PRACTICE. WARM UP. GAME TIME

At the turn of the year, Olympic sailors took to Instagram, posting a picture that states ‘2013 was practice, 2014 was the warm up, 2015 is game time.’

With Rio qualification regattas, national trials and a testing ISAF Sailing World Cup circuit throughout the year the heat is on. And at 10:00 local time on Monday 26 January, 2015’s ‘game time’ begins with the sounding of the starter’s gun at ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami, Presented by Sunbrella.

More than 800 sailors from 63 nations racing across ten Olympic and three Paralympic events will light up Miami, Florida’s glorious Biscayne Bay. With ISAF Sailing World Cup Final Abu Dhabi qualification spots and valuable ranking points available the game will heat up in the sunshine state.

Historically the Laser has always been the largest fleet in Miami and that is no exception to 2015 with a strong contingent of international sailors making up the 120 boat fleet.

2015 is a key year for many competitors with Rio 2016 Olympic qualification regattas fast approaching. For American Laser sailors the 2016 edition of the regatta will be their first internal qualification event, but the highest ranked American sailor, Charlie Buckingham at World #11, will want to lay down a marker one year in advance.

Overall winner: Alison Young (GB) Racing – Day 7 / Laser Radial ISAF Sailing World Cup – Melbourne
Sandringham Yacht Club
Sunday 14 December 2014
© Sport the library / Jeff Crow

“Miami is always an important event for me personally,” said Buckingham, “so I am happy it serves as part of the OIympic trials. This year I will be aiming to perform my best at this event as I have in years past and as I will next year.

“I’ve had roughly two months of preparation, both training and racing, after a pretty big break post-Santander. This year is the strongest I’ve ever seen the fleet since I’ve done the regatta. Everyone will be here.”

Buckingham has been a familiar face in Miami, competing at the regatta a consecutive seven times from 2008. As one of 16 American sailors within the strong Miami fleet a performance that mirrors his third place in 2013 will leave him in a good place in advance of his national trials.

The Laser fleet is jam packed with talent from World Champions to Olympic medallists, all of whom are aiming for an Abu Dhabi ISAF Sailing World Cup Final slot. World #1 Tom Burton (AUS) sealed his spot at ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne so the pressure is off, but the determined Aussie will have his eyes on the prize after narrowly missing out on a Miami podium in 2014.

World #2 Robert Scheidt (BRA) will make his first international appearance since Santander 2014 in Miami whilst defending champion Tonci Stipanovic (CRO) will also return.

Tess Lloyd & Caitlin Elks (AUS)
Racing / Day 5 – 49er FX
ISAF Sailing World Cup – Melbourne
Sandringham Yacht Club
Friday12 December 2014
© Sport the library / Jeff Crow

With 22 of the world’s top 25 Lasers heading to Miami, the competition will be one of the most hotly contested in recent times.

The Laser Radial fleet will see 80 competitors lock horns. World #1 and 2014 World Champion Marit Bouwmeester (NED) will be joined by World #2 and 2014 Abu Dhabi ISAF Sailing World Cup Champion Evi Van Acker (BEL) as well as Melbourne gold medallist Alison Young (GBR).

Paige Railey (USA) will attempt to take the title for the third year in a row whilst Railey’s ever improving compatriot, Erika Reineke, will be aiming to move up from her ninth place at the 2014 regatta.

The Men’s RS:X is set to be an exceptional competition with the leading racers making the trip to Miami.

In amongst a sea of experienced competitors is a young Frenchman who is mixing it up at the top. Louis Giard (FRA) picked up gold at the inaugural ISAF Sailing World Cup Final in Abu Dhabi and heads to Miami fully fired up with confidence sky high, “That put me in a good place and gave me a lot of motivation for 2015,” said Giard. “It was my first win in the senior fleet and it helped me a lot to look forward and to try to do the same in upcoming events.”

Giard put in a performance worthy of a champion in Abu Dhabi but knows he still has a lot to prove, “It would be good for me to show that Abu Dhabi was not a surprise. My goal is just to do the best I can. I have never been in Miami so it will be a bit new for me but it was the same in Abu Dhabi. A podium could be a good start for 2015 but my training is not at the top at the moment but I will try to do the best start for 2015.”

