KEEP YOUR HEAD ON A SCREW AT WORLD CUP MIAMI

Sailors opening their curtains in Miami this morning would have been welcomed by a pleasant breeze that was enough to put a grin on their faces.

Upon arriving at the venues of Sailing World Cup Miami presented by Sunbrella their grins were to turn into a smile as a 14 knot south eastern breeze whipped its way around Biscayne Bay.

Predicted to hold throughout the day, the breeze was unable to sustain its tempo, dropping early afternoon and in the words of Australia’s Jason Waterhouse it was a day to ‘have your head on a screw.’

In the end, only the 49er, Laser and Paralympic fleets completed their full schedule of racing for the day with the remainder either completing three, two, one or in the RS:X Women and Finn fleets case, no races.

Sailing World Cup Miami is the second of six regattas in the 2016 series. From 25-30 January 2016, Coconut Grove, Miami, United States of America, is hosting more than 780 sailors who are competing across the ten Olympic and two Paralympic classes on the beautiful waters of Biscayne Bay.

Nacra 17

Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin (AUS) arrived back at Regatta Park, a new venue for Sailing World Cup Miami presented by Sunbrella, late in the day with a consistent day of racing under their belts in tricky conditions.

A 3-4-3 in stable conditions is a day to be proud of, but in the Miami shifts, that’s impressive. The trick? “Have your head on a screw,” exclaimed Waterhouse. “Just keep looking around and making good tactical decisions. The first race was a boat speed race and the next two were tactical chess playing races.

“It was a lot of fun out there and I’m sure there were a lot of ups and downs and we are happy to come away on the right side of it. We had a really good day and were really consistent, it was tricky and typical of Miami. We can take it forward for the rest of the regatta.”

The Australians are two leading lights in the Nacra 17 fleet, modest in their approach, humble in their ways yet full on and intense in the racing arena. They won gold at the Aquece Rio – International Sailing Regatta 2015 and are backing that performance up with further results to match.

After five Nacra 17 races they lead the way on 13 points, Mandy Mulder and Coen de Koning (NED) follow on 20 and Santiago Lange and Cecilia Carranza Saroli (ARG) sit third on 26.

Race wins on the day went to Iker Martinez and Julia Roman (ESP), Gemma Jones and Jason Saunders (NZL) and Paul Kohlkoff and Carolina Werner (GER).

Sailing World Cup Miami is the second of six regattas in the 2016 series. From 25-30 January 2016, Coconut Grove, Miami, USA is hosting more than 780 sailors who are competing across the ten Olympic and two Paralympic classes on the beautiful waters of Biscayne Bay.

49er and 49erFX

‘Keeping it consistent’ is a term every racing sailor aspires to and that term could not be more appropriate in the Olympic sailing arena.

Sailors don’t necessarily have to win a race to claim a medal. Regular results at the front of the pack can go a long way to ensure you’re there at the end when it counts.

Argentina’s Victoria Travascio and Maria Sol Branz are well known for their light breeze consistency and they personified that once again by picking up a 2-1-2.

“We did very good and it was really cool,” explained Travisco. “We managed three good starts and that was it really. The first we went on the left, had a good start and stayed on the left.”

The Argentineans demonstrated their light wind nous in the middle of 2015, winning Pan American Games gold on Lake Ontario in Toronto, Canada. Miami’s conditions on Tuesday suited them and they have leapt up the leader board, tied for third with Brazil’s Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze (BRA).

Ragna and Maia Agerup (NOR) hold their overnight lead with Alex Maloney and Molly Meech (NZL) in second.

Defending Miami 49er champions Nico Delle-Karth and Nikolaus Resch (AUT) took over at the top of the pile after four races. They opened up with a 13th, which they discarded before swiftly following up with a fourth, second and a first. They occupy first overall on 12 points.

James Peters and Fynn Sterritt (GBR) are second on 19 and overnight leaders Jorge Lima and Jose Costa (POR) drop to third on 24 points.

