JP Tobin at Skandia Sail for Gold regatta 2011, Weymouth, where he gained the Silver Medal. Image copyright onEdition.
by Jon-Paul Tobin
06 - 11 June, 2011: Weymouth, United Kingdom
Result : 2nd
April : Straight into action at the French World Cup after the long haul flight from New Zealand... a bit on with time zone changes, however I was primarily in France to “check-in” and get back into the flow of big fleet racing, finished up 8th but more importantly worked in a solid hit out prior to heading up to Weymouth, UK to resume training for the British World Cup (BWC).
May : Weymouth is really becoming like a home away from home, as the Olympic sailing venue the plan is to spend more time on site and become increasingly more tuned in to the local nuances…the setup is ideal, conditions are superb and a sharp organizing team are on track to deliver a truly unique Olympic sailing competition.
Aside from a great sailing venue, Weymouth is a pretty sweet place to ride a bike, the Isle of Portland provides plenty of trails to piece together on training rides and missions with the local crew make sure we get the best out of the area, including some epic loops around the Jurassic Coast.
Following a few weeks of solid training in Weymouth, we travelled up to Medemblik, Netherlands for the Dutch World Cup, the timing of Netherlands in relation to our peak event of the BWC meant the focus was on pushing hard at race pace for the first half of the regatta…mission complete Dorian and I clocked out in first and second positions respectively.
Lee Taehoon (Korea) who I coach a bit was ripping, super stoked to see him perform well going on to win the regatta from Zac Plavsic (Canada) an integral part of our training crew in second.
June : Back in Weymouth and time to sharpen the focus for the main event, with selections and ranking points on the line it was well and truely game on…Nick Dempsey (Great Britain) Poitr Myska (Poland), Dorian van Rijsselberghe (Netherlands) (training partner) and myself swapped the overall lead a number of times during the course of the regatta.
Holding a one point advantage going into the final medal race it simply came down to Nick and me and who beat who to decide the overall title…
“The medal battle belonged to Nick Dempsey (GBR) and JP Tobin (NZL) – the pair fought each other all the way round the course, eventually leaving all but Nimrod Mashiah (ISR) in their wake. The points were so close it was a simple matter of winner takes all – and it was Dempsey who crossed the line just ahead of Tobin to take home gold. The Kiwi had to settle for silver, and Dorian van Rijsselberge secured bronze from the charging Israeli with a fourth place.” Sail for Gold : Media
GPS action replay confirmed how close it was at the finish... just four seconds!!!
This regatta was the first opportunity to gain selection for the New Zealand Olympic Team for London, 2012…finishing with Silver and Top Kiwi is significant in many ways and is a real boost to confirming my position as the Men’s Windsurfing representative for the New Zealand Olympic Team for London.
Next UP... Home for three weeks prior to heading back up to Weymouth, UK for the Olympic Test Event, from Weymouth it is back to NZ and into the next build for the 2011 World Championships…Special thank-you to all my supporters... POW!!!
JP Tobin
NZL Sailing Team
