Team New Zealand skipper Dean Barker beat former syndicate head Russell Coutts, his one-time mentor and now leader of the rival Swiss Alinghi Challenge 3-0 in the finals of the Swedish Match Cup yachting event this morning (New Zealand time).
"To be honest we were happy to be in the semifinals
here this week after finishing 13th last year," Barker said.
"It was one of those days when you just needed to trust yourself.
"When you get a little bit of a lead in these conditions it's tough for your opponent to catch up. Luckily, things went our way and we were able to protect our leads."
It was Barker's second win in Marstrand, Sweden in the last three years.
His victory today not only upset Coutts' chance of defending his title but also moved Barker into sixth place on the final Swedish Match Tour rankings and earned the Kiwi skipper and his crew of Hamish Pepper, Tony Rae, James Dagg and Chris Ward a US$15,000 ($NZ31,300) share of the US$200,000 total purse.
The win was Barker's first of the 2001-02 Swedish Match Tour. He had previously finished second to Sweden's Magnus Holmberg at last July's Trofeo Challenge Roberto Trombini Cup in Ravenna, Italy, ninth in March's Steinlager Line 7 Cup on his home waters and eighth in April's Congressional Cup in Long Beach, California.
Today's event was the season-finale.
In the first flight today, Coutts copped a penalty when the two were head-to-wind on the final countdown and he tacked through.
As a result, Coutts found himself with poor boat speed off the start while Barker pulled ahead and quickly powered up. From there he sailed a conservative match, making sure not to give Coutts any openings to engage him and force an off-setting penalty.
In flight two, Coutts came out very aggressively, hunting Barker around the start area. When the gun sounded the two competitors took off on a split tack off the line with Barker heading to the left.
The first cross found Barker slightly ahead with the young Kiwi only having a boat length lead at the first rounding. A tacking duel on the second upwind leg saw Barker bounce Coutts away from the right side of the course.
On the final leg Coutts closed on Barker, but Barker maintained control and was able to keep enough clear air to hold off Coutts and go up 2-0.
In the final match both skippers started on the starboard tack and quickly tacked with Barker able to hold Coutts off all the way up the left side of the course. Barker enjoyed a one-boat length lead rounding the windward mark.
From there Barker sailed a flawless match, eventually building to a five boat length lead to earn line honours.
In the petit finals American Ed Baird and his Team Musto won a gruelling five-match final over Bertrand Pace of Team New Zealand.
Baird won the first match only to see Pace come back to win the next two. The American, a former world match-racing champion, delved deep into his bag of tricks to take the final two matches and the third place overall.
Sail-offs for places 5-8 were completed in the morning. Peter Holmberg of the Oracle Racing team defeated Denmark's Jesper Radich 2-1, to claim fifth place in the event while local favourite Magnus Holmberg and his Team SeaLife swept past Denmark's Jes Gram-Hansen and his Team Victory Lane 2-0.
Pace may have been disappointed with his result this week but his fourth place finish here, combined with his runner-up result at May's ACI HT Cronet Cup in Split, Croatia, moved him onto the final Swedish Match Tour rankings and allowed him to grab the eighth spot and the US$10,000 prize that accompanied it.
Swedish Match Tour 2002-3 kicks off Wednesday in Ravenna, Italy with the Trofeo Challenge Robertyo Trombini Match.
Swedish Match Tour 2001-2 final rankings:
Skipper Points Prizemoney
1. Peter Holmberg, Oracle Racing 120 US$60,000 ($NZ125,000)
2. Magnus Holmberg, SWE/Team Sealife 86 US$40,000
3. Jes Gram-Hansen, DEN/Victory Lan 79 US$25,000
4. Gavin Brady, Prada Challenge 62 US$20,000
5. Ed Baird, USA/Team Musto 50 US$18,000
6. Dean Barker, Team New Zealand 49 US$15,000
7. Jesper Radich, Denmark 41 US$12,000
8. Bertrand Pace, Team New Zealand 32 US$10,000
Final Swedish Match Cup standings:
Skipper Team
1. Dean Barker Team New Zealand
2. Russell Coutts Alinghi Team
3. Ed Baird USA/Team Musto
4. Bertrand Pace Team New Zealand
5. Peter Holmberg Oracle Racing
6. Jesper Radich Denmark
7. Magnus Holmberg SWE/Team SeaLife
8. Jes Gram-Hansen DEN/Team Victory Lane
9. Jesper Bank Victory Challenge
10. Karol Jablonski POL/Team MK Café
- NZPA
nzherald.co.nz/americascup
Team New Zealand skipper Dean Barker beat former syndicate head Russell Coutts, his one-time mentor and now leader of the rival Swiss Alinghi Challenge 3-0 in the finals of the Swedish Match Cup yachting event this morning (New Zealand time).
"To be honest we were happy to be in the semifinals
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