Shirley Robertson OBE

This is the official website of Double Olympic Gold Medallist
Shirley Robertson OBE

Whilst I was flying to Beijing, Paul Cambell James, Skandia Team GBR 49er sailor, took the reins for the final day of racing.  The conditions were fresh and frightening with consistent winds of over 20 knots; the team were right on pace in the leading pack.  The drama unfolded early on in the racing, when JPMorgan Asset Management capsized dramatically during a bear away, she rapidly inverted and our rig was broken. On the next round of the second lap it was Franck Cammas’s turn to flip, turning over BMW ORACLE Racing at the bear away. This time the crew were able to quickly right the boat and rejoin the day’s racing.  The most important thing,  with a dramatic day of sailing under their belt, my team walked away safely with no injuries.

DAY 1 iShares Cup:
It was a day of chaos for the eleven boat Extreme 40 fleet, as they took to the waters for the UK round of the iShares Cup at Skandia Cowes Week.

The teams faced strong winds of 20-25 knots, with some crash and burn racing among the fleet. By the end of day one, the fleet suffered three capsizes and one major collision. The presence of the America's Cup teams up the tempo for everyone on the water with BMW ORACLE Racing getting off to a flying start with two wins for Franck Cammas the offshore multihull specialist.

JPMorgan Asset Management, got off to a shaky start posting and 8th and 10th in the first two races.  “The conditions were touch today, there was so much going on and we didn’t position ourselves correctky in the early races which cost us on the results board,“ commented Shirley after racing. But the crew were back on track and posted a 6th and finished on a 3rd in race four. “It was chaos today, just carnage everywhere and we are lucky to come off the course with no damage," said JPMorgan Tactician Chris Main.  "Our start was disappointing but we got back on track towards the end so I am looking forward to getting back out there again tomorrow”.

In between races two and three a dark squall came through the fleet - Team Aqua pitchpoled as they tried to bear away, spinning over on one hull and smashing their rig. Current series leaders TEAMORIGIN came to the fore in the third race, to win from Franck Cammas. But Cammas' run of luck was to come to an end in the next when BMW ORACLE Racing crunched into the side of BT, leaving Cammas' boat with a smashed bowsprint and crumpled front beam, and Nick Moloney's BT boat with a gaping hole in the port side.

In challenging conditions, the rest of the fleet kept racing and TEAMORIGIN was next to bury their bows in the lumpy Solent seas and capsize - and soon followed by James Spithill on the remaining BMW ORACLE Racing Extreme 40, while Alinghi stole the lead.

The day's dramatic events leave Alinghi in the overall lead, just one point ahead of Holmatro - who had a consistent set of top four results. After an exhausting day on the water many crews now have a long night ahead of them repairing damaged boats, and nursing some bumps and scrapes although none of the sailors suffered any serious injury.

At the end of Day one Alinghi lead the fleet, with JPMorgan Asset Management in sixth.  For more information log onto: http://www.isharescup.com