Congrats to Dicko, Flipper, Fuku, Jann and Zach for their win in the finals
of the PMC over in Cascais this afternoon, 3-2 over Magnus Holmberg & Co
of Sweden's Victory Challenge. Details shortly on our main team website.

Zach trims and keeps an eye on the leeward yacht (Peter Gilmour's PST)
as Dicko blocks Gilmour during a pre-start in yesterday's semifinal racing.
Our guys were on a roll again, winning both races to lead their first-to-win
three semifinal 2-0. The Portugal Match Cup concludes today. Details on
our main team website.

In Portugal yesterday Dicko & Co won their quarterfinal against Mathieu
Richard's (FRA) team 2-1, advancing to the semis today against reigning
WMRT champ Peter Gilmour. Details on our main team website.

Dicko & Co remain on top and undefeated at the Portugal Match Cup. Details on our main team website, and good coverage, too, on the Valencia Sailing website.


Our guys have Thierry Pepponet (FRA, and late of the Areva Challenge)
safely tucked away in a match yesterday.


Portugal Match Cup continues today with the quarter-finals. The PMC
is the first stop on the 2006 World Match Racing Tour which also
constitutes the ISAF World Match Racing Championship. Again for
2006-07 BMW is a World Match Racing Tour Partner and the official car.

As you may have read on our main team website, Dicko & Co. are off to a
good start (3-0, the only undefeated team) at the Portugal Match Cup off
Cascais north of Lisbon. Cascais was the other finalist, along with Valencia,
in the running to be chosen as the venue for AC32. Many suggest that
Cascais would have provided a better backdrop for TV.


From left: Kazuhiko Sofuku (JPN), Jann Neergaard (DEN), Zach Hurst (NZL),
Chris Dickson (NZL) and Paul Westlake (AUS) as they round the top mark
and hoist to the kite in one of yesterday's three wins. The PMC owns a
fleet of SM 40's, the mini-ACC boats like the two you may have seen at our
base in VLC that are used by the sailing team for match racing training. We
have two more SM 40s in SFO that Larry and other members of the sailing
team often use for training.

Rod Dawson (NZL, weather and sailing teams) and Kazuhiko Sofuku (JPN, sailing team) are members of the most successful match racing team in the history of the sport -- Peter Gilmour's PST.

They had already clinched the 2005-06 World Tour with their win last month at Match Race Germany, and with it the ISAF World Match Racing Championship title. Yesterday they won the eighth and final stage of the Tour -- the fifth annual Locman Cup – Elba Island Cup at Poroto Azzurro on Elba Island, Italy.

Overall on the 05-06 Tour PST earned nearly $120,000 in prize money, plus a new BMW X3 and gold medals from ISAF.

The 2006-07 Tour gets underway tomorrow with the Portugal Match Cup in Cascais, Portugal where our Skipper/CEO Chris Dickson also will be racing joined by Fuku and other saling team members Zach Hurst (NZL), Paul Westlake (AUS) and Jann Neergaard (DEN).

BMW is the World Tour Partner and Official Car.


Staffan Lindberg’s bowman Carl-Johan Uckelstam is dragged from a
spinnaker sheet after falling overboard in the semifinal round of the
Locman Cup-Elba Island. (World Tour/Guido Cantini photo.)


Mascalzone's Cameron Dunn keeps his spinnaker full and sails out from
under Finland's Staffan Lindberg in the Petite Final of the Locman Cup.
(World Tour/Guido Cantini photo.)


The PST crew (Christian Scherrer, Kazuhiko Sofuku, Rod Dawson, skipper
Peter Gilmour and Yasuhiro Yaji), winners of a BMW X3 for winning the
World Tour championship. (World Tour/Guido Cantini photo.)

...to our previous post on this topic.... The follow up ruling from the Jury concerning apportionment of cost for the collision Saturday with Luna Rossa, as reported on the ACM website:


02.07.2006
Jury awards repair costs to BMW ORACLE Racing

At a hearing on Sunday morning, the Jury for the 32nd America’s Cup awarded repair costs arising from the collision between BMW ORACLE Racing and Luna Rossa to the American team.

Under the process described in Notice of Race for Louis Vuitton Act 12 (NoR 2.4d), the Jury is required to apportion responsibility for damage to the boats.

The Jury ruled that Luna Rossa must pay its own costs, as well as 80% of the repair bill on the American boat. ‘Costs’ refer to ‘extra’ costs, like outside contractors, materials, etc., but not for in-house boat builders.

Since the cost of repairs to Luna Rossa will be much higher than the cost of repairs to BMW ORACE Racing, the decision that Luna Rossa pays for all its own damage plus 80% of the damage to USA 87, indicates an even higher apportionment of responsibility for the damage caused by the incident.

This is consistent with the penalty on the water from the Umpires, and the Jury ruling last night that saw redress awarded to BMW ORACLE Racing, including one point which gave them the win in the petit final of Louis Vuitton Act 12.


Protest flag on USA 87 after the collision with Luna Rossa on Saturday.
Sunday the Jury awarded repair costs to BMW ORACLE Racing in addition
to the redress point awarded Saturday evening.

No way.

We are here to race and learn. Not make extensive, costly repairs to our boat after a dangerous misjudgement by our opponent in yesterday's race that could have resulted in serious injury to Fuku (on our bow) or people in the back of ITA 86.

The jury's decision as reported by ACM:

After listening to evidence from Italian skipper Francesco de Angelis and BMW ORACLE Racing skipper and helmsman Chris Dickson, along with the Umpires on the race course, the Jury gave a verbal finding:

- The two boats were on a collision course;
- At approximately five boat lengths of separation, USA 87 bore away to pass behind ITA 86;
- At approximately 1.5 boat lengths of separation, ITA 86 luffed up and went into a tack;
- USA 87 attempted to bear away further but then luffed up sharply;
- There was a collision;
- It was not reasonably possible for USA 87 to avoid a collision;
- Luna Rossa luffed and tacked in a position where contact between the boats was extremely likely;
- Luna Rossa broke Rule 14 (avoiding contact);
- BMW ORACLE Racing is eligible for redress;
- Both boats are damaged too badly to sail on Sunday;
- BMW ORACLE Racing is awarded one point as redress as they are unable to race through no fault of their own.

A full written decision will be released on Sunday.

The decision means BMW ORACLE Racing wins the petit final and third place. Luna Rossa will be in fourth place in Louis Vuitton Act 12.



Photo courtesy of ACM. More photos on the Valencia Sailing website and on
our team photo site: www.bmor-photo.com.

Looks like a good seabreeze for this afternoon's racing. Just what the doctor ordered for our remaining winner-take-all semi-final match with ETNZ.

Here is Dyer's pairing list. Bit complicated given some of the semis are completed, e.g., yesterday Alinghi beat Luna Rossa twice -- those two are on standby until our match is over as the winner advances to the penthouse against Alinghi and the loser to the outhouse against Luna Rossa.

Truth is win, lose or draw today, it's another day at the office: testing, training and learning, whether racing ETNZ, Alinghi or Luna Rossa. The goal is to win the America's Cup, not necessarily Act 12 (though we'd sure like to finish ahead of ETNZ and Luna Rossa for the Louis Vuitton ranking points).

Interesting to note that overnight Alinghi changed their boat.


Nice! Finally a good seabreeze, for only the second time in Act 12.

From the NZ Herald this morning: "The teams are good, the boats are good and the support on and off the water is good," [ETNZ Managing Director Grant] Dalton said.


Good on yer, mate.