Men’s and Women’s 470

Today, on the Women’s 470 course at the Sailing World Cup Miami presented by Sunbrella, it was all about the pressure. From the wind, that is. As with yesterday, a promising breeze in the morning dwindled quickly. By noon it was decidedly in the single digits. By mid-afternoon it was on the edge of being unsailable. By that time, however, the women 470 sailors, were ashore, washing off their boats and thinking about what went right or what went wrong—or maybe a little of both—in their two races.

“When it’s so light, the pressure [is most important],” said skipper Fernanda Oliveira (BRA), who, along with teammate Ana Luiza Barbachan, scored a first and a second today and are currently first, by 3 points over Lara Vadlau and Jolanta Ogar (AUT). “You have to be paying attention all the time. I think that we did well downwind, and rounding the marks we could gain some points. It’s going well, lets see what happens in the next few days.

Oliveira also stressed staying sharp before races, especially when there are postponements and general recalls.

“I think that a routine is the best way to keep focus on our goal,” she said. “We are trying to just be checking, all the time, the wind and the current, the courses if they change something, paying attention all the time. If you relax and relax and relax, and try to start it again, it’s complicated. The routine is the most important thing so you make all the times the same thing and then it’s easier to be ready to go.”

With the class’s world championship scheduled for next month in South America, the fleet at the Sailing World Cup Miami is smaller and not quite as deep as in past years. But Oliveira stressed that it’s just as important to stay focused.

“We are trying to do our best; we are trying to train, to make this event like a training for the world championships,” said Oliveira. “But we have a lot of young teams here that are sailing very well, so we have to pay attention to them.”

Some top Women’s 470 teams have skipped this event to rest for the world championships, but Oliveira said that with the pressure of a home Olympics looming on the horizon, she is happy to stay busy.

“The pressure will come for all sailors, and for all Brazilian sailors also,” said Oliveira. “We have to keep paying attention. It will not be easy, it’s a special [Olympics]. I think we are OK; we already did a Games together so we have some experience as a team. In six months we’re going to be ready to go. From now until April, we have a lot of events, so there’s no time to be thinking on it.”

So the motto for the day: on the water, seek out the pressure; off the water, try to keep it at bay.

It was also the experienced Men’s 470 teams that rose to the top, with the top five teams in the overall standings after three races each featuring at least one former Olympian. At the head of the class is the home team, Stuart McNay and David Hughes, who won both races today by a combined 90 seconds. McNay is looking to head to his third Olympics this summer. Two points in arrears—each team has discarded its worst finish—are Onan Barreiros and Juan Curbelo Cabrera (ESP) with Matthias Schmid and Florian Reichstädter (AUT) in third.

Sailing World Cup Miami is the second of six regattas in the 2016 series. From 25-30 January 2016, Coconut Grove, Miami, USA is hosting more than 780 sailors who are competing across the ten Olympic and two Paralympic classes on the beautiful waters of Biscayne Bay.

Laser and Laser Radial

Dutch sailor Rutger van Schaardenburg continued his solid start to the regatta with a first and sixth today. It was a slight step down from his 2-1 yesterday, but it was still the best score of the day, nipping Filip Jurišić (CRO) by virtue of a tiebreaker. Van Schaardenburg retains command of the overall lead, six points ahead of Jurišić. Behind the Croatian sailor, however, lies a tightly packed mob of top Laser talent; just 23 points separates second from 22nd. Included in that group is five-time Olympic medalist Robert Scheidt (BRA) in 13th and American medal hopeful Charlie Buckingham (USA) in 14th. Buckingham is in the first stage of the selection series for the U.S. Olympic Team. While US Sailing Team Sperry teammate Chris Barnard (USA) is not off to a good start, Erik Bowers (USA) is just 2 points behind Buckingham in the overall standings. The Lasers will hope for two races tomorrow and then, regardless of how many races have been completed, the fleet will be split into Gold and Silver Groups for the final two days of full-fleet racing.

