On board one of the ORACLE Racing AC45s. Image copyright Gilles Martin-Raget/www.oracleracing.com
by Tim Jeffery
This month, ORACLE Racing returns to its home waters of San Francisco Bay for the first time since winning the America’s Cup in February 2010.
Throughout the month of June ORACLE Racing will be training in two of the AC45 wingsail catamarans that will be used in the America’s Cup World Series through 2012.
The team’s training session coincides with two other notable firsts leading to the summer of racing for the 34th America’s Cup in 2013:
o First on-the-water action since San Francisco was named 34th America’s Cup host city in January 2011
o First time the next generation of wingsailed catamaran Cup boats will sail off the San Francisco city front
“These new boats have excited everyone who has seen them or sailed on them,” said ORACLE Racing skipper James Spithill. “They are cool-tech, high-adrenaline machines.”
For 160 years, the America’s Cup has been contested in monohulls. The introduction of multihulls is intended to transform the event into a spectator friendly competition while also heightening the action with yachts that can sail more that twice the speed of the wind.
“The switch to multihulls has left the slow boats in the past,” added Russell Coutts, CEO of ORACLE Racing. “The new boats are just one element of a total transformation of the America’s Cup. The excitement is higher, racing more physical and challenging and rules simpler. Best of all, here in the Bay, the action is right in front of the public.”
ORACLE Racing will train in the vicinity of the intended America’s Cup racecourse. The team will support the event organizers (America’s Cup Event Authority) with public awareness activities starting June 13 and work with the independent race officials (America’s Cup Race Management) to continue trialing pioneering electronic systems first tested in New Zealand in April.
“We also want to get some good solid training on the waters where the Cup will be contested in the summer of 2013,” commented tactician John Kostecki. “We need to raise our readiness for the inaugural America’s Cup World Series, which opens in Cascais, Portugal, in early August.”
The team will sail a pair of AC45 catamarans. Created by the ORACLE Racing Desgin Team, the multihull will be raced in World Series regattas around the world in 2011 and 2012. In 2013, the competition changes-up to the larger and immensely powerful AC72 wingsailed cats used for the Louis Vuitton Cup Challenger Selection Series and America’s Cup finals.
About ORACLE Racing
James Spithill (AUS) is the youngest skipper to ever win the America’s Cup; he was 30 at the time of victory on Feb. 14, 2010 ... CEO/Afterguard Russell Coutts (NZL) is an Olympic gold medalist and the most successful skipper in the history of the America’s Cup ... Tactician John Kostecki (USA), is an Olympic silver medalist, America’s Cup winner and victor of the round-the-world Volvo Ocean Race ... Owned by Larry Ellison, ORACLE Racing was formed in 2000 and defeated Alinghi (SUI) in February 2010 off Valencia, Spain, to win the 33rd Match ... The yacht, USA 17, is the fastest boat in America’s Cup history ... The 90-foot by 90-foot trimaran is planned to go on public display on the San Francisco waterfront during the build-up to the 34th America’s Cup.
Torvar Mirsky has signed an agreement to helm Venezia Challenge to the America's Cup’s adventure. Born in 1986, Australian, Torvar began winning very early his sport career, bringing home his first victory when he was only 12. Nowadays, Torvar, just 25, is 5th in the ISAF world ranking (2nd in 2010).
"It's the best choice we could make" - says Cesare Pasotti, Venezia Challenge’s team manager - "Torvar is young, motivated and extremely skilled, so I asked to Carlo Magna and Emanuela Pulcino to bring him on board". Since the 14th of June, Torvar Mirsky will train in Palermo, at the Club Canottieri Roggero di Lauria, Venezia Challenge’s official sailing club, and then in July he will move to Cascais on the AC45.
In the last days another important name entered in Venezia Challenge: Ganga Bruni will be Team Coach. Ganga is an athlete with great experience in the most prestigious classes. This will be his first time training an America’s Cup challenge. Ganga, born in Palermo, 37 years old, member of Italian Olympic team in Sydney 2000, strategist in +39 America’s Cup Team and Azzurra Team, 4 times world champion (one in catamaran class).