Like Buckingham in the Laser, Giard has an eye on his Olympic trials and just like the American he wants to put a good show on in Miami, “I’m expecting tough competition, as usual. Everybody wants to win and once again it will be the first event of the year for everybody. Miami is the best way to prepare for the ISAF Sailing World Cup in Hyères which will be the first step of the Rio trials.”

Giard’s compatriots Pierre Le Coq and Thomas Goyard will join him in Miami. As will World #1 Byron Kokkalanis (GRE), World #2 Ricardo Santos (BRA) and London 2012 Olympic gold medallist Dorian van Rijsselberge (NED).

Miami will also see a high level Women’s RS:X fleet take to the water. Bryony Shaw (GBR) started 2014 by taking the Miami title and wrapped the year up by claiming the Women’s RS:X ISAF Sailing World Cup Final title in Abu Dhabi. She will be gunning for another great start to her year in Miami.

Joining the Briton in the fleet will be World #1 Flavia Tartaglini (ITA), World #3 Laura Linares (ITA) and London 2012 Olympic gold medallist Marina Alabau (ESP).

ISAF Sailing World Cup Final Abu Dhabi gold medallists Alex Maloney and Molly Meech (NZL) will sail in a highly competitive fleet that features 2014 World Champions and 2014 ISAF Rolex World Sailors of the Year Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze (BRA).

The Kiwis will be competing in a single fleet of 40 teams and will have to be on top form, ensuring mistakes are at a minimum, “It is exciting to have a smaller fleet here in Miami,” commented Meech, “as it will let us sail against the top girls the whole regatta rather than just through the final days. It will make the racing more exciting overall.

Maloney and Meech touched down in Miami early last week to compete at the 49erFX Midwinters where they finished three points off Grael and Kunze and Meech has liked what she’s seen, “So far Miami has given us good conditions. We were coming over here expecting light winds the whole time, but it looks like we are going to get a mixture which will be nice.”

World #2 Ida Marie Nielsen and Marie Thusgaard Olsen (DEN) will be within the Miami fleet, as will World #3 Charlotte Dobson and Sophie Ainsworth (GBR) and World #4 Giulia Conti and Francesca Clapcich (ITA).

The 49er will also throw out some exciting competition with strong British, Canadian, Spanish, French, Italian and American teams in the mix. Other contenders include ISAF Sailing World Cup Final gold medallists Lukasz Przybytek and Pawel Kolodzinski (POL), Ryan Seaton and Matthew McGovern (IRL), Erik Heil and Thomas Ploessel (GER) and returning champions Jonas Warrer and Anders Thomsen (DEN).

Tom-Burton at ISAF SWC Melbourne © Jeff Crow

Racing commences on Monday 26 January through to Saturday 31 January. Competitors in the Paralympic events will have five days of fleet racing from Monday 26 to Friday 30. Medal Races across the ten OIympic events will bring the regatta to a close on Saturday 31 where medals will be awarded to the top three boats.

ISAF SAILING WORLD CUP MELBOURNE MEDAL RACES – DAY 7 VIDEO ALERT

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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2014 ISAF Sailing World Cup: FAN CRANKS UP FOR FINAL MELBOURNE DAY

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)

Nacra 17

Overall winners: Alexander & Patrick Conway
Racing – Day 7 / 470 Men
ISAF Sailing World Cup – Melbourne Sandringham Yacht Club Sunday 14 December 2014
© Sport the library / Courtney Crow

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.

Women’s 470

Overall winners: Sasha Ryan & Amelia Catt (AUS) Racing – Day 7 / 470 Women ISAF Sailing World Cup – Melbourne Sandringham Yacht Club
Sunday 14 December 2014
© Sport the library / Courtney Crow

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).

Laser

Overall winner: Ricardo Leccese (ITA) Racing – Day 7 / Kite Board – Men
ISAF Sailing World Cup – Melbourne Sandringham Yacht Club Sunday 14 December 2014 © Sport the library / Jeff Crow

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.

Kiteboarding

Overall winner: Alison Young (GB) Racing – Day 7 / Laser Radial ISAF Sailing World Cup – Melbourne
Sandringham Yacht Club
Sunday 14 December 2014
© Sport the library / Jeff Crow

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.

Overall winners: Jason Waterhouse & Lisa Darmanin (AUS) Racing – Day 7 / Nacra 17 ISAF Sailing World Cup- Melbourne Sandringham Yacht Club Sunday 14 December 2014 © Sport the library / Jeff Crow

Lisa Ratcliff

ISAF SAILING WORLD CUP MELBOURNE MEDAL RACES – DAY 6 VIDEO ALERT

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.

