France clean sweep in Nations Cup

THE IRISH EXAMINER media sponsored ISAF Nations Cup reached the grand final climax on Saturday as France clinched the double in both the open and women’s events.

Arriving with Claire Leroy ranked world number one and Mathieu Richard number six, they held tough against the other top ranking sailors in both events.

Conditions on the day were ideal with a steady 15 knot breeze from the south-east and sunshine setting the scene for the semi-finals and final.

The day produced some of the best and most exciting racing that has ever been seen in Cork harbour.

In the open category semi-final first off were Mathieu Richard of France and Brian Angel of the USA. There was a strong tide pushing the boats towards the start-line and this made for some interesting manoeuvring prior to starting. Richard took the lead and headed into the tide, securing a clear run towards the shore and ensuring his place in the open final.

Meanwhile, Russia and South Africa were battling for the other place.

It was Ainslie’s better boat speed for South Africa that cleared the way to the final, a best of three match which began with an incident packed two races. It came down to the final seconds with France slightly behind. However, Richard cleverly forced Ainslie towards the committee boat end. Anslie gybed in French water making contact between the boats. With this penalty, a score of two to nil meant it was all over — the French taking the Nations Cup.

The women’s final was very closely fought with the European teams to the fore. In the France versus Denmark match the French suffered a pre-start penalty for luffing too high. However, the teams got off to an even start with France first at the windward.

At the top of the second beat they were able to clear their pre-start penalty and managed to stay ahead to take the first match. France’s second final with Denmark was again very close. Both teams covered each other up to the windward mark where an incident with a passing cruiser caused the competitors to protest. However, the umpires decided it did not affect their racing and they continued with the French eventually taking the trophy.

The ISAF Nations Cup grand final hosted by the Royal Cork Yacht Club has been a wonderful event. The race management team led by judges Peter Crowley and Alan Crosbie staged almost 200 matches. The competitors departed tired but happy to all parts of the world. Ian Ainslie and his Americas Cup crew departed to Valencia to resume their America’s Cup Campaign.