Great Britain’s 2.4mR sailor Helena Lucas and the Canadian Sonar team led by Paul Tingley snapped up gold in their respective fleets as Paralympic racing concluded at Sailing World Cup Miami presented by Sunbrella.
Tingley and his team of Logan Campbell and Scott Lutes wrapped up gold with a race to spare after a strong series of races. Meanwhile, Lucas asserted herself in the 2.4mR with a trio of victories that ensured she took her first gold at World Cup Miami after five previous attempts.
Lucas had a shaky start, retiring from the first race of the series, but came back dominant, winning seven of ten races over the week.
A perfect final day of three race victories sealed her fate as she ended well clear of Bruce Millar from Canada in silver and USA’s Charles Rosenfield in bronze.
“It’s been a really good regatta,” said Lucas. “We have had some great winds and some good conditions in different directions. It’s made it a good regatta and we had 20 knots yesterday so it’s been great. Miami is always a really nice one to win so it’s great to start 2016 off with a win.”
Lucas won gold at the London 2012 Paralympic Games and was the first British athlete in any sport to be selected for Rio 2016. No one has been able to defend the 2.4mR gold medal at the Paralympic Games but Lucas has a full schedule this year as she attempts to do exactly that.
“This is a good stepping stone for my preparations in September. It’s busy from now on until the Paralympic Games. I have some stuff planned in the UK in February and then from March onwards I will be at the World Cup and EUROSAF events. It’s a busy calendar from now on.”
In a Paralympic year, sailors are looking to peak and lay down a marker in the build up regattas. Those winning medals now, will be winning medals in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The Canadian Sonar team came off the water buoyed by their performance over a strong pack of racers. Their week featured three consecutive race wins midway through that put them in a good spot leading into the final day that featured three races.
A third and a fourth in the opening two was enough to seal gold and with the pressure off they completed the regatta with a seventh.
“It feels like the work is starting to pay off,” explained Tingley, a Beijing 2008 2.4mR gold medallist. “We are committed to the process and it takes time as a team. We have worked hard on our communication and as a result, we executed really well this week.
“The very best in the world are here and we beat the best. Gold is the reassurance we needed going into Rio.”
Australia’s Colin Harrison, Jonathan Harris and Russell Boaden took second followed by Bruno Jourdren, Eric Flageul and Nicolas Vimont-Vicary (FRA).
Paralympic racers have a relatively quiet period before a full on period in April and May that includes Sailing World Cup Hyeres and Weymouth & Portland as well as the Para World Sailing Championships in Medemblik, the Netherlands.
From 11:00 (EST), 16:00 (UTC) on Saturday 30 January, the Medal Races from Sailing World Cup Miami presented by Sunbrella will be broadcast live on the World Sailing TV YouTube channel as well as ESPN3 in the USA.
Sailing World Cup Miami presented by Sunbrella acts as the Olympic continental qualification regatta for sailors from North and South America. Qualify here, you’ll be representing your country on the grandest of stages, miss out, it’s the end of the road.
Torrential rainfall and a chill in the air, Miami isn’t usually like this, but competition for World Cup honours and Rio 2016 Olympic spots are keeping the temperatures on Biscayne Bay hot.
Competitiveness from the front to the back of each fleet has been evident and every sailor has something to fight for. Whether it’s the coveted Rio spot, a Sailing World Cup honour, internal qualification for Rio 2016 or even striving to perfect their game, it’s all on in Miami.
Sailors were made to wait for racing on Thursday as torrential downpours killed off the breeze and produced large quantities of surface water. When the breeze materialised it enabled the sailors to commence racing at 15:20 local time in building conditions that ranged from 12-17 knots from the south east.
Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin (AUS) regained the Nacra 17 lead after they finished ahead of overnight leaders Mandy Mulder and Coen de Koning (NED) in both of the day’s races.
They have a seven point gap over the Dutch but a scintillating battle is developing towards the back of the pack.
Just one point separates South American Rio 2016 hopefuls from Guatemala and Uruguay with one day of fleet racing remaining.
Guatemala’s Jason Hess and Irene Abascal were in the driving seat for the Olympic spot but two poor results enabled Uruguay’s Pablo Defazio Abella and Mariana Foglia to hit them on the counter attack.
The Uruguayans finished 23rd and 31st, leaving them on 272 points, one behind the Guatemalans who had their worst day on the water after a 37th and a discarded DNF.
In terms of races won against each other, Hess and Abascal lead the stakes 6-5 after 11 and it will be head to head on the water on Friday to decide who takes the single South American Nacra 17 place.
Canada’s Luke Ramsay and Nikola Girke have a strong advantage in the North American qualification duel. They are more than 60 points clear of the only other hopeful, Puerto Rico’s Enrique Figueroa and Franchesca Valdes. Ramsay and Girke will want to stay out of trouble on Friday to book their nation another Rio 2016 place.
Billy Besson and Marie Riou (FRA) were Thursday’s Nacra 17 stars after double bullets. They are fourth overall.
A single race in the 49er Gold, 49er Silver and 49erFX was completed.
Diego Botin and Iago Lopez (ESP) and New Zealand’s Alex Maloney and Molly Meech held on to top spot in the 49er and 49erFX respectively. Race wins went the way of John Pink and Stu Bithell (GBR) in 49er Gold, Ryan Seaton and Matthew McGovern (IRL) in 49er Silver and Ida Marie Nielsen and Marie Olsen (DEN) in the 49erFX.
On the Rio 2016 Olympic qualification front, there is plenty happening in all three fleets.
Chilean brothers Benjamin and Cristóbal Grez Ahrens haven’t made things easy on themselves in their battle against Uruguay’s Santiago Silveira and Philipp Umpierre for the South American 49er Rio spot. A disastrous start and up and down results gave the Uruguayans the advantage after two days.
The Uruguayans were positioned to make the gold fleet with the Chileans back in silver ahead of Wednesday’s so they had it all to do. Match racing was the name of the game and the Chileans forced the Uruguayans hand with an OCS and BFD to squeeze them back into silver fleet.
Thursday was an opportunity for both teams to reset and from a single 49er Silver race, the Grez Ahrens brothers grabbed the initiative, leapfrogging the Uruguayans. A Chilean ninth compared to the Uruguayans 18th ensures they go into the final day of fleet racing with a six point advantage.
In the north, gold fleet racing will decide the spot. USA in the driving seat with Thomas Barrows, III and Joseph Morris seventh on 71 points. Canada follow with David Mori and Justin Barnes 29th on 104 points and British Virgin Islanders Alec Anderson and Christopher Brockbank are down in 31st.
American sailors Paris Henken and Helena Scutt as well as Emily Dellenbaugh and Elizabeth Barry have put their nation in a strong position to qualify in the 49erFX. Henken and Scutt are 18th on 142 points and their compatriots, 21st on 161. Their nearest rivals are U.S. Virgin Islanders Mayumi Roller and Agustina Barbuto who trail on 181 in 23rd. Aruba’s Odile and Philipine Van Aanholt hold 226 points in 32nd.
Chile’s Arantza Gumucio and Begoña Gumucio are the only South American entrants who have not yet qualified for Rio 2016 so will qualify this week.
Sailing World Cup Miami is the second of six regattas in the 2016 series. From 25-30 January 2016, Coconut Grove, Miami, USA is hosting more than 780 sailors who are competing across the ten Olympic and two Paralympic classes on the beautiful waters of Biscayne Bay.
Laser and Laser Radial
A very fluid weather pattern (in more ways than one) made for a challenging, albeit short, day on the water for the Laser and Laser Radial fleets. The threat of thunderstorms kept the fleet ashore through the early afternoon. Once the sailors launched, the compressed time left the sailors with little time to properly research the breeze. Adding to the confusion, the weather changed just as the Radials were halfway up the first leg.
“In the beginning it was quite light,” said Evi van Acker (BEL). “But then the rain came and along came the wind. So it was quite windy in the race, which was nice to have a little bit of difference compared to the first three days.”
It was also quite shifty and, with the visibility reduced, tough for the sailors to formulate a plan of attack. As is often the case in difficult conditions, the cream rose to the top, with Marit Bouwmeester (NED) nipping Sarah Gunni Toftedal (DEN) by just two seconds and adding to her impressive string of four first-place finishes in the qualifying races. But Bouwmeester was hard-pressed to describe how she won the race.
“I don’t really know,” she said with a laugh. “The weather was quite tricky with the rain so I think I was just a bit lucky being on the right side of the wind shifts.”
