Jane "Bubbles" Eagleson (USA) is simply the "best media relations person in the game." And don't take it from me -- that's what I hear over and over from the sailing media veterans.

Thanks to a campaign that operates around the globe and essentially on a 24/7 basis, Jane is always on call and more often than not working on weekends and at all hours of the night and day -- irrespective of what time zone she might be in.

This past weekend was a good example. Jane was in the States for a well-deserved few days "break" with family and friends over the USA Thanksgiving long weekend. But BMWOR was in action at Auckland (among other locales) where, as you will have read in earlier posts here and on our main team website, Dicko & Co were competing in the NZ Match Racing Championship.

In the meantime not only is Jane handling media requests for info, photos, interviews or whatsoever, but she is editing if not composing press releases, website stories and our team's "Sail Mail."

The latter is an informal email newsletter that our Marketing Dept sends out, when the news warrants, to team members, families, friends, sponsor-partners and other supporters. Sometimes it is a summary of what is posted on our website or the blog; other times it is a follow-up to or in-depth treatment of an earlier story when more details have become available or time has permitted a fuller reportage.

The following is Jane's BMW ORACLE Sail Mail that arrived overnight. If you would like to be added to our Sail Mail circulation, please send your name and email address to: amato [at] bmworacleracing [dot] com.


"Bubbles," because one of Jane's many responsibilities is looking
after official supplier Moët & Chandon.


Sail Mail – 28th November, 2005

While the Acts of 2005 may be over, there is plenty of competition on the international match racing circuit with the New Zealand Match Racing Championship in Auckland last weekend and the upcoming Monsoon Cup in Malaysia, a new event on the Swedish Match Tour that starts later this week.

In a hard-fought battle that went right to the wire, Chris and our crew of Paul “Flipper” Westlake, Jamie Gale, Robbie “Battler” Naismith, and Kazuhiko “Fuku” Sofuku finished second in the New Zealand Match Racing Championships in Auckland over the weekend.

The title was won by Dean Barker and an Emirates Team New Zealand crew. Racing in shifty conditions on Auckland’s Waitemata Harbour, the best-of-five finals turned into a war of attrition as the two teams fought for ascendancy.

First blood went to our BMW ORACLE Racing team, after Barker incurred two penalties, one for hitting the windward mark and the second for an aggressive luff, in which the Emirates Team New Zealand crew were judged to have not given sufficient room to keep clear.

In the second race, the tables were turned as Chris and crew were trapped up at the committee boat end of the startline with nowhere to go and tacked too close to Barker. Emirates Team New Zealand jumped to a 2-1 lead in the third race after a split tacks start. The Emirates team found a significant wind shift on the right hand side of the course on the first beat and established a comfortable lead.

On the first downwind leg of the fourth race, Emirates Team New Zealand was penalized for gybing too close. The racing was close all the way round the track and on the final run to the finish, Barker tried to lure our guys into a position where he might force a penalty against us. But we slowed the action right down and played a waiting game before sliding across the finish line to take the victory and level the score at 2-2.

With everything hanging on the final race, we captured the right hand side of the start and held the starboard hand advantage up the first beat. However, coming into the windward mark, Emirates Team New Zealand managed to establish an inside overlap, forcing us above their course to snatch the lead, which they defended against a spirited attack all the way to the finish.

“It was a good battle with some very close racing,” Chris said after finishing. “It was a good week of racing. We won our semi-final (against K-Challenge helmsman Cameron Appleton) 2-0 and were neck and neck in the final. We would have liked the final race to go the other way, but it didn’t happen for us.”

Jamie Gale gives us this play-by-play on the final day of racing:

Sunday dawned fine with a brisk southerly blowing across the course. Dean Barker picked Simon Minoprio for his semi so we raced Cameron Appleton on our side. Had a good tussle with him but came out 2-0 winners. Dean might have been regretting his decision when Minopiro took him to a deciding 3rd race and then had him on the ropes, but he copped a penalty at the top mark and despite an entertaining run Barker snuck home.