Check out some highlights of the day below:

High Octane Racing Decides Melbourne 49er And 49erFX Medals
There was some fast paced action in the 49er and 49erFX Medal Races at ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne as Nathan Outteridge & Iain Jensen (AUS) and Maia & Ragna Agerup (NOR) claimed the honours and Abu Dhabi final spots.
URL – http://youtu.be/C5nop1KaGkU
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Bernotas And Elfutina Claim Melbourne RS:X Honours
Lithuania’s Juozas Bernotas came out on top in the Men’s RS:X whilst Russia’s Stefania Elfutina was triumphant in the Women’s RS:X. Both sailors claim the first Abu Dhabi ISAF Sailing World Cup Final spots whilst Jock Calvert (AUS) and Joanna Sterling (AUS) picked up the Oceanic spots for the Emirati finale.
URL – http://youtu.be/KR4ZHv0Wlj0
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Double Aussie Gold In Paralympic Fleets
It was double Australian gold in the Paralympic classes. Matt Bugg (AUS) came out on top in the 2.4mR whilst London 2012 Paralympic SKUD18 gold medallists Dan Fitzgibbon and Liesl Tesch (AUS) were triumphant in the two person keelboat.
URL – http://youtu.be/l8XlzYQ-F94
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EARLY CHRISTMAS PRESENTS FOR ISAF SAILING WORLD CUP MEDALLISTS

overall winner / Juozas Bernotas (LTU) Racing – Day 6 / RSX – Mens Medal race
ISAF Sailing World Cup – Melbourne Sandringham Yacht Club Saturday 13 December 2014 © Sport the library / Jeff Crow

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.

Overall winners/ Helene Naess & Marie Ronningen (NOR) Racing – Day 6 / 49er FX Medal race
ISAF Sailing World Cup – Melbourne Sandringham Yacht Club Saturday 13 December 2014 © Sport the library / Jeff Crow

49er

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.

Click here to view 49er and 49erFX Medal Race highlights.
URL – http://youtu.be/C5nop1KaGkU
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“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.”

Nico Delle Karth & Nikolaus Resch (AUT) Racing / Day 5 – 49er
ISAF Sailing World Cup – Melbourne Sandringham Yacht Club © Sport the library / Courtney Crow

Men’s RS:X

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.”

Fleet raing / Oliver Tweddell, Jake Lilly and Ed Wright (GB) Racing / Day 5 – Finn ISAF Sailing World Cup – Melbourne Sandringham Yacht Club © Sport the library / Jeff Crow

SKUD18

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.

Lisa Ratcliff

ISAF SAILING WORLD CUP MELBOURNE : TOP TEN PREPARE FOR PORT PHILLIP SHOWDOWN

Ed Wright didn’t put a Finn foot wrong, Nathan Outteridge went off the boil and finished his first 49er race out of the top three, and the Agerup twins from Norway moved up to be equal top of the 49erFX leaderboard.

Click here to view the highlights of the day.
URL – http://youtu.be/-zKMY9qD8dk
Embed –

Day five at the ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne was pedestrian compared to yesterday’s blow up on Port Phillip, and all-in-all produced the best day’s racing of the world-class event. The east in the 12-15 knot south-east breeze kept the inshore courses flat; further offshore the seas were lumpier though nothing like the steep walls of green water that forced the cancellation of racing yesterday for most classes.

The qualifying series for the 49er, 49erFX, Men’s RS:X, Women’s RS:X and Nacra 17 is done and dusted and the top ten from those divisions now move through to the Medal Race tomorrow, Saturday December 13, 2014 when the viewing deck of Sandringham Yacht Club becomes the grandstand for the Stadium course.

Sunday’s highpoint is the second round of Medal Races starting at midday for the 470 Men and Women, Finn, Laser and Laser Radial and the spectacular Breakwater to Beacon event for the kiteboarders, both formula and foiling.

This afternoon sailors took time out from the pressure of competition to enjoy the Ronstan Sailors Party.
Easterly winds 15-20 knots turning N-NE 15-25 knots early in the morning is a promising outlook for Saturday. Sunday is looking lighter, northerly winds 15-20 knots shifting S-SW 10 -15 knots in the middle of the day.

