Sail-World New Zealand- April 27, 2014 - Big success for NZ in Hyeres

by . on 27 Apr 2014

Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie - Womens 470 - ISAF Sailing World Cup Hyeres - Final day Franck Socha / ISAF Sailing World Cup Hyeres http://swc.ffvoile.fr/

Welcome to Sail-World.com New Zealand for April 27, 2014

New Zealand topped the Medal table at the ISAF World Sailing Cup Hyeres.

With two Gold and two Silver medals, plus two fourth placings, New Zealand has top five placings in half of the Olympic sailing events.

At Olympic level, a top five placing is generally reckoned to be the benchmark necessary to have a realistic chance of a medal win.

Obviously with two years to run until the 2016 Olympics, there is a long way to go, but at present New Zealand’s chances at Rio look very good indeed.

Factor into that the youth of the New Zealand team, a group that is on the rise, rather than an older group trying to eke out another Olympic campaign.

Pete Burling and Blair Tuke celebrate - 2014 ISAF Sailing World Cup Hyeres © Franck Socha

There is also a sea change going on in the Olympic classes – look back to the ISAF World Cup Miami, there Great Britain won six Gold medals. In Hyeres the former powerhouse of Olympic sailing won just a single Gold medal, and two in previous regatta in Mallorca. GBR now have no Ainslie’s, no Percy’s to provide the head start the team has had so often in the past decade.

The level of competition has lifted in the last two World Cup events, which have been staged in Europe, and against that backdrop the New Zealand performance is even more impressive.

As is the fact that in four months time the ISAF World Sailing Championships will be staged in Santander, Spain – which are more importantly the Olympic Qualification round for 2016 – where 50% of the places for each class will be allocated.

Meech and Maloney, 2014 ISAF Sailing World Cup, Hyeres, France © Thom Touw http://www.thomtouw.com

New Zealand’s objective will be to qualify in as many of those events as possible – and hopefully all ten Olympic classes.

With that out of the way, there is suddenly a lot more certainty in the Olympic equation – and funding becomes much more targeted. For the NZ sailors whose classes miss the Qualification cut in Santander, the Road to Rio becomes very much more steep and slippery.

Qualification on the second round, by definition means that you are outside the top half of the fleet and trying to make the case to funders that the class has Medal potential is drawing a very long bow.

Finn medal race - 2014 ISAF Sailing World Cup Hyeres © Franck Socha

For NZ, five in that top five category, is excellent, and six in the top 10 is also good. The feature is bleak for those outside that group in Santander.

Most countries that are serious about their Olympic effort will have similar standards of achievement – all based on the British Blueprint that has served them so well over the decade or so.

This edition is dominated by the news from the ISAF Sailing World Cup Hyeres. It's a huge NZ sailing success story.

We also have coverage from the start of the Solo Tasman Crossing Challenge, with some great reporting and video interviews from Morgan Fahey.

The start was delayed until last Tuesday, a not uncommon occurrence in single-handed sailing, where starting in rough weather is a recipe for mass withdrawal and boat damage. Far better to wait for a good weather window to get the boats away from the coast, and then let the racing begin.

Navigator Andrew Cape from Australia onboard Team Telefonica during leg 1 of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12, from Alicante, Spain to Cape Town, South Africa. (Credit: Diego Fructuoso/Team Telefonica/Volvo Ocean Race) © Volvo Ocean Race http://www.volvooceanrace.com

Because of the diversity of boat types and sizes the Trans-Tasman is about personal challenge, as much as it is a race. Just crossing one of the most inclement stretches of water in the world, sailing single-handed is quite an achievement.

Alex Mlaoney and Molly Meech 49erFX - 2014 ISAF Sailing World Cup, Hyeres, France © Thom Touw http://www.thomtouw.com

From the Volvo Ocean Race we have republished a feature on Andrew Cape the veteran Australian navigator, who is on his sixth Volvo Ocean Race, and seventh circumnavigation. There‘s a pictorial tribute encompassing some of his Volvo Ocean Races covering Puma, Ericsson, Movistar and Telefonica

Good sailing!

Richard Gladwell
NZ Editor

sailworldnzl@gmail.com

Send your news and images directly to Sail-World by http://www.sail-world.com/admin/add_story.cfm?rid=6!clicking_here

If you are a potential advertiser and want to understand how Sail-World can work for your company, website or product, then drop a line to Colin Preston at nzsales@sail-world.com

If you want to contact Richard Gladwell directly email: sailworldnzl@gmail.com or call (6421) 301030

Stay up with the latest sailing news, as it happens, at www.sail-world.com/nz

If you want to link to this article then please use this URL: www.sail-world.com/121559

Related Articles

The power of tech
What is the cost of safety? How do you measure it? More importantly, how do you appreciate it? What is the cost of safety? How do you measure it? More importantly, how do you appreciate it?
Posted on 2 Jul Some thoughts on provisioning for distance sailing
A new perspective on provisioning and time spent at sea One of the great joys of distance racing unfurls the moment that the dock lines are untied. Suddenly, the myriad packing lists that inevitably define most trip-planning efforts become about as relevant as a tax return from eight years ago.
Posted on 1 Jul Jazz Turner completes Project FEAR
Drama right to the end in her non-stop, solo, unassisted navigation of the British Isles Jazz Turner has completed Project FEAR, her non-stop, solo, unassisted navigation of the British Isles in her Albin 27 yacht. A flotilla of supporters met her in Seaford Bay, which grew and grew the closer they came to Brighton Marina.
Posted on 1 Jul Project FEAR is in the final few days
Charity circumnavigation almost over, in record time, with a record total raised Jazz Turner is expected to reach home (Brighton Marina) on Monday 30th June or Tuesday 1st July. She has sailed round the British Isles - all round Ireland and the Shetland Islands - without any assistance in 27 days so far.
Posted on 28 Jun A brief history of marine instrument networks
Hugh Agnew has been involved since the outset, and continues to develop at the cutting edge One man who has been involved since the outset, and continues to develop at the cutting edge, is Hugh Agnew, the Cambridge-educated mathematician who is one of the founders of A+T Instruments in Lymington, so I spoke to him to find out more...
Posted on 25 Jun Project FEAR turns southwards
Charity circumnavigation progress report from the Shetland Islands Last month I didn't even know that Muckle Flugga existed. Yet today, the very name of the island brought tears of emotion to my eyes, as I heard Jazz Turner scream it out in victory, in a video she took when passing the lighthouse.
Posted on 22 Jun Sailing and the summer solstice
Celebrating sailing and the longest day of the year If you love long evenings and early mornings, this is one of the best times of the whole year, as the summer solstice (Friday, June 20) and the entire rich expanse of summer are about to burst into bloom.
Posted on 17 Jun Video Review: The Amazing Cure 55
Composite Construction meets Cruising Convenience It was two years ago at the Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show that I talked to Dave Biggar about his ideas and plans for the Cure 55. At the 2025 show I got to step on board the yacht and see how his ideas became reality.
Posted on 17 Jun The Big Bash
Every summer the tournament rolls into town. A short format of the game. Fun and excitement abound. Every summer the tournament rolls into town. Local and international players. A short format of the game, run over a relatively compact six-week season.
Posted on 15 Jun The oldest video footage of Kiel Week
A look back into our video archive at the Kieler Woche of the 60s and early 70s In our series of articles looking back in time through our video archive, we visit Germany. Kiel Week is been a crucial event on the world circuit, and here we look back at the Kieler Woche of the 60s and early 70s.
Posted on 15 Jun