Bouwmeester, who won the silver medal at the 2012 Olympics and the 2015 Laser Radial World Championships, is probably being modest. But her day did have one significant, and totally unexpected, hurdle that she handled with a veteran’s poise.
“A 470 trailer, they didn’t put it up right after the 470 went into the water and it fell down and it fell straight through my sail,” she said. “So just before [launching] I had a hole in the sail. But thank God it didn’t influence the racing too much
“I didn’t like it. I was like, ‘Bloody 470s.’ But there’s not much I can do about it. This guy gave me some sail tape and I tried to cover it up as good as I can.”
In third in the race, and sitting solidly in second overall was van Acker, who was a little more expansive when asked about the path to success in Race 6.
“I think play the shifts on the first beat and the first reach and the downwind,” she said. “But I could’ve done a bit better. So not super happy with today, but plenty to play for tomorrow.”
Van Acker is the defending Olympic bronze medalist, but there’s a lot of Laser Radial talent in Belgium and she won’t know until late spring whether she’ll return to the Olympics.
“We have a selection committee that will decide at the end of May or the beginning of June,” she said. “But as I said, I’m not really busy with the selection, just trying to do my best in every race.”
Currently sitting third in the overall standings is defending Olympic gold medalist Lilja Xu (CHN) who finished 35th, by far her worst race of the regatta. After discarding that finish she is just two points out of second and eight points off the lead.
Paloma Schmidt was the only South American sailor, who had not yet qualified for Rio 2016, to make the Laser Radial gold fleet. As a result, she has qualified Peru in the Laser Radial.
North American sailors from the Cayman Islands, Cuba, St. Lucia and Trinidad and Tobago missed out on the gold fleet as Bermuda’s Cecillia Wollman and Mexico’s Natalia Montemayor advanced.
Nine points separated them before Thursday’s racing but they ended up even on 95 points apiece after the single race. Wollman finished 39th and Montemayor, 40th. Results would lead to suggest some strong tactics coming in to play with three races on Friday to determine who will go to Rio de Janeiro this August.
After sailing a nearly flawless qualifying series, Rutger van Schaardenburg (NED) had his first significant bobble of the regatta when he was caught over the line before the gun and didn’t return to start correctly, recording a 50-point OCS. As he’s able to discard that score, he retains the overall lead, but the margin has narrowed. Jean-Baptiste Bernaz (FRA) is currently second overall after getting a fourth today.
While the Radials started in light breeze, the wind had picked up substantially by the time the Lasers started sailing. Still, the weather was difficult to read.
“I didn’t have [a really solid plan for the first beat],” said Bernaz. “I just say, ‘OK, let’s sail and watch; what you see is what you get.’ I was on the right, but when I saw the left gaining, I just go on the left side of the fleet. I was losing a lot and I re-gained what I lost. I was fourth at the top mark, third, then fourth again. It’s good to sail in front.”
Bernaz has been on a tear of late, with top-five finishes in his four of his last five major regattas. The lone blip, a 54th at the 2015 Laser World Championships, has knocked his world ranking down to 22nd, but he’s sailing like a medal contender at this event.
“It’s the year of the Games, some [Olympic selection series] for different countries, so everyone is 100 percent, maybe 110,” he said. “It’s a really hard fleet and it’s really hard to be consistent. Now we start the finals, so it’s the top 49, so it’s really hard, really compact.”
Sailing to his fourth second in the last four races, five-time Olympic medalist Robert Scheidt (BRA) moved into third in the overall standings.
“The first few races I had bad starts and it was difficult conditions, it was shifty and light, and I just made bad decisions at the beginning of the race,” he said. “I knew I had the speed to do better and the ability to do better. From the third day I started to sail more with the fleet, more consistent, better starts.
“Today was a full-on race, it started to blow very hard just a few minutes before the start and we knew we’d have to be out of trouble, have a clean start, and use the speed and hike hard. It was a tough race. The breeze kept increasing throughout the race. I just sailed clean, sailed a solid race. I’m really happy about that.”
Scheidt won three medals in the Laser class, gold in 1996 and 2004 and silver in 2000 before switching to the Star, where he won silver in 2008 and bronze in 2012. With the Star eliminated from the Olympic roster, he was forced to choose between missing the Rio Olympics or returning to the grueling 14-foot dinghy,
Sailing World Cup Miami is the second of six regattas in the 2016 series. From 25-30 January 2016, Coconut Grove, Miami, USA is hosting more than 780 sailors who are competing across the ten Olympic and two Paralympic classes on the beautiful waters of Biscayne Bay.
“The goal is to try to do the Olympic Games in my home country,” he said. “Unfortunately the Star is not anymore an Olympic class. I wish it was. It’s not easy to come back to the Laser after a certain age. But I’m enjoying it. I’m still having fun out there. I’m still competing at a high level. Of course, it’s not easy because physically it’s a quite a demanding boat. Right now I’m in a good moment, free of injuries and really looking forward to the next six months.”
He hasn’t been as dominant as he was at his peak, when he won eight world championships, but Scheidt is a serious medal threat, and anyone who thinks the pressure of competing in his home country will compromise his performance should check Scheidt’s track record. Among other accomplishments, his final Laser world championship was won on Brazilian waters. He knows what to expect, and how to handle it.
“It’s going to be a different Olympics with the crowd the expectations, competing in Rio, a place I’ve sailed all my life, for an Olympic medal,” he said. “It’s going to be very special. That’s why I’m still doing it. That’s the reason why I’m still training hard, pushing hard. To be able to join the Olympics one last time would be a great thing for me.”
Mexico’s Yanic Gentry made the gold fleet in the cut and with none of his rivals from Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico making it, he has qualified his nation in the Laser.
All of the South American sailors aiming for Rio 2016 are in the silver fleet and no racing was possible on Thursday. As it stands, Venezuela’s Jose Gutierrez is 65th on 139 points, Uruguay’s Federico Yandian 66th on 140, Ecuador’s Matias Dyck on 145 and Colombia’s Andrey Quintero 84th on 180.
Sailing World Cup Miami is the second of six regattas in the 2016 series. From 25-30 January 2016, Coconut Grove, Miami, United States of America, is hosting more than 780 sailors who are competing across the ten Olympic and two Paralympic classes on the beautiful waters of Biscayne Bay. @Sailing Energy
Men’s and Women’s 470
With a win in today’s lone race, Lara Vadlau and Jolanta Ogar (AUT) moved into a tie for first place with the Brazilian team of Fernanda Oliveira and Ana Luiza Barbachan. Those two teams are starting to stretch away from the rest of the fleet. As this fleet is one of the smallest in the regatta, it will be hard, but not impossible, for anyone else to claw back into contention for the win. The other teams in the top five are Shasha Chen and Haiyan Gao (CHN), Marina Gallego and Fatima Reyes (ESP) and Sydney Bolger and Carly Shevitz (USA).
Onan Barreiros and Juan Curbelo Cabrera (ESP) were the only team in the top six of the Men’s 470 fleet to record a top-five finish today. As a result the Spanish duo pushed their lead over Stu McNay and David Hughes (USA) out to five points. Panaglotis Mantis and Pavlos Kangialis (GRE) are third, nine points further back. A point behind third is Matthias Schmid and Florian Reichstäder (AUT). While there are three races scheduled for tomorrow, it’s hard to imagine anyone outside that top four making a serious challenge for the lead.
It’s one on one in both North and South America for Rio 2016 Olympic qualification. Canada’s Jacob Chaplin-Saunders and Graeme Chaplin-Saunders, on 53 points, have a good advantage over Mexico’s Jeronimo Cervantes Belausteguigoitia and Ander Belausteguigoitia, on 90 points, in the North.
Looking south, the 21st placed Ecuadorians, Jonathan Martinetti and John Birkett, have work to do on the final day of fleet racing to catch the 17th placed Chileans, Andres Ducasse and Francisco Ducasse. The Chileans have a 16 point advantage.
Canada’s Allison Surrette and Alexandra Ten Hove are uncontested for the North American spot so will seal that place this week. Chile’s Nadja Horwitz and Sofia Middleton are poised to take the South American spot, holding a 36 point advantage over Argentina’s Mercedes Travascio and Delfinia Bellagio.
Sailing World Cup Miami is the second of six regattas in the 2016 series. From 25-30 January 2016, Coconut Grove, Miami, USA is hosting more than 780 sailors who are competing across the ten Olympic and two Paralympic classes on the beautiful waters of Biscayne Bay. @Sailing Energy
Finn
It was the grey beards who dominated today’s lone race in oldest of the Olympic classes. Olympic silver medalists Jonas Hoegh-Christensen (DEN) and Zach Railey (USA) went 1-2 in the race and now hold those same positions in the overall standings. But in reality, the top six, who are separated by just three points, are standing on a level playing field with three races scheduled for tomorrow and then the double-points medal race on Saturday. The other sailors in that top group are Jorge Zarif (BRA), Jake Lilley (AUS), Lei Gong (CHN) and yesterday’s leader Caleb Paine (USA).