49er

Nathan Outteridge and Iain ‘Goobs’ Jensen (Australian Sailing Team – AST) hold a handy 16 point margin lead heading into the double points earning Medal Race tomorrow, which is first up in the sequence on the Stadium course starting at midday.

“We had a bad day today with two thirds, a fourth and a seventh,” said Jensen. “We’ll have to counter tomorrow to still win the regatta. It was a bit shifty and the boat didn’t feel quite right at times, we were lacking a bit of pace.”

The battle for second is going to be a doozy; just two points separates second to fourth places and the teams of David Gilmour and Rhys Mara (AST), Nico Delle-Karth and Nikolaus Resch (AUT) and Joel Turner and Lewis Brake (Australian Sailing Squad – ASS), in that order.

Fleet raing / Oliver Tweddell, Jake Lilly and Ed Wright (GB)
Racing / Day 5 – Finn
ISAF Sailing World Cup – Melbourne
Sandringham Yacht Club
Friday12 December 2014
© Sport the library / Jeff Crow

49erFX

Tess Lloyd and Caitlin Elks from the AST have fought hard to have it all their own way from the outset. Each day the Agerup twins from Norway have inched higher in the pointscore and this afternoon, with points from 13 races tallied, they sit in second overall on a countback.

“We got focused on the second day after we were protested and disqualified from race 5,” said skipper Ragna Agerup. “That was the icing on the cake. Now we know we can do it and we are very optimistic,” she warned on the twins’ chances of taking out the gold medal tomorrow, Saturday December 13.

Maia is still feeling a shoulder injury from the ISAF Sailing World Championships in Santander in September, but it’s not stopping the sisters’ march up the points ladder.
The Norwegians nosedived on a bear away in strong breezes in Spain and Ragna fell onto Maia, damaging her shoulder. “We were a bit worried yesterday, if it happens again she will need surgery and we’ll have to take six months off,” Ragna said.

The girls’ father is in Melbourne keeping an eye on Maia. The family lived in Perth and is used to the local hospitality, which Karl-Christian describes like this, “being a sailor coming to Australia is like being a skier and coming to Norway, everyone welcomes you and tries to help.”

Lloyd is very conscious that today’s three thirds were below the team’s benchmark. “We have the Medal Race tomorrow and double points make it super important. We just have to go out and win like we have been throughout the week,” said the Melbourne local. “It will be exciting to race in front of a home crowd; my whole family will be down watching.”

SKUD18

Today’s smooth waters and gentler winds saw the SKUD18 fleet revel as they completed two races on the Stadium course in front of Sandringham Yacht Club.

Dan Fitzgibbon and Liesl Tesch (AUS/AST) continue to dominate with wins in race 7 and 8 of the series. It’s very close between the second and third overall contenders; Tim Dempsey and Gemma Fletcher (NZL) and Amethyst Barnbrook and Brett Pearce (AUS).

The Paralympic classes finish with fleet races tomorrow.

2.4mR

Overall Matt Bugg from Hobart leads the 2.4mR, Kiwi Paul Francis is in second and Peter Thompson (AUS) in third. “Just two more races to go and plenty of pressure,” Bugg added.

For the first race of the day the breeze was shifty and the pressure unreliable. “I had a terrible start,” Bugg admitted. He found himself in seventh place at the top mark first time and made the tricky decision to gybe away from the fleet. Luckily he found a sweet shift which helped move him into second place by the bottom mark.

“My jib pole broke so I couldn’t really attack Paul (Francis) and I ended up second. It’s quite close between us now.”

Racing in the 2.4mR class finishes tomorrow.

Nico Delle Karth & Nikolaus Resch (AUT)
Racing / Day 5 – 49er
ISAF Sailing World Cup – Melbourne
Sandringham Yacht Club
Friday12 December 2014
© Sport the library / Courtney Crow

Men’s 470

Two sets of brothers are dictating the Men’s 470 at the ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne.

Twins Alexander and Patrick Conway (AUS/ASS) were looking forward to today’s three races after being held ashore yesterday by the regatta committee due to the sea-state. “It happens at most regattas,” Alexander said. After a tight race against Antonio and Joao Rosa (POR) in race 5 with the wind shifting and the pressure constantly changing, they finished second. Their early morning enthusiasm then turned into a winning formula for races 6 and 7 of the qualifying series.

For the Rosa brothers, their job out on the course today was to close the gap on the Conways. They won race 5 and finished second twice. “It was nice because we did close races with the Conway boys. They are sailing really well and it was really fun today,” Antonio said.