Men’s and Women’s RS:X

A single Men’s RS:X race was completed in the light air with the Women’s RS:X unable to sail.

Chinese racer Chunzhuang Liu asserted his light wind prowess again, overcoming Dorian van Rijsselberge by 15 seconds to take his second race win.

Liu has opened up a three-point gap over van Rijsselberge after two races but it’s still very early days in the competition with everything to play for.

Paralympic Classes

Three 2.4mR races have thrown out different victors in each. Bruce Millar (CAN) took the first bullet on the opening day and in Tuesday’s two, Peter Eagar (CAN) and Helena Lucas (GBR) crossed the line first in races two and three.

As a result, the trio are separated by one point at the top of the leader board. Miller leads on three points followed by Eagar and Lucas on four.

Paul Tingley, Logan Campbell and Scott Lutes (CAN) grabbed the lead in the Sonar following a second and a discarded seventh. Race wins went to Aleksander Wang-Hansen, Jacob Haug and Per Eugen Kristiansen as well as Alphonsus Doerr, Brad Kendell and Hugh Freund who are eighth and fifth respectively.

Racing resumes on Wednesday 27 January at 10:00 local time. The Laser, Laser Radial and 49er will complete their qualification series and many of the fleets will be looking to catch up on races lost over two challenging days.

Daniel Smith and Stuart Streuli

Aruba, Germany And Spain Claim Rio 2016 Nacra 17 Spots

The 2015 Nacra 17 World Championship held in Aarhus, Denmark from 2-10 July was the second opportunity for nations to qualify for the Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition in the Mixed Multihull.

Rio 2016 will see 20 nations on the Nacra 17 startline. Ten places were decided at the Santander 2014 ISAF Sailing World Championships with three further spots available at the 2015 Nacra 17 Worlds.

The three nations to qualify for Rio 2016 from the 2015 Nacra 17 Worlds are:

Aruba
Germany
Spain

Billy Besson and Marie Riou (FRA) won gold at the Nacra 17 Worlds for the third consecutive year following a dominant performance. From nine races the French duo took six victories and a third in the Medal Race sealed the deal.

Australia’s Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin took silver whilst Mandy Mulder and Coen De Koning (NED) picked up bronze.

Aruba, Germany And Spain Claim Rio 2016 Nacra 17 Spots Photo Laurens Morel

As hosts, Brazil automatically receives a place on the start line. Six places will be awarded via a series of Continental Qualification Events sanctioned by ISAF, to finish by 1 June 2016 at the latest.

The inclusion for the first time by ISAF of Continental Qualification Events in the Qualification Pathway is an opportunity to develop sailing around the world and reflect the IOC Qualification System Principles. Key requirements of these Principles are to ensure the participation of the best athletes and ensure universality through continental representation

Big Announcements In Hyères As Racing Commences

Racing at ISAF Sailing World Cup Hyères got underway on 22 April following the announcement of prize money for the event and live broadcasting of the Medal Races.

€72,000 is to be distributed across the ten Olympic and two Paralympic disciplines on show in Hyères when the medals are decided on Sunday 26 April. The Medal Races will also be broadcast live from Hyères on the ISAF website on Sunday 26 April.

Restricted entries of 40 boats per fleet ensured close competition from the off with Olympic and Paralympic gold medallists, multiple World Champions, Volvo Ocean Race winners and America’s Cup sailors amongst the athletes.

Conditions in Hyères were light throughout the morning but picked up ensuring tight, tactical racing across five course areas. Stronger breeze, common in Hyères, is expected to return for the Medal Races on Sunday 26 April.

49er and 49erFX

Two of the hottest properties in sailing right now, Peter Burling and Blair Tuke (NZL), started the defence of their Hyères title in fine fashion with a consistent day on the race course, posting a 2-(9)-3 scoreline.

The Kiwis are tied at the top on five points with Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen (AUS) but the Australians count a discarded 33rd alongside a solid fourth and bullet.

