Intense competition through all the fleets at 2016 Delta Lloyd Regatta

by Delta Lloyd Regatta on 27 May 2016 The penultimate day of the 2016 Delta Lloyd Regatta and the 2016 Para Sailing World Championships in Medemblik brought the best conditions of the week so far with an onshore onshore breeze building through the day to 12-16 knots by the end of racing. With sunny skies and great competition it was a near perfect day to be on the water. There was intense competition through all the fleets.

The 2016 Para Sailing World Championships are heading for an exciting conclusion on Saturday with medals still up for grabs in all three classes.

Alphonsus Doerr/Hugh Freund/Brad Kendell (USA) picked a first and a second today and lead the Sonar fleet into the final day with a four point margin from John Robertson/Hannah Stodel/Stephen Thomas (GBR). Colin Harrison/Jonathan Harris/Russell Boaden (AUS) won the second race to move up to third overall.

Kendell, the trimmer and tactician on the American boat said, “Today’s good performance began with our starting. We found our correct timing, and found our spot both times. We were hitting all the shifts and had a clear lane all the way through. I was just telling the guys that we were sailing smart, and to keep it going. We had a pretty good comeback in the second race. We had to cover the Germans and British, since they were close to us overall. We stayed with who we had to, and pounced at the end to take second.”

Freund, the bowman, added, “Going into the final day of the Worlds in the top spot is the best practice you could get for the Games. We are right where we want to be. We have to recognise that it's a big day, but keep doing what’s been working. Whenever we do our early morning practice routine well, we have a good day.”

Robertson said about the day, “It was pretty good racing, really close. The second place was a good score but in the second race the wind just got a bit patchier and different to what we were expecting. We ended up with a seventh which is a reasonable score for the day and it ended up super tight on the finish.” Placing fourth in London 2012, the team are hoping to convert that to a medal in Rio. “The results will take care of themselves and we will just stick to what we know how to do, just like this week, just stick to the process and enjoy the racing.”

The Sonar class is heading for a close finale on Saturday.

In the SKUD18 Monika Gibes/Piotr Cichocki (POL) have led from the day one and today dominated the fleet with two race wins to take a 12 point lead into the final day. Daniel Fitzgibbon and Liesl Tesch (AUS) and Alexandra Rickham/Nikki Birrell (GBR) traded second and third places to end the day on equal points. Another three boats are within striking range, so this fleet is also heading for an exciting finish.

Gibes said, “It was great on the water. We had small problem on the start because the waves were really high but we won two races so it's a great day for us. The key to winning was good trim of the boat and our focus at every mark. At every mark we were very focused on thinking what to do, trying to remain in first place until the next mark.”

“Before the regatta we expected to be up the front. We know we are close to the best teams, but we didn't expect to be leading for the whole regatta.”

Heiko Kroger (GER) made the best of the day in the 2.4 Norlin OD with a first and second to build a seven point lead over Damien Seguin (FRA) and Matt Bugg (AUS)

Two race wins for Marit Bouwmeester (NED) was enough to win the week with a day to spare. She is now 25 points ahead of her nearest rival and just has to take part in Saturday's medal race.

She said, “Even when the field is not that strong it's always good to race a week on a high level and that's what I did here. Besides that it's always nice to race in Holland. I am here for four weeks and that doesn't happen that much. I can see my family and I can race. It's a nice combination. It has been a week of good training with good results.”

Likewise Dorian van Rijsselberghe (NED) has already wrapped up the RS-X class. He leads by 33 points. Four sailors remain in contention for the other medals. “I am competing here with 'b teams' and very young windsurfers who are not focused on Rio. They are all five kg lighter than I am and this makes a very great difference. I got the idea they all started with one goal, to beat the Olympic champion. So for me it has been a good week of training. With this weather they all pass me and I had to pump quite a lot to stay up with them. Day by day I am getting better for Rio.”

In the RS-X Women, the leader Lillian de Geus (NED) injured her foot on her centreboard. Not wanting to risk further damage she pulled out of racing, as she heads to Rio next week for a training camp. In her absense, Zofia Noceti Klepacka (POL) made the best of the day to take a seven point lead into the medal race.

Rutger van Schaardenburg (NED) extended his lead in the Laser class, winning the second race. The first race was won by Jeemin Ha (KOR), who is now eight points behind going into Saturday's medal race.

Giacomo Ferrari/Giulio Calabro (ITA) have levelled the score against compatriots Simon Sivitz Kosuta/Jas Farneti (ITA) in the Mixed 470 class after winning two more races. Between them the two teams have won all eight races and will go into Saturday's medal race dead level and are assured medals of one colour or another.

Diego Botin/Iago Lopez Marra (ESP) enjoyed the breezier conditions to win two more races in the 49er to not only win the regatta with a day to spare, but also the Spanish Olympic trials. They now have a 22 point lead with just the medal race to sail.

The schedule for Saturday is busy, with the 29er and Optimist classes joining the fray. In addition there are six medal races for the Olympic classes and three Para Sailing World Championships to be decided. It will be a hectic and exciting day on the IJsselmeer.

The 2.4 Norlin OD begins its final races at 10.30, with the first medal race for the RS-X Men also at 10.30.