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Pictured : Katy Pilley-Lovell to windward of Claire Leroy during the semi final in St Thomas

Photo : Lynn Fitzpatrick

World #1 Claire Leroy of France defeated US champion Genny Tulloch to win the second edition of the ISAF Grade 1 Carlos Aguilar Match Race in St Thomas, whilst in an all US Virgin Islands final Peter Holmberg defeated Taylor Canfield to take the open title.

The #1 Women’s Match Racing team in the world, Claire Leroy, Elodie Bertrand, Claire Pruvot and Marie Riou (FRA) defeated the US Women’s Match Racing Champion and the defending Carlos Aguilar Match Race Champion, Genny Tulloch and her team, which included Sally Barkow, Alana O'Reilly and Amanda Callahan in two matches in the first to two wins final of the second Annual Carlos Aguilar Match Race, held in St Thomas, the US Virgin Islands.

Leroy was enthusiastic about the experience her team gained during the past three week of practice and racing in the US Virgin Islands. “Peter Holmberg gave us some time and we practiced against him. The quality of the sailing and competition was excellent. We look forward to returning for next year’s event,” said Leroy.

Leroy’s singular goal for the next two years is to be the French representative at the 2012 London Games, where women’s match racing will make its debut at the Olympic Games. She has taken time off from her job as CFO of a family business to focus her pursuit.

Once it was confirmed that Women’s Match Racing would not be an event at Sail Melbourne, first event of the 2009-2010 ISAF Sailing World Cup series, she arranged for Julie Bossard’s (FRA) and her own team to practice and participate in the second Annual Carlos Aguilar Match Race.

Leroy and Tulloch dispatched their semi-final opponents by winning three straight against Katy Lovell (USA) and Bossard, respectively.

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Pictured : Anna Tunncliffe receives the ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Trophy from HRH Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark (l) and Lionel Schurch (r), Rolex Geneva

Photo : Rolex/Daniel Forster

Beijing Olympic gold medallist Anna Tunnicliffe (USA) talks to US SAILING about 2009, a year when she won the Laser Radial ISAF Sailing World Cup title, numerous match racing titles and was crowned female winner of the ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards.

2009 ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Anna Tunnicliffe (USA) has had an incredible year, and she has no plans to slow down. Since winning an Olympic gold medal in the Laser Radial in 2008, Tunnicliffe has excelled in a variety of boats and multiple disciplines, proving her talent and versatility as an elite sailor. She has been a dominant force on the ISAF Sailing World Cup circuit by winning three gold medals and a bronze, as well as the first-ever ISAF Sailing World Cup trophy in the Laser Radial.

The US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics member has also proven to be a talented match racer, winning bronze medals at the ISAF Nations Cup and Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta. Women’s Match Racing will make its debut as an event in the 2012 Olympic Games, so Tunnicliffe had to choose which passion to pursue. She tells US SAILING why she'll match race in 2012 and shares what it takes to be one of the best sailors in the world. (Read Extended News Post)

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Pictured : Busan Cup winner Lucy Macgregor and her team in action in Busan

Photo : 2009 BSAF

Britain's Lucy Macgregor defeated defending champion Sally Barkow of the USA to clinch the title at the ISAF Grade 1 Busan Cup Women's International Match Race title in Korea.

The 22-year-old skipper Lucy Macgregor, winner of this year’s ISAF Sailing World Cup, and her crew – comprising her sisters Nicky Macgregor and Kate Macgregor, Macgregor’s Skandia Team GBR teammate Ally Martin, and Jody Slater – were one of 12 teams from nine nations contesting the event, which included six skippers ranked within the top 20 of the ISAF Women’s World Match Race Rankings.

Macgregor’s team got their regatta off to a flying start, notching up straight wins in all of their round-robin matches – including an impressive victory over world #1 Claire Leroy (FRA) earned in spite of the Brits ripping their spinnaker at the first windward mark.

Having topped the round-robin phase, the team then went on to face the French crew, helmed by Anne-Claire Le Berre, in the semi-final, where they pick up another straight 3-0 win, advancing to the final against American skipper Sally Barkow, whose all-British crew included Macgregor’s usual Skandia Team GBR crewmate Annie Lush.

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Pictured : Giulia Conti scored her second consecutive Rolex
Osprey Cup win

Photo : Renée Athey / SPYC

Italy's Giulia Conti defeated US star Anna Tunnicliffe to win the 2009 ISAF Grade 1 Rolex Osprey Cup held at the St. Petersburg Yacht Club from 21-24 October.

Along with crew Lisa Lardani, Alessandra Angelini and Giovanna Micol, Giulia Conti (ITA) defeated Anna Tunnicliffe (USA) in the ‘first to win three’ final match format. A total of 111 matches were run by Principal Race Officer Pat Seidenspinner on Tampa Bay for the four-person teams sailing in Sonar class keelboats.