Racing in the 49er was full of ups and downs as the fleet battled a light, shifty breeze. The Kiwis started well in the first bout of the day, coming in second behind John Pink and Stu Bithell (GBR) but they were left with a few regrets after their ninth, “We’re disappointed we dropped a few places in that middle race but it’s just one of those things, you’ve got to take the good with the bad.

“You get on the wrong side of the shifts occasionally and there have been some pretty big ones and in a 40 boat fleet you could get some big scores. We’ve had a really solid first day and we’re just going to chip away and get some more solid ones on the board.”

When sailors are interviewed in the boat park one of the most common phrases is ‘everyone who is campaigning for Rio is here’. That is certainly the case in the 49er, and the remaining fleets, with the leading teams battling it out from the off. For Burling, the high level competition in Hyères is something he’s enjoying, “It’s the first time we’ve raced with 40 good guys on the startline in a fleet. In conditions like today, if you get one shift wrong you pay pretty heavily.

“We’re happy to get some good starts and get it working today but that’s one of those things that you’ve got to battle your way through this week. It’s great to see all the good guys here with good gear and a lot of training time put into it so it’s time to push forward.”

Sweden’s Victor Bergström and Victor Vasternas enjoyed a strong day on the water, recording three top ten results. They sit in eighth after the opening day but have a solid platform to build on over the next few days.

Men’s and Women’s 470

Anne Haeger and Briana Provancha (USA) enjoy opening days in Hyères. The pair led after day one in 2014 and now top the billing after the opening day at the 2015 edition.

Consistency was king for the Americans in what was a hard day of work on the water, “It was really challenging,” commented Provancha. “The breeze was shifting a lot and we had four starts today so two races were abandoned. The Race Committee did a really good job waiting for consistent breeze and fortunately we had two good races.”

A fourth and a third gives Haeger and Provancha and five point lead over Brazil’s Fernanda Oliveira and Ana Luiza Barbachan. The Brazilians took the first race win and added an 11th. The day’s other race victory was snapped up by Shasha Chen and Haiyan Gao (CHN). The pair are sixth overall.

The new 40-boat format has suited the Americans who have thrived in facing the best competition from the off. Having led after day one in 2014 they dropped down to third so aren’t resting on their laurels, “We’re probably one of the most inexperienced teams at the top so we’re just plugging away every day and training to get the experience we need so we can perform at the [Olympic] Games. We’re taking it a day at a time,” added Provancha.

“I think having the top 40 has been great and not having a qualifying series you’re racing against the best from the get go and that’s a really awesome thing that ISAF are doing. We’re looking forward to more racing.”

€72,000 is to be distributed across the 12 events on show in Hyères when the medals are decided on Sunday 26 April. On the announcement Provancha concluded, “I think it’s a great idea. Obviously for Abu Dhabi there was prize money there and that was awesome. It adds something extra to the competition but we love the racing and regardless of the prize money we’re happy to be here.

“People here love sailing and it’s great to be around it in Hyères.”

There were ups and downs aplenty in the Men’s 470 but the top three stayed consistent, posting top scores to set an early marker.

Ferdinand Gerz and Oliver Szymanski (GER) lead on five points, Sime Fantela and Igor Marenic (CRO) follow on six whilst Gabrio Zandon and Andrea Trani (ITA) hold third. The Germans picked up the first race win of the day with Anton Dahlberg and Fredrik Bergstrom (SWE) taking the second. The Swedes are eighth overall.

Laser and Laser Radial

Gintare Scheidt (LTU) is enjoying her return to competitive sailing and put in a steady showing in the Laser Radial. The Lithuanian has only recently returned to Olympic campaigning and having qualified for Hyères at Trofeo Princesa Sofia, she is going well in the French Riviera.

Scheidt, a Beijing 2008 Olympic silver medallist, is second overall, three points off Alicia Cebrian (ESP) and is enjoying her time back in the boat, “I wasn’t in the top 30 so I had to qualify in Palma. I did well and here I am,” she smiled. “It’s very nice to sail with the top 40 girls. It’s a very high level and it’s very interesting.