“Yesterday we didn’t sail. They cancelled our races. Me and my brother are strong in those conditions. We want more wind for tomorrow,” Antonio added.

Angus Galloway and Joshua Dawson (AUS) lie in third.

Women’s 470

The young team of Sasha Ryan and Amelia Catt (AUS) have continued to dominate Jeni Lidgett-Danks and Jaime Ryan (AUS) with straight wins, but not without a close battle between the two as they race within the Men’s fleet.

Finn

The cool and dominant Brit Finn sailor Ed Wright is on form. Four bullets and his worst score of second in the fleet over three days of racing shows the calibre of the sailor who has earned 32 world, European and ISAF Sailing World Cup regatta medals.

Victorian sailor Oli Tweddell (AUS) and Queensland’s Jake Lilley (AST) are throwing everything they have at the Pom, with one more day of racing before the final reckoning.

Before Sunday’s Medal Races Lilley is hoping to have diagnosed a few problems he believes are costing him points. “It’s a different boat and gear here compared to what I race in Europe, the speed is a little down, plus I’ve made a few crucial mistakes.

“Ed’s on form, that’s why he has 32 ISAF medals. He has 16 years on me so I’ve got a while to work up to where he is. It’s good to have him down here showing us how it’s done,” Lilley added.

Lilley beat Wright by two places at the ISAF Sailing World Cup Final in Abu Dhabi at the end of November, 2014.

Antonio and Joao Matos Rosa (POR)
Racing / Day 5 – 470 Men
ISAF Sailing World Cup – Melbourne
Sandringham Yacht Club
Friday12 December 2014
© Sport the library / Jeff Crow

Laser Radial

It’s crowded at the top of the Laser Radial leaderboard. Alison Young (GBR) still holds onto first place overall after taking out a fourth and first in today’s two races. In equal first and second on a countback is Tatiana Drozdovskaya (BLR).

Line Flem Host (NOR) is surprised by her third overall placing. “We (Celine Herud) have been training down here for a long time, first in Sydney and then here. I am really feeling that the training has paid off. These are really good girls, I am full of respect for all of them. I had no idea I would do so well,” Host said.

“I am pretty new in the World Cup series. I had a bit of trouble keeping up with the best girls in the heavier winds going upwind, but downwind is really working out for me.” Host’s main aim is to win the Laser Radial Women’s Under 21 World Championship in the Netherlands in August 2015.

The 19-year-old seems to have a penchant for fifths and firsts. Today she achieved both again to secure, just, third on the leaderboard, one point ahead of the first Australian, Ashley Stoddart.

Laser

The world’s best Laser sailor Tom Burton is on track to qualify for the ISAF Sailing World Cup Final in Abu Dhabi. He marked his name in permanent pen on the Melbourne World Cup points sheet on day one, Monday December 7, and not surprisingly he’s comfortably lead the fleet for the rest of the week, now eight points ahead of Matt Wearn (ASS).
Women’s RS:X

Stefania Elfutina (RUS) is a shrewd Port Phillip competitor. Rarely has she set a sailboard foot wrong on the courses, delivering consistency in her results to achieve a commanding overall lead.

Second overall is Maria Aadland Mollestad (NOR) who had a costly fifth place in the third and final race today. Third overall is in the hands of Anzhela Poludarova (RUS) had a fantastic day with two firsts and a third, but her two OCS’ from earlier in the week are hurting her final points accumulation and in equal place with Joanna Sterling (AUS).

Men’s RS:X

A small chop and a 14-16 knot ESE breeze suited series leader Juozas Bernotas (LTU). He won all three races today ensuring his grip on first overall stays tight.

The remaining podium places were taken out by Dmitrii Polishchuk (RUS) with three seconds and third place shared by fellow team mates Alexander Askerov and Evgeny Ayvazyan. Askerov holds onto second overall while Polishchuk has some work to do tomorrow in the medal race to move up from third.

Tess Lloyd & Caitlin Elks (AUS)
Racing / Day 5 – 49er FX
ISAF Sailing World Cup – Melbourne
Sandringham Yacht Club
Friday12 December 2014
© Sport the library / Jeff Crow

Nacra 17

The tension in the boat park prior to the last of the qualifiers for the Nacra 17s was unmistakable.