“I haven't match raced well in the past two regattas, so winning here means I'm still able to do it!” said Conti. “This regatta comes at the beginning of the winter season, so it’s been a month without racing. I missed it, and we were very excited to sail! When you are calm and happy to sail then results come by themselves. Plus winning in a place that you consider your second match race house – well, let's say the first – makes me even happier!”

Conti, the 2008 and 05 Rolex Osprey Cup champion and runner-up in 2007, came out of the double round robin winning 15 of her matches, second to an undefeated Tunnicliffe with 18 wins.

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After a tricky first night at sea, the mid-fleet in the Rolex Fastnet Race have experienced a rainy grey day at sea as they slog upwind westward along the English south coast.

As expected the big boats have broken away with Mike Slade’s 100-foot supermaxi ICAP Leopard, rounding Land’s End at around 0930 GMT and by 1500 she was halfway to the Fastnet Rock turning mark.“It is a nice sunny day outside here, it could be a lot worse,” commented Slade, adding that the sea was flattening out after a bumpy ride up the Channel. Since rounding Lands End, with the wind from the west, ICAP Leopard, as well as the boats chasing her, have headed on a more northerly course, compared to the direct route to the Fastnet Rock.

As Volvo Ocean Race navigator Simon Fisher explained from on board Team Pindar, third placed in the Open 60 fleet and 41 miles from Slade’s race leader: “Big picture, the wind is going to come around to the northwest eventually. So we are off to the right in the hope that we have a nice shift, while trying to get into the best position relative to the other boats around us, in order to make the most of that.”

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Overnight conditions in the Rolex Fastnet Race have ranged from tricky to impossible. While this morning at the 0600 update, Mike Slade’s ICAP Leopard was approaching Lizard Point, the bulk of the 300 strong fleet is now past Portland Bill, the headland to seaward of the 2012 Olympic sailing venue, and were halfway across Lyme Bay bound for the next significant headland, Start Point.For Slade’s mighty 100ft long supermaxi, the night has been one of mixed fortunes, her speed ranging from relative standstill – 4 knots against the tide midway across Lyme Bay at 2300 – to considerable pace, 26.5 knots at 0500. She is way behind her record pace from 2007 when in the early hours of the first morning she was already around Land’s End, halfway across the Celtic Sea to the Fastnet Rock.

The IMOCA 60s have been doing a good job to stay in contact with ICAP Leopard and this morning the two female skippers hold the top spots – Dee Caffari on Aviva, and Sam Davies and Sidney Gavignet on Artemis Ocean Racing – with Aviva 18 miles astern of the supermaxi. From on board Artemis Ocean Racing, Sam Davies reported conditions as being grey and murky. “Artemis is crashing along upwind on port tack, I have just come off watch and Sidney and Gareth are on deck, trimming and driving. We can see four other boats off our leeward quarter, but the visibility is not too good.”

For the bulk of the fleet astern, last night they faced a classic Rolex Fastnet Race situation with a mighty eastbound current between Portland Bill and St Albans Head combined with insufficient breeze to make headway against it. The majority spent the evening at best at standstill while another group led by Cracklin’ Rosie, Roark and Jackdaw attempted to break south, only to be washed southeast with the help of the tide.

By the early hours of this morning, the tide had turned favourable but there were distinct winners and losers from the overnight waterborne game of snakes and ladders. In IRC Zero A for example, La Floresta del Mar and Sjambok had managed to sneak past Portland Bill and were away while Fraxious and Flicka IV, who had turned south early, had dropped back to 25 miles astern, no closer to the finish than they had been six hours earlier.

Pictured : Dee Caffari passes Hurst Castle
Photo : M. Hewitt, Ladieswotyacht

Morning dockside rumours of delays and divisions of boats having to kedge on the start line were roundly proven wrong as the Rolex Fastnet Race fleet, as well as spectators along the Cowes shoreline, enjoyed a magnificent, colourful spinnaker start. Thankfully the unfavourable forecast for the start – no wind followed by a south westerly filling in from the west – had not panned out, with instead a welcome 10 knots from the east propelling the 300 strong fleet westwards down the Solent.

First away, punching into the last of the flood tide, were the IMOCA 60s. With their ‘big gear’ unfurled seconds before the start, it was Dee Caffari’s Aviva that made the most positive start towards the pin end. However she was soon overhauled by Seb Josse on BT IMOCA 60 sailing in slightly better breeze on the island side of the course. By the 1430GMT position report, the leading IMOCA 60s were already halfway across Christchurch Bay with Mike Sanderson’s Pindar leading, narrowly ahead of Aviva, BT and Arnaud Boissieres’ Akena Verandas.

With the tide having turned favourable to flush the remaining classes west, it was the small IRC classes that were next up. By the 1430 update they too were out through the Needles, with David Lees’ High Tension 36 Hephzibah leading from the 2005 Rolex Fastnet Race winner Iromiguy, Jean-Yves Chateau’s Nicholson 33 in IRC 3B, just ahead of David Collins’ Swan 43 Cisne, leader in IRC 3A.

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