We raced Barker in the best of five final. We won the first one on the back of a good start and then lost the next two on the back of a couple of average ones. All the races were close, there were several penalties and the big shifts meant that no lead was safe. The 4th race was probably the best where they got the advantage up the first beat but we were right on their transom at the top mark. They fouled us trying to get a gybe off too close. We hit them and nearly knocked their observer off. Battler was quick to point out that a collision often gets people fired up (he didn’t say it quiet like that though…) and it would be fair to say that the rest of the race was a rather “tense affair” where they stayed ahead of us but could not unload their penalty. So with the score level at 2-2 (and blood pressure somewhat elevated) Chris got a great start heading the way we wanted, but unfortunately/unbelievably the shift went against us and despite our best efforts they won the last race.

Appleton wrapped up the petite final 2-0 with few dramas.

So while it was disappointing to lose the last race, we are reasonably pleased with how we sailed and feel that we have a good base with which to work with in the Monsoon Cup next week in Malaysia. We would like to thank the RNZYS on running an excellent regatta in difficult conditions and we congratulate Dean and his crew on a well earned win.” -- Jamie Gale from Auckland

After a brief prize-giving ceremony at the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, our team headed for the airport to travel to Malaysia to compete in the inaugural Monsoon Cup match race regatta, a new event on the Swedish Match circuit.

Thanks to Ivor Wilkins and Jamie Gale for sending reports from Auckland. Stay tuned to our team web site at www.bmworacleracing.com for reports from Malaysia. For other behind-the-scenes reports, please visit our team blog at www.bmworacleracing.com/blog.

Nice shot of Mark Bradford (AUS) and his Luna Rossa counterpart doing
their wind-spotting thing up the rig in our match with LR yesterday.
This picture ran on the AP wire, and one hears was picked up by a
number of papers around the world.

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.

Our websites have posted the standings of the 2005 ACC Championship (which includes Alinghi). However, there has been some confusion over the more important Challenger Selection Series ("CSS") Ranking Points.

Below, courtesy of Pierre Orphanidis and his excellent Valencia Sailing website, is a nice scoreboard with the current CSS Rankings from 1st (BMWOR) through 11th (China Team)....



"Bonus Points" above refers to the points each team, if so ranked at the end of the final Act in early April 2007, would carry into the round robins of the Louis Vuitton Cup, which begin in mid-April 2007.

For a full explanation of what the CSS Rank means, and how it is determined, please see today's comprehensive post on the Challenger Commission Blog.

Monday has dawned warm and windy. Chris Bedford's morning show slide is below, and though it may be north of 20 in puffs, it should be within the wind "guidelines" the teams have agreed with the Race Committee of 7-23 knots (average). Only caveat is that it has been breezy all night, and it could also be a bit rough.

The race committee is more likely not to start a race if it is 23ish and very rough as opposed to flat like it was (or at least was when we started) the other day when all the breakage (to other teams) occurred. However, once a race starts, it would only be called off for a threat to life or limb, such as a serious lightning storm, a tornado or container ship encroaching on the course.


And they were worried about it being too light here. Other than
yesterday it has been "breeze on" the entire regatta.

Today Alinghi continued their winning ways with two walkovers, beating China Team and United Internet Team Germany and lifting their record to 8-0.

The other three of the "big four," as the media call us (BMW ORACLE, Emirates Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa), are all tied on 7-1. ETNZ had a shocker today, losing to the lowly but steadily improving +39.

Shosholoza were the toast of the town yesterday for notching their first-ever AC win, at the expense of local favorites Victory Challenge, the Swedish team. No doubt +39 are today, and will be the celebrating tonight. Full marks to skipper and Olympic gold medalist Iain Percy (GBR) and newly installed tactician Ian Walker (GBR), the double Olympic silver medalist and skipper last time of the GBR Challenge, for pulling off the upset so far of the regatta.

