Rio de Janeiro, Brazil is set to welcome 339 sailors from 52 nations for the Aquece Rio – International Sailing Regatta 2015, the Olympic test event, from 15-22 August 2015.
The Aquece Rio is the second sailing test event in preparation for the Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition and sailors will be looking to stamp their authority one year out from the largest sporting event in the world.
Sailing’s test event often acts as an indicator into who will be on the podium at the Olympic Games itself. In the build up to London 2012, the one year to go test event saw 18 eventual Olympic medallists finish on the podium with the remaining podium finishers demonstrating the attributes that it takes to become an Olympic medallist.
Rio 2016 Olympic Games
49er sailors Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen (AUS) were one of four crews who won the London test event before claiming an emphatic gold at the main event and they’ll be looking to set a similar precedent in Rio even though they’ve had a mixed year.
After a silver medal at ISAF Sailing World Cup Hyères followed by a couple of results off the podium, including a fourth place at the 49er Open European Championship most recently, the pair are looking forward to build on their performance at the Test Event.
“The European Champs were the last event for us in Europe this year. After a second at the World Cup in Hyeres and sixth in Weymouth we were looking to try and get back up on to the podium, which unfortunately did not happen after a bad last day and dropping from first into fourth. But reflecting on the event as a whole, I think it was really good for us to sail well there, all but the last day, which gives us a lot of confidence for Rio in August,” Outteridge said.
Rio 2014 Test Event – Aquece Rio Day 7-4. photo credit ISAF
Since their victory at London 2012 Outteridge and Jensen have taken somewhat of a back seat as their training partners and Olympic silver medallists Peter Burling and Blair Tuke (NZL) commenced an unbeaten 49er run that includes 2014 test event gold, two world titles and four ISAF Sailing World Cup golds.
Burling and Tuke will have the favourites tag pinned on them during the test event and will look to continue their good form.
The Aquece Rio 49er fleet will feature 20 boats, the same number that will be present on the Rio 2016 startline ensuring perfect preparation for all teams involved.
Whilst focus can easily be put solely on the Australian and Kiwi teams the fleet is full of exceptional talent that have the capabilities to take gold.
Nico Delle Karth and Nikolaus Resch (AUT) took gold at ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami at the turn of the year and will pose a strong threat across the week. Denmark’s Beijing 2008 Olympic gold medallist Jonas Warrer, sailing with Anders Thomsen has the experience and will be at the top of the pack throughout the week.
In addition, John Pink and Stu Bithell (GBR), Manu Dyen and Stephane Christidis (FRA), Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern (IRL) and Erik Heil and Thomas Ploessel (GER) will all be targeting the podium.
The Aquece Rio – International Sailing Regatta allows the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) to evaluate and make key decisions in advance of making the final decisions that will govern the Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition.
Six race courses will be tested throughout the week, three outside of Guanabara Bay and three inside. Courses outside include Pai, Copacabana and Niteroi whilst the inside courses are Pão de Açúcar, Ponte and Escola Naval. All will be tested throughout the week by the ten Olympic sailing events. Click here to view the racing areas.
Like the 49er, the 49erFX will feature 20 boats at Rio 2016 and with 19 boats on the test event start line conditions will be similar to Games time.
Rio 2014 Test Event – Aquece Rio Day 7-2. photo credit ISAF
Brazil’s Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze took gold at the 2014 test event and will be favourites to take another gold medal. Joining them in the fleet will be 2013 world champions Alex Maloney and Molly Meech (NZL), the consistent Danish duo Ida Marie Nielsen and Marie Olsen as well as Italians Giulia Conti and Francesca Clapcich (ITA).
The Finn fleet will see 20 competitors on the start line. All eyes will be on the in-form Giles Scott (GBR). Scott is on a run of 11 straight victories in ranked regattas, including the 2014 test event, and will be hard to beat on the Rio waters that he’s become accustomed to. Aiming to upset the run will be Olympic silver medallist Jonas Hoegh Christensen (DEN), bronze medallist Jonathan Lobert (FRA) and home nation favourite Jorge Zarif (BRA).
The Men’s and Women’s RS:X fleets will also serve up some strong competition. 2014 Aquece Rio gold medallists Dorian van Rijsselberge (NED) and Charline Picon (FRA) return to Rio aiming to further demonstrate they are the pair to beat in the Men’s and Women’s windsurfer.
However, gunning to put their mark on things in the men’s fleet will be Nick Dempsey (GBR), Pierre Le Coq (FRA), Byron Kokkalanis (GRE), Nimrod Mashiah (ISR) and Pawel Tarnowski (POL). Leading the charge in the Women’s RS:X will be Blanca Manchon (ESP), Bryony Shaw (GBR), Maayan Davidovich (ISR), Flavia Tartaglini (ITA) and Lilian de Geus (NED).
Racing is scheduled to commence at 13:00 on Saturday 15 August with racing concluding on Saturday 22 August.
A second and final set of medal winning performances brought the 2014 ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne to a close on Sunday December 14.
Some of the day’s highlights on the Stadium course included Tom Burton’s trifecta of gold medal Laser wins at this World Cup event, the Australian identical twins out-sailing the Portuguese brothers in the 470s and the final epic Finn grudge match between Great Britain’s Ed Wright and Oli Tweddell that went the Brit’s way.
Racing began in cool and gusty southerly 15-20 knot winds on Port Phillip Bay and similar to yesterday’s first round of Medal Races dialed back to light and patchy by the time the top ten Laser Medal Race contenders took their starting positions.
Check out some highlights of the day below:
Fan Cranks Up For Finn, Nacra 17 and 470s Medal Races
The wind picked up for the Finn, Nacra 17 and 470 Medal Racing at ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne as the World Cup honours and ISAF Sailing World Cup Final Abu Dhabi spots were decided.
