Australia in good shape at Kiel Week

by Sam Maffett on 23 Jun 2005 Australian sailors competing at the ISAF Grade 1 Olympic Classes Kiel Week in Northern Germany are right on the pace after the first day of sailing.

Enjoying near perfect sailing conditions for the first day of racing, the sun was shining and through a fluctuating north-west breeze of around 10 knots, all courses got in the required number of races.

Although Australia’s representation at Kiel is fewer than in many years gone by, the core contingent of the national team are here and showing the hard work they have been doing in recent months.

The Australian 470 Mens team of Mathew Belcher/Nick Behrens sit in second place on the leader board with nine points after some terrific racing and consistent results in their fleet.

After leading for much of the first race, they lost ground on the final downwind leg in race one and finished second to Lucas Zellmer/Heiko Seelig (GER). Race two gave them the result they wanted – a win. Michael Anderson-Mitterling/David Hughes (USA) were second and the winners of race one finished fifth. Race three and another bullet for the Aussies – they were pushed all the way by second placed Zellmer/Seelig, with the Americans third in their Gold group.

In the final race of the day, race four, which finished just before 8:00pm, Belcher/Behrens slipped to fifth place, but are doing a fantastic job in second overall against stiff opposition.

Argentineans Matias Buhler/Marcos Lamas from the Silver group lead the class on five points, so when groups are re-split tomorrow, the lead could be anyone´s.

Both Australian 470 Womens teams also showed their talent against the strong fleet of 36 boats. Following a general recall, Elise Rechichi/Tessa Parkinson had a fine start to lead the fleet from the word go. The West Australian girls won the first race by a solid margin over Amanda Clark/Sarah Mergenthaler (USA). Fellow Aussies, Lauren Jeffries/Rike Ziegelmayer were not far behind their friends and racing partners, finishing in a very credible sixth.

Race two was disappointing; Rechichi/Parkinson were scored OCS, whilst Jeffries/Ziegelmayer placed 16th. Race three brought the girls back on track with Rechichi/Parkinson clocking another bullet and Jeffries/Ziegelmayer a 10th, as the wind held at around 13knots in their part of the racing area.

In the final race of the day, the West Aussies claimed another bullet, while Jeffries/Ziegelmayer finished fourth.

After four races, the 470 Womens fleet is lead by Sabine Walter/Amtje Struckat (GER) on 18 points, Jeffries/Ziegelmayer are eighth, and Rechichi/Parkinson ninth, courtesy of their OCS – a situation that is like to change once a drop comes into play after a fifth race is sailed today (local time).

In the Laser Radial class, Sandringham Yacht Club local and reigning Laser Radial World Champion, Krystal Weir, got the ball rolling with a terrific win in the first race. Amongst a tough fleet of 37 girls, and 75 sailors in total across both fleets, she was ecstatic about the result, but showed a little inconsistency in the races to come.

She finished race two in fourth place, but in race three, she was 13th, as the wind continued to fluctuate up to around 12 knots. The final race of the day and 20 year-old Weir came back with a third as she regained form. These results leave her in fifth place overnight after some excellent sailing.

Australian Laser sailors, Tom Slingsby and Brendan Casey are fourth and fifth overall respectively in their fleet of 186 boats – the largest entry here. With the fleet spilt into three groups, Slingsby came home second to Anders Nyholm (NOR) in race one and then third to Nyholm in race two, with Charles Ballie Strong (GBR) second.

Slingsby slipped down the Bronze fleet in race three, finishing seventh. Showing some of the recent form that saw him win the ISAF Grade 1 Holland Regatta just a couple of weeks ago, Slingsby finished the day off with a terrific bullet in race four.

In a competitive group with Paul Goodison (GBR), the current ISAF ranked number 1 in the class, amongst many other strong sailors from around the world, Casey showed some consistent form throughout the day, showing results of a third in race one, fourth in race two, sixth in race three and fifth in race four.

Olympic medallist and previous Rolex Sailor of the Year winner, Robert Scheidt (BRA) has bounced back nicely from his mediocre result at the Holland Regatta – his first venture back into the class since the Athens Games. He leads here in Germany with three wins and a second place, showing just why he is so highly regarded. It will take some good racing by the Australian sailors, or anyone else, to beat him.

As the final members of the Australian team, Robbie Lovig/Glen Douglas in the Tornado class, are finding that its hard work against the gathered fleet of 20 experienced Tornados from 10 different countries gathered in Kiel. Local German sailors, Roland Gäebler/Gunnar Struckmann lead the fleet with a second place in all three races whilst Lovig/Douglas sit in tenth place with a 15-10-9 scorecard.

Kiel celebrates its 123rd year of competition this year and its experience and ability to conduct the event shows throughout the regatta. It is arguably the biggest regatta in the world and always attracts a majority of the best sailors from up to 55 different countries and 2005 is no exception.

The weather forecast predicts that winds will drop in the coming days of the regatta, but the sunshine is set to remain. Let’s hope the talents of our Australian sailors also continue to shine as the regatta recommences on Thursday local time.