There were no dramas in our matches with China Team and Spain's Desafio Espanol, which our guys led wire to wire. Without putting too fine a point on it, Dicko, Gavin and co. did literally sail circles around Spain's new helmsman, the Pole Karol Jablonski, at the start of our match this afternoon. A real spanking and lesson in classic pre-start match racing tactics if ever there was one. Well done, guys.

And Dicko said it was not as easy at it may have looked, with big shifts and big holes -- the wind varying from 230 to 280 deg and from 3 to 17 knots, sometimes on the same leg -- keeping things interesting.

Tomorrow will be interesting -- Mascalzone Latino then ETNZ. No doubt Dean Barker, Terry Hutchinson and co. will be hurting a bit from their loss today to ETNZ, and come out "loaded for bear" as we used to say in my home state of Michigan. Not sure +39 did us any favors. Should be a great match up. Can't wait.

The other big match tomorrow is Luna Rossa vs. Alinghi. Then we race Luna Rossa on Tuesday.

Nice scheduling by Regatta Director Dyer Jones, which pits teams of equal levels (at least based on the ranking going into the regatta) against each other late in the regatta. A good climax is always nice.


From yesterday's race against Alinghi -- not a beauty of a race
for us, but one of the best "beauty shots" I have seen from the
regatta, courtesy of our celebrated team photog, Gilles
Martin-Raget.


Gilles Martin-Raget

It was a great racing day -- sunny, breezy but not overly so (12-18 knots), flat water, and many close, tough matches, especially ours with Alinghi.

But I don't care how good a spin you try to put on it, losing hurts.

As our veteran (his 12th Cup campaign) Operations Director Laurent Esquier (FRA/USA) said after the Alinghi race, "After the countless hours of preparation, and all the hard work by all concerned, it just hurts -- like a punch right between the eyes.

"It is especially tough when you win the start, and are ahead at the first cross. 80% of the time, or more, that boat goes on to win. Unfortunately for our side, not today. So, you pick yourself up, get over it, learn from it, make yourself better, and punch back next chance you get."

I don't hear anyone in the team tonight dwelling on the costly windshift, or a defective $25 halyard clip. No excuse to lose. Alinghi was better on the day, it was a well-deserved win for them, and we have to be better next time to beat the defending champions.

Full marks, too, to UITG. It was probably a wise decision by their senior management to sit out today's matches so they could check their equipment, and recover from the multiple injuries sustained by their crew the past two days in the heavy going. Day before yesterday their bowman and our old friend and former teammate, Geordie Shaver, injured his hand, and their midbowman was also hurt, when the spinnaker pole crashed to the deck and broke. Yesterday, as has been widely reported, their backup bowman Christian Buck, broke his jaw and was knocked unconscious while effecting repairs high up the mast. After spending the night in the hospital, welcome news this morning that Christian is okay and rapidly recovering. Hopefully Team Germany's white boat will be back out on the water tomorrow.

Tonight Dicko, Gavin and the rest of the sailing team are in good spirits, already looking forward to tomorrow's matches against China Team and the steadily improving Desafio Espanol. Conditions should be similar to today.

As I write this another of Laurent's "block party" BBQ's is underway in our base right outside my container/office. BMW ORACLE has invited everyone in the paddock (teams and organizers) for a low-key burger and beer. We did this in Marseille last year, and in Valencia this year. A nice gesture, and another example of the good, neighborly atmosphere among the teams in the paddock. A bit of a mission without our master BBQ chef Grant "Guthrie" Davidson who is back in VLC working on our new base.

Time for a glass of red wine.


The BBQ brewing outside my office window.


The famous French BBQ chef, Laurent "Leroy" Esquier, feeding the
hungry masses.

Bowman Brad "Cob" Webb (NZL) and midbow Kazuhiko "Fuku" Sofuku
(JPN) dried off and warming up after spending the afternoon in the rough
and tumble world of "frontierland" (as the pointy-end of the boat is
sometimes called by the sailing team).


