Delta Lloyd Regatta - South African crew claims 470 race win

by Delta Lloyd Regatta on 23 May 2014 The second race of day three at the Delta Lloyd Regatta was won by Asenathi Jim and Roger Hudson (RSA). Hudson explained the significance of the win. 'The Delta Lloyd Regatta is our favourite regatta. I think we have a bit of a soft spot for this regatta, because our first ever regatta together in the 470 was here in 2011. So it marks the anniversary of when we started sailing together and we like to come back because it reminds us where we started.'

On the conditions today he said, 'It was nice that we got some breezy conditions, which made a bit of a change and we enjoyed that. In the first race we had a good start and were in a great spot but we broke our vang, and had to fix that in the middle of the race and it cost us a lot, but we managed to get back to eighth. So that wasn’t too bad.'

'In the second race we had a similar start and strategy and it went very well and we ended up leading at the top mark. Although it was fairly breezy the wind was really up and down, so it was absolutely critical to stay in the big pressure. That made life quite difficult defending, but we did a pretty good job with a lot of experienced, high quality guys on our tail. We were very happy to close out the win.'

While their goal is clearly to qualify for the Rio Olympics, Jim and Hudson is focussing on what they can control and taking it a step at a time. 'We’ve done four regattas on the trot with Palma, Hyères, Garda and now this. After this week, we are going back to Cape Town for three weeks for some rest and training before coming back for Kiel, and the Europeans in Athens and then from there the focus is on Santander.'

'You know, I think a lot of teams are setting themselves the target of being in the top 13 in Santander, to make the early qualification and certainly probably twice as many teams have set that goal. It’s on our minds and obviously we’d love to try and get that done there, but we are still in the relatively early stages of our campaign. We’ve been together for three years, a lot of teams have done 10 or more.'

'Although we are looking to make that qualifcation, realistically, two years out from the Games, we are going to try and keep on making breakthroughs at these kind of regattas, in races, in overall results and in every aspect of the performance. That’s what we are looking for in Santander.'

The pair got together a year before the 2012 London Olympics and know they still have a lot to learn. 'We just sneaked into the 26 countries for London 2012, which was really great for us, just a year after we started sailing together. We finished 26th but we were so pleased to make it to London. That was the intention when we started together. Asenathi was very young, then, just 19 I think.'

'We have built a much more substantial campaign towards Rio and we are half way through it now. Santander is important now but it’s not all about Santander. It’s about the breakthroughs and getting to where we want to be going forward to Rio.'

After the first six races Jim and Hudson are lying in fourth overall, just six points off the lead, with two days to Delta Lloyd Regatta