Mixed Fortunes For Aussies At Para World Sailing Championships

The highlight of today’s racing at the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria in Williamstown, Australia, was the performance of Dan Fitzgibbon and Liesl Tesch in the SKUD18 fleet. At the Para World Sailing Championships the pair racked up another two wins to wrap up the World title with one race still to go.

They withstood enormous pressure from the Dutch crew of Rolf Schrama and Sandra Nap, clinging to a narrow lead at the beginning of the last downwind leg to cross the line just nine seconds ahead of the plucky Netherlands team.

In the second race of the day, in winds that increased to more than 15 knots, it was the Polish crew of Monika Gibes and Piotr Cichocki who hassled the Australian all the way, but once again, Fitzgibbon held his nerve and the Polish crew trailed them by just seven seconds in one of the most exciting finishes in the series.

Their two victories today places the Australians in an impregnable position at the end of the day, with a total points score of 11 after dropping their worst score – a third. Even if they do not sail in the final race tomorrow, they cannot be beaten for the World Championship.

Trailing the Australians on the leader board are the British crew of Alexandra Rickham and Niki Birrell, who sailed consistently today to score two thirds and now have a total of 26 points. Third is the Italian combination of Marco Gualandris and Marta Zanetti with 39 points. The Dutch team, with their second and seventh places today still have a chance to displace the Italians, lying just three points behind them at this stage.

Para World Sailing Championships 2015, Royal Yacht Club of Victoria, Williamstown (Aus). 2/12/2015. Photo: Teri Dodds.

It was a different story on the Sonar course today, where the usually consistent Australian crew of Colin Harrison, Russell Boaden and Jonathan Harris really struggled to find any rhythm. They experienced problems yesterday, which were mainly due to really tough weather conditions and huge swings in wind direction. Today’s racing was in stronger breeze, with lesser swings, but particularly in the second race, big seas were challenging for all crews on the windward legs. The Australians were 13th in race 9, their worst result so far, and 10th in race 10.

If conditions were hard, it certainly did not worry the British crew of John Robertson, Hannah Stodel and Steve Thomas, who came away with second and third places from today’s races to lead on the points score table with 31 points. With their worrying day today, the Australian crew loses its place at the head of the leader board but remains in a podium position with French team of Bruno Jourdren, Eric Flageul and Nicolas Vimont-Vicary.

“We struggled for boat speed all day today,” said Australian skipper Colin Harrison, “Boats that were behind us at the start were beating us to the windward mark.” Coach Grant Alderson will be trying to return his team to the routines that brought them success in the early part of the regatta.

In the 2.4mR fleet, Frenchman Damien Seguin has improved at every outing. He sailed consistently early, but has been increasingly dominant in this fleet at every race. He was unflappable today despite the pressure being heaped on him in the early stages in each race, finding his way to the front by the first mark and then extending his lead to finish the day with two firsts. Australia’s Matt Bugg scored a second in race 9 and was right on Seguin’s tail for most of the race but could not find a passing lane. He was fifth in race 10. Germany’s Heiko Kroeger sailed consistently again for third and fourth placings to remain second on the leader board with 28 points, 10 behind the Frenchman.

Para World Sailing Championships 2015, Royal Yacht Club of Victoria, Williamstown (Aus). 2/12/2015. Photo: Teri Dodds.

Helena Lucas will rue the “U” flag disqualification she incurred on the first day. With a 10th place as her worst score, she may well have been in a podium position at this stage and has sailed consistently near the head of the fleet in every race.

Seguin can go into the final race tomorrow full of confidence with a ten point buffer over his nearest rival.

Conditions for tomorrow are forecast to be much lighter than today and racing will be followed by the presentations in the evening.

Bernie Kaaks

Wild swings at Para World Sailing Championships

Vigilance and strict observance was required on the fourth day of racing at the Para World Sailing Championships being held out of the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria in Williamstown, Melbourne, Australia.

With severe conditions forecast for the late afternoon, the race committee brought the starting time forward to 11:00 in an effort to beat the weather. Sailors from 31 nations racing in the three classes selected for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games were expecting a tough day and that is what they received.