URL – http://youtu.be/hqtUpKSbjrg
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Hitting The Right Note In The Laser and Laser Radial
Tom Burton (AUS) and Alison Young (GBR) hit the right note in the Laser and Laser Radial at ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne as they took out the top honours and qualification spots to the 2015 ISAF Sailing World Cup Final.
URL – http://youtu.be/I9HZNeDraHI
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A second and final set of medal winning performances brought the 2014 ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne to a close on Sunday December 14.
Some of the day’s highlights on the Stadium course included Tom Burton’s trifecta of gold medal Laser wins at this World Cup event, the Australian identical twins out-sailing the Portuguese brothers in the 470s and the final epic Finn grudge match between Great Britain’s Ed Wright and Oli Tweddell that went the Brit’s way.
Racing began in cool and gusty southerly 15-20 knot winds on Port Phillip Bay and similar to yesterday’s first round of Medal Races dialed back to light and patchy by the time the top ten Laser Medal Race contenders took their starting positions.
Unlike Saturday the fan cranked back up again to a consistent 17 knot and the Medal Race sequence carried on without delay through to perfect regatta closer, the final Men’s and Women’s Kiteboard Medal Race in brilliant summer sunshine and 20 knots.
Hundreds of competitors are this evening making their way home, whether driving a couple of kilometres to a nearby suburb or boarding international flights back to one of the 33 countries with their flag flying proudly at the longstanding World Cup host, Sandringham Yacht Club.
The next events of international significance on the calendar for the region are the International 14 World Championship at Geelong and the McDougall and McConaghy Moth World Championships at Sorrento, both in January.
Miami, USA hosts the second stop of the six part World Cup, from January 26-31, 2015.
The following sailors have qualified in Melbourne either as class winners or the home country representative for the Abu Dhabi Final, from October 29 – November 1, 2015;
Nacra 17 – Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin (AUS)
Men’s 470 – Alexander and Patrick Conway (AUS)
Women’s 470 – Sasha Ryan and Amelia Catt (AUS)
Finn – Edward Wright (GBR) and Oliver Tweddell (AUS)
Laser – Tom Burton (AUS)
Laser Radial – Alison Young (GBR) and Ashley Stoddart (AUS)
Australian Sailing Team (AST) athletes and cousins, Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin, were the powerhouse multihull crew at the ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne. Their ample point advantage going into the Medal Race meant the gold medal was already theirs. Up the track from them in the Medal Race and before a full house at Sandringham Yacht Club, a thrilling sail-off for second unfolded.
“We had a big point advantage so we just went out there to get around the course and stay out of trouble,” said Darmanin. “We tried to sail our own race and put a bit of action in there for the spectators. We are really happy to come home with the gold; it’s a really good way to start the season, to get back on top of the podium.
“I was pretty disappointed we couldn’t make Abu Dhabi, now we know we’ve qualified it will be nice to put that one on the calendar and to lock it in,” Darmanin added.
The dynamics in a two-person boat can’t be underrated. Waterhouse says Lisa’s structured approach and his natural instinct are complementary. “We know the dynamic is a huge thing, we see it as an advantage for us.” From this first round of the 2015 World Cup Waterhouse says their takeaway is trialing new sail, rig and board configurations, and their heavy air boat speed.
Olympic silver medallists and AST teammates, Darren Bundock and Nina Curtis, finished silver medallists by one point. “It’s our first week back since the championships in Santander,” said ‘Bundy’. “This week has been a good mix of conditions. We still have a few challenges to go. Jason and Lisa are sailing really well and that lifts the bar for us.”
Euan McNichol and Lucinda Whitty from the Australian Sailing Squad (ASS) finished bronze medallists.
Men’s 470
It was game on between brothers Alexander and Patrick Conway (AUS/ASS) and the Portuguese team of Antonio and Joao Rosa in the Medal Race. The wind was up to 15 knots from the SW by the time the men’s and women’s fleet lined up for the final battle.
The Rosas had the advantage at the start, but the Conways went tack-for-tack with them to gain the advantage by the top mark the second time around. From there they blasted down the last run and across the finish line, leaving the rest of the fleet well clear.
Their Medal Race victory assured them of the first Men’s 470 qualifying slot for the 2015 ISAF Sailing World Cup Final in Abu Dhabi in 2015.
“It’s been a very good battle all week; we have been very close to each other every race. It’s been exciting, and interesting,” Patrick said. “We are excited and relieved. It’s really exciting for us to have qualified. It’s another regatta where it’s going to be the top 15 or 20 boats in the world, it’s going to be a Medal Race every single race.”
The Rosa brothers held onto second place overall and Angus Galloway and Joshua Dawson (AUS) finished third.
It might have been a two-boat race, but Sasha Ryan and Amelia Catt (AUS) still pushed their hardest racing in among the men’s fleet. They won the Medal Race while two-time Australian Olympian Jeni Lidgett-Danks and her crew Jaime Ryan (AUS) finished with a U flag penalty.
Both Ryan and Catt were surprised by the news that their result secured them the first Women’s 470 qualifying spot for the 2015 ISAF Sailing World Cup Final in Abu Dhabi.
“We’ve only just teamed up earlier in the year so it has all been about processes and building the team at this regatta,” Ryan said. “We feel like a lot of things have come together this week and it’s been good to race with the boys. I think they’re a little bit more aggressive than the women usually. It’s been a real challenge for us, but really good fun too,” Ryan added.
“It’s awesome to qualify for the World Cup final and we’re really excited. It’s a big bonus for us and something to work towards over the next year.”
Finn
The contest in the big man’s division at the World Cup between Ed Wright, his mate and former countryman now living in and sailing for Australia, Oli Tweddell, and 21 year-old Jake Lilley captivated the boat park and the following international audience.
