Top teams ready to battle at 2011 Monsoon Cup: 2011 ISAF Match Racing World Championship
World’s top match racing teams have gathered at Ri-Yaz Heritage Marina Resort and Spa in Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia, to take part in the final leg of the 2011 International Sailing Federation (ISAF) Match Racing World Championships, 2011 Monsoon Cup.
All 12 participants, including former champions, Ian Williams and Torvar Mirsky and current Number One, Italy’s Francesco Bruni, are going to face one of the most challenging conditions in the upcoming regatta. The deciding round of Match Racing Worlds will
be worth watching as the top teams will collide for ultimate glory.
Teams participating in the 2011 Monsoon Cup are:
Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Berntsson Sailing Team
Francesco Bruni (ITA) Bruni Racing
Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing
Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Mekonomen Sailing Team
Damien Iehl (FRA) French Match Racing Team
Jeremy Koo (MAS) Abdullah Chan/KRT
Torvar Mirsky (AUS) The Wave Muscat
Jesper Radich (DEN) Adrian Lee & Partners
Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team
Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing
Will Tiller (NZL) Full Metal Jacket Racing
Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar
The Monsoon Cup regatta will be filled with a heavy monsoon weather, which can bring troubling rains to the eastern Malaysian coast along with string gusty winds, which are the specialty of monsoon in the area.
The Malaysian Meteorological Department has pre-informed Terengganu residents to expect heavy rain and strong winds that will gust up to 25 knots north easterly, until the weekend. The department has also upgraded its severe weather warning from yellow to
orange for the east coast.
As the last of 12-team match racing fleet reached Kuala Lampur, heavy squalls greeted them sweeping the Pulau Duyong course. However, the rain stopped before the start of the Opening Ceremony in the afternoon but the breeze continued to chill around until
late afternoon.
World Number One in the ISAF Match Racing Rankings, Francesco Bruni, spoke to the media and said, “Last year we had some good results but we were not consistent. This year we have put a lot of energy and focus into this Tour and maybe we have been lucky
a couple of times, but we obviously are very happy to be in a position where we can win the championship.”
Currently, the World Match Racing standings are being led by Ben Ainslie of Team Origin. However, Ainslie is not taking part in the championship. The 12-boat fleet will be racing in an identical Foundation 36 yachts.
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