“It’s close to an Olympic format which is very good training and it’s a higher level than even the Olympics. Everyone is happy to be sailing here.

“I’ve come here so many times and for me there are a lot of memories. Every year is different and it’s a very special place.”

Cebrian tops the leaderboard on six points after a 5-1 with Scheidt behind on nine with a sixth and a third. Belgium’s Emma Plasschaert holds third on 12 points.

Anything can happen across the Olympic and Paralympic fleets and when they’re competing against the best of the best, form can often be blown out of the window.

With two wins in 2015, ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami and Trofeo Princesa Sofia, Germany’s Philipp Buhl had a tough time in the Laser. A 19th and 34th sees him placed 29th overall but he’s enjoying the high level competition that is present from day one.

“It’s different,” chuckled Buhl. “It’s like gold fleet racing and it’s much tighter. It makes it a bit more difficult from the beginning.

“I’m going to like this model – it’s much easier for the race committee with one fleet and more comfortable for the sailors. You don’t waste days with qualifying where you can’t win the regatta, you just make sure you don’t lose it there. I like it, so far.

“In addition to that, we have a lot more space here, it’s a lot more comfortable,” joked Buhl about the space in the boat park.

The Laser is one of the most open Olympic events with any sailor in the fleet capable of causing an upset on their day. Although Buhl is 29th, he’s optimistic about the coming days, “I’m not here to try and win again, obviously I will try to but I do not see myself as a favourite after Palma and Miami.

“I was happy with those results but I will try to get in the Medal Race here and try and get into the top five or even a medal and if I do that I’ll be very happy.”

It’s a Croatian 1-2 at the top of the leaderboard with Filip Jurišić and Tonci Stipanovic occupying places one and two. Sam Meech (NZL) is in third. Rutger van Schaardenburg (NED) took out the first race win of the day and Jurišić followed up with the second.

Men’s and Women’s RS:X

It was a day for the Chinese RS:X competitors in Hyères as Aichen Wang in the Men’s and Peina Chen in the Women’s grabbed an early lead.

Chen’s last ISAF Sailing World Cup appearance came in Hyères exactly 12 months ago. Whilst she was out of the top 30, she qualified to compete in the French Riviera after a solid result at Trofeo Princesa Sofia. With a small frame the light breeze in Hyères suited her style and she posted a fifth and a bullet from two races to lead Hayley Chan (HKG) and Laura Linares (ITA) by four points.

In the Men’s RS:X, Wang remained at the front of the bunch in both races. A fifth and a third gives him a one point advantage over Juan Manuel Moreno Vega (ESP). Race victories in the Men’s RS:X were picked up by Shahar Zubari (ISR) who is fifth and the seventh placed Ivan Pastor (ESP).

Nacra 17

ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne gold medallists Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin (AUS) had a superb start in the Nacra 17 picking up a 6-1 scoreline. Waterhouse and Darmanin are a team on the rise with World Championship bronze and World Cup gold under their belt from their last two regattas.

They are a point ahead of Renee Groeneveld and Steven Krol (NED). Defending champions Vittorio Bissaro and Silvia Sicouri (ITA) took the first race victory of the day but received a scoring penalty in race two. They are 19th overall counting the full 40 points from their penalty but with the discard coming into play after the third race they will look to bounce back up the pack.

French favourites Billy Besson and Marie Riou occupy the final podium spot after the opening day.

Finn

New Zealand’s Andrew Murdoch leads the Finn class today after consistent racing gained him two fifth place results. This is the first ISAF Sailing World Cup event that Murdoch has competed in this year and after day one has gained a four point clear lead of Michele Paoletti (ITA) in second place.

Regatta favourite Giles Scott (GBR) and Jonathan Lobert (FRA) also had a great day on the water after claiming first places in both of the two races of the day.