The five-boat fleet headed out to the south for four races in a small chop and 10-12 knots. Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin (AUS/AST) had another superb session to win three and claim second in the final race. Euan McNicol and Lucinda Whitty (AUS) were in the hunt with two seconds, a third and then a first to finish the day.

A disappointed Darren Bundock and Nina Curtis (AUS/AST) placed top three for the first races and were looking good for a strong finish in the closing race when it abruptly came to end after their centreboard dropped through the case.

In the overall Nacra pointscore Waterhouse and Darmanin lead Bundock and Curtis, and McNicol and Whitty.

Kiteboarding

Italy’s Riccardo Andrea Leccesse is clean-sweeping the Men’s Kiteboarding results. Eight victories from eight races mean his worst score drop is ….well… a first. Germany’s Florian Gruber is running second and Russia’s Ivan Doronin third.

In the women’s competition Ariane Imbert (FRA) is ahead on points.

Lisa Ratclif

ISAF SAILING WORLD CUP MELBOURNE – DAY 3 VIDEO ALERT

After an early afternoon postponement a funky 14 knot south easterly breeze swung through Port Phillip Bay for the third day of racing at ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne.

A full complement of racing was completed with all of the Olympic events and the two Paralympic fleets getting good racing across the six race courses.

2014 ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne – Day 3 Highlights
Catch up on the action from the 49er, 49erFX and Men’s and Women’s RS:X from ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne.
URL – http://youtu.be/yznyjCsBMRc
Embed –

Melbourne Kick Starts The Road To Abu Dhabi
ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne kick starts the journey to the 2015 ISAF Sailing World Cup Final in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates with qualification spots and top ranking points available in the Australian city.
URL – http://youtu.be/QPidIfXPFgk
Embed –

TURTLED AND JELLY-FISHED ON DAY THREE AT ISAF SAILING WORLD CUP MELBOURNE

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.

Ed Wright (GB)
Racing -Day 3 / Finn
ISAF Sailing World Cup – Melbourne
Sandringham Yacht Club
Wednesday 10 December 2014
© Sport the library / Jeff Crow

Men’s 470

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.

Daniel Fitzgibbon & Leisl Tesch (AUS)
Racing -Day 2 / SKUD 18
ISAF Sailing World Cup – Melbourne
Sandringham Yacht Club
Tuesday 10 November 2014
© Sport the library / Jeff Crow

Laser Radial

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.

Colin Cheng (SIN)
Racing -Day 2 / Laser
ISAF Sailing World Cup – Melbourne
Sandringham Yacht Club
Tuesday 10 November 2014
© Sport the library / Jeff Crow

SKUD18

“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.

Daniel Fitzgibbon & Leisl Tesch (AUS)
Racing -Day 2 / SKUD 18
ISAF Sailing World Cup – Melbourne
Sandringham Yacht Club
Tuesday 10 November 2014
© Sport the library / Jeff Crow

COOL, CRYSTAL CLEAR MELBOURNE DAY FOR OLYMPIC FLEETS

ISAF SAILING WORLD CUP

Shifty conditions and a cool and crystal clear Melbourne day greeted all the Olympic events racing off Sandringham Yacht Club on day two of ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne. Southerly winds 8-10 knots built late in the day to 16 knots, a more true local summer sea breeze.

Port Phillip is so vast and empty midweek the fleets are well separated. Plenty of room to swing a cat as the saying goes. Other than the on-water race officials’ and coaches vessels there are no other power boats and equally no wash interfering with the fleets. A clear, clean and fair track for the 504 boats and 800 or so competitors from around the world.

It’s noticeably quiet inside the course boundaries too, the occasional polite reminder indicative of the opening light conditions and early stage of competition.

Ashore a corresponding chilled out and friendly vibe is noticeable around the SYC boatyard. Results are already adding up to determine who goes through to the weekend Medal Races, but there’s time in this first phase for conviviality and to joke around.

49er

The best placed European 49er crew is Austria’s Nico Delle-Karth and Nikolaus Resch in third overall behind the two Australian teams of Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen and David Gilmour and Rhys Mara in second place.

“Bloody Nathan… he hasn’t had a bad race yet, but I hope he does soon!” Gilmour jested this afternoon, a backhanded compliment directed at his fellow Australian Sailing Team (AST) member and crew, London 2012 49er Olympic medallists and now part of the Artemis America’s Cup team.

The partnership between the two Nicos spans 15 years and “is a mixture between us being brothers and a married couple,” says the bow. “We always argue, that’s what keeps the relationship alive,” says the aft.