Racing on all three courses began in wind strengths of eight to ten knots from the west. All crews noticed wild swings in wind direction. It was a day when crews had to be more observant than usual and ensure that they stayed in sync with the wind direction. Those who failed to do so paid a terrible price.

The SKUD18’s of the USA and Israeli teams were racing against the clock to replace their broken masts in time for the morning start, while Britain’s Helena Lucas had an anxious wait while a boat builder worked frantically through the night to repair a gaping hole in her boat’s transom. In the end the resources of the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria based support personnel successfully managed to have all boats back in action in time for today’s first race.

Para World Sailing Championships 2015, Royal Yacht Club of Victoria, Williamstown (Aus). 1/12/2015. Photo: Teri Dodds.

The SKUD18 started race 7 in 8 knots of breeze from the west, with 75% of the fleet electing to hold starboard tack off the start line and favour the left of the course. The British team of Alexandra Rickham and Niki Birrell set the early pace and rounded the top mark clear of the Italian and French crews. The Australians at this stage were some distance back in fourth place.

On the downwind leg, the Italian and British crews, working the southern side of the course, struggled to gain the upper hand while the Australians gybed away inside them. The gap between boats narrowed considerably on the next upwind leg, with the British boat maintaining control of the race. At the final rounding of the windward mark, the Australians rounded behind the British but ahead of the Italians, with a long gap back to the rest of the fleet. For a moment it seemed that the Australian boat had a chance for an unlikely win as it surfed towards the finish line in a good line of pressure on the northern side of the course while the British boat continued its steady progress on the southern side, trailed by the Italians.

When they gybed back towards the finish line, it became clear that Rickham and Birrell had actually extended their lead while Gualandris and Zanetti emerged ahead of Fitzgibbon and Tesch. It was a graphic illustration of the different wind direction on various parts of the course.

In race eight the Australians reversed the result on the British with the Italians third.

Total points scores with just three races remaining have Fitzgibbon and Tesch leading on nine points, followed by Rickham and Birrell on 20 and Gualandris and Zanetti on 26.

Para World Sailing Championships 2015, Royal Yacht Club of Victoria, Williamstown (Aus). 1/12/2015. Photo: Teri Dodds.

American Dee Smith had a field day in the 2.4mR fleet today, emerging with first and third placings. Although Frenchman Damien Seguin failed to make the top six in race 7, he won race eight to remain in contention, with countryman Kevin Cantin second. The fleet was spread over the whole of the last leg in the last race, an indication of the difficulty many competitors had in reading the breeze.

Seguin leads on 16 points, Germany’s Heiko Kroeger has 21 with Australia’s Matt Bugg on 33.

The Sonar race committee set their course for race 8 in a breeze close to 15 knots, but that dropped to about half that strength at the start signal. Although the Australian boat started well in the centre of the line, they were caught in disturbed air and pinned down to prevent them from tacking away.

It was a case of “beware the wounded Frenchman”, after the crew of Eric Jourdren, Eric Flageul and Nicolas Vimont-Vicary were disqualified from race seven. Penalised by the on-course jury for pumping on the downwind leg, they responded with a one turn penalty instead of two and suffered the consequences. A determined crew started strongly on race eight and were never seriously challenged to take a decisive win.

The Australians had a miserable day. Having committed to the left hand side of the course, they watched in frustration as all the favourable wind shifts occurred on the right. They could not recover and had their worst result for the regatta with an 11th place. Things went slightly better in race eight, where they finished fifth.

“It was a really difficult day out there today,” said Australian coach Grant Alderson. “The good thing is that we still hold a comfortable lead with three races remaining and are on track.”

Para World Sailing Championships 2015, Royal Yacht Club of Victoria, Williamstown (Aus). 1/12/2015. Photo: Teri Dodds.

That may have been an understatement. As the last boat passed through the gate to complete the first of two laps, the leaders were less than 200 metres from the top mark ready to commence the last leg of the race. There was a similar spread in the 2.4mR fleet.

Final standings for the Sonars show Harrison, Boaden and Harris leading with 14 points, ahead of Britain’s Robertson Strodel and Thomas with 28 and Jourdren, Flageul and Vimont-Vicary on 31 after today’s disqualification.

The penultimate day of competition will kick off at 13:00 on Wednesday 2 December.