In Italian:
Torvar Mirsky ha siglato l’accordo per timonare Venezia Challenge nella sua avventura verso l’America’s Cup. Classe 1986, Australiano, Torvar ha cominciato molto presto il suo percorso sportivo, portando a casa la sua prima vittoria a soli 12 anni. Oggi, 25enne, Torvar siede al 5° posto nella ranking list mondiale ISAF (nel 2010 era secondo).
“E’ la scelta migliore che potevamo fare” – dichiara Cesare Pasotti, team manager di Venezia Challenge – “Torvar è un ragazzo giovane, motivato ed estremamente preparato, per questo ho chiesto a Carlo Magna e Emanuela Pulcino di portarlo a bordo”. A partire dal 14 giugno Torvar Mirsky comincerà ad allenarsi a Palermo con una prima selezione di equipaggio presso il Club Canottieri Roggero di Lauria, portacolori di Venezia Challenge, e poi dai primi di Luglio Cascais sull’AC45.
Altro nome importante entrato da pochi giorni nella famiglia Venezia Challenge è Ganga Bruni con il ruolo di Coach, uno sportivocon grande esperienza sulle classi più prestigiose e per la prima volta impegnato ad allenare un team di Coppa America. Ganga, palermitano, 37 anni olimpionico nel 2000 a Sidney, stratega su +39 e sul Team Azzurra è stato 4 volte campione del mondo su diverse classi una delle quali proprio sui catamarani.
In just two months’ time, the inaugural America’s Cup World Series (AC World Series) will get under way in the port city of Cascais, Portugal, a location world-famous for its spectacular sailing conditions. The event will be held the 6th to the 14th of August and will showcase the AC45 wing-sailed catamaran in the first-ever competition for this exciting new class.
Carlos Carreiras, Mayor of Cascais said: “It is a great honor for Cascais to hold this event. Cascais, located on the Estoril Coast, is a premier tourism destination, and our waters are considered to offer some of the best yacht racing in the world. We are looking for a superb event.”
Cascais is the perfect town to host the thousands of AC World Series spectators anticipated to watch the first racing of the America’s Cup World Series. The event will feature both fleet and match racing, with courses designed to test the athletes’ physical and mental prowess.
August 6 – 7, fleet racing
August 10 – 12, both fleet and match racing
August 13, match racing finals
August 14, fleet racing finals
In addition to the on-the-water action, the AC World Series also brings the America’s Cup experience to fans on land. Events and activities associated with the AC World Series will be announced later this summer.
Richard Worth, Chairman of the America’s Cup Event Authority said: “The America’s Cup World Series will expose hundreds of thousands of more people to the sport of sailing in its most exciting form - right in front of their eyes. We are excited to begin our global journey in Cascais, where both the racing and the experience will be first-rate.”
Televised to expose millions more fans to the sport of high-performance sailing, the AC World Series is a regular circuit of regattas that will bring America’s Cup-level racing and experience to top international venues. At the end of each AC World Series season, a champion will be crowned. These events provide the fans the only opportunity to see all of the America’s Cup competitors racing together.
The AC World Series will be sailed in the AC45, the forerunner to the next generation of America’s Cup boats. The boat was launched to great acclaim in New Zealand in January of this year. Focused on creating more on-the-water excitement for both the teams and the fans, the AC45 wing-sailed catamaran was designed for both speed and close racing. While capable of speeds of over 32 mph (28 knots), the AC45 remains nimble enough to handle the tight, tactical race courses planned by America’s Cup Race Management.
Belcher and Page (470 Men, AUS) on day one in Weymouth. Image copyright Victor Kovalenko.
by Craig Heydon
Light winds have tested crews on the opening day of the Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta, the sixth round of the ISAF Sailing World Cup, with Australia’s Paralympic sailors the standout performers in Weymouth.
