Wind was much more generous in strength than the forecast implied, but reading the shifts was close to impossible. Normally some did it better then others (and maybe in a couple of cases luck had something to do with it to). Some close matches become 'boring' after the first separation of boats, while on the other hand hundreds of meters of lead were lost due to unexpected lulls. Of course, though untypical for this venue, all this is a normal part of sailing sport.

In such a close competition every lost match was potentially fatal, and with only four places in the semi-finals, nothing was decided until the end of the last flight of round robin. The Croatian team of Tomislav Basic and Shosholoza team of Ian Ainsle, both with (7-2) were sure semifinalists, Matteo Simoncelli made a great comeback in the last matches to finish (6-3) while the last place in semi finals went to P.A. Morvan on (5-4), the same points as fifth placed Andreas Willim.  He was followed by Mirsky (4-5), Orel, (4-5), Kliba (3-6), Arbuzov (3-6) and Tarnacki (1-9). None of the later had really much to cheer about, but no very said faces were noticed. You win some and you loose some.

The program continued with first matches of the semi finals, with Morvan winning over Basic and Simoncelli over Ainsle in the first flight. The second flight was unfortunately canceled due to a strong wind-shift when Morvan has established a strong lead over Basic and Simoncelli and Ainsle were just about to start. 

The other flights of semifinals and of course the final matches are scheduled for tommorow.

A tough first day of SMRC is over  (15.06.)

Shifty wind varying in force from 5 up to 20 knots made life difficult for all the teams competing in the Slovenia Match Race Cup. Practically nobody 'got everything right', and it took some time for sailors to try to figure the tricky 'Jugo' south-easterly wind and the local conditions. 

Organizers that also had to cope with the wind conditions, and some time taking protests, were then left with only two out of three pairs of sailboats halfway through the day, so a few matches less were completed than desired. The fights on the race course were so tight and intense that inevitable collisions occurred, leaving quite a couple of noticeably damaged boats and sails. Though the technical staff was fast and efficient, one boat had to return to port for overnight repairs of it's rigging. All six boats will be on the water again tomorrow.

Since only eight out of fourteen flights have been sailed so far, the results of the round robin are far from conclusive, but nevertheless Ainsle and Basic are at the top of the leader board at the moment both with four wins out of five matches. They are followed by Orel (3 of 4) and Morvan (3 of 5).

The forecast for the next two days is not too generous with wind, but we hope that the experienced Race Committee will be able to finish the complete program regardless today's minor problems.

Check out the 'RESULTS' page.

Good "warm-up" for Slovenia Match Race Cup teams (Blurimini07)  (02.06.)

Five of the ten teams expected to race in Izola in two weeks time, have met this week in Rimini at the traditional Blurimini Match Race (grade 2) regatta, and took the first four places in the final standings. Skilled and hospitable organizers with weather on their side, managed to complete the whole racing program two days early, giving the competitors some time off, to relax and enjoy the lovely Italian tourist destination.

Eight open and three women teams preformed some though battles in various conditions, from light wind and flat water, to 20+ knots and 1,5 m swell. Round-robin and semifinals were over in two 'dusk till dawn' days, leaving Simoncelli, Ainsle, Morvan and Orel to fight it out in the finals on Friday. Passini took the ungrateful fifth place, followed by the best women team of Silke Halbrock in a well deserved sixth place.

Sailing in both finals was close, both going to the maximum number of matches. Ian Ainsle took third place by beating the favorite Simoncelli 2-1. In the grand final the series went 1-0, 1-1, 1-2, 2-2 and finally 3-2 for P.A. Morvan over Jure Orel. Let's wait and see who will manage to get the biggest revenge in Izola, where five other top-quality skippers will join the races.

Slovenia Match Race Qualifier concluded successfully, Tomislav Bašič wins and qualifies for the main event in June  (29.04.)

Though important matches were ahead on the last day, the morning briefing went on in an relaxed atmosphere. The crews and the committee had to wait a while for the wind to pick up, and it came in an untypical fashion, announcing tricky and shifty conditions. After the last flight of the round-robin, J. Pasini and T. Bašič joined Tarnacki and Orel for the last stages of the event.

While Orel quickly sent Pasini to Petit Final with a score of 2-0, the other semifinal went to three races. Tarnacki took the first win, but with a declining Westerly wind Bašič and his team with perfect handling of the boat came back to win the next two matches and proceed to the grand Final.

Almost an hour passed before new fresh wind from the North arrived. Wanting to get on a long drive home as soon as possible, Italian and Polish teams agreed to sail the Petit Final to best of one. Pasini won the match and the final third place. In the grand final Orel began with the first win, but again Bašič has managed to come from behind. Wining the next two starts, and later perfectly controlling Orel through the whole course in a very steady wind, Tomislav Bašič deservedly won the Slovenia Match Race Qualifier in grand fashion. Therefore he and his team have earned the wildcard for the main event in June, and were warmly congratulated by the second place crew of the organizer Jure Orel.

Day one of Slovenia Match Race Qualifier is over (28.04.)

A wonderful sunny sailing day in North Adriatic, when generous wind conditions enabled the race committee to finish 11 of 12 flights scheduled for the round-robin. Therefore only one more flight of the round-robin and of course semi-finals and finals are left for tomorrow, when the weather should be similar as today. Tarnacki from Poland and the organizer of the event Orel are already in the semifinals, while the fight for the two remaining places will be tough and decided in the last flight. A couple of not so innocent incidents resulted in noticeable damage to two boats, but the experience and agility of the technical staff enabled all the boats to sail till the end of the day. Social part of the event is just under way, with dinner a few drinks and a table football tournament between competitors. Check out the provisional results on the Results page. Photos from day one will be in the Gallery soon.

Everything set for the qualifier (27.04.)

The venue and organizers are ready, all the crews (except Marek Stanczyk who excused himself) were here for official practice today. The weather forecast is pretty favorable, and promises good racing. Everybody should gather in the evening in Hangar bar for a welcome drink and 'the last friendly words' before matches begin tomorrow at 10 AM with a round-robin. We will inform you with the news daily and post results on the Results page every evening.

Crew change for Qualifier (20.04.)

Since Branko Brčin excused himself, and reported he could not compete at

Slovenia Match Race Qualifier due to lack of crew, the next in line of Slovenian skippers got the opportunity. A very happy expression was noticed on the face of Jon Breclej, when he heard the news. He and his team Hi-3 have just finished third at Slovak National Match Race Championships, and are eager to do some more racing on a higher level.   

Provisional entry lists complete (05.03.)

Due to a large interest from competitors, the organizing committee has completed the entries, and set up provisional entry lists for both events. Minor changes are still possible in case of an unexpected withdraw from any entered skipper, but the waiting lists are full of high ranked sailors waiting for an opening.