The 11th placed Chilean, Antonio Poncell, is sandwiched in between his South American rivals from Argentina, Facundo Olezza in ninth and Juan Ignacio Biava in 11th.
Poncell holds 47 points which is 12 off Olezza and two ahead of Ignacio Biava. Canadian Finn sailors have no North American rivals in the Finn fleet with Finn fleet racing to conclude on Friday.
Paralympic Classes
Helena Lucas (GBR) has positioned herself nicely at the top of the 2.4mR leader board ahead of the final day of Paralympic racing on Friday.
A third consecutive race win leaves her three points clear of early leader Bruce Millar (CAN) however the London 2012 Paralympic gold medallist will have to tread carefully on the final day as she discards a 12th from the first race of the series.
Peter Eagar (CAN) occupies the final podium spot with a day remaining but is just a single point clear of Charles Rosenfield (USA).
Paul Tingley, Logan Campbell, Scott Lutes (CAN) opened up a six point advantage over 2015 Para World Sailing Champions John Robertson, Hannah Stodel and Steve Thomas (GBR) after winning the single Sonar race.
Colin Harrison, Jonathan Harris and Russell Boaden (AUS) are third overall heading into Friday’s final Paralympic races.
Men’s and Women’s RS:X
The Race Committee had to manually input the results from the RS:X race course into the results system after racing. Results will be available in due course.
Sailors opening their curtains in Miami this morning would have been welcomed by a pleasant breeze that was enough to put a grin on their faces.
Upon arriving at the venues of Sailing World Cup Miami presented by Sunbrella their grins were to turn into a smile as a 14 knot south eastern breeze whipped its way around Biscayne Bay.
Predicted to hold throughout the day, the breeze was unable to sustain its tempo, dropping early afternoon and in the words of Australia’s Jason Waterhouse it was a day to ‘have your head on a screw.’
In the end, only the 49er, Laser and Paralympic fleets completed their full schedule of racing for the day with the remainder either completing three, two, one or in the RS:X Women and Finn fleets case, no races.
Sailing World Cup Miami is the second of six regattas in the 2016 series. From 25-30 January 2016, Coconut Grove, Miami, United States of America, is hosting more than 780 sailors who are competing across the ten Olympic and two Paralympic classes on the beautiful waters of Biscayne Bay.
Nacra 17
Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin (AUS) arrived back at Regatta Park, a new venue for Sailing World Cup Miami presented by Sunbrella, late in the day with a consistent day of racing under their belts in tricky conditions.
A 3-4-3 in stable conditions is a day to be proud of, but in the Miami shifts, that’s impressive. The trick? “Have your head on a screw,” exclaimed Waterhouse. “Just keep looking around and making good tactical decisions. The first race was a boat speed race and the next two were tactical chess playing races.
“It was a lot of fun out there and I’m sure there were a lot of ups and downs and we are happy to come away on the right side of it. We had a really good day and were really consistent, it was tricky and typical of Miami. We can take it forward for the rest of the regatta.”
The Australians are two leading lights in the Nacra 17 fleet, modest in their approach, humble in their ways yet full on and intense in the racing arena. They won gold at the Aquece Rio – International Sailing Regatta 2015 and are backing that performance up with further results to match.
After five Nacra 17 races they lead the way on 13 points, Mandy Mulder and Coen de Koning (NED) follow on 20 and Santiago Lange and Cecilia Carranza Saroli (ARG) sit third on 26.
Race wins on the day went to Iker Martinez and Julia Roman (ESP), Gemma Jones and Jason Saunders (NZL) and Paul Kohlkoff and Carolina Werner (GER).
Sailing World Cup Miami is the second of six regattas in the 2016 series. From 25-30 January 2016, Coconut Grove, Miami, USA is hosting more than 780 sailors who are competing across the ten Olympic and two Paralympic classes on the beautiful waters of Biscayne Bay.
49er and 49erFX
‘Keeping it consistent’ is a term every racing sailor aspires to and that term could not be more appropriate in the Olympic sailing arena.
Sailors don’t necessarily have to win a race to claim a medal. Regular results at the front of the pack can go a long way to ensure you’re there at the end when it counts.
Argentina’s Victoria Travascio and Maria Sol Branz are well known for their light breeze consistency and they personified that once again by picking up a 2-1-2.
“We did very good and it was really cool,” explained Travisco. “We managed three good starts and that was it really. The first we went on the left, had a good start and stayed on the left.”
The Argentineans demonstrated their light wind nous in the middle of 2015, winning Pan American Games gold on Lake Ontario in Toronto, Canada. Miami’s conditions on Tuesday suited them and they have leapt up the leader board, tied for third with Brazil’s Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze (BRA).
Ragna and Maia Agerup (NOR) hold their overnight lead with Alex Maloney and Molly Meech (NZL) in second.
Defending Miami 49er champions Nico Delle-Karth and Nikolaus Resch (AUT) took over at the top of the pile after four races. They opened up with a 13th, which they discarded before swiftly following up with a fourth, second and a first. They occupy first overall on 12 points.
James Peters and Fynn Sterritt (GBR) are second on 19 and overnight leaders Jorge Lima and Jose Costa (POR) drop to third on 24 points.
Men’s and Women’s 470
Today, on the Women’s 470 course at the Sailing World Cup Miami presented by Sunbrella, it was all about the pressure. From the wind, that is. As with yesterday, a promising breeze in the morning dwindled quickly. By noon it was decidedly in the single digits. By mid-afternoon it was on the edge of being unsailable. By that time, however, the women 470 sailors, were ashore, washing off their boats and thinking about what went right or what went wrong—or maybe a little of both—in their two races.
“When it’s so light, the pressure [is most important],” said skipper Fernanda Oliveira (BRA), who, along with teammate Ana Luiza Barbachan, scored a first and a second today and are currently first, by 3 points over Lara Vadlau and Jolanta Ogar (AUT). “You have to be paying attention all the time. I think that we did well downwind, and rounding the marks we could gain some points. It’s going well, lets see what happens in the next few days.
Oliveira also stressed staying sharp before races, especially when there are postponements and general recalls.
“I think that a routine is the best way to keep focus on our goal,” she said. “We are trying to just be checking, all the time, the wind and the current, the courses if they change something, paying attention all the time. If you relax and relax and relax, and try to start it again, it’s complicated. The routine is the most important thing so you make all the times the same thing and then it’s easier to be ready to go.”
With the class’s world championship scheduled for next month in South America, the fleet at the Sailing World Cup Miami is smaller and not quite as deep as in past years. But Oliveira stressed that it’s just as important to stay focused.
“We are trying to do our best; we are trying to train, to make this event like a training for the world championships,” said Oliveira. “But we have a lot of young teams here that are sailing very well, so we have to pay attention to them.”
Some top Women’s 470 teams have skipped this event to rest for the world championships, but Oliveira said that with the pressure of a home Olympics looming on the horizon, she is happy to stay busy.
“The pressure will come for all sailors, and for all Brazilian sailors also,” said Oliveira. “We have to keep paying attention. It will not be easy, it’s a special [Olympics]. I think we are OK; we already did a Games together so we have some experience as a team. In six months we’re going to be ready to go. From now until April, we have a lot of events, so there’s no time to be thinking on it.”
So the motto for the day: on the water, seek out the pressure; off the water, try to keep it at bay.
It was also the experienced Men’s 470 teams that rose to the top, with the top five teams in the overall standings after three races each featuring at least one former Olympian. At the head of the class is the home team, Stuart McNay and David Hughes, who won both races today by a combined 90 seconds. McNay is looking to head to his third Olympics this summer. Two points in arrears—each team has discarded its worst finish—are Onan Barreiros and Juan Curbelo Cabrera (ESP) with Matthias Schmid and Florian Reichstädter (AUT) in third.
Sailing World Cup Miami is the second of six regattas in the 2016 series. From 25-30 January 2016, Coconut Grove, Miami, USA is hosting more than 780 sailors who are competing across the ten Olympic and two Paralympic classes on the beautiful waters of Biscayne Bay.
