NZL Sailing Team - Tough day at the office at 2015 Finn Gold Cup

by Jodie Bakewell-White, Yachting NZ on 27 Nov 2015 It was a tough day at the office for the NZL Sailing Team competing at the 2015 Finn Gold Cup on Auckland’s North Shore and both Andrew Murdoch and Josh Junior have taken a hit in the standings at the regatta mid-way mark.

Grey cloudy skies and calm conditions kept the Finn fleet ashore at Takapuna Boating Club for the morning as the world’s best Finn sailors waited for wind.

They were rewarded for their patience, and the Race Committee for their perseverance, heading out onto the Hauraki Gulf in anticipation of a light breeze which eventually came down the course and allowed for two races to be sailed and added to the score card.

Andrew Murdoch remains New Zealand’s top placed sailor but has slipped to 13th overall after placing 43rd and 37th in the fleet of 76 boats.

Murdoch says, “It wasn’t a typical day here – there were tricky things happening with the wind. I felt I executed the starts really well in both races and strategically I did what I wanted to do but it wasn’t the right call.”

He continues, “Finishing the second race today I was pretty frustrated with how things went, I spoke to John Cutler our coach and we went through it and just parked it there. We talked about some of the good things I did today and will just look to keep doing those.”

Josh Junior is now in 28th overall after scoring a 54th and a 40th on the water today.

“Tactically I wasn’t doing that well, and lacking a bit of speed at times, and a bit unlucky as well I think,” says Josh Junior.

“You win some you lose some, tomorrow’s another day, and I’ll just get back out there and do the things I always do.”

Meanwhile the British Sailing Team’s Giles Scott is looking strong having extended 18 point leading margin over the fleet. He is the only sailor with a sweep of top ten results across all five races sailed so far, while the majority of top sailors have mixed results from the first half of the series.

Racing resumes tomorrow, with a forecast for stronger breeze. The regatta wraps up on Sunday 29th November.

To see full results click here

About the event
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/