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GILMOUR BACK WITH A VENGENCE
Troia, Portugal: The Troia Portugal Match Cup, Round 9 of the 2006/7 World Match Racing Tour, experienced an Australian master class today, in the shape of Peter Gilmour and his reunited PST team, as they blew away the young British pretender to the throne, Ian Williams of Team Pindar.

Having battled through a top quality field littered with America's Cup teams fresh from Valencia to reach the final two, Williams was on a high and looking to rescale the World Tour leadership, having dropped to third going into the regatta. He knew that Gilmour, who recently coached the successful Defenders, Alinghi at the America's Cup, would be no walk over, but he didn't count on the onslaught that lay ahead in this first to three points final.

Gilmour and Williams have enjoyed some superb matches in the past year, notably in Germany, Malaysia, and at Elba in Italy where Gilmour won the only final they've faced off in. Williams, a trained lawyer, knew he would need his best judgment and tactical knowledge to overcome such a wily fox as Gilmour.

In the first match, Gilmour pushed Williams close to the beautiful beach here in Troia, startling the many spectators bathing in almost 40 degree temperatures. The ensuing tacking duel saw Williams on the left closer to the shore. In a matter of minutes, Gilmour had a five boat-length lead and continued to extend all the way to finish, ahead by over 200 metres.

Match 2 followed exactly the same pattern, Williams unable to hang on to Gilmour in the first beat tacking duel and though the margin was closer, the result was the same.

In a last ditch effort to rescue their third match Williams gybed and tried to luff round the stern of his more experienced opponent, but his spinnaker made contact with Gilmour's boat nearly taking out the onboard cameraman and resulting in a second penalty and game over, leaving Gilmour to cruise to the finish and take the Portugal Match Cup.

The World Match Racing Tour now moves to Denmark for the Danish Open, to be held August 9-12 in Copenhagen.

Final standings:

1. Peter Gilmour, AUS, PST, 14-3
2. Ian Williams, GBR, 10-7, Team Pindar
3. Gavin Brady, NZL, BMW Oracle Racing, 12-4
4. Sebastien Col, FRA, Areva Challenge, 10-8
5. Mathieu Richard, FRA, Saba Sailing Team, 6-5
6. Paolo CIan, ITA, Shosholoza, 7-9
7. Philippe Presti, FRA, Luna Rossa, 6-6
8. Alvaro Marinho, POR, Seth.pt
9. Staffan Lindberg, FIN, Alandia Sailing Team
10. Eugeny Neugodnikov, RUS, Lord of the Sail Team
11. Bjorn Hansen, SWE, Team Apport.net
12. Sally Barkow, USA

worldmatchracingtour.com
www.naval-sesimbra.pt

THROWING SUPERSTITION TO THE WIND
The 38th edition of La Solitaire Afflelou Le Figaro is about to start. The final count down for the 50 single handed sailors taking part in this annual race started Sunday with the Prologue Afflelou, a short warm up inshore race. The sailors, shore crew and families have gathered in Caen, Normandy to prepare for the start on Tuesday of the first of four races that make up the Solitaire.

Superstition would have a Figaro sailor not win the Prologue Afflelou, however this was not going to bother Frederic Duthil, Distinxion) who tempted fate by crossing the finish line ahead of Gildas Morvan, Cercle Vert) in second and Frank le Gal, Lenze) in third places respectively. Pietro D'Alì, Kappa) finishes 11th overall with Nigel King, Nigel King Yachting) a very respectable 15th for a first time participation and first place in the overall rookie ranking.

At the first mark Armel Tripon on Gedimat led the 48 strong fleet followed by Frederic Duthil on Brossard and Italian sailor, Pietro D'Alì in a close third on Kappa. Over the course, Armel Tripon and Frederic Dutil would swap the lead at the next mark closely followed by Cercle Vert, Gildas Morvan, on his 12th participation this year). The overcast skies cleared for some sunny intervals for the finish as the wind veered round to the north and eased in strength.

