One World Challenge in Control

James Spithill (One World Challenge) and Peter Gilmour (AUS, Team Pizza La) have 7-0 and 6-1 win to loss ratios after after two days of round robins.

The OneWorld Challenge continued to dominate the Swedish Match Tour’s UBS Challenge as helmsman James Spithill led his crew to a 3-0, record to finish Round Robin 1 undefeated in Group B while OneWorld Challenge boss Peter Gilmour directed his Pizza La match race team to a 3-1 record on the day to finish atop Groups A with an overall record of 6-1.

“It was quite tricky today, the breeze was very light and shifty,” said Spithill. “The crew called great shots for me and I managed to keep us out of trouble. I’ve been sailing with these guys for a couple of years and I’m very confident in their decision-making.”

For Gilmour the results thus far have been reassuring, “It’s great that after a year away from the Swedish Match Tour to come back and be in the hunt. Its also nice to get off to a good start because it will be very tight to be one of the two to advance to the next round.”

Posting equally impressive records today were Paolo Cian of the Mascalzone Latino Challenge who registered four wins and Great Britain’s Chris Law and his Team Outlaws who went 3-0.

“It all comes down to the crew you have with you and I have a great crew sailing with me this week,” said Law. “Jeff Brock on the bow just got done going around the world with Amer Sports One, Tucker Thompson is a talented trimmer and I’ve sailed for many years with Dobbs Davis, who also happens the be an umpire.”

The three wins moved Law up to second place overall, one point behind Spithill in Group B, while Cian established a third place position in Group A.

“It was a good day, but a strange day because I didn’t start well but we were moving fast and that was the difference in our races,” said Cian.

Local favorite Ken Read had a tough day on his home waters. After opening the regatta with a 3-0, record yesterday Read won his first match of the day but then dropped three in a row to Denmark’s Jes Gram-Hansen, Le Defi Areva’s Luc Pillot and Gilmour. The 1-3 day places Read in fourth place in Group A.

“It wasn’t our best day today. I didn’t get us off the line like Terry (Hutchinson, tactician) would have liked,” admitted Read. “You win some, you lose some and now we’ve dug ourselves a hole we need to get out of.”

The boats took to the water early but were recalled after the first flight. The wind filled in during the afternoon blowing to 10 knots.

Action resumes at 9am on Friday with Round Robin 2.

Group A Round Robin Standings

Group B Round Robin Standings

Complete results from today’s racing are as follows:

Group B Round Robin 1 Results

Flight 5
Radich def. Brady
Spithill def. Green
Lovell def. Riley
Law def. Baird

Flight 6
Green def. Riley
Spithill def. Lovell
Baird def. Radich
Law def. Brady

Flight 7
Lovell def. Green
Baird def. Brady
Law def. Radich
Spithill def. Riley

Group A Round Robin 1 Results

Flight 4
Read def. Monnin
Pillot def. Cesare
Gram-Hansen def. Woodworth
Cian def. Gilmour

Flight 5
Gram-Hansen def. Read
Cian def. Cesare
Woodworth def. Monnin
Gilmour def. Pillot

Flight 6
Cesare def. Monnin
Cian def. Woodworth
Gilmour def. Gram-Hansen
Pillot def. Read

Flight 7
Woodworth def. Cesare
Gilmour def. Read
Gram-Hansen def. Pillot
Cian def. Monnin