2.4mR

Bjørnar Erikstad got off to a flying start in the 2.4mR class with two clear wins ending the day in first place, five points clear of Helena Lucas (GBR) in second. Erikstad continues to be on consistent form in the 2.4mR, after finishing on the podium at ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami in January.

Rounding off the top three in the 2.4mR class is Bjørnar Erikstad (NOR), Helena Lucas (GBR) in second and Heiko Kroeger (GER) in third.

Sonar

In the Sonar, Colin Harrison, Jonathan Harris and Russell Boaden (AUS) had a fantastic day on the water and took the early advantage ending the day in first place.

The Australian trio recorded a second and a first to lead on three points. This is the first ISAF Sailing World Cup event that the Australians have competed in this year and if today’s results are anything to go by, are definitely ones to watch.

A race victory also went to Bruno Jourdern, Eric Flageul and Nicolas Vimont-Vicary (FRA). The French trio are second overall.

Racing resumes for the all classes on Thursday 23 April at 11:00 local time when sailors will continue to compete for a place on the podium and a chance to claim their share of the €72,000 prize money on Sunday 26 April.

MIAMI TO COME ALIVE FOR SECOND WORLD CUP REGATTA

From 26-31 January 2015, Miami, USA will welcome world class fields in ten Olympic and three Paralympic events for the second regatta of the 2015 ISAF Sailing World Cup series.

Biscayne Bay will come alive with the sails of 651 boats, featuring 848 sailors from 63 nations. The stakes are high at the 2015 edition of ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami, Presented by Sunbrella, with Abu Dhabi Final qualification spots and valuable ranking points available at the 200-point regatta.

The 2015 ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami, Presented by Sunbrella, marks the second anniversary of competition for the Nacra 17. The mixed multihull made its debut at the 2013 edition with a small seven boat fleet that was dominated by North Americans. Sarah Newberry and John Casey (USA) took the first Nacra 17 gold medal and now two years on, Miami welcomes a truly international field with 21 nations represented within the 51-boat fleet.

Seasoned campaigners and young hopefuls will be on the start line come 26 January, gunning for an Abu Dhabi ISAF Sailing World Cup Final qualification spot.

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

Beijing 2008 Tornado Olympic gold medallist Fernando Echavarri (ESP) will take to Nacra 17 racing for the first time in Miami. Echavarri has paired up with 2011 470 World Champion Tara Pacheco who formerly sailed with Iker Martinez. Pacheco and Martinez, who were coached by Echavarri, split up towards the end of 2014 with Martinez teaming up with Marina Lopez.

The transition from coach boat to the Nacra 17 has gone well for the experienced Echavarri, a two time Tornado World Champion, who is taking things in his stride, “We have been sailing for about two months. We are just starting and there are many things that are going on and we want to think about a one year campaign. If everything works well and we qualify [for Rio 2016], we will then think about the next step.

“Miami will be the first race so we are just thinking about learning and getting into the game again. At the moment we are taking it day by day. We have many things to organise before we even think about our goals. For today I can tell you that our goal is to balance the rudders, which will make everything easier.

“We’ve had some normal starting issues that make us lose some time but we are happy about our progression. There are many things to learn and they are special to remember. Here in Miami we came two days ago [Thursday 15 January] with a charter boat so there is plenty of work to do to prepare.

overall winner / Stefania Elfutina (RUS) Racing – Day 6 / RSX – Womens Medal race ISAF Sailing World Cup – Melbourne Sandringham Yacht Club Saturday 13 December 2014 © Sport the library / Jeff Crow

“It’s a nice competition, as always, in Miami. I am really happy to be back in the game.”

Echavarri joins a list of highly experienced competitors in the Miami Nacra 17 fleet. Two time Nacra 17 World Champions Billy Besson and Marie Riou (FRA), Sofia Bekatorou and Konstantinos Trigonis (GRE), Franck Cammas and Sophie de Turckheim (FRA) and Puerto Rico’s Enrique Figueroa, sailing with Franchesca Valdes Ortega, all have vast experience that they’ll put into practice in Miami.

