2010 Canada's Cup

[MLovett]

October 5, 2010

Wilson and Hood Armed and Ready to compete in 2010 Canada's Cup

Crew lists available for racing over October 15-17th for the Great Lakes oldest match race challenge trophy

Chicago, IL – Each of the two teams readying to compete in next week’s 2010 International Championship Match Race Series for the Canada’s Cup are both well-armed with talent to engage in three days of match race combat: the crew lists for Grant Hood’s challenging Vincere team from Canada’s Port Credit YC and for Don Wilson’s Team Chicago Match Race Center racing on Convexity bristle with America’s Cup, Olympic, and World Championship talent.

Talent at this caliber is suitable for the Canada’s Cup, a symbol of sailing supremacy on the Great Lakes since its inception by the Royal Canadian YC in 1896 as a challenge trophy between representative yachts clubs of the US and Canada. Competition will be in each team’s Farr 40 class yachts, and will be held over October 15-17th at the Chicago Match Race Center (CMRC). Windward-leeward 4-leg courses will be set off Chicago’s Belmont Harbor, matches will be from 60 to 75 minutes in target length, and no races can be sailed in sustained winds exceeding 22 knots. The club represented by the team who is first to win five matches (weather permitting) will win the Canada’s Cup.Sailing Instructions outlining details of the racing format and crew lists for the event will be posted at CMRC’s website, www.chicagomatchrace.com <http://www.chicagomatchrace.com> .

The Vincere team represents some of the world’s best sailing talent from Canada and beyond. Skipper Hood has been fleet racing Farr 40’s since making his class debut at the Farr 40 North American Championship in September 2009 where he and his team placed a respectable 4th place.For next week Hood has a strong team assembled, including Bowman Curtis Florence, who received the Canadian Yachting Association’s highest award last year, the Rolex Sailor of the Year award, for winning World Championships in 3 classes in one year: Melges 24, Farr 30, and Farr 40. In the Pit fellow Canadian Dave Jarvis has been on numerous championship-winning teams as well, and is a veteran of the Volvo Ocean Race, as is Trimmer John Gunderson who hails from New Zealand. From the UK, Main Trimmer Gerry Mitchell has over a decade of championship wins in the Farr 40 and other classes, and Tactician Andy Horton from the US has been on the Prada America’s Cup team as well as being a current Olympic aspirant on the US Sailing Team Alphagraphics in the Star class.Rounding out the Vincere team is Matt McDonough backing up Florence at the Mast, Chelsea Davidson as Floater, Dani Gamache as Navigator, and Mike Wolfs working with Gunderson as Spinnaker Trimmer. Coaching will be James Lyne and Rossi Milev, and the Boat Captain is Kyle Vowels.

Team Chicago Match Race Center skipper Wilson, as Founder of CMRC, has a passionate interest in match race sailing and has been pursuing this interest with gusto, having competed in over a dozen international match race events in Chicago and beyond over the past two years. Currently ranked 73rd in the World Open match race Rankings, his recent victories include last month’s ISAF Grade 3 CMRC Autumn Open B regatta, the Grade 3 CMRC Spring Invitational in May, and last year’s inaugural Grade 3 event at CMRC in June. Like Hood, Wilson has assembled a team of high-level talent, including the following: Brent Ruhne at the Bow, backed by Mory Matias at the Mast; Payson Infelise is in the Pit, with Caroline Young as Floater; Zach Hurst will be Jib Trimmer, assisted by Michael Bradley as Tailer and Jennifer Wilson as offside Trimmer; Mal Parker will be trimming Main, and 1999 Rolex Yachtsman of the Year winner and BMW Oracle America’s Cup team member Eric Doyle will be calling tactics.

In his first Canada’s Cup competition, Wilson says "We're proud to represent the US in this important and historic international challenge, and look forward to meeting Grant and his team on the water. He and his crew are very talented, so we anticipate a tough fight."The Regatta Chairman will be CMRC’s Mary Anne Ward (USA), the Principal Race Officer will be Bill Canfield (ISV), Race Committee representatives will be Tom Rinda (USA) and John Weakley (CAN), and the Chief Umpire will be Flavio Naveira (ARG).

Shoreside activities on the lakefront including competitor briefings, press conferences, umpire debriefs and awards ceremonies will be held before and after racing in and around the CMRC floating regatta center moored at the North end of Belmont Harbor.Race tracking will be available on the CMRC website, courtesy of Kattack.Official Partners of the CMRC include CME Group and the City Inns family of hotels, and NYSE LIFFE is CMRC’s official Boat Sponsor and Line Honors is the Official Clothing Supplier to CMRC.For more information about the 2010 Canada’s Cup, stop by CMRC or contact CMRC Director of Marketing and Programming Beth Paul on 312-542-1505 or visit www.chicagomatchrace.com <http://www.chicagomatchrace.com/> .

