Hamish and Carl are alone at the top of the leaderboard going into today's last race at the Star Worlds in San Francisco.

Not that you can find a cogent explanation anywhere in the p.r. materials emanating out of San Francisco, suffice to say that after five races are completed each team gets to discard (from the scoring) their worst race. So even though the scoreboard showed them tied for first with two other teams going into yesterday's fifth race, in which they finished fifth, after Race Five the discard (or "throw-out race" as we often call it) kicks in. After discarding their 20th place in Race Two, the Pepper/Williams now lead by seven points with one race to go. Comfortable but not commanding, especially in this star-studded fleet deep in former world champions and Olympic medalists.

Standings after five races (one discard) -- 66 boats
1. Hamish Pepper/ Carl Williams (NZL) 11 pts
2. Robert Scheidt/ Bruno Prada (BRA) 18 pts
3. Xavier Rohart/ Pascal Rambeau (FRA) 20 pts
4. Andy Horton/ Brad Nichol (USA) 21 pts
5. Rohan Lord/ Miles Addy (NZL) 26 pts
6. Flavio Marazzi/ Martin Kozaczek (SUI) 31 pts
7. Jim Buckingham/ Mike Dorgan (USA) 38 pts
8. Fredrik Loof/ Anders Ekstrom (SWE) 39 pts
9. Mateusz Kusznierewicz/ Dominik Zycki (POL) 52 pts
10. Daniel Stegmeier/ Beat Stegmeier (SUI) 58 pts

Keep it going, guys!

After completing four of six races, the Pepper/Williams team are atop the leaderboard at the International Star Class World Championships in San Francisco. They are leading the 66-boat fleet (barely! -- on the tie-break) deep with "rock stars" after winning yesterday's race, the only team so far to win two races. Details on the St. Francis Yacht Club website. Click here for previous posts here on the BOB about our own Carl "Tiny"Williams (NZL, sailing team).

Standings after four races (no discard) -- 66 boats
1. Hamish Pepper/ Carl Williams (NZL) 26 pts
2. Rohan Lord/ Miles Addy (NZL) 26 pts
3. Xavier Rohart/ Pascal Rambeau (FRA) 26 pts
4. Robert Scheidt/ Bruno Prada (BRA) 28 pts
5. Flavio Marazzi/ Martin Kozaczek (SUI) 34 pts

Newport, RI 0700 Monday -- Overnight the remnants of hurricane Ernesto passed through the area giving way to a beautiful "Labor Day" morning. A record number of Farr 40s -- 38 -- have gathered here for their 2006 World Championship. Designed by Bruce Farr (NZL/USA, BMWOR design team), the F40 is widely regarded as the most competitve offshore one-design class in the world today.

Competing this week are many of our sport's top pros, including BMWOR's Morgan Trubovich (NZL, sailing team). Trubo has been a regular on former world champ Jim Richardson's Barking Mad. The local favorites, they won the pre-worlds which took place over the weekend.

...at the Trieste Challenge for Dicko & Co. yesterday over on Italy's Adriatic coast (map). Results so far in Round Robin 1 among the five AC teams entered:

BMW Oracle Racing - 2 points
Mascalzone Latino Capitalia Team - 2 points
Luna Rossa - 1 point
Areva Challenge - 0 points
China Team - 0 points

Full marks, too, to Jes Gram Hansen and his Mascalzone Latino Capitalia Team who are also sailing well. Our guys race them in the last match of both round robins. The RR pairing list and scoreboard (regularly updated) is here.

Details on our main team website. As usual, you can click on the photos below to enlarge. Photo copyrights: Massimo Silvano / Trieste Challenge.

Just in, for our second-ever video post, is this piece (under 3 mins) shot at the finals of the Portugal Match Cup, including the photo finish in the 5th and final match with Magnus Holmberg & Co of Sweden's Victory Challenge....



Video courtesy of Mr Simon Green, editor of the video produced for
the World Match Racing Tour.

(After 1st Stage)

1. Chris DICKSON, BMW Oracle Racing, 25 points
2. Magnus HOLMBERG, Victory Challenge, 20
3. Peter GILMOUR, PST, 15
4. Jes GRAM-HANSEN, Mascalzone Latino, 12
5. Mathieu RICHARD, Saba Sailing Team, 10
6. Chris LAW, The Outlaws, 8
7. Thierry PEPONNET, Areva Challenge, 6
8. Staffan LINDBERG, Alandia Team, 4

“The conditions are very difficult and we knew we were going to lose some,” Dickson said after the dramatic 3-2 win. “We took one race at a time. I lost one start which made it difficult, it was close racing. Magnus and his crew sailed very well.” -- CD after yesterday's win at the Portugal Match Cup, from the full story (nice ink) on the World Match Racing Tour site.


Plenty of breeze yesterday: one of the pre-starts against Magnus
Holmberg's strong team from Sweden's Victory Challenge. Note the
beautiful backdrop Cascais provides for photos and, no doubt, TV.


Cockpit view: upwind action. From all reports the win came on the
strong back of good teamwork.


Puffy offshore breeze made the conditions challenging to say the least.


Reigning Tour champion Peter Gilmour (AUS), PST, won the Petite Final
by 2-1 over Jes Gram-Hansen (DEN), Mascalzone Latino –Capitalia Team,
which placed fourth. “Every now and again you do well, third I can’t
complain about,” said Gilmour. “I’m very impressed with the win that
the BMW Oracle guys had. I’ve got a couple of close friends and my
bowman (Kazuhiko Sofuku) was sailing with them and they won well, I
was very impressed.”


Hope it's Moet: Flipper, Zach, Fuku and Jann hitting the champagne
showers, while Dicko tries to steer clear behind the wheel, after winning
yesterday's final final by just a few metres.


BMW Oracle Racing skipper and CEO Chris Dickson at the prizegiving
with Justino de Sa Machado, Portugal Match Cup founder and organizer.