At the other end of the spectrum are Aruba’s Nicole van der Velden and Thijs Visser. At 20-years-old Van der Velden is one of the youngest competitors in the fleet but with two years of campaigning behind her, she hasn’t been intimated by her older rivals, reaching World #17 and finishing in the top ten at the European Championship.

“It’s amazing how much you can learn in two years just by committing to something,” commented van der Velden. “The learning curve has been huge for me. The Nacra is so much fun to sail and I can’t wait to see what this year will bring for us.”

It would be easy for van der Velden to look in awe at the star spangled fleet that features numerous Olympic medallists, Volvo Ocean Race winners and multiple World Champions but she has used the competition to her advantage as she explained, “It’s awesome to be able to sail against such experienced sailors. It really pushes you even harder to get better and better, especially being so young there’s so much to learn.

“For us at the moment it’s quite important to keep working on our racing skills. So every race we do we try to learn as much as possible from it.”

Lisa Darmanin and Jason Waterhouse (AUS) were the first Nacra 17 pair to qualify for the Abu Dhabi ISAF Sailing World Cup Final when they took the Melbourne title. Teams will be vying to join them on the start line with six days of high intensity racing in Miami.

Great Britain’s Giles Scott will spearhead the Finn fleet, aiming to defend his title and continue his unbeaten run of six ranked regattas and the Aquece Rio – International Sailing Regatta 2014 (Olympic Test Event).

Scott has dominated at every regatta and has his eyes on another victory, “It [the unbeaten run] is absolutely something I’d like to continue. Every regatta I do is incredibly important, but that being said I do really try and focus on each event as it comes so we’ll have to see what Miami brings, I’m sure it will be great racing.

“I think the fleet will be very strong this year with only a handful of the top guys missing. Last year we were plagued by lack of wind so hopefully this year we get good Miami conditions.”

World #1 Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic (CRO), World #2 Caleb Paine (USA), ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne victor Ed Wright (GBR) and Abu Dhabi ISAF Sailing World Cup Final champion Vasilij Zbogar (SLO) will all be in the fleet.

Forty five teams are registered to compete in the Men’s 470 and quality is prevalent throughout the pack. Mat Belcher and Will (AUS) will be the ones to beat whilst 2013 champions Sofian Bouvet and Jeremie Mion (FRA) will want to hold on to their title. 2014 ISAF Sailing World Cup Qingdao gold medallists Jordi Xammar and Joan Herp (ESP) will be looking to impress whilst Greece’s Panagiotis Mantis and Pavlos Kagialis will certainly be in the running for top honours.

In the Women’s 470, 2014 World Champions Lara Vadlau and Jolanta Ogar (AUT), Olympic champions Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie (NZL) and Olympic silver medallists Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark (GBR) will renew their rivalry. The trio shared the podium at the Santander 2014 ISAF Worlds as well as the 2014 Olympic Test Event with minimal separation between them.

Tom-Burton at ISAF SWC Melbourne © Jeff Crow

Miami will be the first opportunity for the trio to test themselves against each other in 2015 which will make for some intriguing and insightful racing.

In the 2.4mR, one of three Paralympic events taking place in Miami, Megan Pascoe (GBR) will be aiming to defend her title. In testing winds at the 2014 edition Pascoe kept her focus to take the victory ahead of Allan Leibel (CAN) and Helena Lucas (GBR). Both Leibel and Lucas will return in 2015 with Melbourne victor Matt Bugg (AUS) and the ever consistent Bjornar Erikstad (NOR) also within the fleet.

Alexandra Rickham and Niki Birrell (GBR) return to defend their crown in the SKUD18 but will face stiff competition from long term rivals Dan Fitzgibbon and Liesl Tesch (AUS). Ten boats will go in the competitive Sonar fleet with 2014 silver medallists John Robertson, Hannah Stodel and Stephen Thomas (GBR) set to lead the charge.

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

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

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