Prior to the pointscore leader Ed Wright (GBR) and second-placed Oli Tweddell (AUS) leaving the boat ramp, the housemates for the week openly discussed their strategy and the fact they were both gunning for the win. Tweddell, the hometown hero, was sick of finishing runner-up at his local regatta and Wright, on form in a borrowed boat, had no qualms relegating Tweddell to the silver medal position for the fourth consecutive year.
“Oli was the only threat I had to cover. I didn’t care about winning the Medal Race, but I did!” Wright said on his way to the medal presentation at SYC.
On the conditions Wright said, “the first upwind was really lovely with breeze up to 20 knots, then it dropped out. I was quite upset because when we were out there practising before the start the downwind conditions were epic. In the race I managed to hold onto the lead and cover Oli quite tightly on the on the second beat, then pulled away in some nice waves. I chartered a boat and the old girl went well this week…. I think I might take her home with me,” he joked.
“I should have given him a worse boat, it was already leaking but I should have made sure it leaked a bit more,” offered the good natured Tweddell, silver medallist and Australia’s country qualifier for Abu Dhabi. “Ed sailed really all week he didn’t drop out of the top two, he deserved the win. I’ve been working on quite a few things with my coaches and on my fitness. I’ve got a lot more work to do to get to where I want to be. I’m stoked about qualifying for Abu Dhabi.”
Tweddell is an ISAF Sailing World Cup – Melbourne ambassador with this message, “Melbourne has hosted a great event yet again. It’s great to see so many international sailors here racing in the full range of Melbourne conditions. Hopefully next year we can get more of the overseas Finn boys and internationals from other classes.”
Third overall at the end of the Finn’s eight race series was Jake Lilley (AST).
World number one Laser sailor Tom Burton wore the yellow pointscore leader vest from day two onwards. Lemon yellow turned to yellow gold when Burton stood on the dais to accept the highest honour at the opening round of the 2015 World Cup series, his third consecutive gold medal in Melbourne.
Burton had the series and his trifecta of wins sewn-up prior to the Medal Race, commenting, “it was pretty interesting, we launched in 20 knots and big waves and winds and we were watching the Finns duke it out then the breeze shifted and died. We raced at 5 knots or even less. I sailed well all week, Abu Dhabi was a good lead up for here. It’s good to qualify for Abu Dhabi next year and be able to defend the title.”
Second placed by 21 points was ASS athlete Matt Wearn who believes Burton is beatable. “I think I’ve proved he can be beaten. We were closer in the stronger winds. Another year of sailing is my best shot. Today was light airs and close racing. I’m happy to consolidate for second and to go into next year fighting and ready to take him [Tom] on. Things get heated out on the water as you’d expect when it’s tight racing but on shore we are good mates and it’s great for the team to have good training partners going into 2016.”
Third was New Zealand’s Michael Bullot.
Laser Radial
The final Olympic class Medal Race for the 10 Laser Radial sailors from the qualifying series went head-to-head in a fast race. Alison Young (GBR) came to the start line with an unassailable pointscore lead, but there was a good chance of the minor podium places shuffling as the talented fleet took off in fresh conditions.
“It was quite a tricky Medal Race we had there,” Young suggested. “It was pretty light beforehand and then the breeze pumped in and there were pretty big gains on the right hand side. It was quite tense on the first beat,” Young said.
On securing a place in the ISAF Sailing World Cup Final she added, “it’s a nice way to end the year, or start the season, depending on how you want to look at it. I am pleased about how the week has gone. I will take the lessons from here forward.”
Holding onto second overall after a disappointing final race was Tatiana Drozdovskaya (BLR) and the bronze medal went to Norway’s Line Flem Host.
Ashley Stoddart (AUS) was the best placed Australian, finishing fourth overall and qualifying for the Laser Radial class at the Abu Dhabi Final given her country hosted this World Cup round.
The Men’s and Women’s Kiteboard fleet put on a spectacular exhibition in the pressured-up conditions on the Stadium course right in front SYC where those all packed up and enjoying some downtime gathered.
The top four in the Men’s 22-board fleet went through to the Medal Race. The fleet just couldn’t break Riccardo Leccese’s title hold, the Italian surging to take his tenth consecutive race win of the series and the gold medal.
In second place was last year’s winner, Florian Gruber (GER) and third was Ivan Doronin (RUS).
The Women’s fleet was dominated by Ariane Imbert (FRA). In second place was Australia’s Lisa Hickman who was determined to compete today having missed the rest of the series nursing a tendon strain. Third overall went to fellow Aussie Gina Hewson.
Kiteboarding was added to the Sailing World Cup after the ISAF Council approved their inclusion at the 2013 ISAF Annual Conference in Muscat, Sultanate of Oman. The Abu Dhabi Final last month was the first time Kiteboarding was added to the program.
Kiteboarding is part of the Melbourne Sailing World Cup and kiters will be at Weymouth and Portland, Great Britain and Abu Dhabi, UAE and possibly other rounds.
The first day of Medal Racing at the ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne produced gold medallists in half of the Olympic classes and the Paralympic divisions announced their series winners.
Howling morning northerly winds gusting up to 30 knots had backed off to 17kts by the time racing on the Stadium course began for the weekend crowd gathered on the northern deck of Sandringham Yacht Club and enjoying the driest seats in the house.
The 49er skiffs opened the batting order and were blessed by the best of the breeze. By midway through the second Medal Race for the 49erFX, family, friends and members of the public watching the double point play-off saw the action unfold in slow motion thanks to the weak bay-side zephyr.
Temperatures continued to rise up over 30 degrees and squeeze the life out of the northerly, forcing a postponement in between the Men’s RS:X and Women’s RS:X deciding race and a long delay for the Nacra 17 fleet.
Their Medal Race start time came and went and at 17:30 the Nacra teams are ashore expecting official confirmation on their start time. If they are unable to race they will close out their series tomorrow. This creates some logistical challenges for crews with flights booked and other travel arrangements made to leave Melbourne this evening.
