Seven America's Cup syndicates have confirmed they will be taking part in the United Airlines RYA Match Racing Open Championship
Seven America’s Cup syndicates have confirmed they will be taking part in the United Airlines RYA Match Racing Open Championship. The regatta, Britain’s new and only grade one match racing event, is to be held during 16-20 September at the Portland and Weymouth Sailing Academy.
The entries include
- Ian Walker (GBR Challenge) UK
- Andy Green (GBR Challenge) UK
- Chris Main (GBR Challenge) UK
- Ben Ainslie (One World) USA
- John Cutler (Oracle) USA
- Gavin Brady (Prada) Italy
- Paolo Cian (Onorato Challenge) Italy
- Morten Henriksen (Illbruck Challenge) Germany
- Sebastian Destremeau (Le Defi) France
John Derbyshire, the Racing Manager for the Royal Yachting Association, commented: “I’m delighted to see that seven America’s Cup syndicates will be racing in the United Airlines RYA Match Racing Open Championship. It’s wonderful that Britain will be hosting a grade one match racing event and I am looking forward to seeing crews of such calibre competing.”
The United Airlines RYA Match Race Open Championships will be sailed in the RYA fleet of First Class 8s, which will be modified for this event. In addition to having new sails for the regatta, the boats will be fitted with runners, ballasts and helm restrictions which will make them more difficult to sail. Crews will consist of five sailors with a weight limit of 437.5 kg.
The top four boats in the United Airlines RYA British Finals will qualify for the United Airlines RYA Open event and given the chance to compete against some of the best sailors in the world. So far, Mark Campbell-James has qualified for the United Airlines RYA British Match Racing Championship by winning both the BUSA and Qualifier One events earlier in the year along with Simon Shaw and John Greenland.
Melissa Tamres, United Airlines Sponsorship Manager, said “As a long term supporter of sailing in the UK we are very pleased to have such an outstanding group of sailors participating in this regatta. We hope that the event will provide an opportunity for young British sailors to compete against the best in the world and for the British public to see top level International match racing on their doorstep.”
The schedule for the United Airlines RYA Match Racing Open is as follows
- 16 September – Practice
- 17-18 September – Round Robin
- 19 September – Quarter Finals
- 20 September – Semi Finals and Finals