NZL to contest four finals in Holland

by Sail-World NZL + RYA/Lindsey Bell on 28 May 2006 Against a backdrop of police boats still searching the Ijsselmeer for a missing German coach, racing continued as planned today at the Holland Regatta, with Yachting NZ Olympic Squad members contesting three of the eleven Olympic classes medal races to be held on Sunday.

Three police boats continued their search for the missing coach, who disappeared from his boat on the Laser Radial race course yesterday (Thursday) while out supporting his daughter, who was competing here in Medemblik. His identity is still to be confirmed by regatta organisers.

Heading in to the final day of competition on Sunday, three of Yachting NZ's 2006 Olympic Squad members have qualified for the Medal Races, by virtue of finishing in the top ten overall on the penultimate day.

The medal race is the new Olympic competition format which features a single final race featuring the top ten boats, to conclude the race series in each of the classes. The medal race must be counted in the scoreline and scores double points.

Best placed of these is Star sailor, Hamish Pepper sailing with Australian David Chiles. Pepper lies in second place overall, having won two of the six races sailed.

Laser Radial sailor, Jo Aleh, who lies in fourth place overall, and has won two races in her class in the regatta.

In the Finn class, Dan Slater is lying in seventh place overall, and has had a very mixed scorecard in the event, which unusually is being sailed in two fleets. He is also using the regatta for rig experimentation and has used three rigs, thus far in the event.

Andrew Murdoch has turned in another solid performance in the Laser class, currently holding sixth place, after scoring and OCS and then winning the final race overnight.

The Britsh crews are doing very well in the regatta and will be in the medla fleet in nine of the 11 classes.

After narrowly missing the cut for medal races at the Miami, Princess Sofia and Hyeres Regattas, 49er sailors Paul Campbell James and Mark Asquith made the grade here in Medemblik, with a strong showing today which sees them up into the silver medal position heading in the final day.

'It didn't start well,' Campbell James recalled. 'We started with a twelfth after we got the greatest start ever, crossed the whole fleet, and then had a bit of average first beat and ended up getting a twelfth which was a bit frustrating.

'But we managed to turn it around a little bit and get a five in the second race and then winning the last race, which means we managed to get into second for tomorrow which we're really pleased with.'

Athens Olympic bronze medallist Nick Dempsey has been picking his way through the RS:X windsurf fleet all week and is now in second, just two points off the gold spot held by Dutchman Joeri van Dijk heading into the medal race on Sunday.

In the women's 470 class, Christina Bassadone and Saskia Clark are looking good for their third podium position of the year, following on from their silver in Miami and gold in Palma. The world silver medallists are in second, with Dutch World Champions Marcelien de Koning and Lobke Berkhout 20 points ahead.

Development squad sailor Penny Clark is enjoying a superb regatta in the Laser Radial class, currently in second place up from fifth overnight thanks to a 2,5,10 from Saturday's three races. Lizzie Vickers has also made her first ever medal race, placed tenth in spite of a premature start in the second race today.

The Yngling medal race looks set to be a nail-biting affair, with 13 points separating the Russian boat currently in first, and the third Dutch boat in sixth. Skandia Team GBR's Sarah Ayton, Sarah Webb and Emma Rawlinson are currently in bronze medal position after a 7,1,4 today.

In the men's single-handed classes, Ed Wright and Paul Goodison are both lying in third. The podium places in the Finn class are still up for grabs, with Wright on equal points with the second placed Canadian boat, and just one point from the gold spot.

Goodison has silver in his sights in the Laser class, ready to do battle with Chile's Matias del Solar in second. Australian Tom Slingsby is home and dry, 33 points ahead of second place.

Windsurfer Bryony Shaw is currently just outside the podium places, fourth in the RS:X Women's class, while Tornado sailors Rob Wilson and Mark Bulkeley are in fifth. They're joined in the medal race by Leigh McMillan and Will Howden, who just made it through into the top ten with the help of a fourth from their last race of the day.