Men’s 470, Women’s 470, Finn, Laser and Laser Radial have their turn on the Stadium course tomorrow in the forecast morning northerly winds 15-20 knots shifting south to south-westerly 10-15 knots in the middle of the day. The classes that didn’t complete their qualifying series today will carry their current points forward to the Medal Races. Racing is due to commence at midday.
Reigning Olympic 49er champions Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen (AUS) were the first team to qualify for next year’s ISAF Sailing World Cup Final in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
A cautious start put them sixth place around the first mark and from there the Chazz Michael-Michaels and Jimmy Macelroy of skiff racing built a powerful performance in front of a cheering spectator gallery. A sizeable pre-race buffer meant the gold medal sail-off was perfunctory, but still they entertained the crowd with their comeback.
“We had a good downwind and got closer to the pack and then sailed a really good second beat. There was a massive left hander and we were the only ones on port for some reason. We then got into the lead and spent the rest of the race just watching the action behind us,” Outteridge said.
“It’s awesome to qualify for Abu Dhabi. We didn’t get a chance to go this year due to scheduling conflicts. This year we are the first boat to quality and will make sure we have it in the calendar for next year,” Outteridge said.
The cool kids of the Olympic classes like to be fashionably late to the start and according to most Outteridge and Jensen in particular cut it fine, leaving the ramp at SYC 10 minutes before their Medal Race was due to start. Next up for the pair is racing against each other at the Moth Worlds at Sorrento, Victoria, in January.
The Australian Sailing Squad’s Joel Turner and Lewis Brake finished second overall and ahead of the first Europeans, Austria’s Nico Delle-Karth and Nikolaus Resch by 1.8 points.
49erFX
Everything was riding on the Medal Race in the women’s skiff, one point separating first to third pre-race. The ultimate gold medallists Ragna and Maia Agerup (NOR) went out set up for windy conditions and found themselves in the wrong mode and over tensioned in the 6 knot breeze midway through the race.
“It was so nerve-wracking so much up and down and the shifts were coming from everywhere,” described Ragna. “It was hectic and a very tactical race, we were just doing the right decisions thinking all the time and we learnt not to give up. I’m so relieved. We are really happy.”
Winning the first round of the 2015 World Cup series and qualifying for the Final in Abu Dhabi is definitely a confidence booster says Maia. “We have been competing here for three years in a row; it’s good to see we can finally be competing for a spot on the podium. We are really looking forward to Abu Dhabi and the fact we already have that secured is such a relief.”
Second by five points were Norwegians Helene Naess and Marie Ronningen, who consistently delivered this week to remain in touch with the top of the scoreboard, as did third placed ASS athletes Tess Lloyd and Caitlin Elks.
“We were obviously pretty disappointed with how today went,” admitted Lloyd. “It was very tricky conditions, but it’s third overall and we are the first Australians which was our main goal. We are very happy to be on the podium ahead of the other Australian crews. Today gives us even more determination to keep pushing.”
Series leader Juozas Bernotas (LTU) was relaxed at the start of the day knowing that with his good results from earlier in the week he just had to finish the Medal Race to take home the gold medal.
In the puffy northerly breeze Dmitrii Polishchuk (RUS) was quick off the line and moved comfortably to the lead to take out his first win of the series while Bernotas recovered from a disastrous start to put on a masterful display of good tactics.
“It was really good racing,” said the gold medallist. “My goal was to have a clear start, a clear race and cross the finish line. I tried to catch Dmitrii, but I came second. To qualify for the World Cup Final is a really nice for me and not a bad Christmas present as well.” He hopes to now go to Miami for the next World Cup event.
On the overall pointscore Bernotas finished nine points ahead of Polishchuk and secured the first of the Men’s RS:X ISAF Sailing World Cup Final positions. In third place was a very disappointed Alexander Askerov (RUS) who finished 12 points behind after going DNF in the last race.
Women’s RS:X
The Women’s RS:X line up was dominated by Europeans and Russia’s Stefania Elfutina a cut above the rest. Her final net points tally was half that of the second placegetter, Australia’s Joanna Sterling. Both have qualified for the ISAF World Cup Final next year and for Sterling it’s her first World Cup podium finish. The bronze went to Norway’s Maria Aadland Mollestad.
“Today was really difficult and interesting because wind was shifty and not stable, it was hard,” said the gold medallist back on the beach at SYC. “I did really bad start then first upwind I was pumping and second upwind the wind was 2-3 knots, it was so hard to pump.
“I finished second but I have a lot of points in front so now I am first. I am happy because it’s a World Cup, and really tired. It’s a dream to race in Abu Dhabi with top leaders but I should work much more harder to show the same result.”
It’s been a successful return to racing for London Paralympic gold medallists Dan Fitzgibbon and Liesl Tesch (AUS/AST). In the final day of the series the duo put away another two wins, but not without some good competition from the fleet.
Tesch noted that the rest of the fleet showed improvement over the week. “There were lots of changes of results. That is really important for Australia going ahead with its Paralympic SKUD class. You know we only won the last race by a metre. That was fantastic,” she added.
“It’s been a good training regatta for us and I think we have improved during the week. We now have Christmas off and then head to Miami for the second of the ISAF Sailing World Cups. The regatta was also good practice for us as we have the world championships here next year,” Fitzgibbon added.
In the overall pointscore the silver medal went to Amethyst Barnbrook and Brett Pearce (AUS) followed by Tim Dempsey and Gemma Fletcher (NZL) just three points behind.
2.4mR
Paralympian and AST athlete Matthew Bugg couldn’t wipe the smile off his face as he described his final outing at the ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne as another perfect day on the race track.
With two firsts to wins to close the series Bugg comfortably secured first overall. “It started fairly windy today, but then dropped off quite quickly. The second race was a light air race which I am always quite good at,” Bugg said.