The Australian Sailing Team’s three Skud 18 Paralympic crews were on the top of their game on day one of racing with Daniel Fitzgibbon and Liesl Tesch ending the day first, one place ahead of Jamie Dunross and Rachael Cox with Ame Barnbrook and Lindsay Mason fourth.
Fitzgibbon and Tesch picked up where they left off at the last ISAF Sailing World Cup round they competed at in Miami in January, with a first and a second in Monday’s two races giving them a three point lead over their fellow Australians.
“Today started out with plenty of delays but eventually we got out there and had a very good day,” said Fitzgibbon. “We were actually leading the first race but got rolled right on the line and finished up second, it was another Aussie which got us which wasn’t too bad and then we managed to get the win in race two.
“Our biggest competition at this stage is from the other Australian crews which is really good for us, it’s making us better in our racing and is awesome for Australian Paralympic sailing,” he said.
Fitzgibbon and Tesch are only competing in their second World Cup regatta together and are well aware of the challenges ahead of them to qualify for the 2012 London Paralympic Games.
“It’s going to be very tough to get the Australian spot for the 2012 Paralympic Games so every race out there is incredibly important for our training and preparation,” said Tesch, who has won three Paralympic Games medals in Wheelchair Basketball.
Fellow Australians Jamie Dunross and Rachael Cox had two strong races in their first ever international regatta together, finishing with a fourth and a second.
Dunross, who won Gold at the 2000 Sydney Paralympic Games, and Cox, won Silver at the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games, have only recently teamed up, getting in as much training as possible in Perth before making the trip to Weymouth.
Ame Barnbrook and Lindsay Mason are currently in fourth overall, after a win in race one and an eighth in race two.
Australia’s Sonar crew of Colin Harrison, Russell Boaden and Rod Angwin had a great opening day with a second and a first giving them the lead on a count back from their American competitors.
The West Australian trio has been training heavily at home in their first international regatta since the same event last year.
The Australian Women’s Match Racing Team crew of Nicky Souter, Jessica Eastwell and Lucinda Whitty ended day one with two wins and a loss, with their races taking place in the shifty conditions earlier in the day.
“We had a good, but long, day as we hit the water at 11am and didn’t get back till 5pm, quite a long time for three 15 minute races,” said Souter. “Due to the seedings in Match Racing we raced the three lower ranked teams today so we’ve got four of the higher ranked teams tomorrow which will provide a little bit stronger competition which will certainly push us further.”
Fellow Australian’s Olivia Price, Nina Curtis and Rayshele Martin had a tough day on the water with four losses from their opening four races.
The Laser fleet only managed one race late in the day with three-time World Champion Tom Slingsby finishing fourth. Slingsby fought back well late in the race after rounding the top mark in 22nd position, while fellow Australian Sailing Team member Tom Burton was ninth.
Australian Sailing Squad member James Burman is ninth, Ryan Palk is 49th, Ki-Raphael Sulkowski is 79th, ahead of Mark Whittington in 101st and Jared West in 105th.
Mathew Belcher and Malcolm Page are 15th in the 470 fleet after an opening race 17th and then a race win in the highly competitive fleet.
“It was an interesting day as there were plenty of first day nerves from a lot of teams which made the racing very intense,” said Belcher. “We sailed ok, we’re trying a few different things here and got into a good position in race one but lost out a bit due to a few incidents, we managed to get our act together and won the last one and are looking forward to going racing again tomorrow.”
Fellow Australians Sam Kivell and Will Ryan ended day one in 35th following a 13th and a 23rd, while brothers Alexander and Patrick Conway are 59th.
Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen are 14th in the 49ers with a 17th, fifth and a sixth in the opening three races.
“It was a pretty tough day as we were the first group to go out and had two races in pretty light and variable conditions,” said Outteridge. “After that we came back in and had four hours on the shore before going back out and having a race tonight where we picked up a sixth, it wasn’t a terrible first day but something to build on for the rest of the event.”
The 2009 World Champions are just five points off sixth position with five days of racing left.