There’s not much the guys don’t know about each other. The most annoying thing about Resch is “how he leaves his stuff all over the boat,” says the skipper pointing towards Resch’s rashie drying on the wing in the sun. On the flipside Resch grizzles, “Nico always likes a clean boat.” Sounds like a case of opposites attract.

As 19 and 20 year-olds the duo went to the Athens Olympics, a career highlight for Delle-Karth whereas Resch cites the youth worlds in Sydney in 2000 straight after the Games that year as his high point. Now they are aiming towards the Rio Olympics in two years’ time with the goal of a podium finish. “We finished fourth at London, we at least want third in Rio,” Delle-Karth puts out there.

49erFX

Six races down and Norway’s Helene Naess and Marie Ronningen are second to Tess Lloyd and Caitlin Elks (AUS/ASS) in the 49erFX women’s skiff. The Norwegians are showing early fleet control with twins Ragna and Maia Agerup holding onto third place.

Naess and Ronningen have swapped snow and ice on the water to train and squeeze in some kiting and surfing in Australia for the past five weeks. Like any two person sport, communication is key and after two years together there’s a good understanding between the teammates. They focus on staying calm and the division of roles on the boat Naess suggesting, “It’s better to talk too much than not enough.”

Ronningen recently added up the number of days they spend away from home in a typical year and the figure came to 200. So how do they hold down relationships? “It’s easier to stay single,” they agree. Next stop after Melbourne is home for a white Christmas then onto Miami for the second stage of the ISAF Sailing World Cup series.

Colin Cheng (SIN)
Racing -Day 2 / Laser
ISAF Sailing World Cup – Melbourne
Sandringham Yacht Club
Tuesday 10 November 2014
© Sport the library / Jeff Crow

Laser

Two races in, Singapore’s Colin Cheng and Australia’s Tom Burton are tied on four points with the Australian Sailing Team’s Burton, currently ranked first in the world, second on a countback.

“I’ve had a good start, the fleet here is probably the hottest in the world right now,” acknowledged Cheng. He found conditions tough today, but to his liking, “The pressure was up and down and the wind left and right…I do like that sort of tricky weather.”

Cheng lives in Australia and is three years into a Bachelor of Science and Nanotechnology degree. He’s opted to take a year off from his study to “train hard and give the Olympics a good shot”. On the sport he’s been part of since age seven when his dad introduced him he adds, “I like the recreational and competitive side. Sailing is one of the most complex sports in the world. I’ve been doing it for 17 years and I’m still learning all the time.”

Laser Radial

A clean start for Alison Young (GBR) in race one set the 2012 London Olympic Games competitor up for a solid win on the first day of competition in the Laser Radial.

A start line battle between world number three Tatiana Drozdovskaya (BLR) and Christine Neville (USA) allowed other top contenders to slip through and take the lead early on, and cost Drozdovskaya precious places. By the second race the Belarussian had regained her focus and stormed into first place.

Overall after two races Young sits in equal first place with Australia’s Ashley Stoddart. Drozdovskaya holds onto third.

Finn

The breeze freshening to 16 knots for the afternoon session was ideal for the Finns. Ed Wright (GBR) showed the Aussies how it’s done, scoring two bullets straight up on day one of their Melbourne campaign. Jake Lilley (AUS/ASS) and Oli Tweddell (AUS) are second and third, one point apart.

Nacra

The fleet hit the water for the early afternoon session with three races completed in the 8-12 knot southerly breeze.

Racing was tight across the leading three. In first place after six races and with their only second place as a drop, Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin (AUS/AST) are holding onto their overall lead from Darren Bundock and Nina Curtis (AUS/AST).

Bundock and Curtis found themselves in sync to comfortably win the second race which ensured they kept Euan McNicol and Lucinda Whitty (AUS) at bay and in third overall.

Waterhouse came off the water delighted with their results, “We had to fight for our results today which made it fun. The lead was constantly shifting in each race.”

SKUD 18 – Paralympic two person keelboat

Dan Fitzgibbon and Liesl Tesch, both AST, are back together at the ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne for the first time since winning gold at the Paralympic Games in 2012 and their first IFDS World Championship title in Halifax, Canada in August. The successful partnership produced two wins on day one to be leading the pointscore with a long way to go.