Laser and Laser Radial
Dutch sailor Rutger van Schaardenburg continued his solid start to the regatta with a first and sixth today. It was a slight step down from his 2-1 yesterday, but it was still the best score of the day, nipping Filip Jurišić (CRO) by virtue of a tiebreaker. Van Schaardenburg retains command of the overall lead, six points ahead of Jurišić. Behind the Croatian sailor, however, lies a tightly packed mob of top Laser talent; just 23 points separates second from 22nd. Included in that group is five-time Olympic medalist Robert Scheidt (BRA) in 13th and American medal hopeful Charlie Buckingham (USA) in 14th. Buckingham is in the first stage of the selection series for the U.S. Olympic Team. While US Sailing Team Sperry teammate Chris Barnard (USA) is not off to a good start, Erik Bowers (USA) is just 2 points behind Buckingham in the overall standings. The Lasers will hope for two races tomorrow and then, regardless of how many races have been completed, the fleet will be split into Gold and Silver Groups for the final two days of full-fleet racing.
Men’s and Women’s RS:X
A single Men’s RS:X race was completed in the light air with the Women’s RS:X unable to sail.
Chinese racer Chunzhuang Liu asserted his light wind prowess again, overcoming Dorian van Rijsselberge by 15 seconds to take his second race win.
Liu has opened up a three-point gap over van Rijsselberge after two races but it’s still very early days in the competition with everything to play for.
Paralympic Classes
Three 2.4mR races have thrown out different victors in each. Bruce Millar (CAN) took the first bullet on the opening day and in Tuesday’s two, Peter Eagar (CAN) and Helena Lucas (GBR) crossed the line first in races two and three.
As a result, the trio are separated by one point at the top of the leader board. Miller leads on three points followed by Eagar and Lucas on four.
Paul Tingley, Logan Campbell and Scott Lutes (CAN) grabbed the lead in the Sonar following a second and a discarded seventh. Race wins went to Aleksander Wang-Hansen, Jacob Haug and Per Eugen Kristiansen as well as Alphonsus Doerr, Brad Kendell and Hugh Freund who are eighth and fifth respectively.
Racing resumes on Wednesday 27 January at 10:00 local time. The Laser, Laser Radial and 49er will complete their qualification series and many of the fleets will be looking to catch up on races lost over two challenging days.
The highlight of today’s racing at the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria in Williamstown, Australia, was the performance of Dan Fitzgibbon and Liesl Tesch in the SKUD18 fleet. At the Para World Sailing Championships the pair racked up another two wins to wrap up the World title with one race still to go.
They withstood enormous pressure from the Dutch crew of Rolf Schrama and Sandra Nap, clinging to a narrow lead at the beginning of the last downwind leg to cross the line just nine seconds ahead of the plucky Netherlands team.
In the second race of the day, in winds that increased to more than 15 knots, it was the Polish crew of Monika Gibes and Piotr Cichocki who hassled the Australian all the way, but once again, Fitzgibbon held his nerve and the Polish crew trailed them by just seven seconds in one of the most exciting finishes in the series.
Their two victories today places the Australians in an impregnable position at the end of the day, with a total points score of 11 after dropping their worst score – a third. Even if they do not sail in the final race tomorrow, they cannot be beaten for the World Championship.
Trailing the Australians on the leader board are the British crew of Alexandra Rickham and Niki Birrell, who sailed consistently today to score two thirds and now have a total of 26 points. Third is the Italian combination of Marco Gualandris and Marta Zanetti with 39 points. The Dutch team, with their second and seventh places today still have a chance to displace the Italians, lying just three points behind them at this stage.
Para World Sailing Championships 2015, Royal Yacht Club of Victoria, Williamstown (Aus). 2/12/2015. Photo: Teri Dodds.
It was a different story on the Sonar course today, where the usually consistent Australian crew of Colin Harrison, Russell Boaden and Jonathan Harris really struggled to find any rhythm. They experienced problems yesterday, which were mainly due to really tough weather conditions and huge swings in wind direction. Today’s racing was in stronger breeze, with lesser swings, but particularly in the second race, big seas were challenging for all crews on the windward legs. The Australians were 13th in race 9, their worst result so far, and 10th in race 10.
If conditions were hard, it certainly did not worry the British crew of John Robertson, Hannah Stodel and Steve Thomas, who came away with second and third places from today’s races to lead on the points score table with 31 points. With their worrying day today, the Australian crew loses its place at the head of the leader board but remains in a podium position with French team of Bruno Jourdren, Eric Flageul and Nicolas Vimont-Vicary.
“We struggled for boat speed all day today,” said Australian skipper Colin Harrison, “Boats that were behind us at the start were beating us to the windward mark.” Coach Grant Alderson will be trying to return his team to the routines that brought them success in the early part of the regatta.
In the 2.4mR fleet, Frenchman Damien Seguin has improved at every outing. He sailed consistently early, but has been increasingly dominant in this fleet at every race. He was unflappable today despite the pressure being heaped on him in the early stages in each race, finding his way to the front by the first mark and then extending his lead to finish the day with two firsts. Australia’s Matt Bugg scored a second in race 9 and was right on Seguin’s tail for most of the race but could not find a passing lane. He was fifth in race 10. Germany’s Heiko Kroeger sailed consistently again for third and fourth placings to remain second on the leader board with 28 points, 10 behind the Frenchman.
Para World Sailing Championships 2015, Royal Yacht Club of Victoria, Williamstown (Aus). 2/12/2015. Photo: Teri Dodds.
Helena Lucas will rue the “U” flag disqualification she incurred on the first day. With a 10th place as her worst score, she may well have been in a podium position at this stage and has sailed consistently near the head of the fleet in every race.
Seguin can go into the final race tomorrow full of confidence with a ten point buffer over his nearest rival.
Conditions for tomorrow are forecast to be much lighter than today and racing will be followed by the presentations in the evening.
Vigilance and strict observance was required on the fourth day of racing at the Para World Sailing Championships being held out of the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria in Williamstown, Melbourne, Australia.
With severe conditions forecast for the late afternoon, the race committee brought the starting time forward to 11:00 in an effort to beat the weather. Sailors from 31 nations racing in the three classes selected for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games were expecting a tough day and that is what they received.
Racing on all three courses began in wind strengths of eight to ten knots from the west. All crews noticed wild swings in wind direction. It was a day when crews had to be more observant than usual and ensure that they stayed in sync with the wind direction. Those who failed to do so paid a terrible price.
The SKUD18’s of the USA and Israeli teams were racing against the clock to replace their broken masts in time for the morning start, while Britain’s Helena Lucas had an anxious wait while a boat builder worked frantically through the night to repair a gaping hole in her boat’s transom. In the end the resources of the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria based support personnel successfully managed to have all boats back in action in time for today’s first race.
Para World Sailing Championships 2015, Royal Yacht Club of Victoria, Williamstown (Aus). 1/12/2015. Photo: Teri Dodds.
The SKUD18 started race 7 in 8 knots of breeze from the west, with 75% of the fleet electing to hold starboard tack off the start line and favour the left of the course. The British team of Alexandra Rickham and Niki Birrell set the early pace and rounded the top mark clear of the Italian and French crews. The Australians at this stage were some distance back in fourth place.
On the downwind leg, the Italian and British crews, working the southern side of the course, struggled to gain the upper hand while the Australians gybed away inside them. The gap between boats narrowed considerably on the next upwind leg, with the British boat maintaining control of the race. At the final rounding of the windward mark, the Australians rounded behind the British but ahead of the Italians, with a long gap back to the rest of the fleet. For a moment it seemed that the Australian boat had a chance for an unlikely win as it surfed towards the finish line in a good line of pressure on the northern side of the course while the British boat continued its steady progress on the southern side, trailed by the Italians.
When they gybed back towards the finish line, it became clear that Rickham and Birrell had actually extended their lead while Gualandris and Zanetti emerged ahead of Fitzgibbon and Tesch. It was a graphic illustration of the different wind direction on various parts of the course.
In race eight the Australians reversed the result on the British with the Italians third.
Total points scores with just three races remaining have Fitzgibbon and Tesch leading on nine points, followed by Rickham and Birrell on 20 and Gualandris and Zanetti on 26.
Para World Sailing Championships 2015, Royal Yacht Club of Victoria, Williamstown (Aus). 1/12/2015. Photo: Teri Dodds.
American Dee Smith had a field day in the 2.4mR fleet today, emerging with first and third placings. Although Frenchman Damien Seguin failed to make the top six in race 7, he won race eight to remain in contention, with countryman Kevin Cantin second. The fleet was spread over the whole of the last leg in the last race, an indication of the difficulty many competitors had in reading the breeze.
Seguin leads on 16 points, Germany’s Heiko Kroeger has 21 with Australia’s Matt Bugg on 33.
