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1 September 2006, 02:45 pm

Aggressive Racing on Day One

Knickerbocker Cup 2006

Port Washington, New York, USA

Day One of the ISAF Grade 2 24th Knickerbocker Cup opened yesterday with aggressive racing and challenging wind conditions. Adam MINOPRIO (NZL), who managed to play the wind shifts to his advantage, is leading the pack with five bullets after 12 flights in the full round robin. Also with five wins is Martin ANGSELL (SWE) but ended the day with a 5-2 record. Right on their heels is Torvar MIRSKY, AUS, with a 4-0 score.

But it was the Swedes who stole the day. In a classic match race of Swede against Swede in the ninth flight, it was ANGSELL against Johnny ISDAHL. Early in the first leg, ANGSELL was penalized, and for the rest of the race, he was on a mission to clear that penalty. He finally got his chance as the two boats, neck and neck, were approaching the finish line. ANGSELL was ahead by two boat lengths at the mark, and ISDAHL had no room but sailed into the gap anyway. One penalty each team.

Then things got really interesting. Within a matter of minutes, both teams hit the race committee boat. Now it was ANGSELL with two penalties, ISDAHL with three. At one point, it looked like ANGSELL might hit the committee boat again, but they were able to accelerate and sail on to victory. According to Peter THORWID, the team's tactician, 'We did what we wanted to do - clear our penalty.'

Sue MILLER, PRO, who had a front row seat for the show, commented that this is one of 'the most exciting finish I've ever seen.' This is ANGSELL's fourth trip to the Knickerbocker Cup, and his team is hoping that with their knowledge of local waters, they will have an advantage.

There's still a lot of racing ahead for each team, and judging from today's aggressive racing, with penalties that had the Umpires earning their keep, the top spot on the leader board is still open to all.

Results After Day One

Adam MINOPRIO - 5-0
Martin ANGSELL (SWE) - 5-1
Torvar MIRSKY (AUS) - 4-0
Brian ANGEL (USA) - 4-2
Jesper FELDT (DEN) - 3-2
Dave PERRY (USA) 3-3
Pierre-Antoine MORVAN (FRA) - 2-2
Scott DICKSON (USA) - 2-2
Johnny ISDAHL - 1-5
Doug SHANNON (USA) - 0-5
Chris VAN TOL (USA) - 0-6

Knickerbocker Cup Entrants and ISAF World Match Race Ranking as at 24 August 2006

Pierre-Antoine MORVAN (FRA) - 18
Martin ANGSELL (SWE) - 23
Brian ANGEL (USA) - 35
Scott DICKSON (USA) - 39
Torvar MIRSKY (AUS) - 77
Johnny ISDAHL - 81
Adam MINOPRIO - 87
Chris VAN TOL (USA) - 100
Jesper FELDT (DEN) - 141
Doug SHANNON (USA) - 190
Dave PERRY (USA) - 342