Eric Monnin, Captain of SSL Team Switzerland, has won the Baltic Match Race in Tallinn, Estonia after a tight final against home favourite Mati Sepp.
Racing in the World Match Racing Tour event took place from September 7 – 11 in the waters off Tallinn with it all coming down to the final race in the best of five final.
Monnin’s Swiss team are already qualified for the 1/8 Finals in the SSL Gold Cup, which means their racing will begin on November 8 in the group with Norway and the winners of 1/16 Finals in Flight 1 and the runner-up of Flight 3. The win in Estonia will give the Swiss team a boost going into November’s SSL Gold Cup in Bahrain, as well as a boost for Eric Monnin in the SSL Rankings, where he is currently ranked 94th on 3500 points. The 850 points from the World Match Racing Tour Grade 1 event will have Monnin knocking on the door of the top 50 in the next update.
It’s a huge week for a number of SSL Gold Cup sailors around the world, with the 100th Anniversary Star World Championship underway in Marblehead, USA, the 470 European Championship taking place in Turkey, and sailors warming up for the Etchells World Championship in Cowes, UK with the Pre-Worlds.
First up in Bahrain will be the 1/32 Finals (October 29 – November 2), where the top two teams from each of the Qualifying Series events (May 19 - July 17), will battle it out in groups of four to reach the 1/16 Finals (November 3-7) where they will meet the first seeded teams in the event.
Once again, the top two teams from each group will go through to the 1/8 Finals (November 8-12), to face off against the next tier of seeded teams for a place in the 1/4 Finals (November 14-18), where the final tier of seeded teams await.
This is where the final sixteen teams are whittled down to just eight, to compete in the one-day 1/2 Finals (November 19) and then just a day later (November 20) the final four will battle it out for the title.
Will the seeded teams with their Olympic-medal laden crews make it through, or will the experience gained in the early rounds give the teams who have made it through the Qualifying Series the edge? This intrigue and suspense is what is going to make the SSL Gold Cup the must-watch event of 2022!
Mark has been managing sailing websites since 1996, always being at the forefront of technology, and now manages the combined Sail-World.com and YachtsandYachting.com network. He has covered events such as the International Moth World Championship and Cowes Week, focusing on the sailors' thoughts and words. Mark has been European Champion in the Farr 30 & J/24 class and has won numerous UK titles, and competes regularly in local and national events in dinghies and sportsboats.
Focus on / Sailors / Regattas