The Sonar race committee set their course for race 8 in a breeze close to 15 knots, but that dropped to about half that strength at the start signal. Although the Australian boat started well in the centre of the line, they were caught in disturbed air and pinned down to prevent them from tacking away.
It was a case of “beware the wounded Frenchman”, after the crew of Eric Jourdren, Eric Flageul and Nicolas Vimont-Vicary were disqualified from race seven. Penalised by the on-course jury for pumping on the downwind leg, they responded with a one turn penalty instead of two and suffered the consequences. A determined crew started strongly on race eight and were never seriously challenged to take a decisive win.
The Australians had a miserable day. Having committed to the left hand side of the course, they watched in frustration as all the favourable wind shifts occurred on the right. They could not recover and had their worst result for the regatta with an 11th place. Things went slightly better in race eight, where they finished fifth.
“It was a really difficult day out there today,” said Australian coach Grant Alderson. “The good thing is that we still hold a comfortable lead with three races remaining and are on track.”
Para World Sailing Championships 2015, Royal Yacht Club of Victoria, Williamstown (Aus). 1/12/2015. Photo: Teri Dodds.
That may have been an understatement. As the last boat passed through the gate to complete the first of two laps, the leaders were less than 200 metres from the top mark ready to commence the last leg of the race. There was a similar spread in the 2.4mR fleet.
Final standings for the Sonars show Harrison, Boaden and Harris leading with 14 points, ahead of Britain’s Robertson Strodel and Thomas with 28 and Jourdren, Flageul and Vimont-Vicary on 31 after today’s disqualification.
The penultimate day of competition will kick off at 13:00 on Wednesday 2 December.
Broken masts, collisions and a tough old day for the sailors at the Para World Sailing Championships as Port Phillip showed its wild side on the third day of competition in Williamstown, Melbourne, Australia.
A warm northerly breeze lured the sailors out of the comfortable surroundings of the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria to their respective course areas with no sign of what was to follow.
The first race for all fleets was run in a breeze of 15 knots or so, with gusts to 20 knots and the wind direction swinging wildly in each gust. It was challenging but enjoyable sailing. In the second race however, the breeze built quickly. Strong gusts, reported at 30 knots, caught many crews unawares, with spectacular results.
Sailing – Para World Sailing Championships 2015, Royal Yacht Club of Victoria, Williamstown (Aus). 30/11/2015. Photo: Teri Dodds.
Israeli and American SKUD18 sailors fell victim to the second race gusts as their masts snapped whilst Puerto Rico’s Julio Reguero collided with the committee boat on the 2.4mR race track.
On the SKUD18 course, conditions were trying for all crews in the first race, which was won by Australians Dan Fitzgibbon and Liesl Tesch ahead of their team mates Amethyst Barnbrook and Brett Pearce, with the Netherlands crew of Rolf Schrama and Sandra Nap third.
In the race that followed, conditions were frightening, with vicious gusts sweeping down the course. Americans Ryan Porteous and Maureen McKinnon launched their spinnaker after rounding the windward mark, only to watch it fill instantly as a gust hit, and snap the mast neatly at the spreaders.
Soon afterwards, the Israeli crew of Hagar and Moshe Zahavi suffered a similar fate, both boats being towed back to the marina. The Australian crew, having established a good lead by the final lap, delayed the deployment of a spinnaker until after they had gybed, and kept a close watch on the Canadian boat closing in behind them. They went on to score another win, with Canada’s John McRoberts and Jackie Gray second and the Netherlands’ Rolf Schrama and Sandra Nap third.
Sailing – Para World Sailing Championships 2015, Royal Yacht Club of Victoria, Williamstown (Aus). 30/11/2015. Photo: Teri Dodds.
Total points after dropping the worst are now Australia on 6 points, Great Britain on 17 and Italy on 21.
At one point during the final race, Julio Reguero (PUR) in the 2.4mR fleet was unable to keep clear of an anchored committee boat during a particularly strong gust, while down the course there were four boats in the hands of support craft. For these little boats with their low freeboard, just keeping then afloat was challenging, and bilge pumps were being used by everyone to pump out water that had swept over them in the high winds. France’s Damien Seguin showed his versatility today by winning followed by Australia’s Matt Bugg, who was third in both races. Canadian Brian Miller was third in race six.
After six races, dropping the worst, Damien Seguin leads with nine points, from Germany’s Heiko Kroeger on 14 and Australian Matt Bugg on 19.
On the Sonar course, the predicted tightening of the competition was clear when the first three boats crossed the finish line almost together, each overlapped with the boat ahead. The Australian crew of Colin Harrison, Jonathan Harris and Russell Boaden started soundly in the centre of the fleet and narrowly led at the first mark from the British and French crews. During the final downwind leg, French skipper Bruno Jourdren broke away from the Australian and British boats, favouring the left as they closed on the finish line. The Australians held their nerve, and with the British boat closing fast behind them, kept the French boat out wide until they gybed back, leaving the Frenchmen to lament what might have been. The finishing order was Australia, France and Britain.
Sailing – Para World Sailing Championships 2015, Royal Yacht Club of Victoria, Williamstown (Aus). 30/11/2015. Photo: Teri Dodds.
In much stronger conditions during the second race, the British turned the tables, leading the Australians home with the New Zealand crew of Richard Dodson, Chris Sharp and Andrew May in third place. The French boat had their worst result for the series so far, finishing eighth.
Total scores, now incorporating the dropping of each boat’s worst score, shows the Australians leading on seven points, ahead of the British crew of John Robertson, Hannah Stodel and Steve Thomas on 13 points and the French crew on 22.
With severe conditions forecast for tomorrow, teams are already discussing their strategy after today’s carnage on the race course.
Poland’s Monika Gibes and Piotr Cichocki are making strides at the Para World Sailing Championships in Williamstown, Melbourne, Australia as they bid to qualify their country for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.
The 2015 Para World Sailing Championships is the final opportunity for sailors to seal a Paralympic Games berth and Gibes was direct when asked about her aims for the event, “I’m here to qualify for Rio 2016 and to make the Polish national sailing team. That’s the first goal and we need to achieve it.”
As one of seven teams aiming to qualify for Rio 2016 in the SKUD18 the stakes are high. Just five more places are available, meaning two teams will leave Williamstown and the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria bitterly disappointed.
Compared to the sailors around them in Williamstown, Gibes and Cichocki lack experience in the pressure pot of a world championship. In fact, they have only sailed at one event together in the build up to the 2015 Worlds, finishing 11th at the Delta Lloyd Regatta in May this year, but they have a vision, drive, determination and strong coaching that pushes them forward.
Sailing – Para World Sailing Championships 2015, Royal Yacht Club of Victoria, Williamstown (Aus). 29/11/2015. . Photo: Teri Dodds.
That drive was evident on the first day of competition as they laid down a marker by taking the first race win. An eighth, sixth and sixth followed and they end the second day of competition fourth overall and in the driving seat for Rio 2016.
Not bad for a crew who only recently started sailing together as their coach, Grzegorz Prokopowicz, explained, “Monika has actually only been sailing for one year so she’s very much a beginner in some aspects but she has spent about 100 days on the water this year.”
But how did she get into sailing in the first place? “In Poland we have meetings and a sports congress for people who are disabled,” continued Prokopowicz.
“Peter, her crew, went to a meeting and asked, ‘who wants to go for a sail with me?’ And Monika said, ‘I would like to try sailing’. It was about a year and a half ago and then she came to us this year and told us she was ready to go.”
Gibes is wheelchair bound having been born with meningomyelocele which is a type of spina bifida but that certainly hasn’t held her up sailing in the SKUD18, a boat that can be adapted to suit the needs and requirements of severely disabled sailors.
“The wheelchair is part of her body,” said Prokopowicz, “she is in a wheelchair and cannot walk but every day Piotr and Monika work really hard on their boat. We are a young crew and we only have one year of SKUD18 experience so we watch everyone, every day and we do a lot of things from what we see and what we learn.
“Monika gets better and better each and every day.”
Sailing – Para World Sailing Championships 2015, Royal Yacht Club of Victoria, Williamstown (Aus). 29/11/2015. . Photo: Teri Dodds.
Whilst Gibes only has one year of sailing experience the same certainly cannot be said of Cichocki who clocks up 30 years of sailing know-how that includes windsurfing, multihulls and offshore racing.
A former able-bodied athlete Cichocki is relatively new to Paralympic sailing with two Para World Sailing regattas under his belt but he has a firm understanding on the sport. Cichocki sailed non-stop around the world in The Race in 2000 on-board Warta Polpharma where he finished fourth with Roman Paszke as skipper.
