NZL Sailing Team - Murdoch in the medal hunt going into final day

by Jodie Bakewell-White, Yachting on 29 Nov 2015 After an excellent day on the water New Zealand’s Andrew Murdoch is well placed for a podium finish at the 2015 Finn Gold Cup which finishes tomorrow off Takapuna, Auckland.

Josh Junior is in 14th place overall at the end of today and as a consequence has missed the top ten cut for the medal race.

The gold medal is off the table after runaway Brit Giles Scott opened up enough of a points lead after race nine to ensure his title defence is secure. All he needs to do is show up.

Behind Scott, Jonathan Lobert of France is lying second overall, and nine points ahead of New Zealand’s Andrew Murdoch now in third at the close of the penultimate day which provided brilliant blustery racing conditions. A fifth and a third in today’s two races have lifted him in the standings after lying fifth going into today.

Behind Murdoch, Max Salminen of Sweden is five points adrift in fourth.

Tomorrow’s programme includes a medal race for the top ten, worth double points, while those outside the top ten are scheduled to sail one final fleet race.

“It was good to get two races in the bag that were definite keepers,” says Murdoch.

Following two poor races on Wednesday, dropping him as deep as 14th, Murdoch has been in catch up mode.

“It’s a shame that day three didn’t go the way that I wanted but I’m pretty proud of myself to come back out swinging from that and have a couple of good days,” he says.

“That was the main goal after day three - to get myself back in contention for a medal again and I’ve managed to do that, and I’ll be fighting hard for it tomorrow.”

The forecast for tomorrow is not good, with an ominous light, variable prediction looking favourable for weekend beach goers but not for the Olympic Finn fleet.

Murdoch isn’t concerned about racing in lights airs though; “On day three I think it was some of the choices that I made on the first beat that set me back. I came off the start really well in both those races. I don’t think I’ve got any issues in the light airs, boat on boat I was more than fast enough.”

“I think that I’ve shown myself that regardless of the conditions tomorrow I’ll be well in the hunt for a medal.”

Josh Junior was 21st and 22nd on the water today, and a good race tomorrow could see him improve with just three points to close on 13th.

If wind permits racing will commence at 11am tomorrow, Sunday.

To see full results click here

About the Finn Gold Cup:
The 2015 Finn Gold Cup (the Finn Class World Championship) is being held at Takapuna Boating Club in Auckland, New Zealand from 21 to 29 November.
The event website is: 2015.finngoldcup.org

Social Media:
There will be regular updates including an on the water feed via Twitter and Facebook
Twitter: twitter.com/Finn_Class
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Finn-Class-110408332633/
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/thefinnchannel

Rio 2016 Qualification:
The Rio 2016 Qualification System can be seen here.
The following nations are already qualified: BRA, GBR, CRO, FRA, NZL, USA, NOR, SWE, DEN, SLO, AUS, HUN, FIN, CHN. At least four more places are available from the 2015 Finn Gold Cup.

Useful links:
Entry List: http://2015.finngoldcup.org/webpages/entry-list/
Noticeboard: http://2015.finngoldcup.org/webpages/jury-notices/
Race documents: http://2015.finngoldcup.org/webpages/about-us/