Gilmour again

Aussie match race veteran nobbles Ian Williams in Locman Cup-Elba Island match race final

Peter Gilmour and the PST crew could make a nice living from season concluding match-race regattas. Gilmour today won the fifth annual Locman Cup-Elba Island. He and crewmembers Rod Dawson, Christian Scherrer, Kazuhiko Sofuku and Yasuhiro Yaji added the event title to their previously won World Match Racing Tour championship and ISAF World Championship of Match Race Sailing.

They earned nearly $120,000 in prize money between the event and the World Tour, including a new BMW X3, and gold medals from ISAF. Last season the team won nearly $180,000 at the final event.

“I felt on the money today,” said the 46-year-old Gilmour. Gilmour clinched his third consecutive Tour championship and fourth ISAF championship last month at Match Race Germany. The World Tour and ISAF joined forces earlier this year to award the two championships in conjunction. Besides winning the past two Tour championships, Gilmour previously won the ISAF Worlds in 1990, ’97 and ’98.

“The decision was taken unanimously that the world championship should be a tour championship,” said Nucci Novi Ceppellini, ISAF Executive Committee member from Italy. “A Tour can define a champion better.”



On Elba Island, Gilmour said he’d been struggling all week with a sore back, which left him out of sorts yesterday when he was nearly upended in the semifinal round. But a night of rest and trademark superb boathandling from his longtime crew helped right his ship. The PST crew defeated Ian Williams (GBR), Williams Sail Racing, 2-1 in the final. It was Gilmour’s 11th career victory on the World Tour, and he said it didn’t come easily. “Beating Ian was as tough as beating Russell [Coutts] or Ed [Baird],” Gilmour said, referring to his seasoned rivals. “He’s an outstanding sailor. He’s going to beat us one day.”

Williams was disconsolate upon hitting the dock. As the crew put the boat away, he sat alone in the back of the cockpit holding his head in his hands. The 29 year old from Hamble had been the star of the week, putting forth his best effort in his first year on the Tour. He won the round robin with a 12-2 record, including two victories over Gilmour, breezed through the semis and believed he could beat Gilmour. In the end, he learned the value of experience. “The way he approaches the final, you have to be significantly better to finish him off,” said Williams. “His experience allows him to get the best of what he’s got.”

But Williams had little to be ashamed of. His second-place finish, coupled with Staffan Lindberg placing fourth, meant that Williams Sail Racing finished second in the world championship for the year. He entered the regatta in fifth place, 6 points behind Lindberg, but wound up 2 points ahead of his Finnish rival. “That was our goal coming in, to get the silver medal,” he said. “Second’s not bad in your first full year on the Tour.”

Lindberg and his Alandia Sailing Team dropped to third overall in the world championship, but won $12,500 from the Tour and bronze medals from ISAF. The Finn has been having troubles with crew consistency, which he intends to sort out for next year. He finished fourth in the regatta and won 9,000€ (approx. $11,000).

Cameron Dunn (NZL), Mascalzone Latino-Capitalia Team, placed third in the event after winning the Petite Final 2-0 over Lindberg. Dunn, sailing in just his 10th match-race regatta as a skipper, finished with a 16-7 record and won 10,000€ (approx. $12,600) of the event prize purse.

The rest of the world championship was filled by skippers who didn’t compete at Elba. Denmark’s Jesper Bank, skipper of United Internet Team Germany, won a tie-breaker with England’s Ben Ainslie, a member of Emirates Team New Zealand, for fourth and fifth. American Ed Baird, a helmsman for Alinghi and last year’s Tour runner-up, won a three-way tie for sixth. Baird finished with 32 points and placed sixth ahead of Gavin Brady, the New Zealand skipper of the Beau Geste Sailing Team, and Frenchman Thierry Peponnet, a member of Areva Challenge.

2006 Match Racing World Championship Final Standings
(After 8/8 stages)
1. Peter Gilmour (AUS) PST, 113 points
2. Ian Williams (GBR) Williams Sail Racing, 63 points
3. Staffan Lindberg (FIN) Alandia Sailing Team, 61 points
4. Jesper Bank (DEN) United Internet Team Germany, 45 points
5. Ben Ainslie (GBR) Emirates Team New Zealand, 45 points
6. Ed Baird (USA) Alinghi, 32 points
7. Gavin Brady (NZL) Beau Geste Sailing Team, 32 points
8. Thierry Peponnet (FRA) Areva Challenge, 32 points

Locman Cup – Elba Island Final Standings
Prize Purse: 100,000€ (approx. $126,400)
Skipper (Country) Team, Record, Prize Money*
1. Peter Gilmour (AUS) PST, 17-5, 35,000€ ($44,000)
(Crew: Christian Scherrer, Rod Dawson, Kazuhiko Sofuku, Yasuhiro Yaji)
2. Ian Williams (GBR) Williams Sail Racing, 16-5, 20,000€ ($25,000)
(Crew: Bill Hardesty, Mark Nicholls, Simon Shaw, Mark Williams)
3. Cameron Dunn (NZL) Mascalzone Latino – Capitalia, 16-7, 10,000€ ($12,500)
(Crew: Matteo Auguadro, Maciel Chicchetti, Rasmus Kostner, Chresten Plinius)
4. Staffan Lindberg (FIN) Alandia Sailing Team, 8-12, 9,000€ ($11,000)
(Crew: Johan Backman, Robert Skarp, Carl-Johan Uckelstam, Emil Wiberg)
5. Ian Ainslie (RSA) Team Shosholoza, 5-9, 8,000€ ($10,000)
(Crew: Mike Giles, Charles Nankin, David Rae, Mark Sadler)
6. Thierry Peponnet (FRA) Areva Challenge, 5-9, 7,000€ ($8,800)
(Crew: Benoit Briand, Tanguy Cariou, Herve Cunningham, Thierry Douillard)
7. Pierre Mas (FRA) China Team, 3-11, 6,000€ ($7,500)
(Crew: Xavier Husson, Jeremy Koo, Charles Lim, Wearn Haw Tan)
8. Giovanni Segnini (ITA) Locman Sailing Team, 2-12, 5,000€ ($6,300)
(Crew: Leonardo Chiarugi, Giuseppe Lallai, Cesare Landi, Enrico Menno)
(*USD amounts approximate, based on 7/16/06 exchange rate of 1€ = 1.26410USD)

Locman Cup – Elba Island Final Round
Final
(2) Peter Gilmour (AUS) PST, 2
(Crew: Christian Scherrer, Rod Dawson, Kazuhiko Sofuku, Yasuhiro Yaji)
(1) Ian Williams (GBR) Williams Sail Racing, 1
(Crew: Bill Hardesty, Mark Nicholls, Simon Shaw, Mark Williams)
Petite Final
(3) Cameron Dunn (NZL) Mascalzone Latino – Capitalia, 2
(Crew: Matteo Auguadro, Maciel Chicchetti, Rasmus Kostner, Chresten Plinius)
(4) Staffan Lindberg (FIN) Alandia Sailing Team, 0
(Crew: Johan Backman, Robert Skarp, Carl-Johan Uckelstam, Emil Wiberg)

The World Tour Partner and Official Car is BMW (Munich, Germany). World Tour sponsors include Sebago (Rockford, Mich.), the Official Footwear Supplier, Travel Places (West Sussex, England), the Official Travel Partner, Wedgwood (Stoke-on-Trent, England), the Official Trophy Sponsor, and Musto (Essex, England), the Official Clothing Supplier.