Fellow 49er sailors Will and Sam Phillips are 18th, ahead of Steven Thomas and Nick Brownie in 23rd and Tom Johnson and Rhys Mara in 27th.
Brendan Casey is 12th in the Finn class after just one race was possible on day one.
In the Laser Radial fleet 2008 Beijing Olympic Games representative Krystal Weir is 17th overall following an opening race ninth, with Gabrielle King 41st, Ashley Stoddart 45th and Caitlin Elks is 57th.
Jessica Crisp is the best placed Australian in the RS:X women’s class in 15th after an eighth and a seventh, ahead of Allison Shreeve in 45th and Joanna Sterling in 53rd.
Matt Bugg is 12th in the 2.4mR Paralympic class finishing with a seventh and an 18th in the opening two races.
In the RS:X men’s class Tim Gourlay is the top Aussie in 51st, with Patrick Vos 67th, Luke Baillie 81st, followed by Jimmy Levy.
Oliver Tweddell is 26th in the Finn fleet, while Rob McMillan and Tim Castles are 47th and 48th respectively, and Shaun Wells is 54th.
Peter Burling and Blair Tuke (NZL) competing in the 49er fleet. Image copyright onEdition.
by Jodie Bakewell-White with additional information by SailRaceWin
One of the year’s key events for the NZL Sailing Team is underway in Weymouth, England where racing at 2011 Skandia Sail for Gold started overnight. Dan Slater made the best start of the 30-strong kiwi team opening the regatta with a win to hold the lead in the Finn event.
The ISAF Sailing World Cup regatta is being staged at the 2012 Olympic sailing venue and everyone vying for a shot at the 2012 Olympics is in Weymouth right now for six days of on-water combat.
The wind was light and it was a long day for sailors, officials, coaches and spectators.
Finn: NZL Sailing Team’s Dan Slater has made a great start to the regatta and tops the Finn leader board after kicking things off with a win. Just one race was possible however, and there’s plenty of water to pass under the bridge yet. GBR’s Ben Ainslie is in second.
“The race went well today and that was all down to getting a good start. I started at the pin end which was significantly biased, and allowed the first three place getters in the race to effectively ‘port tack’ the fleet,” said Slater after racing. “Then I managed to pull alongside the leader (Ben Ainslie) on the downwind which forced us to different gates. The gate I rounded appeared to be favoured which gave me margin for the last upwind, and I retained that to the finish.”
Laser: A massive entry list in the men’s single-handed dinghy event sees the fleet split into three for qualifying. Just one race was possible in each.
Andy Maloney made the best start of the kiwi contingent all looking for a top result from this important regatta in Weymouth. A 3rd on the water gives Maloney a share of 5th overall.
Mike Bullot returned a 6th, Andrew Murdoch a 13th, Sam Meech a 14th and Josh Junior a 27th in the opening race of the series.
Radial: Also sailing just one race on day one Sara Winther placed 6th and shares 11th position on the leader board.
RS:X Men: The usual suspects head the Men’s RS:X fleet including the NZL Sailing Team’s two representatives Tom Ashley and Jon-Paul Tobin both in the top five after day one. The Olympic champ was 3rd and 2nd overnight to hold 4th place, Tobin placed 6th and 2nd and just behind in 5th overall.
Piotr Myszka of Poland took two guns for a perfect scorecard and the lead at this early stage.
RS:X Women: Natalia Kosinska has made the strongest start of the four kiwi entries in the Women’s RS:X - finishing 6th and 7th in the two races sailed, Kosinska is in 12th position.
Women’s 470: Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie made a decent start in the Women’s 470 event where it appears most struggled with consistency on day one. Two races were sailed and the kiwi girls sit in 7th overall in the 45-strong fleet after placing 9th then 12th.