First place in Melbourne is an encouraging start to his 2015 racing season as he prepares to head to Miami for the next World Cup event.
Second overall on the pointscore was Paul Francis (NZL) and in third was Peter Russell (AUS).
Laser
The large Laser fleet completed the final two of their qualifying races starting in 20 knots finishing in very gentle conditions. Series leader Tom Burton (AUS/AST) dialled back to finish in 12th and Andy Maloney (NZL) scored two bullets.
The top 10 Laser sailors going through to tomorrow’s Medal Race are Tom Burton (AUS), Matthew Wearn (AUS), Wannes Van Laer (BEL), Sam Meech (NZL), Andy Maloney (NZL), Michael Bullot (NZL), Nicholas Heiner (NED), Ryan Palk (AUS), Colin Cheng (SIN) and Luke Elliott (AUS).
The afternoon schedule was postponed for the Men’s and Women’s Kiteboards, Men’s and Women’s 470, Finn and Laser Radial.
Event winners from each ISAF Sailing World Cup regatta qualify for the 2015 SWC Final while the best placed ‘home continent’ sailor in each round also qualify. The top three finishers at the 2015 Class World Championships (if already held) will qualify to the 2015 SWC Final. The remaining SWC Final places will be awarded via the ISAF World Sailing Rankings.
The following sailors have qualified as winners and/or as the home continental representative for the ISAF Sailing World Cup Final to be held in Abu Dhabi in November;
49er – Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen (AUS)
49erFX – Ragna and Maia Agerup (NOR), Tess Lloyd and Caitlin Elks (AUS)
Men’s RS:X – Juozas Bernotas (POR), Jock Calvert (AUS)
Women’s RS:X – Stefania Elfutina (RUS), Joanna Sterling (AUS)
From 25 January to 1 February 2015 the second event of the ISAF Sailing World Cup in Miami, USA returns to the waters of Biscayne Bay.
First session competitors at ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne spent much of day three tweaking boats, on their phones and chatting around the boat park at Sandringham Yacht Club. The late session arrived to rig up when the bulk of the early session still had the park brake on, drifting around on Port Phillip until their class AP flag eventually came down.
By late afternoon racing really got funky in the 14 knot south sou’easter and the mood and momentum on the water shifted correspondingly. Two crews took unplanned early marks; Australian 49erFX crew of Olivia Price and Eliza Solly capsized then turtled their boat and ended up with a broken mast top section, and Austrian 49er crew of Nico Delle-Karth and Nikolaus Resch broke a tiller extension and retired from race 9.
On the Skud 18 course, qualifying series pointscore leaders after day three, Australians Dan Fitzgibbon and Liesl Tesch, were “jelly-fished”, the made-up phrase that has the internationals scratching their heads.
A light gradient 4-6 knot breeze under low cloud cover teased race officials until almost 15:00. Local counsel says the land couldn’t heat up under the cloud to suck the shore breeze in from the south west, and the mist down the bay also kept the breeze from pushing in.
There was just enough puff for Olympic class PRO Ross Wilson to send the 2.4mR and Skuds off first, followed by the men’s and women’s RS:X, then direct his teams to set up more courses for the Lasers and Finns. By the time the second block kicked off, SSE winds at 11 knots led into a great twilight session and evening finish.
Finn
Not a whole lot separates the British Sailing Team’s Finn supremo Ed Wright in first from the second and third placed Australians Oli Tweddell and Jake Lilley (Australian Sailing Squad – ASS). A 1-1.5hr gym session straight after two world cup races is how Wright and Tweddell, already with quads and thighs the width of power poles, finished off their day.
“I was pretty relaxed out there waiting for the wind to come in, I knew it would eventually,” said Wright. “It was a tricky day with lots of shifts. I caught up my losses with my downwind speed. Hopefully tomorrow will be stronger; it’s more fun when it’s physical.”
Wright and Tweddell are bunking together during this World Cup event and chit chat about the racing inevitably pops up, but essentially they try to talk about other things. On his results today of third and first and the updated pointscore Tweddell says, “It’s nice to move up into second place overall.
“In the first race today I was yellow flagged for pumping and dropped to fourth with my penalty, but then managed to come back to finish third in that race, which I was really happy with. In the second race I led from start to finish. There were some big shifts out there; you had to be on your toes.”
Last year’s Finn gold medallist Bjorn Allansson (SWE) who famously back flipped into the water following his victory said, “We are four guys battling it out and so far Ed has been the top cat among us. Hopefully tomorrow I can come back in bigger winds and put a little more hustle behind the muscle.”
49er
The gap between Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen (AUS/AST) and the second placed 49er crew of David Gilmour and Rhys Mara (AUS/AST) widens with each top three result the London gold medallists and America’s Cup teammates record.
Despite an early exit the Austrians are holding onto third place in this qualifying series, which leads into the weekend Medal Race showdown off the SYC viewing deck.
49er competitor and Yachting Victoria president Ian Cunningham is always good for a quotable quote and during the postponement he delivered this pearler, “It’s going to be one of those days, crews are ready to go…there are only so many itches to scratch.”
49erFX
Olivia Price (AUS/AST) and Eliza Solly (AUS/ASS) needed a good outing to put them back in touch with the first placed Tess Lloyd (AUS/ASS) and Caitlin Elks (ASS) and the Norwegians Helene Naess and Marie Ronningen in second.
In the first run of the second race they caught a wave and without the right preparation pitch-poled their 49erFX and finished upside down in shallow water. When the boat righted they found the mast above the top spreader broken. The pair raced ashore to step their replacement mast and will be back out for tomorrow’s early session. “Today was not a good day, it’s going to be tough to come back from this,” said a disappointed Price, the match racing silver medallist from the London Games.
The courses were short and decisions fast once the breeze filled in enough to get the eight boats off the line.