About CMRC: The Chicago Match Race Center was founded to promote and grow the sport of match race sailing. Besides being used in the America’s Cup, match race sailing has recently also been adapted as a Women’s discipline in the 2012 Olympic Games. As part of its mission to provide the highest-level match racing training facility for professional and amateur sailors in the US, CMRC has procured a fleet of Elliott 6M class boats, the type that will be used in the Games, and will use them to train and race teams with Olympic aspirations. Additionally, the CMRC retains a full fleet of TOM 28 class boats and all umpire and support boats needed to run international-caliber regattas. For the complete list of events and results from the 2010 season schedule, and events for the 2011 season, please visit www.ChicagoMatchRace.com

[MLovett]

October 14, 2010

RACING STARTS TOMORROW IN 2010 CANADA’S CUP

Teams readying for action, Sailing instructions now available for the Great Lakes oldest match race challenge trophy

Chicago, IL – Final preparations are underway to tomorrow’s start of exciting big-boat match race action in the 2010 International Championship Match Race Series for the Canada’s Cup, being held as the final event of the year at the Chicago Match Race Center (CMRC). This event is a prestigious symbol of sailing supremacy on the Great Lakes since its inception by the Royal Canadian YC in 1896 as a challenge trophy between representative yachts clubs of the US and Canada.The venerable trophy has arrived and is ready to award on Sunday to the winner of a first-to-five point series of match races between rival teams sailing Farr 40’s from the US and Canada. Don Wilson’s Team Chicago Match Race Center sailing Convexity will represent the US, while Grant Hood’s challenging Vincere team from the Port Credit YC will represent Canada. Both teams bristle with Grand Prix-level talent from numerous America’s Cup, Olympic, and Volvo Ocean Race events.“The boats and teams are measured, so all systems are ready to go,” said CMRC Director Bill Hardesty. “We have an excellent race management and umpire team assembled, so all we need is some favorable weather to get started.”And that they will have, with brisk autumn conditions in the forecast: Small Craft advisories are posted for tomorrow’s northerly breezes, predicted at 11 to 17 knots with gusts to 25. Windward-leeward 4-leg courses will be set offshore of Chicago’s Belmont Harbor, with matches targeted to be from 60 to 75 minutes in length, and no races can be sailed in sustained winds exceeding 22 knots. The Regatta Chairman will be CMRC’s Mary Anne Ward (USA), the Principal Race Officer will be Bill Canfield (ISV), Race Committee representatives will be Tom Rinda (USA) and John Weakley (CAN), and the Chief Umpire will be Flavio Naveira (ARG).Sailing Instructions outlining details of the racing format for the event are posted at CMRC’s website, www.chicagomatchrace.com


Both teams must comply with Farr 40 class rules that specify no more than four ISAF-classified Group 3 (professional) sailors on the crew, and that the helmsmen must be Group 1 (amateur) sailors.Hood’s Vincere team includes Curtis Florence, Dave Jarvis, John Gunderson, Gerry Mitchell, Andy Horton, Matt McDonough, Chelsea Davidson, Dani Gamache, and Mike Wolfs. Coaching will be James Lyne and Rossi Milev, and the Boat Captain is Kyle Vowels.Wilson’s Team CMRC includes Brent Ruhne, Mory Matias, Payson Infelise, Caroline Young, Zach Hurst, Michael Bradley, Jennifer Wilson, Mal Parker, and Eric Doyle.

Shoreside activities on the lakefront including competitor briefings, press conferences, umpire debriefs and awards ceremonies will be held before and after racing in and around the CMRC floating regatta center moored at the North end of Belmont Harbor.Race tracking will be available on the CMRC website, courtesy of Kattack.Official Partners of the CMRC include CME Group and the City Inns family of hotels, and NYSE LIFFE is CMRC’s official Boat Sponsor and Line Honors is the Official Clothing Supplier to CMRC.

[MLovett]