50 sailors will take part in the Solitaire Afflelou Le Figaro and among them we see 14 rookies, or newcomers competing for the first time. With three new entries from Ireland and the UK, the international participants are up to 6 for this edition. Joining Liz Wardley on Sojasun, Papua New Guinea) now on her fourth participation, Pietro D'Ali, Italy) on Kappa and Pedro da Cruz on Baiko, Cape Verde Islands) are James Bird from Hampton sailing on GFI Group, Nigel King from Lymington on Nigel King Yachting and Paul O'Riain sailing City Jet from Dublin. -- Sabina Mollart-Rogerson

www.lasolitaire.com

TOULON PROVENCE MEDITERRANEE - COYCHYERES WINS TOUR DE VOILE
After one month of racing, Toulon Provence Mediterranee - COYCHyeres, Fabien Henry) won the Tour de France Sailing Race. Tahiti et ses Iles, Teva Plichart) came second in the overall ranking before last year's winner, Ile de France, Victor Lanier, Nicolas Pauchet). Val-Thorens, Lucas Millieret) finished first in the amateur ranking and Les Saisies - INSA, Sylvain Leboeuf) became the winner of the school ranking.

The Tour de Voile came to its end in Marseille. The thirty crews were welcomed with greetings of a big crowd back at the "Old-Port". Although the winner of 2005, Toulon Provence Mediterranee - COYCHyeres, Fabien Henry) knew yesterday that he would win the race, the first places in the amateur and in the school ranking weren't yet decided. The last leg from the Frioul archipelago to the Chateau d'If, therefore became a thrilling one.

From the first to the last, the thirty competitors of the Tour de France a la Voile navigated over 900 nautical miles along the French coast over 30 days. -- Anatole Lucet

www.tourvoile.fr

CONGRATULATIONS TO FRANCK CAMMAS & CREW ON "GROUPAMA III"
Gori propeller is the chosen brand of propeller for high performance multi hulls and grand prix yachts, including GROUPAMA III, which just broke the record crossing the Atlantic in less than 4 days, with an average speed of 28.1 knots.

Gori propeller when folded does not auto rotate, and has the lowest drag of all sailboat propellers. Find out more at www.gori-propeller.com

SASKIA WINS METRE CLASS CENTENARY REGATTA
Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron's Saskia has won the 8 Metre class at the Metre Class Centenary Regatta at Cowes, scoring her third successive win overnight on The Solent in a regatta shortened by bad weather.

The victory, over an international fleet, follows owners John and Michael Stephen's victory in the 8-Metre Centennial World Championship in Scotland last week - an outstanding effort by the 76-year-old yacht and her crew from Sydney.

Unfortunately, the Metre Class Centenary Regatta lost two days due to bad weather off the south coast of England and only three of the scheduled six races were sailed, the final race overnight being over a shortened course.

Saskia, helmed by John Stephen, won the final race by 2 minutes 45 seconds, sailing the course in just over 54 minutes to win from the Belgium boat Iderim and the French entry Hispania. Only seven boats started the last race, five finishing.

Overall, Saskia, with three wins in three races, finished with 3 points, followed by Iderim on 7 points and the British boat Picuccua on 13 points.

The other Metre classes also were limited to a three race regatta, an historic event which celebrated the introduction of the Metre Rule of yacht design in 1907.

The 12-Metre class was fought out by two former British America's Cup challengers Crusader and Sceptre, with Crusader taking the series; the 6-Metre Modern class went to the Swedish yacht Jungfrom, the 6-Metre Classic class to the British boat Titia and the Daring class to the British boat Darius.

Saskia will remain on The Solent, contesting the Skandia Cowes Week. -- Peter Campbell

GREECE AND COATIA WIN EUROPEAN LASER 4.7 CHAMPIONSHIP
A marvellous European Laser 4.7 Championship ended with thrilling final races in both the male and female fleets Friday.

Alexios Katsios of Greece lifted the men's title and Tajana Genic won the female championship, in a nail biting finale to the 12 race series in Dun Laoghaire.

Tajana Ganic from Croatia lifted the ladies crown by scoring a 5th place (out of 61) after starting the final race just a single point ahead of her rival Michelle Broekhuizen from The Netherlands. The 17 year old from the medieval coastal city of Pula was overjoyed with her win.

The Greek team are heading to the Radial World Championship in Holland next week - their confidence boost by their terrific Irish Performance.

Ireland's Katie Tingle sailed two solid races to maintain her position as top Irish female sailor placing her in 12th overall.

Male: 197 entries - top five positions after 12 races (2 discards)
1. A. Katsios, GRE, 56
2. M. Peresa, CRO, 61
3. Y. Chekh, RUS, 67
4. A. Zahtila, CRO, 69
5. Y. Hummel, NED, 81

Female: 61 entries - top five positions after 12 races (2 discards)
1. T. Ganic, CRO, 70
2. M. Broekhuizen, NED, 81
3. A. Kordic, CRO, 83
4. S. De Luca, ITA, 85
5. L. Stock, CRO, 98

Full results at www.nyc.ie

WORLD CLASS COMPETITORS, WORLD CLASS DESTINATION
The Archipelago Raid 2007 starts on Monday 30th July from Bjorno, Sweden in the unique and spectacular Scandinavian Archipelago. More than 58 world-class competitors, 29 teams) are preparing for this extraordinary quest through beauty on F18 open catamarans. The event will be preceded with a prologue race from Stockholm city centre to Bjorno on Sunday July 29th 2007.

