Sailing in Rio on Day Five and a rainy morning in Rio shut down the breeze today. After waiting over two and a half hours, the Laser and Laser Radial classes were the first to get racing going offshore, while the 470 men and women and the 49ers waited on shore for the wind to appear on courses inside the Bay.
 |
| Outteridge/Jensen Photo: © Sailing Energy / World Sailing |
Today was the first day of racing for London 2012 gold medallists, Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen in the 49er class. The conditions outside the bay were once again challenging with light winds but swell over two metres. Inside the bay there wasn’t as much chop as yesterday, but large rolling swell and quite shifty breeze.
 |
| Photo: © Sailing Energy / World Sailing |
Sailing on Pao de Acucar course, Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen weren’t too happy with the opening day, but with ten races remaining, they are still positive. The Aussies started their races quite well, but struggled to play the shifts on the challenging course under Sugarloaf Mountain.
 |
| Photo: © Sailing Energy / World Sailing |
“We obviously had to wait a while but once the breeze came in, it was pretty shifty, probably a bit better than what the Nacras had the other day, but still some big shifts,” Outteridge said at the conclusion of racing.
 |
| Burling/Tuke (NZL) Photo: © Sailing Energy / World Sailing |
“We obviously didn’t get it right in both of the races, but we were pretty happy with the second race to get a keeper there. We haven’t lost the event but we definitely haven’t set the world on fire, so it’s a good starting point for us," Outeridge added.
 |
| Burling/Tuke (NZL) Photo: © Sailing Energy / World Sailing |
“I think you probably saw in that first race. Pete (Burling) gybe-set one boat length ahead of us and we went straight. He was sitting there bobbing around and then all of a sudden gets the puff off the beach. We just thought ‘Race 1 stick with the fleet and fight the boats around you’, but he made a big gain from that. We’ve sailed in those conditions on that course a few times, we know you have your moments. Until the sea breezes return, it’s going to be like that for everyone.”
With only two races completed today, the race committee will race four races tomorrow for the 49er class.
 |
| Belcher/Ryan Photo: © Sailing Energy / World Sailing |
Mat Belcher and Will Ryan are currently second overall after finishing second in the only race of the day for the 470. They have reduced the gap to the Croatians, who are leading, to two points.
 |
| Photo: © Sailing Energy / World Sailing |
“There are quite a lot of options on the course with the winds under Sugarloaf. It’s a bit of a lottery, roll the dice and see if you’re feeling lucky," Ryan said regarding the top mark located underneath Sugarloaf Mountain.
 |
| Burling/Tuke Photo: © Sailing Energy / World Sailing |
“It’s been a good few days, this is what we’ve been working towards so we’re ready for it. Yesterday was pretty physical, so we’re a little bit sore and thrown around,” he added.
 |
| Photo: © Sailing Energy / World Sailing |
Carrie Smith and Jaime Ryan moved up the leader board today to eleventh place after they finished seventh in the only race of the day.
 |
| Smith/Ryan Photo: © Sailing Energy / World Sailing |
“Today was a slower day for us. The wind took a little while to come in, so we only got one race in and it ended up to be a great race. We got about 10 knots, maybe a little bit less, but we raced really well,” Smith said.
 |
| Photo: © Sailing Energy / World Sailing |
“It was definitely a bit calmer than yesterday with the big waves. It was good to have a nice race inside the bay with the conditions that we’ve probably been more expecting here and we’re happy with how we went,.” Jaime Ryan said.
 |
| Photo: © Sailing Energy / World Sailing |
Tom Burton had a strong performance on the water today, finishing seventh in the first race and second in the second race. He is in third place overall and has now moved to within five points of first place in the Laser class.
 |
| Tom Burton (AUS) Photo: © Sailing Energy / World Sailing |
“It was good to get two solid results in today. My drop isn’t great, so I still need a good day tomorrow. We’re on the medal racecourse tomorrow, so it may turn out to be tricky. I need to sail well again tomorrow,” Burton said.
 |
| Photo: © Sailing Energy / World Sailing |
Ashley Stoddart had an up and down day today with 24th and 11th place finishes in the Laser Radial class to sit thirteenth overall.
 |
| Photo: © Sailing Energy / World Sailing |
Tomorrow the 470 Men and Women have the scheduled day off and we will see the return of the Nacra17 and Finn class.
Australian Sailing Team Media
No comments:
Post a Comment