2009 World Champions Lisa Westerhof and Lobke Berkhout of the Netherlands lead the fleet.
49er: Black-flagged in race one of the regatta Peter Burling and Blair Tuke have set themselves the come-back trail from the outset. Finishing 7th and then 12th in races two and three the kiwi pair, who collected a bronze medal at the most recent ISAF Sailing World Cup Regatta in the Netherlands, are lying 33rd after day one.
The Sibello brothers of Italy have the early lead.
Elsewhere: Paul Snow-Hansen and Jason Saunders placed 16th then 17th overnight and are lying 33rd in the Men’s 470 event. It was a long day over on the Women’s Match Racing course with the NZL Sailing Team competing in Group C round robin. They took a win over Meldgaard, but their three other match ups.
In the Star class, Hamish Pepper and Craig Monk climbed to 14th after a poor start in the sole race of the day.
2011 Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta New Zealand’s provisional standings after day one
470 Women (45 entries) 7th Jo Aleh and Olivia Powrie
470 Men (77 entries) 33rd Paul Snow-Hansen and Jason Saunders
49er (63 entries) 33rd Peter Burling and Blair Tuke
Finn 1st Dan Slater 36th Matt Coutts 49th Bradley Douglas
Laser (123 entries) 5th Andy Maloney 11th Mike Bullot 25th Andrew Murdoch 27th Sam Meech 53rd Josh Junior 105th Spencer Loxton
Radial 11th Sara Winther 43rd Miranda Powrie
Women’s Match Racing Stephanie Hazard, Jenna Hansen and Susannah Pyatt (Group C – 1 win/3 losses)
RS:X Men (86 entries) 4th Tom Ashley 5th JP Tobin 78th Carl Evans
RS:X Women (59 entries) 12th Natalia Kosinska 39th Justina Sellers 49th Stephanie Williams 55th Jazmine Lynch
Star 14th Hamish Pepper and Craig Monk
2.4 metre (34 entries) 22nd Joshua McKenzie-Brown
SKUD18 (17 entries) 9th Tim Dempsey and Jan Apel
About this regatta:
Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta is the sixth event in the 2010-11 ISAF Sailing World Cup series and given this is the venue for the 2012 Olympic Games Sailing Regatta the entry list is long and star-studded. Everyone is doing their homework on Weymouth! Here are the numbers:
Stars against the light on Day 1 of Skandia Sail for Gold. Image copyright onEdition.
by Nicky Moore
This year’s Skandia Sail for Gold regatta is almost as big as the Olympics, according to triple gold medal legend Ben Ainslie. The reason is that many national teams are using the event as a crucial component of their selection process. So anticipation was high this morning when the sailors arrived at the Olympic centre, but the wind had other ideas, toying with the race officials as they tried to set fair race course in the light and shifty conditions. The Match Racing got started on time, others were not so lucky with the Laser Radial’s waiting ashore until 17:00 before being sent afloat.
But while the Women’s Match Racing might have got started on time, it was still going when almost everything else was done. The usual names found their way to the top of the round robin, with stand-out unbeaten performances from Claire Leroy, Elodie Bertrand and Marie Riou (FRA); Anne-claire Le Berre, Alice Ponsar and Myrtille Ponge (FRA); and Silja Lehtinen, Silja Kanerva and Mikaela Wulff (FIN) all on 3-0, and Lucy Macgregor, Annie Lush and Kate Macgregor (GBR); and Anna Tunnicliffe, Molly Vendemoer and Debbie Capozzi (USA) on the slightly more impressive 4-0.
The RS:X fleet got going at a reasonable hour, and managed a couple of races for both the men and the women. Blanca Manchon from Spain showed the class that made her the 2010 World Champion with two bullets to lead overall from France’s Charline Picon, hot on her heels with a first and second. In the RS:X Men it was Poland’s Piotr Myszka that matched Manchon’s results with two wins, but with a slightly bigger advantage, this time to his countryman Lukasz Grodzicki, who is in second overnight with a first and third. Britain’s Nick Dempsey won the second race to pull himself into third overall.
