London Olympics day 3 - Action packed for Canadian Team

by Canadian Sailing Team on 1 Aug 2012 Two more fleets hit the water today in Weymouth to compete at the 2012 Olympic Games.

Joining their Canadian team mates were Zac Plavsic and Nikola Girke in the men’s and women’s windsurfer, the RS:X.

Conditions were yet again good with winds around 17 knots diminishing slightly over the day to 15, but in a slight drizzle all day. The entire Canadian fleet, minus the 470 boys, were out for blood today and it’s paying off. Finishes are looking great with top tens across the board. A few mistakes here and there have held us back but with lots of racing still, the medal races aren’t totally out of sight.

High noon was packed with four races starting simultaneously! 49er, Finn, Radial and Men’s RS:X all hit the course at the same time. Following them closely were the Star, Women’s RS:X and Laser Fleets.

On the 49er course, Gordon Cook and Hunter Lowden saw the breeze kick up to 20 knots in 10 degree air temperature. The guys had a great start and were the second boat around the first windward mark. Battling closely around the course for their second day they slipped back to fifth where they found themselves at the end of the race. Race four in their series saw them finish seventh which puts them at 11th place overall. Not too bad at all guys, keep trucking!

Our man Greg Douglas in the Finn took his fifth and sixth race today, finishing 12th in the first and 18th in the second. Tomorrow he’ll get a well deserved lay day before competing again Thursday and Friday, currently he sits at 15th overall. David Wright in the Laser nailed a 9 to his series today in a fleet of 49 boats. His second race wasn’t as great; finishing 31st. David sits at 18th overall. Radial sailor Danielle Dube scored 20 and 33, putting her in 25th after 4 races.

Fresh on the water today was Canada’s previous Olympic contender Zac Plavsic, ripping around on the Men’s RS:X. In his first race he killed it, nailing the start and staying strong for the duration of the race. He finished sixth place. In the second race a mistake at the start forced him to take a 360 penalty turn, moving him deep into the fleet. He crawled his way back up and over took boats to finish 12th - 'A few small errors today that cost me a few spots, but will reset for tomorrow.' Day one puts Zac in eighth place overall.

Also fresh on the course today was Nikola Girke, sailing the Women’s RS:X. Nikola sailed some clean races in conditions that she likes, nailing a 6 and 14. In Girkes second race, equipment failure could have lead to her late finish, but more on that tomorrow. She sits at ninth over all after day one.

Star sailors Richard Clark and Tyler Bjorn had rollercoaster day; in their first race they we 10th across the finish line and hungry for more. Race two dealt the guys an OCS that they didn’t realize. They sailed to the windward mark as the ninth boat but were disqualified as a result of not turning back at the start. The guys are going to keep their chins up and really hit it in their last four races in hope of a medal race qualifying position. We’re with you all the way boys, just sail fast!

Canadian Olympic Sailing Team website or on Facebook.

Results here