Bernie Kaaks

Collisions and Broken Masts in Wild Williamstown Wind

Broken masts, collisions and a tough old day for the sailors at the Para World Sailing Championships as Port Phillip showed its wild side on the third day of competition in Williamstown, Melbourne, Australia.

A warm northerly breeze lured the sailors out of the comfortable surroundings of the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria to their respective course areas with no sign of what was to follow.

The first race for all fleets was run in a breeze of 15 knots or so, with gusts to 20 knots and the wind direction swinging wildly in each gust. It was challenging but enjoyable sailing. In the second race however, the breeze built quickly. Strong gusts, reported at 30 knots, caught many crews unawares, with spectacular results.

Sailing – Para World Sailing Championships 2015, Royal Yacht Club of Victoria, Williamstown (Aus). 30/11/2015. Photo: Teri Dodds.

Israeli and American SKUD18 sailors fell victim to the second race gusts as their masts snapped whilst Puerto Rico’s Julio Reguero collided with the committee boat on the 2.4mR race track.

On the SKUD18 course, conditions were trying for all crews in the first race, which was won by Australians Dan Fitzgibbon and Liesl Tesch ahead of their team mates Amethyst Barnbrook and Brett Pearce, with the Netherlands crew of Rolf Schrama and Sandra Nap third.

In the race that followed, conditions were frightening, with vicious gusts sweeping down the course. Americans Ryan Porteous and Maureen McKinnon launched their spinnaker after rounding the windward mark, only to watch it fill instantly as a gust hit, and snap the mast neatly at the spreaders.

Soon afterwards, the Israeli crew of Hagar and Moshe Zahavi suffered a similar fate, both boats being towed back to the marina. The Australian crew, having established a good lead by the final lap, delayed the deployment of a spinnaker until after they had gybed, and kept a close watch on the Canadian boat closing in behind them. They went on to score another win, with Canada’s John McRoberts and Jackie Gray second and the Netherlands’ Rolf Schrama and Sandra Nap third.

Sailing – Para World Sailing Championships 2015, Royal Yacht Club of Victoria, Williamstown (Aus). 30/11/2015. Photo: Teri Dodds.

Total points after dropping the worst are now Australia on 6 points, Great Britain on 17 and Italy on 21.

At one point during the final race, Julio Reguero (PUR) in the 2.4mR fleet was unable to keep clear of an anchored committee boat during a particularly strong gust, while down the course there were four boats in the hands of support craft. For these little boats with their low freeboard, just keeping then afloat was challenging, and bilge pumps were being used by everyone to pump out water that had swept over them in the high winds. France’s Damien Seguin showed his versatility today by winning followed by Australia’s Matt Bugg, who was third in both races. Canadian Brian Miller was third in race six.

After six races, dropping the worst, Damien Seguin leads with nine points, from Germany’s Heiko Kroeger on 14 and Australian Matt Bugg on 19.

On the Sonar course, the predicted tightening of the competition was clear when the first three boats crossed the finish line almost together, each overlapped with the boat ahead. The Australian crew of Colin Harrison, Jonathan Harris and Russell Boaden started soundly in the centre of the fleet and narrowly led at the first mark from the British and French crews. During the final downwind leg, French skipper Bruno Jourdren broke away from the Australian and British boats, favouring the left as they closed on the finish line. The Australians held their nerve, and with the British boat closing fast behind them, kept the French boat out wide until they gybed back, leaving the Frenchmen to lament what might have been. The finishing order was Australia, France and Britain.

Sailing – Para World Sailing Championships 2015, Royal Yacht Club of Victoria, Williamstown (Aus). 30/11/2015. Photo: Teri Dodds.

In much stronger conditions during the second race, the British turned the tables, leading the Australians home with the New Zealand crew of Richard Dodson, Chris Sharp and Andrew May in third place. The French boat had their worst result for the series so far, finishing eighth.

Total scores, now incorporating the dropping of each boat’s worst score, shows the Australians leading on seven points, ahead of the British crew of John Robertson, Hannah Stodel and Steve Thomas on 13 points and the French crew on 22.

With severe conditions forecast for tomorrow, teams are already discussing their strategy after today’s carnage on the race course.