And with Williamstown hosting the 2015 IFDS Sailing World Championships, Tesch is excited to be back home, “It’s fantastic to be back at Melbourne and racing together with Dan on home waters after quite a long break. It’s beautiful out there on the waves of Port Phillip and I can’t wait to get out there for more racing.”

2.4mR

Peter Thompson, the NSW sheep farmer, and Matt Bugg (AST) from Canberra are this evening sitting on equal points in first and second places in the 2.4mR Paralympic one person keelboat, a scaled down version of an old 12m America’s Cup yacht.

Women’s RS:X

Stefania Elfutina (RUS) continued her winning ways with two seconds and a first in the building afternoon breeze to give her a comfortable first place overall after six races.

After a difficult first yesterday, Monday December 8, 2014 with an OCS and equipment dramas, Joanna Sterling (AUS) has moved up to second thanks to a stronger performance, including a first place in the last race. In equal second place is Maria Aadland Mollestad (NOR).

Daniel Fitzgibbon & Leisl Tesch (AUS)
Racing -Day 2 / SKUD 18
ISAF Sailing World Cup – Melbourne
Sandringham Yacht Club
Tuesday 10 November 2014
© Sport the library / Jeff Crow

Men’s RS:X

Juozas Bernotas (LTU) stepped up a grade in the stronger southerly to take out three first places, which has put him in first place overall. The lighter Evgeny Ayvazyan (RUS) suffered in the stronger conditions to slip down to second overall. In third and with a better performance today with three second places was Dmitrii Polishchuk (RUS).

Men’s 470

There were only two races for the fleet today. Alexander Conway and twin brother Patrick (AUS) took out both of them, but not without being pushed by the nine-boat fleet.

“We got off the starts fairly cleanly and managed to hold the fleet off. The second race was a bit harder as the fleet kept splitting. We had to work a lot harder for the second one, for sure,” Alexander said.

In second overall after a second and a third today is Antonio Rosa and Joao Rosa (POR) with third place overall going to Angus Galloway and Joshua Dawson (AUS).

Women’s 470

“What am I doing here?” was the first reaction from dual-Olympian and stand-in helm Jeni Lidgett-Danks (AUS) as she reviewed her first day of racing for quite some time. She has stepped in to help out a friend and keep crew Jaime Ryan on the water while her regular skipper, Carrie Smith, recovers from illness.

They had a good battle in the two-boat fleet and finished in second place to Sasha Ryan and Amelia Catt (AUS).

How does Sailing World Cup Final qualification work?

Event winners from each ISAF Sailing World Cup (SWC) Regatta will qualify to the 2015 SWC Final whilst the best placed ‘home continent’ sailor in each round will 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.

Up to twenty 2015 ISAF Sailing World Cup Final spots are available in Melbourne, the first stop of the 2015 series.

Lisa Ratcliff ISAF Sailing World Cup – Event Media

OPENING DAY THE PERFECT ISAF SAILING WORLD CUP MELBOURNE ENTRÉE

ISAF SAILING WORLD CUP

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.

Lisa Ratcliff

2015 ISAF SAILING WORLD CUP QUALIFICATION SYSTEM PUBLISHED

The qualification system for the 2015 ISAF Sailing World Cup (SWC) has been published.

The 2015 ISAF Sailing World Cup will consist of five rounds for all ten Olympic events and where possible, Formula Kite Racing.

ISAF WORLD SAILING

With reduced quotas, a qualification process based around the ISAF World Sailing Rankings and ISAF Sailing World Cup Qualification Regattas will be used to determine the entrants for each round, ensuring the world’s best sailors will be within the World Cup fleets.

Event winners from each SWC Round will qualify to the 2015 SWC Final whilst the best placed ‘home continent’ sailor in each round will 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.

2015 ISAF Sailing World Cup

Melbourne – 7-14 December 2014

Miami – 25-31 January 2015

Hyères – 20-26 April 2015

Weymouth – 8-14 June 2015

Asian Round – September / October 2015

2015 Final Abu Dhabi – TBC

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Tension Up, Show Us What You’re Made Of At The ISAF Sailing World Cup
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ISAF Sailing World Cup
The ISAF Sailing World Cup is a world-class annual series for Olympic sailing. It is open to the sailing events chosen for the 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition.

The ISAF Sailing World Cup brings together the major regattas on the Olympic sailing circuit. Over 2,000 of the world’s leading sailors representing 75 nations competed in the sixth season of the World Cup, 2013-2014.