Minoprio new world match racing champion

Match racing has a new world champion. New Zealander Adam Minoprio and his crew had already secured the title when they defeated Ben Ainslie's yacht in the final of the Monsoon Cup in Malaysia yesterday.

Minoprio and his ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing crew of Tom Powrie, David Swete, Nick Blackman and Dan McLean defeated a TeamOrigin boat that included triple Olympic gold medalist Ainslie on helm and double Olympic gold, Ian Percy.

Ian Williams, world champion for the previous two years, was forced to concede his title in the round robin stage when he was unable to progress to the later stages.

Ainslie - absent for part of the season - plans to do the full tour next year in order to give him a better chance of securing the world title in what has become a high quality event attracting much of the world's best match racing talent.


Monsoon Cup Results
1st Adam Minoprio (NZL) BlackMatch Racing Team
2nd Ben Ainslie (GBR) Team Origin
3rd Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing
4th Sebastien Col (FRA) French Match Racing Team/ALL4ONE
5th Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team
6th Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing
7th Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team
8th Damien Iehl (FRA) French Match Racing Team

Final tour Standings
1. Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing 138 Points
2. Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team 97 Points
3. Ben Ainslie, (GBR) Team Origin 95 Points
4. Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR 93 Points
5. Mathieu Richard (FRA), French Match Racing Team Racing 79 Points
6. Ian Williams (GBR) Team Pindar 75 Points
7. Sebastien Col, (FRA) French Match Racing Team 55 Points
8. Damien Iehl (FRA) French Match Racing Team 48 Points

Sailing in to trouble

Should we be alarmed that one of Andrew Pindar's two Volvo 60 boats has been seized by the Iranian authorities who say it strayed in to their territorial waters? The incident is a worry for British diplomats as it has occurred at a time of heightened international sensitivity after Iran announced an escalation of its nuclear enrichment programme.

The boat, The Kingdom of Bahrain, in Pindar's distinctive turquoise livery, was in the wrong place at the wrong time. It is only just over a week since Pindar launched its Sail Bahrain venture designed to promote sail racing in Bahrain in a programme similar to one developed in Oman.

The incident casts a shadow over several initiatives designed to raise the profile of sailing in the Middle East. It will re-enforce the view of Larry Ellison who had opposed a decision by America's Cup holder Alinghi to stage its forthcoming defence in the emirate, Ras al-Khaimah.

Ellison, who heads the BMW Oracle challenge for the 33rd America's Cup, had argued that the venue was too close to a dangerous region, a point that was upheld by a court in the US.

The UK's priority and that of Pindar, now, is to secure the release of the crew. If the boat, as seems the case, had been experiencing problems with its propeller, there would appear to be little justification for impounding either the boat or the crew. But as British diplomats know from bitter experience, nothing is straightforward when dealing with Iran.

Neither is this simply an issue between Britain and Iran. The fact that the boat is officially representing the Kingdom of Bahrain could complicate negotiations or possibly smooth them, depending on the standing of Bahraini/Iranian relations.