Brothers Alexander Conway and Patrick Conway (AUS/ASS) held onto their overall pointscore lead, but not before a final mark rounding incident in the second race with Antonio Rosa and Joao Rosa (POR) distracted them from their dominant fleet position and forced them into the protest room.
The leaderboard is tight and the top-end of the fleet is anxiously waiting on the outcome of this evening’s protest hearing.
Angus Galloway and Joshua Dawson (AUS) were the stars of the day taking out first place in both races. This result moves them up to second overall.
Women’s 470
Sasha Ryan and Amelia Catt (AUS) are keeping Jeni Lidgett-Danks and Jaime Ryan (AUS) in check. Ryan and Catt took out first place in both races, while Lidgett-Danks and Ryan unfortunately went UFD in the opening hit out.
The Laser Radial fleet lead is in the hands of quadruple Olympian and ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne defending champion, Tatiana Drozdovskaya (BLR).
The women had a long, frustrating wait out on their course as the breeze swung and softened, before finally showing enough consistency to get two races off in the late afternoon.
With the top place changing hands in each of the four races so far, Drozdovskaya stayed one point ahead of Alison Young (GBR) who had a mixed day, finishing fourth and then a frustrating 11th. 2012 Olympian Nazli Cagla Donertas (TUR) has moved up into third overall.
Laser
Australia’s Tom Burton (AST) and Matt Wearne (ASS) hold court at the top of the Laser scores, just one point the difference between first and second. New Zealand’s Sam Meech is now in good company, third overall after picking up a third and a second in today’s two races.
Nacra 17
The Nacras had the advantage today of stronger early evening winds, completing three fast races with three different winners.
Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin (AUS/AST) took out the first race finishing less than 10 seconds ahead of Darren Bundock and Nina Curtis (AUS/AST). Bundock and Curtis got their own back on Waterhouse and Darmanin to win the second race by a similar margin.
After quietly working their way up the ladder over the last two days, Euan McNicol and Lucinda Whitty (AUS/ASS) found their groove to win their first race of the series. “We have been chipping away in the last few days,” McNicol said. “We have been training together quite a lot lately with the other guys in the team. For us, this event is a great opportunity to do a regatta with them.
“It’s been a constant evolution of boat speed and skills. Every day hopefully you learn a little bit. We managed to get one right this afternoon. If we keep this trend going, we are all good,” McNicol added.
Overall, Waterhouse and Darmanin hold onto first place. In second place is Bundock and Curtis while third overall is McNicol and Whitty.
“We got jelly-fished out there on the water. We’ve never been jelly-fished before,” declared Dan Fitzgibbon’s crew and AST teammate Liesl Tesch (AUS) after racing today. The class rules state that the sailors can’t leave their seat, so a bit of innovation was required.
“We were tracking down wind, we were hooting in front of the whole the fleet and boom!” explained Tesch. “We’ve never had a jellyfish on the keel before. You would think that surely the jellyfish would get off. I tried rocking the boat. We didn’t drop the spinnaker and back down….maybe we should have. We finished the race third, which was a bit disappointing, and when we backed down a massive jellyfish came off our keel. It was unbelievable. What are the chances?
“But we are still ranked first overall. The third place was a bit disappointing and disappointing the jellyfish took the glory of our unbeaten run away from us. But all good fun out there on the Skud course,” she added.
The fleet started racing in very light wind. Luckily Fitzgibbon and Tesch were on the correct side of a large right hand shift in the opening race, which helped make up for distance they lost later in the race with the unwelcome passenger. In the second race of the day they were back on form, finishing first in the consistent 10 knots.
Fitzgibbon said the 10-boat fleet played snakes and ladders in both races with the pointscore leaders. “We are wold champions so we feel we have a target on our backs.”
Second overall is Amethyst Barnbrook and Brett Pearce (AUS) and third is Jovin Tan and Desiree Lim (SIN) who enjoyed the light conditions, finding them similar to sailing in Singapore.
2.4mR
It was a case of smart sailing from Australian Sailing Team (AST) athlete Matt Bugg in today’s two races. In a new boat he is still trying to get used to, Bugg worked the soft conditions and huge wind shifts of the first race to take out first place.
In the second race the wind built, but a port and starboard on the start with Peter Thompson (AUS) distracted Bugg, leaving him to fight for his fleet position.
“The racing was closer today. It was probably a bit more fun than yesterday. Sailing this new boat, there are still some things I am not 100 per cent sure about. Every day I am getting a little bit more familiar with it, which hopefully will equate into a performance gain. Today’s given me a good buffer,” Bugg added.
Moving back into second overall is Peter Thompson (AUS) after a fourth and a sixth today. In third place is Paul Francis (NZL), just one critical point behind Thompson.
Women’s RS:X
The long delay for a start didn’t distract Stefania Elfutina (RUS). In each of the three races she sailed smartly and confidently to take out all three first places.
Joanna Sterling (AUS) lost her overnight second place after a third and two fourths.
Today’s results gives Elfutina first place on nine points after nine races and a drop, well ahead of Maria Aadland Mollestad (NOR) and Sterling in the six-board fleet.
Men’s RS:X
Juozas Bernotas (LTU) went into today’s light air races with a comfortable lead over Russians Evgeny Ayvazyan and Dmitrii Polishchuk and continued his winning ways.
In the soft conditions Ayvazyan was favoured to take out the first short race, but Bernotas turned the tables on the light air specialist, even after showing slow pace off the start line. In the second and third race in the building SSE breeze, Alexander Askerov (RUS) moved up the fleet into second overall thanks to two firsts.
In third place is Ayvazyan. The top three places are close enough that in the predicted stronger winds tomorrow the leaderboard is likely to change again.
Sailing World Cup dinner
Last night at the SYC’s main Sailing World Cup gala event, officials, sponsors and other guests from the Victorian boating scene gathered to meet the Australian Sailing Team and other sailing royalty for a panel discussion on foiling.