As we were getting the snapshot above a few minutes ago Brad said, "When you can count on your gear staying in one piece a day like today is all good." Fuku said, simply, "tough but great sailing conditions."

Good points both.

We will leave the carnage details to the other reports and websites. No doubt that will be the story du jour. Suffice to say that today was proof yet again that, to win the Cup, you need fast boats, well sailed, that don't break.

Or as they say in Formula One, to finish first, first you have to finish.

As far as I am aware, there were only one or two very minor problems on 76, inevitable in the 20-25 knot breeze and bumpy conditions this afternoon. Yet another feather in the caps of our shore team who build and maintain our yachts, our design team (who normally show us the way to robust equipment in the first place), as well as our sailing team (who managed to keep it all in one piece today while winning two races).

And, no surprise, the "big four" as the media like to call Alinghi, BMW ORACLE, Emirates Team NZ and Luna Rossa, are all on four wins. The Spanish are on two wins, and all the rest are on one win except China Team on zero.

One scary moment this afternoon was the brief appearance of a waterspout. It dropped out of a squall just to the south of the race course. Team Meteorologist Chris Bedford said the cold air that arrived behind last night's frontal passage produced today's windy, squally conditions as well as the waterspout -- a smallish tornado that sometimes develops over open water when temperature differentials are conducive. A waterspout can produce winds locally to 60 kts, but fortunately today's dissipated almost as soon as we saw it drop out of the clouds. Nonetheless, a bit of a shocker at the time.

Chris says that tomorrow there should still be plenty of breeze, but not quite as much -- in the teens not twenties. Should be perfekt for our matches against United Internet Team Germany and the "match of the day" against Alinghi.


Above, our Desafio Espanol neighbors after arriving back at the dock this
afternoon with broken boom. Shosholoza also broke a boom, the
German Team had mast problems and an injured crewman, the
Swedish Victory Challenge broke their headfoil in the race against
us (and they had to retire), China Team did a spectacular broach but
recovered from it and carried on. BMW ORACLE had an uneventful
day in the very difficult conditions.

The headline pretty well sums up the day -- as well as our superb sailing team manager, Craig "Monkey" Monk (NZL), with whom I caught up for a few minutes after the yacht had returned to shore and he got into some warm, dry clothes.

I paraphrase, but Craig had the following observations in no particular order:

+ Cool: it was cold out there. Not only the water, but the air, too. We won't ever complain about Valencia being too hot. We miss sailing in shorts and t-shirts. The guys' hands were especially cold, and we all will be adding a layer or two of warmer clothing tomorrow.

+ Calm: routine, even fun day at the office. The 22-24 knots in the second race was as much wind as we have raced with since Marseille [Act 1] a year ago. The broken spinnaker pole aside (which was not a design or contruction problem), the boat was great. Shore team have done a nice job. Only problem was that all the wind blew the couscous out of our lunch packs and made the cockpit floor slippery. No more couscous in the lunches!

+ Collected: Dicko, Gavin, Eric, Fresh and Larry [the afterguard] were a solid unit. Won both starts handily, and they got us around the track well. Larry probably sailed two-thirds of each race, taking the wheel on the second leg and finishing out both*. Shosholoza were quicker than +39, and Shosholoza has made a nice step forward since Valencia -- good to see.


Craig Monk (NZL), has collected an Olympic Bronze Medalist in the Finn Class
(1992, Barcelona) and two AC wins (1995 and 2000 with Team New Zealand).
"Monkey" is our crew boss, and is a cool and calming influence throughout
the team.

*update Saturday morning 05:30 -- spoke with Dicko last night who said Larry actually took the wheel both races after the gate (start of the second lap) of each race. Monkey, who is a grinder, and others forward in the boat are so busy, and the handover to Larry normally seamless, that they often don't know for sure when the change of helmsmen took place.