October 15, 2010

U.S. TAKES EARLY 3-0 LEAD IN 2010 CANADA'S CUP

Close racing in brisk and lumpy conditions on Day One for the Great Lakes oldest match race challenge trophy
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Chicago, IL – In a northerly breeze that varied from 11 to 18 knots accompanied by large lumpy seas, Don Wilson’s Team Chicago Match Race Center has taken the early lead in the 2010 International Championship Match Race Series for the Canada’s Cup, being held at the Chicago Match Race Center (CMRC). For the first-to-five point series, Team CMRC has jumped to a 3-0 lead, putting Grant Hood’s challenging Vincere team from the Port Credit YC up against the ropes in this venerable challenge trophy first offered by the Royal Canadian YC in 1896 as a prestigious symbol of sailing supremacy on the Great Lakes.The 3-0 score does not, however, adequately describe the close combat in each of today’s three matches, where both teams traded jabs at each other through classic features of match race sailing: tacking duels, lead changes, penalty turns, and the like.In Race 1, Hood said he was nervous with excitement: “I had been in maybe one match race prior to this, so my heart was pounding and knees knocking at the start.” Even Wilson, by now a relative veteran match racer with numerous events behind him, admitted being nervous, saying “We didn’t know what to expect: were they faster? What would they do in the pre-start, etc.”Hood’s nervousness may have been reflected in the initial loss to Wilson at the start, but once a tacking duel got started, the Canadians started to grind down the Americans, helped in part perhaps by the choice of a small jib in the blustery and wavy conditions.That small edge in speed got the Canadians to close to within half a length towards the top mark when disaster struck: a j-lock shackle on the jib sheet let go, and while attending to the broken sheet, bowman Curtis Florence severely injured his hand. Having this Canadian Yachtsman of the Year taken off the bow would have compounded the accident, so he elected to continue to sail virtually one-handed, seeking professional medical attention only after the end of the day’s racing.In the second race, Wilson reckoned that since the umpires “had only green flags,” he would push a little harder, and so when he put his boat in between the signal boat and the Hood, he stole the start but also earned himself two penalties in the act. The Americans peeled off the first quickly, giving the Canadians the lead, but fought back on the next two legs to take back the lead in the second beat and extend enough to do their penalty turn before rounding the final top mark.In the third race, after a split tack start, the Canadians took early control of the match, but after another tacking duel the US rounded the top ahead, but just by a length. The Canadians did a beautiful gybe set to start the first run, rolling over the Americans when challenged to take the lead again. The US regained the lead by just a length around the bottom mark, then held and extended that lead to a win by 10 lengths at the finish.“This was phenomenal match race sailing,” said commentator and match racer Scott Dickson. “There were numerous lead changes, great pre-start action, all the elements of a great competition. It was really impressive, I look forward to tomorrow!”Racing resumes tomorrow, with the starting sequence intended for 1000 CDT.Shoreside activities on the lakefront including competitor briefings, press conferences, umpire debriefs and awards ceremonies will be held before and after racing in and around the CMRC floating regatta center moored at the North end of Belmont Harbor.Race tracking will be available on the CMRC website, courtesy of Kattack, and live streaming audio commentary from Scott Dickson will be available as well.Official Partners of the CMRC include CME Group and the City Inns family of hotels, and NYSE LIFFE is CMRC’s official Boat Sponsor and Line Honors is the Official Clothing Supplier to CMRC.For more information about the 2010 Canada’s Cup, stop by CMRC or contact CMRC Director of Marketing and Programming Beth Paul on 312-542-1505 or visit www.chicagomatchrace.com <http://www.chicagomatchrace.com/> .About CMRC: The Chicago Match Race Center was founded to promote and grow the sport of match race sailing. Besides being used in the America’s Cup, match race sailing has recently also been adapted as a Women’s discipline in the 2012 Olympic Games. As part of its mission to provide the highest-level match racing training facility for professional and amateur sailors in the US, CMRC has procured a fleet of Elliott 6M class boats, the type that will be used in the Games, and will use them to train and race teams with Olympic aspirations. Additionally, the CMRC retains a full fleet of TOM 28 class boats and all umpire and support boats needed to run international-caliber regattas. For the complete list of events and results from the 2010 season schedule, and events for the 2011 season, please visit www.ChicagoMatchRace.com

[MLovett]

October 16, 2010

CANADA WINS TWO TODAY, BUT U.S. STILL LEADS 4-2 IN CANADA’S CUP

Another day of close match race sailing, with Canada in must-win scenario tomorrow