Emirates Team NZ wing trimmer and A-class guru Glenn Ashby, AST, Moth world champion and 49er gold medallist Nathan Outteridge, Moth visionary and designer Andy MacDougall and kiteboarding guns Ben Morrison-Jack, Jordan Girdis and Florian Gruber shared with the crowd their excellent insight into this development area of the sport.
The formula kiting competition got underway today and for the first time foiling races are scheduled over the Medal weekend, December 13-14, 2014.
The ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne opened on Port Phillip for the 21st time today. A dry day with cool southerly winds 8-14 knots and reasonably calm water created the perfect entrée before the main dish, which starts tomorrow, Tuesday 9 December 2014.
The working week began as it usually does for Melbourne’s greater population, with trains, trams and slow moving traffic shifting workers and school kids about the city. On the bay, Sailing World Cup organisers Yachting Victoria calmly completed the run sheet for a reduced first day program. Tomorrow the jam-packed Olympic and Paralympic class program commences in earnest, divided into two sessions – 12:00 and 15:00.
The Sandringham Yacht Club (SYC), host venue for the ISAF Sailing World Cup – Melbourne, is a bit like a mini-city this week. There are 800 competitors onsite and many of those have coaches and family with them. Nine partner clubs and SYC rallied 200 plus volunteers to coordinate everything from guest airport pickups to on-water race management. ISAF International Race Officials from around the world are on the ground and a growing communications team is taking Cup news to the world via social and traditional media channels.
Now to the day one racing and results….
49er
Nathan Outteridge and his crew Iain Jensen won a major victory just getting to the start line for their series opening three races. The 49er gold medallists from London missed a connecting flight and left San Francisco on Saturday night, which put them into Melbourne at 9.30am this morning. Sister Haylee drove their boat from Sydney and prepared theirs as well as her own 49erFX. The AST sailors finished second to David Gilmour and Rhys Mara by one point.
“We tried to keep it simple today and the course wasn’t complex, a pretty simple left hand track,” said Outteridge. “We are pretty tired. For the amount of preparation we did we are happy.”
Outteridge is recovering from a foot injury sustained during a training camp at his home Lake Macquarie two weeks ago and says it’s still causing him some discomfort.
The 49er class centres around fit and agile Gen Y aged sailors. Bucking the trend is the senior of the group, Ian Cunningham, the President of Yachting Victoria who is sailing at the World Cup with his son David as crew.
“I’m pretty knackered about now, but we beat some people,” said the grinning skipper back at SYC this evening.
Before August Ian had never sailed a boat with a trapeze, admitting, “it was my idea to buy a 49er. If I don’t do it now I’ll never do it and David is silly enough to join me.” Father and son have been sailing together for 12 years and have a massive summer ahead starting with the World Cup then onto the B14 world championship and the International 14ft skiff world championship in January where he plans to be the “oldest newbie” on the starter’s list.
In among world champions and Olympic gold medallists Ian embodies the sport, “We are probably the only guys still smiling when we come last.”
image Credit Sailing Energy/ISAF.
49erFX
Australian Sailing Squad members Tess Lloyd and Caitlin Elks scored the opening top points in the 49erFX women’s skiff, beating Norway’s Helene Naess and Marie Ronningen by one point.
Back at the boat park a shivering Lloyd said, “Today was about getting a good start and speed through the waves. Though it’s not an Olympic qualifier, every regatta is important and this one is one of my favourites because I’m at home.”
Nacra 17
It was a powerful performance of three firsts in three races from the young AST team of Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin (AUS). They successfully achieved good separation from the other four catamarans in the shifty S-SW breeze.
Playing the right hand of the course in the first session’s 8- 12 knot breeze, Waterhouse and Darmanin kept fellow Australian Sailing Team members Euan McNicol and Lucinda Whitty in check, that combination finishing second overall ahead of Darren Bundock and Nina Curtis (AUS) in third.
“We have a pretty small fleet, but really good quality with Darren Bundock, a dual medallist, and Euan McNicol who was twelfth in the worlds,” said Waterhouse. “We had plenty on our plate with that fleet. I suppose our approach was almost to forget about them and sail our own race.
“We haven’t raced since the Santander Worlds in September so this is a bit of training regatta as well as a tune-up to make sure we are in line with our goals as we head towards Europe next year,” he added.
Waterhouse has come to Melbourne carrying a back injury that has laid him low for the last two weeks. He’s also carrying the determination not to make the same mistakes as last year. “I got a Bronze medal last year and I was the favourite. I got smashed by those shifts. Today it was good to tack on the shifts when you had something to tack into. The breeze was quite patchy. Working the shifts and the pressure was quite challenging,” he added.
Men’s RS:X
The RSX men’s fleet saw some tight racing across the eight-board fleet. Russia’s Evgeny Ayvazyan achieved strong starts against fellow Russian windsurfer Alexander Askerov in races one and two to lead the fleet around the course and across the line.
In the final race of the day Juozas Bernotas (LTU) found form to beat the 18-year-old Ayvazyan, but not before they shared the race lead. “In the first two races there was not a lot of wind, about 10 knots, which was good for me. But then the third race it was a little bit more so I couldn’t finish first,” Ayvazyan said.
Ayvazyan holds first place ahead of Bernotas in second and Askerov in third overall.
Women’s RS:X.
Russian sailors also dominated the women’s fleet with 17-year-old Stefania Elfutina winning all three races ahead of Anhela Poludarova. In third overall was Norway’s Maria Mollestad.
Elfutina has been in the class for two years. This year she has raced in the World Cups in Hyeres, Palma and at the ISAF Sailing World Championships in Santander in September. “The wind was shifty and going to right sometimes and to left sometimes. It was hard conditions, but interesting,” the happy sailor commented.
New Zealand’s 49er and 49erFX teams will head to the Santander 2014 ISAF Sailing World Championships aiming to defend their title and continue their run of podium finishes.