All three Paralympic classes were sailing early in the harbour – the wind was a lot stronger near the shore in the morning - and completed two races in all the fleets. In the Sonar it was Australia’s Colin Harrison and Russell Boaden tied with the US’s Rick Doerr and Brad Kendell, both teams with a first and a second. In the SKUDs it was Beijing silver medallists Daniel Fitzgibbon and Liesl Tesch leading from their Aussie compatriots Jamie Dunross and Rachael Cox – the former benefitting from a three point margin. In the 2.4mR’s it is Damien Seguin of France leading from the Netherland’s Thierry Schmitter and his countryman, Andre Rademaker.
The 49ers were also the beneficiaries of a race course close to Weymouth beach, and got a couple of races in for both flights. There was another outstanding performance in this fleet, this time from Italy’s Sibello brothers posting two seconds and a first to lead overall from the Austrian pair of Nico Luca Marc Delle Karth and Nikolaus Leopold Resch.
The 470s started mid-afternoon with some of the fleet’s most recognisable names struggling in the conditions. It was the Croatian pair of Sime Fantela and Igor Marenic that topped the day with a second and a third, closely followed by Pierre Leboucher and Vincent Garos of France. Portugal’s Alvaro Marinho has been combining his match racing on the World Tour with the 470, and posted a third and a fourth with crew Miguel Nunes and hold third overnight. Aussie World Champions Mathew Belcher and Malcolm Page were back in 15th. The 470 Women saw stronger performances from the superstars with 2010 Dutch World Champions Lisa Westerhof and Lobke Berkhout leading overall from Tara Pacheco and Berta Betanzos of Spain.
The Star and Finn classes were not released until 15:00 hrs and had the longest sail out to their course. They finally got underway at 17:30 after the wind had settled, and managed a single race. No one was particularly surprised to see Britain’s triple gold medallist Ben Ainslie lead for the first lap, but then New Zealand’s Dan Slater slipped through on the final round when Ainslie sailed to the wrong gate, and took the win. In the Stars it was all about Brazil’s Robert Scheidt and Bruno Prada, winners of their one race from Mateusz Kusznierewicz and Dominik Zycki, with Canada’s Richard Clarke and Tyler Bjorn in third.
The huge Laser fleet was out late, a combination of split flights - and the multiple starts required to get some of them away cleanly - making for a long day. In the end it was Germany’s Franziska Goltz that took the gun in the single Radial race, beating China’s Lijia Xu and Sari Multala. In the Men’s fleet, Netherland’s Rutger van Schaardenburg won their single race from Britain’s Nick Thompson and New Zealand’s Andy Maloney.
Provisional Results Monday 6th June 49er Sailed: 3 1st ITA 3 SIBELLO Pietro / SIBELLO Gianfranco 5pts 2nd AUT 84 DELLE KARTH / RESCH9pts 3rd FRA 1162 D’ORTOLI Julien / DELPECH Noe 13pts
470 WOMEN Sailed: 2 1st NED 11 WESTERHOF Lisa / BERKHOUT Lobke 6pts 2nd ESP 696 PACHECO Tara / BETANZOS Berta 7pts 3rd USA 1757 MAXWELL Erin / FARRAR Isabelle 17pts
470 MEN Sailed: 2 1st CRO 83 FANTELA Sime / MARENIC Igor 5pts 2nd FRA 44 PIERRE Leboucher / VINCENT Garos 7pts 3rd POR 81 MARINHO Alvaro / NUNES Miguel 7pts
FINN Sailed: 1 1st NZL 1 SLATER Dan 1pt 2nd GBR 3 AINSLIE Ben 2pts 3rd CRO 524 KLJAKOVIC GASPIC Ivan 3pts
LASER Sailed: 1 1st NED 192625 VAN SCHAARDENBURG Rutger1pt 2nd GBR 198211 THOMPSON Nick 2pts 3rd NZL 198109 MALONEY Andy 3pts
LASER RADIAL Sailed: 1 1st GER 198982 GOLTZ Franziska 1pt 2nd CHN 177117 XU Lijia 2pts 3rd FIN 199059 MULTALA Sari 3pts
STAR Sailed: 1 1st BRA 8255 SCHEIDT Robert / PRADA Bruno 1pt 2nd POL 8417 KUSZNIEREWICZ Mateusz / ZYCKI Dominik 2pts 3rd CAN 8361 CLARKE Rochard / BJORN Tyler 3pts
SKUD 18 Sailed: 2 1st AUS 47 FITZGIBBON Daniel / TESCH Liesl 3pts 2nd AUS 52 DUNROSS Jamie / COX Rachael 6pts 3rd GBR 45 RICKMAN Alexandra / BIRRELL Niki 6pts