The Raid pushes teams to the edge both mentally and physically as they navigate round the 100,000 islands that make up the Swedish, Aland and Finnish Archipelagos. The teams battle through uncharted rocks and changing weather conditions for 5 days stopping only for a brief 'overnight' rest when the sun goes down in a region which sees very little night time in the high summer.

The latest entry to join the highly competitive fleet comes from British sailor Conrad Humphreys, with crew Ryan Crawford. They will represent Team BLUE alongside the other all-British boat that are also racing under the Team BLUE banner raising awareness of climate change and mans impact on the environment.

This year's event has attracted sailors from 10 countries including teams from as far a field as Australia and New Zealand alongside local crews from Sweden and Finland. There are 17 teams returning to the event from previous editions but this year there will also be 12 teams, a record number, competing in this unique event for the first time.

All three podium finishers of the recently held F-18 European Championships in Dervio will compete in this year's edition of the Raid. With new F18 European Champion Micha Heemskerk and Bastiann Tentji ready to take on the competition. Dutchman Heemskerk will be back to win the race having been forced to retire in his first two attempts at the event.

The official start is at Bjorno a pristine island not far from downtown Stockholm. It is one of Stockholm's finest beaches in the Archipelago and makes Bjorno one of the Archipelago Foundation's most visited areas. -- Camilla Green

www.archipelagoraid.com

DALTON TELLS OF OVERTURE TO COUTTS
Team New Zealand sounded out Russell Coutts about his America's Cup yachting future before he signed for American syndicate Oracle Racing.

However, the talks, which occurred after Team NZ's bid to lift the Cup ended in Valencia, Spain, three weeks ago, did not progress far.

"There were some broadish discussions," managing director Grant Dalton said today.

"They never really got a wriggle on."

Dalton said the announcement this morning that Coutts would be Oracle's chief executive and skipper for the next cup regatta, replacing fellow New Zealander Chris Dickson, came as little surprise.

It was an open secret that Coutts' primary negotiations had been with Oracle, who are headed by software billionaire Larry Ellison.

Meanwhile, Dalton said Team NZ's own preparations for another campaign had not been affected by the uncertainty surrounding the next regatta.

"We are regrouping, re-signing and aren't really stalled by anything yet," Dalton said.

"We haven't got far enough to have anything stall us, so at this point it's not affecting us."

Dalton said holding on to staff had not been a problem.

"To a man our guys want to come back," he said.

He was happy to return to Valencia, because the infrastructure was in place and it was a good venue to sail in.

He believed the shorter than usual preparation time, if 2009 were chosen, helped Team NZ.

Dalton had no comment about Oracle's court challenge to Alinghi over the protocol containing the conditions for the next America's Cup, apart from saying that Team NZ had a neutral stance at the moment. -- Robert Lowe, his full article in the New Zealand Herald: www.nzherald.co.nz/section/4/story.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10453895

OPTIMIST TEAM RACING WORLDS: GREECE WIN
The team racing event at the Optimist Worlds in Cagliari, Sardinia, held in ideal 12-15 knot winds and completed with in six hours, was full of surprises.

Former medallists Peru and Poland did not even qualify. Then in the first race top seeds New Zealand lost out to the Netherlands 18-18 when their lead sailor crossed the finish line first to lose the race. Italy, seeded 3, went down to Ecuador.

In Round 2 Greece, which had beaten 4th seeds Spain in the first round, also disposed of Argentina, historically the most successful nation, while Ecuador continued to progress by beating Sweden.

Round 3 saw some of the teams defeated in Round 1 re-emerge as challengers, most notably Italy which had recovered by wins over France and Denmark, and Bermuda which had lost to Singapore: both teams secured their places in the top 5 by further victories in the fourth round. The "fast-track" match between the only two teams so far undefeated saw a surprise victory by Greece over 2006 champions Singapore. Since the principle of the repechage system is that it takes two defeats to be eliminated however, the Asians had a second chance which they took by beating Bermuda to qualify for the final. In the other semi-final Ecuador again defeated Italy but, going down to Singapore, were relegated to third place over-all.

