The opening day of the Swedish Match Tour 2001/2’s final event in Marstrand – the Swedish Match Cup – dawned with most sailors’ least favourite conditions – cold rain and no wind. As the day progressed however, the rain abated, the breeze filled in and competitors were able to complete all their scheduled flights.

On the men’s side four skippers now sit on three wins after the first four flights. Victory Challenge’s Jesper Bank, Sweden’s Bjorn Hansen of Team GOL Sailing, Poland’s Karol Jablonski of MK Café and Sweden’s Mattias Rahm and his StoraEnso team are all setting the pace.

For Rahm it is he and his crew’s first experience competing at a Swedish Match Tour event and he couldn’t be more pleased with their early results. After dropping his first match of the day, during which he controlled the start against fellow Swede Hansen but crossed the line early, Rahm and crew rallied to win three matches in a row.

The light and shifty conditions didn’t faze Rahm as he took the fight to his opponents and set the tempo early in each match.

Finland’s Staffan Lindberg and Alinghi Team’s Jochen Schumann find themselves on the other side of the tracks with only one win apiece. Sweden’s Mikael Lindqvist is winless after a frustrating day.

In the women’s competition three-time defending champion Dorte Jensen of Denmark posted a record of 3-0, dominating the first day of racing at the Women’s Class of the Swedish Match Cup.

Jensen posted victories over Linda Adetoft of Sweden, Nina Braestrup of Denmark and Malin Millbourn of Sweden. Adetoft, and Braestrup were eliminated with Jensen and Millbourn advancing to join the remaining four women’s competitors in a field of six to determine the champion.

The Swedish Match Cup resumes today (Tuesday) at 0930 with the men taking to the water to finish their round robin. The women’s racing continues in the afternoon.

Round Robin Results

1. Bjorn Hansen, SWE/Team GOL Sailing 3 (wins) 1(loses)

2. Karol Jablonski, POL/Team MK Café 3(wins) 1(loses)

3. Mattias Rahm, SWE/Team StoraEnso 3(wins) 1(loses)

4. Jesper Bank, Victory Challenge 3(wins) 1(loses)

5. Andrew Arbuzow, Russia 2(wins) 2(loses)

6. Jochen Schumann, Alinghi Team 1(wins) 3(loses)

7. Staffan Lindberg, Finland 1(wins) 3 (loses)

8. Mikael Lindqvist, Sweden 0 (wins) 4(loses)

Flight 1

Lindberg def. Lindqvist

Bank def. Jablonski

Hansen def. Rahm

Arbuzow def. Schumann

Flight 2

Bank def. Lindberg

Hansen def. Arbuzow

Jablonski def. Lindqvist

Rahm def. Schumann

Flight 3

Jablonski def. Hansen

Arbuzow def. Lindqvist

Schumann def. Lindberg

Rahm def. Bank – DNS

Flight 4

Jablonski def. Schumann

Rahm def. Lindqvist

Bank def. Arbuzow

Hansen def. Lindberg