Sailors such as Grant Dalton, Loick Peyron, Skip Novak and Steve Fossett, to name but a few, competed in The Race but many have linked Cichocki’s time in The Race to his avascular necrosis (AVN) of the femoral head that affects his legs.
Prokopowicz said, “Peter is a really experienced sailor. He had been sailing for 30 years with no disability but now he has problems with his legs.
“He sailed in The Race in 2000 and people think that this round the world race caused his disability as he was on the sea for three to four months. The doctors were unable to establish how it happened as well but many people do think his time in The Race affected him.”
Sailing – Para World Sailing Championships 2015, Royal Yacht Club of Victoria, Williamstown (Aus). 29/11/2015. . Photo: Teri Dodds.
It’s fair to say that Gibes and Cichocki do not let anything hinder their progression, personified by their performance over the first two days of the Para World Sailing Championships.
They have seven more races over four more days of racing remaining to see if they are to achieve their dream of simply making the Paralympic Games. If they make Rio 2016 from 100 days of sailing, how might they fare with 283 under their belt as the day by day countdown to the Paralympic Games rolls on?
In perfect conditions on Melbourne’s Port Phillip, the first two races of the Para World Sailing Championship were run today by the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria in Williamstown, Melbourne, Australia. Winds were steady at around 10 knots and as cloud cover cleared all three course areas were bathed in sunshine.
Great Britain’s Megan Pascoe opened up a first day lead in the 2.4mR whilst Australian sailors in the SKUD18 and Sonar top the billing.
In somewhat of a sensation today, one the favourites in the 2.4mR fleet, Great Britain’s Helena Lucas, received a “U” flag disqualification in the first race and has a lot of work to do to work her way back up the leader board. After two attempts to get the fleet away, the race committee used the “U” flag to try to get a clean start. Even under threat of disqualification for an early start, three sailors still took them on and paid the price. Joining Lucas on the sidelines were New Zealand’s Paul Francis and Australia’s Neil Patterson.
Sailing – Para World Sailing Championships 2015, Royal Yacht Club of Victoria, Williamstown (Aus). 28/11/2015. . Photo: Teri Dodds.
The leading group worked the left side of the course on the first leg, and having established themselves at the head of the fleet, did their best to consolidate their places on the remaining legs, but even within the lead group there were some major changes of position, particularly during mark roundings, where the action was every bit as cut-throat as it was in yesterday’s practice race.
Lucas’ team mate Megan Pascoe took responsibility for Great Britain however, starting well in both races to finish the day with a third in race one and a first in race two, to head the leader board in company with German champion Heiko Kroeger, who scored two seconds for the day, sailing with great consistency throughout.
Damien Seguin of France has seven points, along with Norway’s Bjoernar Erikstad. These four were prominent in both races today and deserve their position on the leader board. Australian Matt Bugg struggled, placing ninth in the opening race and eighth in the second. His team mate Peter Thompson excelled in the second race, picking the shifts well to finish fourth, but with a 29th place in race one, he is well back from the leaders.
Sailing – Para World Sailing Championships 2015, Royal Yacht Club of Victoria, Williamstown (Aus). 28/11/2015. . Photo: Teri Dodds.
Others featuring at various stages, and still prominent on the leader board, are Austrian Sven Reiger, German Lasse Kloetzing, who lies one point behind Matt Bugg on 18 and Czech Republic sailor Daniel Bina a further point back.
Conditions were perfect for the SKUD18’s. Australia’s Dan Fitzgibbon and Liesl Tesch began with a second place in the first race, but were dominant in race two with a good win. Their main competition will continue to come from the British pair of Alexandra Rickham and Niki Birrell who trail them with a second and third to their credit and Poland’s Monica Gibes and Piotr Cichocki, who posted and eighth in the second race after winning the first.
In race two, the Australians rounded the first mark with a small but decisive lead, but sailing fast and deep under spinnaker, doubled their lead when they reached the gate and went on from there to a very comfortable win.
After racing Fitzgibbon said, “The first day of World Champs for us and we are trying to settle in to a long week ahead. It’s just the first day and the first race was a bit on the light side and a bit choppy and we came away with a second, which was good to settle in.
“In the second race we got a bit more wind, 12-15 knots and we got away with a win in that one, which was good. We extended on the fleet and for the first day, we’re pretty happy with where we are.”
The Australian Sonar crew of Colin Harrison, Jonathan Harris and Russell Boaden had to fight hard for their two wins today.
Sailing – Para World Sailing Championships 2015, Royal Yacht Club of Victoria, Williamstown (Aus). 28/11/2015. . Photo: Teri Dodds.
At the top mark in race two, Canada’s crew of Paul Tingley, Logan Campbell and Scott Lutes led narrowly, ahead of the Australians and Britain’s John Robertson, Hannah Stodel and Steve Thomas. Once again however, Harrison was able to finesse his way to the lead on the downwind leg and from there was never headed.
After two races, the Australian team leads the way with two wins. They are followed by New Zealand’s Richard Dodson, Chris Sharp and Andrew May who recorded a fifth and a second and the Israeli team of Dror Cohen, Arnon Efrati and Shimon Ben Yakov a point further back.
Scores are quite close in this fleet and give the promise of some great competition during the remainder of the regatta.
Racing is scheduled to resume at 13:00 on Sunday 29 November out of the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria in Williamstown, Melbourne, Australia.
Williamstown, Melbourne, Australia is set to welcome a bumper 2.4mR fleet for the Para World Sailing Championships with 51 boats from 26 nations registered to compete.
The list of sailors making their way to the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria is very much a who’s who of the Paralympic sailing world. Paralympic medals, Para World Sailing Championship honours as well as Open 2.4mR World Championship accolades are among the 51 sailors, making for one of the most decorated Paralympic fleets in history.
Away from the race for the title there will also be an intriguing battle for the remaining Rio 2016 Paralympic Games places available. Eight nations booked their spot for Rio 2016 at the 2014 Worlds with seven further places up for grabs in Melbourne. Every point will be vital with 18 nations vying for those places.
Defending champion Heiko Kroeger of Germany heads into Melbourne on a fine run of form. Since his silver medal performance at the London 2012 Paralympic Sailing Competition in Weymouth and Portland, Great Britain, the German has finished on the podium at every regatta he has sailed at.
Gold medals at the 2013 and 2014 editions of ISAF Sailing World Cup Hyeres helped him to prepare for the 2014 IFDS Combined World Championships (the former name of the Para World Sailing Championships). Kroeger was in excellent form in Nova Scotia, Canada and claimed his sixth Para title. His first came at the Worlds in 1999 and he has been a mainstay at the front of the pack ever since.
Kroeger, a Sydney 2000 Paralympic 2.4mR gold medallist, has competed at two regattas in 2015 picking up bronze at World Cup Hyeres and silver at the Delta Lloyd Regatta in Medemblik, the Netherlands. With bronze and silver up his sleeve can he make it a full sweep of colours in Williamstown? Only time will tell.
France’s Damien Seguin had the beating of Kroeger in Hyeres and Medemblik and much like the German, is a decorated Paralympic sailor with Athens 2004 Paralympic gold and three World Championship titles. Wins in Hyeres and Medemblik ensure the French racer ventures into the Worlds undefeated in 2015 and ready to recapture the title he last won in 2012.
Helena Lucas (GBR) is yet to add a world championship title to her London 2012 Paralympic gold medal with three bronze and two silver medals to her name. Alongside this, Lucas has also mixed it up in the Open 2.4mR World Championships, where able-bodied and Para World Sailing athletes compete side by side. The Briton has silver and bronze to her name at the Open Worlds but is yet to feel gold around her neck in any World Championships and will certainly be aiming to right that in Williamstown.
Further sailors who have what it takes to claim the title include Norway’s Bjornar Erikstad, Australia’s Matt Bugg, Finland’s Niko Salomaa and Great Britain’s Megan Pascoe.
Away from the fight from the title there will be an interesting battle for the remaining Rio 2016 Paralympic Games qualification places in the 2.4mR.
Sailors from Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Norway and the United States of America booked their spot at Rio 2016 last year but for the remaining 18 nations sailing in Williamstown, they’re fighting for one of seven places.
2.4mR Para Worlds fleet set to be most decorated in Paralympic Sailing history
Following the Paralympic Development Program in Weymouth and Portland, Great Britain in August, the 2015 Para Worlds features a number of nations new to the Paralympic sailing arena.