Chicago, IL – Anyone skeptical of Canada’s ability to come back from being down 3-0 after yesterday’s first day in the 2010 Canada’s Cup would have to be convinced today, as Grant Hood’s challenging Vincere team from the Port Credit YC went 2-1 on the day against the U.S., represented by Don Wilson’s Team Chicago Match Race Center. This takes the overall score to 4-2 with one day of racing left tomorrow, so the Canadians must win the first match to stay alive in the first-to-five point series held at the Chicago Match Race Center (CMRC). Racing in this year’s Canada’s Cup is in Farr 40 class yachts.With the breeze in the southwest at 12-20 knots, the seas were much flatter than yesterday but its offshore direction made for many wind shifts to pass – or be passed. “I occasionally felt nervous,” said Hood, “but my goal for today was to make sure that we would be racing on Sunday, and we achieved that. We were much happier to see the flatter water conditions for control in the pre-starts and dial-ups.”Hood and his team came out swinging, winning the first match by taking control of the pin end at the start, defending the left side of the course, and taking and defending an early lead earned from a left shift on the first windward leg. Repeated attempts by the U.S. to attack failed as the Canadians won the match by 42 seconds, taking the score to 3-1.In the second match, the action got fast and furious when the two teams took respective sides of the course then came back at each other on the shifts, with the lead changing repeatedly on the first beat. But the U.S. got the last shift at the top and led around the top mark, and despite repeated charges on the remainder of the race, the Canadians were unable to get to within striking range, so the U.S. now took the score to 4-1.In the last match of the day, it was all Canada, winning the start with perfect timing off the line and tactician Andy Horton masterfully guiding the team up the first beat in phase with the shifts, to round the top mark by a full minute over the Americans. This lead was extended even further to two minutes by the end to take the score now to 4-2.“It was really great to see the Canadians take the potential they showed yesterday and put it into play today,” said commentator Scott Dickson. “It made for some really exciting matches, and we’ll see if they can continue to perform now under pressure to keep their hopes alive to win the remaining three matches they need tomorrow.”Racing resumes tomorrow, with the starting sequence intended for 1000 CDT.

[MLovett]

October 17, 2010

U.S. WINS 2010 CANADA’S CUP

Last match hard-fought, but U.S. comes out ahead 5-2; MBYC challenge issued now for 2011

Chicago, IL – In one fantastic finale to a hard-fought series, where both teams traded the lead and the tension was always high, Don Wilson’s Team Chicago Match Race Center has successfully defended the 2010 Canada’s Cup for the U.S. in a three-day challenge made by Grant Hood’s Vincere team from the Port Credit YC. The winning team, which besides Wilson included Brent Ruhne, Mory Matias, Payson Infelise, Caroline Young, Zach Hurst, Michael Bradley, Jennifer Wilson, Mal Parker, and Eric Doyle, prevailed on a final score of 5-2 in the series sailed at CMRC.“This was a great three days of match racing,” said Wilson. “Grant and his team put up a real fight, especially yesterday, but we are so pleased they came here to challenge for this prestigious trophy. Like I said on Friday, I have never entered a race where I didn’t know how the other boat would sail. Grant sailed an amazing race and credit goes to him and his team, for helping make this event happen, and to make it such an exciting event.”But today’s final race in the series was never certain until the end, and momentum could very well have tipped the other way, as it did yesterday when the Canadians won two races to the American’s one. But down by 4-2, the Canadians knew they were in a must-win situation to stay alive in the series, and so when Wilson took the start it was looking grim for Hood, as Wilson took the early lead and extended it to the favored left side in the first beat to get around the top mark by 2 lengths.But in the 12-18 knot northerlies reminiscent of the first day of competition, this was not a safe margin at all, and the Canadians rolled over the Americans on the last starboard gybe into the bottom mark rounding, taking the lead.“We knew we had a fast boat going downwind,” said Hood, “so we wanted to make it close to get around the bottom mark ahead and try to stay ahead on the next beat.”On that second beat, Hood and team did put a loose cover on the U.S., keeping the action very close, but the U.S. was able to get up close enough to leebow tack under the Canadians in the final exchange at the top, leaving just enough room to complete their tack across Hood’s bow, and take the match lead back to the U.S. team again rounding the second windward mark.From here it was just one downwind leg remaining, which Wilson and team were able to fend off attacks and successfully defend and win the match by a 1.5-length margin at the finish.“It was an epic match,” claimed commentator Scott Dickson, “Because with any small shift or any wave, the advantage could shift to the other team. It was all very exciting to watch, and the U.S. coach Ian Williams (2-time match race World Champion) said he too was on edge the entire match.”One feature of the Canada’s Cup courses set by Principal Race Officer Bill Canfield was their length: at 60-75 minutes, the goal was to give the trailing team an opportunity to put their boat speed and sail handling skills to the test, rather than just a pure test of typical short-course match race positioning. This was an effective strategy, as most matches in the series were hard-fought and had many lead changes.The successful U.S. defense of the Canada’s Cup matched a formal announcement made today by Commodore Bob DeJong of CMRC’s co-defending Macatawa Bay YC (MBYC) that his club has issued a call to challenge for the 2011 Canada’s Cup. The format will be to have a Defender Series amongst any entries put forth from U.S. clubs on the Great Lakes over 25-27 August 2011 to select the representing team for the US, then after a two day break conduct the racing for the Canada’s Cup over 30 August – 1 September. All racing will be at MBYC in Holland, MI, and the competition will once again by in Farr 40 Class yachts.Photos and videos of the all the action in the 2010 Canada’s Cup are available on the CMRC website: www.chicagomatchrace.com