Gram-Hansen into the lead

Sean McNeill reports from the Danish Open match racing in Copenhagen

Danish match-racing ace Jes Gram-Hansen took the lead at the Danish Open, the second event in the Swedish Match Tour 2004-’05, after running off four straight wins this morning.

Gram-Hansen and his crew of Michael Arnhild, Christian Kamp, Rasmus Kostner and Chresten Plinius, lead the weather-plagued event with a 4-1 record. They’re one win ahead of Peter Gilmour (AUS) and the Pizza-La Sailing team, including Rod Dawson, Mike Mottl, Alan Smith and Yasuhiro Yaji.

Denmark’s Lars Nordbjerg holds third with a 3-2 record, while Frenchman Mathieu Richard is fourth, also with a 3-2 mark. Nordbjerg, however, defeated Richard in a light-air match this morning for the tiebreak advantage.

Although the wind returned to Oresund today, the body of water between Denmark and Sweden featured many windshifts and rain squalls that dropped the wind to 0 knots on two occasions.

A total of 24 matches were sailed in eight flights. The wind blew between 4 and 10 knots from anywhere between the northeast and south.

Many sailors walked off their boats at 6:30pm with heavy sighs and tired eyes after a frustrating day.

Gram-Hansen, who won this event in 2002, won a thrilling come-from-behind victory against local up-and-comer Peter Wibroe in his second race this morning. Wibroe, 19 years old and the latest product of the Skovshoved sail training center, lost the match in the final 100 yards when Gram-Hansen gybed to the finish line just a length ahead.

In the afternoon, Gilmour lost his first match then won three straight before his last match in Flight 10 was abandoned due to no wind. The reigning Swedish Match Tour champion lost his first match to Frenchman Philippe Presti due to a penalty, but then won three straight. Penalties featured in three of Gilmour’s four matches, including his fourth match against Chris Law (GBR). Law was penalised at the leeward mark.

Penalties also featured in Law’s matches, including one he lost to Staffan Lindberg (FIN). Law, however, filed for redress after the match and the request was upheld. During his race against Lindberg, Law was penalised for sailing inside the exclusion zone off the Skovshoved seawall.

Law sought redress after the match, claiming that the buoys marking the zone were too similar to buoys marking a slalom water ski course. The water ski buoys were slightly smaller than the exclusion buoys, but the same colour. Law thought he was staying outside the exclusion zone when he tacked to starboard, but the penalty had a direct outcome on the match. Lindberg just nipped Law at the finish line, as Law was performing his 270-degree turn. “I don’t like to red-flag protest,” Law said at the end of the day. “But I felt I had to on this one.”

The international Jury held a hearing on the race committee boat that took the better part of an hour, and upheld Law’s request. “(Law) was granted redress from an error of the race committee for not marking the exclusion zone as diagrammed,” said Chief Umpire Chris Simon.

Racing is scheduled to resume tomorrow morning at 9:30 a.m.

Danish Open 2004 Standings
(After 9 flights)

1. Jes Gram-Hansen (DEN), 4-1
Crew: Michael Arnhild, Christian Kamp, Rasmus Kostner, Chresten Plinius

2. Peter Gilmour (AUS), 3-1
Crew: Rod Dawson, Mike Mottl, Alan Smith, Yasuhiro Yaji

3. Lars Nordbjerg (DEN), 3-2
Crew: Jeppe Blak, Niels Gramkov, Thomas Hartvig, Henning Lambertsen

4. Mathieu Richard (FRA), 3-2
Crew: Gregoire Eurard, Olivier Herledant, Yannik Simon, Frederic Rivet

5. Chris Law (GBR), 2-1
Crew: Ian Ainslie, Anders Dahlsjo, David Rae, Mark Sadler

= Staffan Lindberg (FIN), 2-1
Crew: Nils Bjerkås, Martin Krite, Johan Karlsson, Daniel Wallberg

7. Kelvin Harrap (NZL), 2-2
Crew: Sten Mohr, Tim Nielson, Mikkel Røssberg, Jonas Wackenhuth

8. Philippe Presti (FRA), 2-2
Crew: Antoine Breger, Jean-Marie Dauris, Xavier Husson, Philippe Mourniac

9. Peter Wibroe (DEN), 2-3
Crew: Joachim Carlsen, Phillip Guhle, Christian Monberg, Jeppe Rasmussen

10. Lotte Meldgaard (DEN), 2-3
Crew: Sille Christensen, Caroline Clausen, Anne Mørup, Mia Nielsen, Anette
Rom

11. Ulf Jonson (SWE), 1-4
Crew: Sebastian Christnsenson, Niklas Edvardsson, Magnus Hansson, Bjorn
Lundgren

12. Michael Dunstan (AUS), 0-4
Crew: Bjorn Andersson, Martin Stromberg, Carl-Johan Uckelstam, Emil Wiberg

Swedish Match Tour partners include Swedish Match, BMW and the Match Race
Association. Swedish Match Tour Official Sponsors include Colorcraft,
Wedgwood, Musto and Trident Studios.