Sailors from Czech Republic, Estonia, Hong Kong and Portugal will sail in Williamstown looking to put the skills they’ve honed in from the Paralympic Development Program into practice.
There are also a number of experienced Paralympians in the fleet including Sven Reiger (AUT), Julio Reguero (PUR), Juan Fernandez Ocam (ARG) and Paul Francis (NZL) who will also be in the hunt for the Paralympic Games places.
Racing in the 2.4mR commences on Saturday 28 November in Melbourne at 13:00 local time.
The 2015 Para World Sailing Championships is set to welcome 140 sailors from 29 nations in Melbourne, Australia from 24 November to 3 December 2015.
Racing out of the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria in Williamstown, a small suburb of Melbourne, competitors will be gunning for the final Rio 2016 Paralympic Sailing Competition with the stakes as high as they could possibly be.
The 2.4mR will be the biggest fleet in Melbourne with 45 entries whilst the Two-Person Keelboat, the SKUD18, and the Three Person Keelboat, the Sonar, have 19 entries each. In total, 140 sailors and 70 coaches will be in Melbourne with eyes focused on taking gold and a place on the Rio 2016 startline.
Organising Committee chair Michael McLean said, “By my reckoning we have one more country to enter and that will give us 30 countries, a fabulous result and commitment from all countries and sailors and coaches to such a prestigious event in the sailing calendar. It is after all the second and final country qualifier for the Rio Paralympics.”
In total, 35 athletes will book their spot at Rio 2016 in Melbourne. Seven spots in the 2.4mR, five in the SKUD18 and six in the Sonar will be up for grabs. Click here for the qualification system –
“We don’t run these events very often,” McLean continued, “so I would encourage all the members of the RYVC, the local population, sailing community and the world of Paralympic sport to get excited by this event, I certainly am.
“You would really struggle to find a more professional group of sailors and coaches dedicated to representing their countries at the highest level. This will be some of the best sailing you are ever able to witness.”
If those following the event want to see the best racing, then the best sailors will need to be on the start line and when casting an eye over the start list, it’s a who’s who of Paralympic sailing with star studded fleets..
London 2012 Olympic gold medallists Helena Lucas (GBR) in the 2.4mR and Dan Fitzgibbon and Liesl Tesch (AUS) in the SKUD18 will be amongst the stellar cast on show in Melbourne.
Other London 2012 medallists making the trip include 2.4mR silver medallist Heiko Kroger (GER) and SKUD18 bronze medallists Alexandra Rickham and Niki Birrell (GBR). Silver and bronze medallists in the Sonar, Jens Kroker, Siegmund Mainka and Robert Prem (GER) and Aleksander Wang-Hansen, Marie Solberg and Per Eugen Kristiansen (NOR) will also be on the start line.
Away from the elite competitors at the front of the fleet the fight will be on for the remaining Rio 2016 spots after the 2014 Championship saw the first 50% of spots snapped up.
At the end of August 2015, ten sailors from six nations attended the first Paralympic Development Program (PDP) clinic in Weymouth and Portland, Great Britain. Thanks to the PDP sailors from Czech Republic, Estonia, Hong Kong and Portugal are expected to compete in Melbourne, aiming for one of the lucrative Rio 2016 spots.
2015 Para World Sailing Championships is set to welcome 140 sailors from 29 nations in Melbourne,
World Sailing TV were on-hand to capture the Paralympic Development Program and you can view it here – https://youtu.be/SNxbqlTNN1w
Ahead of the Melbourne Para Worlds, a second PDP will be taking place where sailors will benefit from on-water expertise, sailing in the Paralympic one-person keelboat, the 2.4mR, as well as daily on-shore briefings.
Registration, measurement and classification will run for three days in Melbourne from 24 November. The Opening Ceremony will take place on 27 November with six days of racing commencing on Saturday 28 November. A single race on Thursday 3 December will bring the regatta to a close followed by the prize giving.
Paralympic racing at ISAF Sailing World Cup Weymouth and Portland came to a close with the final two races taking place across the three classes.
It was a good day for Great Britain’s sailors who took a host of medals, including two golds, on home waters. Alexandra Rickham and Niki Birrell in the SKUD18 and Helena Lucas in the 2.4mR won gold for Great Britain while Australian crew Colin Harrison, Jonathan Harris and Russell Boaden took the gold on offer in the Sonar.
The gold medal in the SKUD18 went to Great Britain’s Alexandra Rickham and Niki Birrell who finished in style with double bullets on the final day of sailing in the Paralympic class.
Going into the final day the British duo were tied on points with Italy’s Marco Gualandris and Marta Zanetti, but in home waters the Britons triumphed with a strong rally to finish the regatta.
Birrell said, “We knew whoever had the best day would take the gold medal, so it was all or nothing, and luckily we managed, between the three of us with our coach Marcus as well, to get the boat on the right set-up today and we seemed to have reasonably good pace.”
Zanetti added, “Today was very difficult because there was more wind and more chop, and we don’t do well in these conditions. The day before yesterday we were faster and near the British team but they were very fast today.”
Another set of home sailors, Will Street and Megan Pascoe (GBR), took a second and third place to finish the regatta in the bronze medal position.
Top Three
1 – Alexandra Rickham and Niki Birrell (GBR) – 6
2 – Marco Gualandris and Marta Zanetti (ITA) – 8
3 – Will Street and Megan Pascoe (GBR) – 14
2.4mR
In the 2.4mR Helena Lucas (GBR) made it a clean sweep with six wins from six races and ended five points ahead of Italy’s Antonio Squizzato in silver medal position.
Taking control all week, Lucas adds another gold medal in Weymouth and Portland, a venue even she admits is starting to become a ‘lucky’ one for her, “I love coming back to Weymouth and Portland and it is definitely my second home. The waters out there are so familiar and it does bring back really amazing memories of London 2012. It’s my lucky venue.”
Always one step behind Lucas with six second places, Squizzato said, “[Helena] Lucas is a very good sailor. She is very fast and doesn’t do many mistakes and that difference in speed is important.”
On his week he said, “I had a good regatta but I made some mistakes. Like today I didn’t tack so good. But I have something to look at and do better.”
Tied on 19 points was John Brooker (GBR) and Al Mastakim Matrin (MAS) with the Briton taking the bronze medal on count back.
1 – Helena Lucas (GBR) – 5
2 – Antonio Squizzato (ITA) – 10
3 – John Brooker (GBR) – 19
Sonar
The Sonar was won by the Australian crew of Colin Harrison, Jonathan Harris and Russell Boaden who even had the luxury of knowing they had taken gold before the last race of the competition following a bullet in the fifth race.
Despite this, the Australian’s finished on a high with yet another bullet in the last taking four in total for the regatta. Even though the win was in the bag the crew knew it was a great opportunity when they were sailing well and they could take advantage of the good times. Harrison said, “Every race is a valuable opportunity to find ways of making the boat go faster and an opportunity for the crew to work through any situations that may come along, so it was a good opportunity to do that.”
On the win Harrison said, “It is very satisfying. It has been a very tough event with strong winds and the light day yesterday, but we have enjoyed racing again in Weymouth.
“Since 2012 it’s been a bit of a drought for us here so it was nice to come up with a good result.”
Finishing in silver was Great Britain’s John Robertson, Hannah Stodel and Steve Thomas who took two second placed finishes to cement their overall second place. The British crew finished the regatta on 11 points.
Completing the medal list in bronze is Ireland’s John Twomey, Austin O’Carroll and Ian Costelloe after Norwegian crew Aleksander Wang-Hansen, Marie Solberg and Per Eugen Kristiansen were disqualified from the final race.
Top Three
1 – Colin Harrison, Jonathan Harris and Russell Boaden (AUS) – 6
2 – John Robertson, Hannah Stodel and Steve (GBR) – 11
3 – John Twomey, Austin O’Carroll and Ian Costelloe (IRL) – 15
Video
Medal Races will be live from ISAF Sailing World Cup Weymouth and Portland on Sunday 14 June from 11:00 local time.
URL – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQ8hlJyeqxk
Embed –
The first day of racing at ISAF Sailing World Cup Weymouth and Portland sprung a few surprises with an uncommon north eastern breeze testing the fleet.
Ranging from 10-15 knots, the breeze coupled with glorious British sunshine, resulted in some exceptional racing on the 2012 Olympic waters.
The stakes have been described as high by the competitors competing in Great Britain and rightly so with internal Rio qualification battles on-going, ISAF Sailing World Cup honours, a share of the prize fund and Abu Dhabi Final spots up for grab.