The final was thus between Greece and Singapore. The Greeks won the first of three exciting matches, lost the second but took the final race to win gold for the first time in the 22 year history of the event. -- Robert Wilkes

For complete results see www.optiworld.org/07worldTRRres.xls

190 PRE-ENTRIES FOR HOBIE 16 & HOBIE DRAGOON 2007 EUROPEANS
Gravenzande / Netherlands: The organisation HAS received 190 pre-entries. The teams represent fourteen countries and compete in different classes: Open Hobie 16, Youth Hobie 16 with spinnaker, Youth Hobie Dragoon, Women and Masters. The new ISAF Youth World Champions Hobie 16 with spi and 2004 World Champions Hobie Dragoon, Richard and Andrew Glover, GBR, will aim for the European youth title on Dutch waters. The same is true for the silver medallists of the ISAF Youth Worlds 2007, Emil Landry and Jacob Dannefer from Denmark. On Wednesday July 25th, more than twenty crews will commence the Hobie Race Training on the challenging North Sea, which is under the leadership of the experienced trainers Brian Phipps, GBR) and Cédéric Bader, FRA). Women, masters and youth will start racing on Saturday July 28th.

39 youth crews representing nine countries will line up for the battle in the Hobie 16 with spi. Ute Vrijburg, Event Director: "At the Europeans 2006 in France, the fleet existed of 63 boats. Many of those came from the host country France. This year, there are more nationalities. Youth cat sailing on the Hobie 16 with spi becomes more and more popular on an international level." Nine teams signed up for the Hobie Dragoon class competition, of which three will race as parent-child combination. Due to this possibility, kids from the age of ten years can experience the sense of spectacular cat sailing. The races will take place close to the shore, which enables spectators to watch them straight from the beach.

There are 26 pre-qualified teams for the gold fleet in the Open Class. The other 37 spots can be obtained during the qualification series on July 30 and 31. The rest of the 55 crews will continue the championship in the silver fleet. The Europeans are a gathering of nationalities, but France, Great Britain, Germany and the Netherlands are the biggest suppliers of participants. The French title defenders, Francois Morvan and Romain Petit, will try their luck in this year's World Championships Hobie 16 in Fiji in November. That is why they won't come to the Netherlands, whereas their fellow country man Cederic Bader grabs his chance to compete for another title.

Race schedule is as followed:
Hobie 16 Spi, youth 28 July - 31 July
Hobie Dragoon, youth 28 July - 31 July
Hobie 16 Master 28 July - 29 July
Hobie 16 Women 28 July - 29 July
Hobie 16 Open, qualification 30 July - 31 July
Hobie 16 Open, finals 1 Aug. - 4 Aug
The Hobie Race Training, 25 until 27 July, is open for sailors in the Hobie 16, Hobie 16 with spi and Hobie Dragoon.

The Hobie 16 & Hobie Dragoon Europeans 2007 are hosted by the Coastal Sailing Club of 's Gravenzande. The European Hobie Cat Association and Cat Club Noordzee take care of the organization. -- Diana Bogaards

www.hobiecateuropeans.com

CHRIS LAW
This past week the World Tour and the world of sailing lost one of the great competitors and personalities of this sport. Chris Law won 12 Grade one events during his career and was always one of the most feared skippers in any line up that I have ever seen.

While you may not have agreed with Chris you certainly knew where you stood and he always gave you his honest opinion whether you agreed or not. He was always there to help make an event better and would contribute his thoughts on how to make the sport and match racing better from on the water, to television or through the race commentary.

I had coffee with Chris just over a month ago at Match Race Germany in Lake Constance. He was in good spirits, shape and took the time out that day to help us write our daily press release. He also had a few opinions on how we could improve the World Tour.

I will greatly miss his input and his personality. He truly was an "outlaw" which always made for great entertainment and great copy. Chris loved the sport and loved to compete and he truly put his heart and soul into his racing.

He will be greatly missed. -- Scott MacLeod, President, World Match Racing Tour

CORRECTION
And a mea culpa so big, so egregious, that I will be deservedly penalised to the brink of penury by my SINS colleagues. The winner of the first Fastnet race was Jolie Brise.

THE LAST WORD
It took me twenty years of studied self-restraint, aided by the natural decay of my faculties, to make myself dull enough to be accepted as a serious person by the British public. -- George Bernard Shaw

OC Events, www.ocevents.org , organisers of two major IMOCA 60 oceanic events, the new double-handed Barcelona World Race 2007, and the original solo transocean race, The Transat 2008 (ex-OSTAR) plus the Extreme 40 Sailing Series for The iShares Cup.

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