SONAR Sailed: 2 1st AUS 788 HARRISON Colin / BOADEN Russell 3pts 2nd USA 674 DOERR Rick / KENDELL Brad 3pts 3rd NOR 1 WANG-HANSEN Aleksander / KRISTIANSEN Per Eugen 8pts
2.4 Sailed: 2 1st FRA 13 SEGUIN Damien 5pts 2nd NED 12 SCHMITTER Thierry 8pts 3rd NED 11 RADEMAKER Andre 9pts
RS:X MEN Sailed: 2 1st POL 82 MYSZKA Piotr Myszka 2pts 2nd POL 738 GRODZICKI Lukasz 4pts 3rd GBR 1 DEMPSEY Nick 5pts
Dan Slater (NZL) - Finn The race went well today and that was all down to getting a good start. I started at the pin end which was significantly biased, and allowed the first three place getters in the race to effectively ‘port tack’ the fleet. Then I managed pull alongside the leader (Ben Ainslie) on the downwind which forced us to different gates. The gate I rounded appeared to be favoured which gave me margin for the last upwind, and I retained that to the finish. Ben Ainslie (GBR) - Finn There were a few issues on the start and I made quite a bit of an error going into the wrong gate which gave Dan (Dan Slater, Race 1 winner) a big break. I did manage to catch up quite a bit but Dan ended up winning by about four boat lengths so it was a bit frustrating doing that after making a solid result. In the end the conditions were ok and it was good to finally get out racing after a morning of postponements. I’m pleased to get a decent result in the first race and I look forward to the breeze filling for the rest of the week
Rick Doerr (USA) – Skud I have competed in Skandia Sail for Gold for the last three years now and have had some pretty mixed results in Weymouth. We have only been here for three days which is a late start for us, but we have had some great practice with our head coach who had a really thorough plan and it seems like she was right on it.
I think we are feeling good about everything today, our rig set up, the way we are sailing, and our boat handling was fantastic. We are a pretty new team and have only been sailing together for a year and a half and we are competing against teams who have been together for ten years so we are feeling great that everything came together for us on the water today. It can take a while to get the crew mechanics down and we have worked really hard training against the rest of the US Sailing team which has really improved our boat communication.
Robert Schedit (BRA) – Star There was a lot of current on the start line so we were very careful not to be over the line. We didn’t get a great start but that actually put us in a position where we could play the fleet a little. First we were playing in the middle but we managed to round the first mark in the lead followed by the Polish team. That was key to winning the race – it meant we had clean wind when we were sailing downwind so we could extend our lead quite significantly. By the time we were on the third beat we had extended enough that we made it difficult for the rest of the fleet to make up that water.
Iain Percy (GBR) – Star We just never got into it today and we made a schoolboy error when we overstood the windward mark by half a mile and ended up reaching in against the tide. It was a very short course and we’re not used to that, but we were aware of it so we should have thought, and we have no one to blame but ourselves. When you make an error on a short course it becomes hard because then you are playing catch up which is really hard. We never gave up trying and I think over a series that pays off. They breaks just didn’t fall our way today. Paul Brotherton (GBR) – 49er The conditions weren’t ideal today but that’s sailing and we rolled with it. We didn’t get many breaks in the first race but the second was better and that is going to be reflected in the results. But the important thing is that we went out there and enjoyed ourselves and didn’t burn each other out in the first day.
