PAIRING LIST: Blue Flag - Yellow Flag Sep 20, 14:28
ACM have issued the Provisional Pairing List for Trapani Louis Vuitton Act 8, and a copy is available here. It gives the order of matches both day-to-day and within a given day, as well as which pairs will be on which of the two race courses.
The teams are "seeded" into the pairing list according to their rank in the current 2005 ACC Championship standings such that teams of similar ranking meet toward or at the end of the round robin. We, of course are second in the standings behind Alinghi and, hence, are the #2 seed. Note that our first and second matches scheduled the first day of racing (Flights One and Two) are against the #10 seed United Internet Team Germany and #11 seed Shosholoza. Our last two matches are against the #4 seed Luna Rossa (Flight Ten) and then, finally, #1 seed Alinghi in Fight Eleven.
For each pair, the yacht listed first is assigned the Blue Flag and the second yacht the Yellow Flag -- meaning the colour of the yacht-identifying flag the respective yachts will display on their backstays throughout that match.
The Blue Flag yacht will enter the pre-start from the port or "buoy end" of the starting line. The Yellow Flag yacht enters from the starboard or "boat end" of the line. Having the Yellow Flag is a tactical advantage, especially in light wind, because starboard entry gives starboard tack right-of-way over the Blue Flag (port entry) yacht when, normally, they engage just after the 5-minute signal.
The RC assigns these flags such that, over the course of an event and the year, each team has approximately the same number of Yellow and Blue Flags, and so that, as between any two teams, the Blue and Yellow Flags are swapped each time they race.
The Blue and Yellows Flags are used by the Race Committee and Umpires to signal the respective yachts throughout the match. If the RC displays a Blue or Yellow Flag (or both) on the bow of the Committee Boat just after the starting signal, it means the corresponding yacht(s) crossed the line prematurely and must return to restart. At the finish the RC displays the Flag corresponding to the winning yacht as it crosses the finish line.
Likewise the Blue and Yellow Flags are referenced by the Umpires when signalling a penalty. If the umpires display a Blue Flag and blow a whistle (and subsequently turn on the blue strobe lights atop their umpire boat), the Blue Flag yacht has been penalized.
Umpires' view: For this match in Act 6, BMW ORACLE was assigned the
Blue Flag and K-Challenge the Yellow Flag. The flag is attached to a leg
of the aerial frame ("roll bar") in the stern.
Mascalzone Latino Capitalia Team carrying the Yellow Flag in a match at
Malmö against their Italian rival, Plus 39. The Yellow Flag yacht gets star-
board entry -- a tactical advantage in the pre-start, especially in light wind.
The teams are "seeded" into the pairing list according to their rank in the current 2005 ACC Championship standings such that teams of similar ranking meet toward or at the end of the round robin. We, of course are second in the standings behind Alinghi and, hence, are the #2 seed. Note that our first and second matches scheduled the first day of racing (Flights One and Two) are against the #10 seed United Internet Team Germany and #11 seed Shosholoza. Our last two matches are against the #4 seed Luna Rossa (Flight Ten) and then, finally, #1 seed Alinghi in Fight Eleven.
For each pair, the yacht listed first is assigned the Blue Flag and the second yacht the Yellow Flag -- meaning the colour of the yacht-identifying flag the respective yachts will display on their backstays throughout that match.
The Blue Flag yacht will enter the pre-start from the port or "buoy end" of the starting line. The Yellow Flag yacht enters from the starboard or "boat end" of the line. Having the Yellow Flag is a tactical advantage, especially in light wind, because starboard entry gives starboard tack right-of-way over the Blue Flag (port entry) yacht when, normally, they engage just after the 5-minute signal.
The RC assigns these flags such that, over the course of an event and the year, each team has approximately the same number of Yellow and Blue Flags, and so that, as between any two teams, the Blue and Yellow Flags are swapped each time they race.
The Blue and Yellows Flags are used by the Race Committee and Umpires to signal the respective yachts throughout the match. If the RC displays a Blue or Yellow Flag (or both) on the bow of the Committee Boat just after the starting signal, it means the corresponding yacht(s) crossed the line prematurely and must return to restart. At the finish the RC displays the Flag corresponding to the winning yacht as it crosses the finish line.
Likewise the Blue and Yellow Flags are referenced by the Umpires when signalling a penalty. If the umpires display a Blue Flag and blow a whistle (and subsequently turn on the blue strobe lights atop their umpire boat), the Blue Flag yacht has been penalized.
Umpires' view: For this match in Act 6, BMW ORACLE was assigned the
Blue Flag and K-Challenge the Yellow Flag. The flag is attached to a leg
of the aerial frame ("roll bar") in the stern.
Mascalzone Latino Capitalia Team carrying the Yellow Flag in a match at
Malmö against their Italian rival, Plus 39. The Yellow Flag yacht gets star-
board entry -- a tactical advantage in the pre-start, especially in light wind.
Racing | by TFE
