Sail for Gold Regatta- Strong gusts challenge Aussies on day 3

by Craig Heydon on 12 Jun 2013 Following a day of light conditions at the Sail for Gold Regatta, Weymouth turned the breeze on for day three with gusts of up to 25 knots challenging crews. New pairing Will Phillips and Rhys Mara have moved into third position in the 49er fleet with four races completed on Tuesday. Phillips and Mara were fourth in the opening race of the day, before being excluded from the results in race two. They went on to win race three, with their second in the final race of the day leaving them third overall. 'Today started out really windy, quite cold and rainy with some pretty big waves,' said Phillips. 'As the day went on the wind soon swung to the right and it just became a much nicer day to sail. We started out with a fourth and as the racing progressed we just seemed to get better and picked up some consistent scores which was really good. 'The Irish provided a good battle today along with a couple of the British boats who are strong in the breeze so it was a good mix at the top of the fleet, it was good fun sailing today,' he said. 'All the Australian boys enjoyed the moderate to fresh conditions today, it was great to see them at the front of the fleet. 'For Rhys and I it’s our first regatta as a team, so we’re really happy with the way we’re sailing,' said Phillips. 'We’ve been able to string a few decent races together.' Luke Parkinson and Fang Warren ended day three in ninth position, ahead of Dave Gilmour and Sam Phillips in 13th. Peter Kendall and Harry Bethwaite are one place further behind in 14th, with George Davies and Jack Lloyd 16th. Olivia Price and Caitlin Elks have moved into fourth position in the 49erFX class after a number of good results on day three in Weymouth. While Price and Elks were unable to finish the first race they bounced back well, finishing second in the next two and then rounding out the day with a third. 'Today was quite windy and wavy, with plenty of people having major breakages,' said Price. 'We found ourselves a bit rushed in some of our maneuvers during the first race which cost us a couple of capsizes and places in the race. 'We settled into the racing after that and came away with some progress on our goals for the day and managed to achieve some good results,' she said. 'We’re going to take tomorrow as a new day and aim to continue to build on our teamwork throughout the races.' Fellow Australians Haylee Outteridge and Nina Curtis unfortunately suffered gear breakage in the first race which ruled them out for the remainder of the day. The pair have dropped to seventh overall but the point score system being used in Weymouth means that they are still well and truly in the hunt for a medal. In the Nacra 17 fleet Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin have held down their fourth position following three good races on Tuesday. Waterhouse and Darmanin had a pair of thirds and a fifth in the strong winds. Tied on points with Waterhouse and Darmanin are fellow Australians Pip Pietromonaco and James Wierzbowski, who sit fifth overall on a count back. Pietromonaco and Wiezbowski began the day with two fourth positions, before finishing the day with their best result of the week so far, a third. Euan McNicol and Lucinda Whitty have moved into ninth position following two ninths and a seventh on day three of the regatta. In the Laser class Jared West is currently fifth overall, just six points off the podium with one day of fleet racing remaining before the final medal race. Results can be found here. Australian Sailing Team website