entered in the first world championship for the one-design class. BMW ORACLE Racing is led by team CEO Russell Coutts while team skipper Jimmy Spithill leads a second crew aboard the grey-hulled 17.

Coutts and Spithill will skipper the light-displacement 44-footers during the match racing portion of the regatta. They’ll be joined by Jose Calero of Lanzarote and Anders Myralf of Denmark, respectively, during the fleet racing portion, which requires amateur helmsmen.

After four of six scheduled regattas, BMW ORACLE Racing leads the RC 44 2010 series overall with 6 points. Spithill and the 17 crew are placed fifth with 11 points. In between are three other crews tied with 7 points.

“I’ve never sailed the RC 44 before, but it looks like a nice fleet of boats that needs a bit of teamwork to get them around the course,” said Piet van Nieuwenhuyzen, bowman for Spithill aboard 17.

Van Nieuwenhuyzen is a new member of BMW ORACLE Racing, having joined for the 34th America’s Cup in 2013. With two America’s Cup wins to his credit, van Nieuwenhuyzen brings considerable experience to the bow team.

The class intends to conduct racing off the seawall of the Puerto Calero Marina. The regatta opens with three days of match racing, scheduled Oct. 11-13, and closes with three days of fleet racing, Oct. 14-16.

“It’s my first time in Lanzarote, but it looks like nice open waters and hopefully there’ll be a good breeze,” said van Nieuwenhuyzen.

17 and BMW ORACLE Racing tune up for the RC 44 Valencia Cup in July.