Peter Burling and Blair Tuke (NZL) are on an unbeaten run of six consecutive 49er regatta victories, stemming from June 2013 whilst Alex Maloney and Molly Meech (NZL) have finished on the podium at ten of 11 49erFX events they’ve competed at. Both crews struck gold at the 2013 worlds in Marseille, France and will be looking to hold onto their title at Santander 2014.
The 49er fleet at Santander 2014 will see 88 teams compete from 33 nations whilst the 49erFX pack features 62 teams from 29 nations. As well as world championship titles on the line, ten Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition places in both fleets will be won based on results in Santander.
After taking silver at London 2012 Burling and Tuke have been the pair to beat in the 49er. In world class fields the Kiwis have dominated and will be aiming to continue that run in Santander, “It’s the big one of the year for us so all of our focus has been on that,” said Tuke. “We don’t go to events to come second or further back so we’re going to give it our best shot.”
The Kiwis have had an exceptional 2014, winning ISAF Sailing World Cup Mallorca and Hyeres, the 49er Open Europeans and the Aquece Rio International Sailing Regatta 2014. Confidence is high within the camp and Burling also has his eyes on the prize, “We’re quite enjoying having that New Zealand 1 on the sail at the moment and the goal is definitely to go and try and defend that title. As a bonus to qualify the country for the games, that’s obviously the second goal but hopefully between us and our training partners being first and second at the last worlds we’ll be able to get that done.”
Ciudad de Santander Trophy
Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen (AUS) were the last team to beat the Kiwis and it came on the grandest of stages, the London 2012 Olympic Games. Post-Olympics the Australians focused on other projects but with a good season behind them they’re aiming to put a stop to the Kiwis dominance, “They’ve been on a bit of streak since the Olympics by winning all of the events,” said Outteridge. “We really haven’t been putting a lot of time into our 49er sailing but this year Santander will be our third or fourth major event. We did Hyeres, Europeans and Rio so we should have our racing skills back and we’re looking forward to taking them on.”
As a pair Outteridge and Jensen have gold medals from the 2009, 2011 and 2012 world championships, with Outteridge also a 2008 victor with Ben Austin. Having finished fifth at the 2013 worlds the Australians head to Santander well prepared with a solid plan, “With those events a lot of it is about qualifying well so when you get the final series at the end of the week you’re in a good position so we’re hoping we can get through qualifying unscathed and have some really good racing in the finals.
“Everything this year has been building up to the worlds to ensure we qualify our spot for Australia. It’s been a while since we’ve had an ISAF Worlds so it will be nice to try and win another one,” concluded Outteridge.
The 49er fleet has some seasoned campaigners with further competition for top places coming from Nico Delle Karth and Nikolaus Resch (AUT), Jonas Warrer and Anders Thomsen (DEN), Manu Dyen and Stephane Christidis (FRA), Dylan Fletcher and Alain Sign (GBR), Ryan Seaton and Matthew McGovern (IRL), Marcus Hansen and Josh Porebski (NZL), Erik Heil and Thomas Ploessel (GER) and Carl Sylvan and Otto Hamel (SWE).
New Zealand’s Maloney and Meech claimed the inaugural 49erFX world title in 2013 and will be aiming to defend their title in Santander. A fleet of 62-boats will take to the water in Santander and Meech is focused on the task ahead, “Coming off from a win at the world’s last year we’re hoping to try and win. We’ll do our best there but I’ve heard it’s a tricky venue as well so we’ll see how it goes. We would love to qualify New Zealand and obviously that is the aim of the event but our personal aim is to medal.”
Maloney and Meech have been at the front of the pack in all but one event they’ve competed at since they won the 2012 ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne. Only an 11th at the 2014 ISAF Sailing World Cup Mallorca tarnishes their record but with the fleet gaining experience Meech knows the task of defending their world title won’t be an easy one, “This year both Ida [Marie Nielsen] and Marie [Thusgaard Olsen (DEN)] and Martine [Grael] and Kahena [Kunze (BRA)] have really kept up their performances at the top. I think that quite a few of the other teams have become quite competitive as well. There will probably be a mixture of the British, the Danish, the Dutch and a few German teams and hopefully you’ll see the Kiwis up there as well.”
Brazil’s Grael and Kunze have been the form team of 2014 with ISAF Sailing World Cup Mallorca and Hyeres, Garda and Trentino Olympic Week and Aquece Rio International Sailing Regatta 2014 gold to their name. The Brazilians have found an edge over their rivals and with the Brazilian Rio 2016 49erFX spot guaranteed they can focus solely on victory, “The Worlds are our biggest goal of the year,” said Grael. “We don’t have the pressure to do so well like the other teams but we will do what we always do, do our best and have fun there. Every championship is a pleasure to sail, race, win and be with the other girls.
“I think the New Zealand girls are doing pretty well but there are so many doing well but it depends on the conditions. I think the Danish girls are good so we’ll see what it’ll be like there.”
Denmark’s Nielsen and Olsen defeated the Kiwis and the Brazilians at the 2014 European Championship in Helsinki, Finland and will head to Santander full of confidence.
Several other 49erFX teams continue to find their feet in the boat and will be looking to peak in Santander. Strong competition for podium places will also come from World #3 Sarah Steyaert and Julie Bossard (FRA), World #5 Annemiek Bekkering and Annette Duetz (NED), World #6 Tamara Echegoyen and Berta Betanzos (ESP) and the Australian, British, German and Swedish squads.
The 49er and 49erFX fleets will kick start their competition on 15 September with the start of the qualification series. That will conclude on 16 September with five races for both fleets scheduled over the opening two days.
The final series will commence on 17 September with 18 September the scheduled reserve day. Two further days of final series on 18 and 19 September will conclude fleet racing with the podium places to be decided in the Medal Races on 21 September.
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