Bernie Kaaks

Polish Sailors Make Strides At Para World Sailing Championships

Poland’s Monika Gibes and Piotr Cichocki are making strides at the Para World Sailing Championships in Williamstown, Melbourne, Australia as they bid to qualify their country for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

The 2015 Para World Sailing Championships is the final opportunity for sailors to seal a Paralympic Games berth and Gibes was direct when asked about her aims for the event, “I’m here to qualify for Rio 2016 and to make the Polish national sailing team. That’s the first goal and we need to achieve it.”

As one of seven teams aiming to qualify for Rio 2016 in the SKUD18 the stakes are high. Just five more places are available, meaning two teams will leave Williamstown and the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria bitterly disappointed.

Compared to the sailors around them in Williamstown, Gibes and Cichocki lack experience in the pressure pot of a world championship. In fact, they have only sailed at one event together in the build up to the 2015 Worlds, finishing 11th at the Delta Lloyd Regatta in May this year, but they have a vision, drive, determination and strong coaching that pushes them forward.

Sailing – Para World Sailing Championships 2015, Royal Yacht Club of Victoria, Williamstown (Aus). 29/11/2015. . Photo: Teri Dodds.

That drive was evident on the first day of competition as they laid down a marker by taking the first race win. An eighth, sixth and sixth followed and they end the second day of competition fourth overall and in the driving seat for Rio 2016.

Not bad for a crew who only recently started sailing together as their coach, Grzegorz Prokopowicz, explained, “Monika has actually only been sailing for one year so she’s very much a beginner in some aspects but she has spent about 100 days on the water this year.”

But how did she get into sailing in the first place? “In Poland we have meetings and a sports congress for people who are disabled,” continued Prokopowicz.

“Peter, her crew, went to a meeting and asked, ‘who wants to go for a sail with me?’ And Monika said, ‘I would like to try sailing’. It was about a year and a half ago and then she came to us this year and told us she was ready to go.”

Gibes is wheelchair bound having been born with meningomyelocele which is a type of spina bifida but that certainly hasn’t held her up sailing in the SKUD18, a boat that can be adapted to suit the needs and requirements of severely disabled sailors.

“The wheelchair is part of her body,” said Prokopowicz, “she is in a wheelchair and cannot walk but every day Piotr and Monika work really hard on their boat. We are a young crew and we only have one year of SKUD18 experience so we watch everyone, every day and we do a lot of things from what we see and what we learn.

“Monika gets better and better each and every day.”

Sailing – Para World Sailing Championships 2015, Royal Yacht Club of Victoria, Williamstown (Aus). 29/11/2015. . Photo: Teri Dodds.

Whilst Gibes only has one year of sailing experience the same certainly cannot be said of Cichocki who clocks up 30 years of sailing know-how that includes windsurfing, multihulls and offshore racing.

A former able-bodied athlete Cichocki is relatively new to Paralympic sailing with two Para World Sailing regattas under his belt but he has a firm understanding on the sport. Cichocki sailed non-stop around the world in The Race in 2000 on-board Warta Polpharma where he finished fourth with Roman Paszke as skipper.

Sailors such as Grant Dalton, Loick Peyron, Skip Novak and Steve Fossett, to name but a few, competed in The Race but many have linked Cichocki’s time in The Race to his avascular necrosis (AVN) of the femoral head that affects his legs.

Prokopowicz said, “Peter is a really experienced sailor. He had been sailing for 30 years with no disability but now he has problems with his legs.

“He sailed in The Race in 2000 and people think that this round the world race caused his disability as he was on the sea for three to four months. The doctors were unable to establish how it happened as well but many people do think his time in The Race affected him.”

Sailing – Para World Sailing Championships 2015, Royal Yacht Club of Victoria, Williamstown (Aus). 29/11/2015. . Photo: Teri Dodds.

It’s fair to say that Gibes and Cichocki do not let anything hinder their progression, personified by their performance over the first two days of the Para World Sailing Championships.

They have seven more races over four more days of racing remaining to see if they are to achieve their dream of simply making the Paralympic Games. If they make Rio 2016 from 100 days of sailing, how might they fare with 283 under their belt as the day by day countdown to the Paralympic Games rolls on?