Day 4 SIRS- Ainslie rules supreme

by Di Pearson on 18 Dec 2007

Ben Ainslie (GBR) has cleaned up in the Finn class at the Grade One Sydney International Regatta which finished on Sydney Harbour this afternoon.

Ainslie won two of today’s three races, finishing ninth in the middle Race 7, which was used as his race drop for the series.

The triple Olympic medallist across two classes won six of the nine race series hosted by Woollahra Sailing Club, beating nearest rival Jonas Hoegh Christensen (DEN) by a whopping 17 points. The bronze medal went Finn world champion Rafael Trujillo – just. The Spaniard finished the regatta on equal 30 points with another Brit and Olympian in waiting, Giles Scott, who missed out on countback.

However, the 20 year old was, in his own words, 'very pleased indeed,' particularly with his second place in Race 6 this afternoon.

'It was very tight on the last leg. I managed to pull out on Raff (Trujillo). I’ve done better than I thought I would, so that’s always pleasing,' said Scott who has hopes of representing at the 2012 Olympics to be held on his home waters in Weymouth in the UK.

'It was very shifty today – 10/12 knots and a big swell coming in through Sydney Heads. I enjoyed it immensely – I enjoy any conditions when I’m hiking best,' said Scott, who has the privilege of training with the master and other top ranked British Finn sailors when they are all at home.

Meanwhile, Ainslie’s coach, Dave Howlett, a former Finn star himself, says he is pleased with Ainslie’s results at the Yachting NSW organised event. 'Ben wanted to win here, so all is going according to plan. With Giles finishing so well

Ed Wright, Ainslie’s rival for the British Olympic place, had a mixed day, his best result a second in the final race 8 for a fifth place overall, 22 points behind Ainslie. It does not bode well for his Olympic chances.

Australia’s best result came from Brendan Casey who commented: 'I had a good day today; I got a fifth, a fourth and a third, which is better than yesterday when I broke gear. The Queenslander finished a good sixth overall, one place and two points in front of fellow Aussie Anthony Nossiter who has been selected for the Australian Sailing Team for Beijing.

Casey also paid tribute to the volunteers from Sydney Boys High School who helped organise the 390 plus boat trolleys up and down the ramp each day. 'They did a great job and they were very well behaved and pleasant and had fun while they were working,' he said.

Sail No	Name	Country	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Total	Drop	Score	Place
GBR 3	Ben Ainslie	GBR	1	1	4	1	1	1	9	1	19	9	10	1
DEN 2	Jonas Høgh-Christensen	DEN	2	2	3	8	5	3	10	4	37	10	27	2
ESP100	Rafael Trujillo	ESP	5	5	2	6	7	4	1	8	38	8	30	3
GBR 41	Giles Scott	GBR	3	3	6	9	6	2	5	5	39	9	30	4
GBR111	Edward Wright	GBR	9	9	1	2	2	12	7	2	44	12	32	5
AUS241	Brendan Casey	QLD	10	6	15	3	22	5	4	3	68	22	46	6
AUS221	Anthony Nossiter	NSW	11	8	11	7	4	9	2	7	59	11	48	7
625	Ed Greig	GBR	4	4	14	11	3	10	13	9	68	14	54	8
AUT 3	Florian Raudaschl	AUT	7	11	7	4	11	11	3	14	68	14	54	9
GBR 88	Mark Andrews	GBR	6	10	10	10	10	8	6	6	66	10	56	10
USA 4	Zach Railey	USA	8	14	9	5	9	6	11	15	77	15	62	11
CZE1	Michael Maier	CZE	13	7	5	12	13	13	8	13	84	13	71	12
GBR 634	Andrew Mills	GBR	12	13	8	14	12	7	12	10	88	14	74	13
NZL 21	Nikolas Burfoot	NSW	14	12	12	13	8	16	15	12	102	16	86	14
AUS223	James Paterson	SA	16	16	13	16	15	14	14	17	121	17	104	15
AUS243	Warwick Hill	VIC	15	18	16	20	17	15	16	11	128	20	108	16
AUS 2	Rob McMillan	NSW	17	15	17	15	14	17	22	19	136	22	114	17
AUS 224	Geoffrey Francis	VIC	19	17	18	19	16	19	17	16	141	19	122	18
AUS 3	John Shallvey	VIC	20	22	20	17	19	20	18	18	154	22	132	19
AUS 228	Dirk Seret	SA	21	20	19	18	18	21	19	21	157	21	136	20
24	John Condie	NSW	18	19	21	21	20	18	20	20	157	21	136	21