Racing commenced at 11:00 local time and wrapped up early evening with the ten Olympic, three Paralympic and Kiteboarding events completing their race schedule.
ISAF SAILING WORLD CUP
Laser
New Zealand’s Andy Maloney came out with intent in the Laser, taking the day one lead with a strong performance as he explained, “We had good breeze between 10 and 15 knots. It was pretty shifty on the course but I had good pace and played the shifts and managed to come away with a first and second which is pretty solid. It was a good day.”
The Road to Rio is a hard one and as well as international threats, Maloney also has to contend with domestic rivals on his journey. With the likes of his compatriots Sam Meech, Mike Bullot and Thomas Saunders all capable of challenging for medals, Maloney feels no internal pressure, “It’s good for us and the Australians to have a good squad and we’re all pushing each other hard.
“It’s exciting more than anything now in the Laser because it’s coming down to the final part of the cycle so it’s crunch time now.”
Yachting New Zealand named six crews for the Olympic Test Event on 18 May – see release here – . And as stated, will consider nominations the Laser following the World Cup Weymouth and Portland. A good performance by Maloney could go a long way for selection with Bullot in 15th, Saunders 20th and Sam Meech 21st after the opening day.
Nick Thompson (GBR) was not far off of Maloney’s pace, finishing behind him in both races to sit in second.
London 2012 Olympic silver medallist Pavlos Kontides (CYP) was almost as strong in Weymouth and Portland’s conditions as he did so well three years prior. A seventh and a fourth puts him third overall but he’s got his eye on the top, “I’m satisfied with my performance and races today but there’s still a long way to go and I hope to move up. Having 40 top guys with this new ISAF World Cup, the stakes are high.
“You have to push to the end and every race counts. You can win this event without winning any races. Consistency will prove vital in the end.”
The day’s remaining race win went the way of Jesper Stalheim (SWE) who is fourth overall.
Laser Radial
The last time Marit Bouwmeester (NED), Evi Van Acker (BEL) and Annalise Murphy (IRL) competed against each other at Weymouth and Portland they were locked in a battle for Olympic medals.
Fast forward three years and they’re fighting it out again at the ISAF Sailing World Cup.
Marit Bouwmeester (NED) was assertive on the race course, winning both races by a comfortable margin. The Dutch sailor, who won silver at London 2012, sits atop the pile with Evi Van Acker, London 2012 bronze medallist, trailing on five points following a 3-2 scoreline.
Murphy came through in second in the opening race and followed it up with a sixth in Race 2. She is third on eight points.
Great Britain’s Alison Young sits fourth on 13 points.
On the face of the 49er results it would be quick to assume that leaders Lukasz Przybytek and Pawel Kolodzinski (POL) were the stand out performers of the day. However, regattas aren’t won on the first they. It takes a consistent performance across five days of racing to come out on top and the most consistent team of the day were the first placed John Pink and Stu Bithell (GBR).
The pair recorded a 8-3-9 scoreline and were the only team to record three single digit scores. “On the first day of the regatta it’s always nice to start well and we’re thrilled to bits with three top tens. We’re fifth overall which is great and tomorrow brings another challenge because it’s going to be windy and we’ll be pushing on and hopefully get into that top three.
“It’s a great fleet, the top boats in the world are here and no one is really missing. It’s great that everyone is competing in the ISAF Sailing World Cup.”
Bithell won silver in the Men’s 470 at London 2012 and on his home waters he knows what the venue is all about, “You could argue that I know Weymouth fairly well,” he said with a smile. “I’ve lived here for some years now, did the Olympic Games here and is there a home advantage,” he pondered, “yes there probably is but incidentally we don’t always get the wind direction we had today.”
The Polish crew lead on seven points with Pink and Bithell four points off the leaders. Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen (AUS) and Dylan Fletcher and Alain Sign (GBR) are tied on 8 points in second and third.
Maiken Foght Schutt and Anne-Julie Schutt (DEN) lead the way in the 49erFX on three points following scores of 6-2-1. Alex Maloney and Molly Meech (NZL) follow in second place on six points.
Sarah Steyaert and Aude Compan (FRA), Tamara Echegoyen and Berta Betanzos (ESP) and Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze (BRA) are tied on seven points from third to fifth.
Men’s and Women’s RS:X
It’s a British 1-2 in the Men’s RS:X and Women’s RS:X. Nick Dempsey and Tom Squires are locked on three points apiece in the men’s whilst Isobel Hamilton leads Bryony Shaw by a single point in the women’s.
From three races Dempsey and Squires took a race victory each with the third place Mattia Camboni (ITA) taking the other.
“We had nice racing, very close,” exclaimed Dempsey. “Tom and I are quicker than the fleet. Our training’s gone really well and we’re starting to sail well. It’s nice and quite good fun racing.”
The pair train together on a daily basis which has helped them in the build-up to the regatta as Dempsey explained, “It’s nice having a competitive training partner. When we train we know we’re training against one of the fastest people in the world.
“You never have to compensate. If you’re beating Tom then you know you’re going fast. That is what we’ve always missed having with our training partners so it’s brilliant news.”
“It’s nice and quite good fun racing Tom.”
In the Women’s RS:X, Hamilton enjoyed a solid day on the water, staying at the front of the pack notching up a 6-2-2 scoreline. “It was definitely my best first day at a World Cup so far,” said the smiling Hamilton, “I would love to be able to hold on to first for the whole week.
“It was really good racing and it’s really nice to be racing at home. Weymouth is a fantastic venue and it’s really great to be back here.”
Shaw is a point off of Hamitlon after her 4-1-4 with London 2012 Olympic silver medallist Tuuli Petaja-Siren third overall. The day’s race wins went to Joanna Sterling (AUS), Shaw and Ingrid Puusta (EST).
Andrew Murdoch (NZL) opened his Weymouth and Portland account with a strong display in the Finn, notching up a 3-2 to lead the 24-boat fleet.
Murdoch, a 2012 OIympian in the Laser, used his experience to full effect at the front of the fleet. He has opened up a four point lead over Jonathan Lobert (FRA).
Giles Scott (GBR) took the opening race victory of the day and followed it up with a 12th. He is third overall. The remaining race victory went the way of Josh Junior (NZL) who is sixth overall but just three points off the third placed Scott.
Men’s and Women’s 470
It’s like London 2012 repeated in the Women’s 470 with the gold and silver medallists occupying the spots they claimed three years ago.
Gold medallists Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie (NZL) dominated the day by taking both bullets whilst silver Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark (GBR) were forced to look at the back of the Kiwi boat in both races as they settled for two seconds.
Tina Mrak and Veronika Macarol (SLO) sit in third after the opening two races following a 4-3.
In the Men’s 470, Stu McNay and David Hughes (USA) have a tasty six point lead over World #1 Panagiotis Mantis and Pavlos Kagialis (GRE). A fourth and a second gives them the lead at the early stage but with their experience, they won’t be getting carried away.
Victories on the day went to the Greeks and Ferdinand Gerz and Oliver Szymanski (GER) who are sixth overall.
Nacra 17
As of 19:20 local time Thomas Zajac and Tanja Frank (AUT) lead the way in the Nacra 17. However, many of the competitors sailed the wrong course in Race 1 with Race Committee protests and vice versa. A handful of protests remain open that may result in further amendments.
As it stands the Austrians top the pile on four points followed by Matias Buhler and Nathalie Brugger (SUI) and Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin (AUS).
Paralympic Events
London 2012 Paralympic gold medallist Helena Lucas (GBR) began her World Cup campaign with intent. Double bullets give her a two point lead over Antonio Squizzato (ITA) who finished directly behind the Briton in both of the days races.
Malaysia’s Al Mustakim Matrin sits in third overall.
In the SKUD18, Marco Gualandris and Marta Zanetti (ITA) and Alexandra Rickham and Niki Birrell (GBR) are level on three points.
The Italian and British teams shared the top two places on the day, taking a bullet and a second apiece.
Will Street and Megan Pascoe (GBR) are third overall.
It is tight at the top in the Sonar with four crews locked on five points.
Norway’s Aleksander Wang-Hansen, Marie Solberg and Per Eugen Kristiansen took the opening bullet of the day and followed it up by a fourth.
John Robertson, Hannah Stodel and Steve Thomas (GBR) took the second bullet of the day but like the Norwegians also count a fourth.
Colin Harrison, Jonathan Harris and Russell Boaden (AUS) and John Twomey, Austrin O’Carroll and Ian Costelloe (IRL) notched up a second and a third each and are also tied with the Norwegian and Irish crews.
Racing resumes at 11:00 local time on Thursday 11 July with some great race action on the cards.
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