What happens on the first day rarely reflects on what happens at the end of the week but we enjoyed ourselves out there. We are going to get a good range of conditions this week and the best people are going to end up winning, there is no doubt about that. The ups and the downs will even themselves out over the week and our job is to make the best of every single opportunity that presents itself.
I love coming to the Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta and it is great to be a part of this team and it is an honour to be wearing the GBR jersey and a privilege to be a part of it all. I missed last year through injury after tearing my medial meniscus cartilage last year in July so it is great to be back - I am certainly the oldest in our fleet by some margin so you just have to enjoy it and go out there with a smile on your face because you never know when it will be your last.
Rutger Van Schaardenburg (NED) - Laser The conditions are really challenging, in this weather everyone can sail fast and everyone knows what side of the course to choose and what position they need to be in on the start line, so it is all about having a good start. I have put a lot of effort into practicing my starts and it paid off today so I am happy with that. We were on a different course that we haven’t sailed on before and there seemed to be less waves and less tricky winds so it is different game, but the race we did was really good– we had good conditions and nice wind. It was a shame we only got one race in today as the wind has really picked up tonight but we should have some good conditions tomorrow so I am looking forward to that.
On board CAMPER ETNZ. Image copyright Hamish Hooper/CAMPER.
by Hamish Hooper
Out of the bunk like a spring chicken, up onto the deck I was greeted by a collection of apprehensive looking faces – not sure which Hamish was emerging from below. Obviously upon seeing the first smile on my face for a couple of days, they knew which one it was. Nico was quick to greet me back to the land of the living. It felt great to feel good again.
Taking in a few deep breaths of fresh Pacific Ocean air, I look around and notice a distinct lack of two things – swell, which was nice, and breeze, nice but not so productive. A long day today of slow progress had nerves fraying as we eased further and further into the expected high-pressure system, which put the brakes on everything.
Will Oxley & Andy McLean seem to be doing a good impression of Daddy Cool, ultra relaxed and seeming to know everything that was about to unfold. Always stopping short of saying “I told you so”. They are pretty onto it. I was amazed that very early in the day they said we would slowly lose wind all day until it would fill back in around 6pm. At 5:55pm this looked impossible, as we had been doing about 1.5 knots for the past hour and Daryl swinging from the top of the mast couldn’t see a line of breeze in any direction.
Ten minutes later, up the breeze comes and we are back doing in excess of 10 knots. Nothing like lightening speed, but compared to what we had all day it feels like it. Now we just hope our competitors don’t avoid what we had just been through.
As I sat on deck all day doing my best to help, I kept an eye on the guys rotate through their watches. Not one of them ever stopped trying to do something useful to help make the boat go faster - except maybe Dalts, he was making the practice of stirring trouble an art form. He is clearly enjoying his time back at sea. He and Trae were in fits of laughter with endless stories of their days in generations past onboard Lion New Zealand, speaking of which, Lion are 160 miles behind us right now, that’s a long way as we have only covered about 400 miles.
Conversation is always an interesting one on deck with surplus time on your hands. We covered many topics- none more enjoyable than the recent development of ‘The Daily Predicament’. You can spend as long or short pondering each one; some days are more clear-cut than others. The more people included tends to extend the life of the predicament. Our awesome shore crew is always very enthusiastic with each predicament so it makes it tough not to be able to include them each day.
Speaking of awesome shore crew, a recent addition to the galley is the most regal looking cup holder I have ever laid eyes on. Made of carbon fibre with a beautiful wooden veneer finish, it’s taken pride of place in the galley and I cant stop looking at it while I boil jugs of water and stir freeze dried food in a chilli bin. It was made by Mr. Incredible aka Guy Endean. He is good with craft and has a girlfriend.
Onward to Fiji, lets just hope we can hold off Vodafone, which will no doubt be charging back at us anytime soon. Chicken Tikka Masala for dinner tonight- wonder if that will help hold them off?
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