Sailing:
Ian Williams wins Monsoon Cup and sixth world title in Malaysia
Ian Williams and his team
Ian Williams (GBR) dominated Taylor Canfield (ISV) to win the final of the Monsoon Cup 3-0, sweeping the GAC Pindar skipper to his sixth World Championship title on the World Match Racing Tour. While Canfield was getting the better of his arch-rival in the pre-starts, once out of the blocks GAC Pindar was just coaxing maximum speed out of the FarEast 28R keelboat on the challenging, ever-changing Straits of Johor.
Clear boatspeed edge
The British skipper admitted that the US Virgin Islander had brought his "A game" to the pre-starts, as US One managed to stick penalties on GAC Pindar in both of the final two matches. However Williams had a clear boatspeed edge that left Canfield scratching his head. The British skipper paid tribute to his team - mainsheet trimmer Gerry Mitchell, headsail trimmer Mal Parker and tactician Chris Main - for digging him out of a few holes. Williams has extended his record as the most successful match racing skipper in the history of the Tour.
Straight to victory
The path to the Final had been very straightforward for both teams, with Williams outsmarting Hansen in all three pre-starts to win 3-0, the same score by which Canfield dispatched Eric Monnin (SUI). In the Petit Final, Hansen beat Monnin 2-0 and took 3rd overall in the regatta.
2015 World Match Racing Tour Leaderboard
1. Ian Williams (GBR) GAC Pindar 142 points
2. Taylor Canfield (ISV) US One 132
3. Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Nautiska Racing 130
4. Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing 100
5. Eric Monnin (SUI) Team SailBox 96
6. Keith Swinton (AUS) Black Swan Racing 96
7. Joachim Aschenbrenner (DEN) Aschenbrenner Racing 92
8. Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Berntsson Sailing Team 76
9. Reuben Corbett (NZL) Corbett Racing 76
10. Nicolai Sehested (DEN) Trefor Match Racing 65
Monsoon Cup Overall Results:
1. Ian Williams (GBR) GAC Pindar
2. Taylor Canfield (ISV) US One
3. Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Nautiska Racing
4. Eric Monnin (SUI) Team SailBox
5. Joachim Aschenbrenner (DEN) Aschenbrenner Racing
6. Nicolai Sehested (DEN) Trefor Match Racing
7. Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing
8. Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Berntsson Sailing Team
9. Keith Swinton (AUS) Black Swan Racing
10. Reuben Corbett (NZL) Corbett Racing
11. Maximilian Soh (SIN) Team Red Dot
12. Hazwan Hazim Dermawan (MAS) hazOne Racing Team
Source: wmrt.com