Six Medals for Australian Sailing at the Delta Lloyd Regatta
by Cora Zillich 31 May 2015 01:48 PDT
26-30 May 2015
Laser Gold for Matt Wearn at the Delta Lloyd Regatta 2015 © Sander van der Borch
Matt Wearn wins Laser plus Daniel Fitzgibbon & Liesl Tesch & Australian Sonar Team win Paralympic Class gold
Australian Sailing's athletes have won six medals at 2015 Delta Lloyd Regatta for Olympic and Paralympic classes which wrapped up overnight in Medemblik, The Netherlands. After the final day in strong breeze, Australia topped the medal ranks together with host country Netherlands with six medals (two gold, two silver, two bronze).
Two of Australia's gold medals came from the Paralympic classes with 2012 Paralympic Gold Medallists Daniel Fitzgibbon (NSW) and Liesl Tesch winning gold in the Skud-18 and Paralympians Colin Harrison (WA), Russell Boaden (WA) and Jonathan Harris (NSW) winning Gold in the Sonar. Paralympian Matt Bugg (TAS) took home the bronze medal in the 2.4mR.
In the Olympic classes Western Australian Matt Wearn won the Laser, Jake Lilley (QLD) took the silver in the Finn class and Joel Turner (QLD) and Lewis Brake (QLD) won the bronze in the 49er.
These youngsters proved the depth of the current Australian Sailing Team and Squad by posting medal winning results for Australia despite the absence of top sailors such as Tom Burton (NSW), Mat Belcher (QLD) and Will Ryan (QLD) as well as Nathan Outteridge (NSW) and Iain Jensen (NSW), who will join the team again for the ISAF Sailing World Cup in Weymouth in two weeks time (8-14 June).
The 31st edition of the popular Delta Lloyd Regatta, which is the biggest sailing event in the Netherlands, saw Australian Sailing's full Paralympic Team (AST) and Squad (ASS), a total of nine athletes, compete in the three Paralympic classes of the Sonar, Skud 18 and 2.4MR.
In the Olympic classes Australian Sailing was represented at Delta Lloyd Regatta with sixteen boats in nine of the ten Olympic events and managed to qualify eleven crews in eight events for the final top-ten medal races on Saturday.
Raced over five days, Delta Lloyd Regatta is part of the Eurosaf Champions Sailing Cup and a qualifier for the upcoming ISAF Sailing World Cup Weymouth (8-14 June 2015) for those crews who had not yet qualified.
Crews that secured their outstanding qualification for Weymouth at Delta Lloyd Regatta were Australian Sailing Squad's Will Phillips (VIC) and James Wierzbowski (VIC) in the 49er, Haylee Outteridge (NSW) and Sarah Cook (NSW) in the 49erFX, Mitch Kennedy (QLD) and former ASS member Jeremy O'Connell (VIC) in the Laser class, as well as Carrie Smith (WA) and Jaime Ryan (QLD) in the 470W. All Australian Sailing Team crews already qualified at the ISAF Sailing World Cup in Hyères at the end of April.
The ISAF Sailing World Cup in Weymouth will thus see the full Australian Sailing Team and Squad in action again, with only two 470M development crews not to compete.
Olympic Classes
Men's One Person Dinghy – Laser
In a Laser fleet of over 140 boats Matt Wearn (WA) as well as Australian Sailing Squad's Luke Elliott (WA) had qualified for the final top-ten, double points Medal Race.
Australian Sailing Team's youngster Matt Wearn sailed a consistently strong regatta, taking the lead on the opening day and taking turns for second and first with the Netherland's Rutger van Schaardenburg over the following days.
Going into the final medal race, the 19-year-old was in the lead, but only one point separated him from the Dutch in second.
In an extremely close Medal Race Matt Wearn sealed the deal by posting a fourth and leaving the Dutch in sixth, which secured him the regatta win:
"It was an extremely tricky race. Every time I thought I had it, Rutger would come back. He definitely made it hard for me, but in the end it was really good," Matt Wearn said after the race.
"It's a big step to win this event. I've had a couple seconds over the last few years, but have not be able to seal the win, so it's great to finally get the win under my belt and hopefully it's not the last."
I will head to Weymouth for the World Cup next, then straight to Canada for the Worlds and hopefully with those two regattas I can qualify for Rio (test event)."
Wearn faces a tense battle with Australia's current Laser World #1 Tom Burton – who did not contest Delta Lloyd – for the Australian spot at next year's Rio Olympic Games, with ISAF regulations permitting countries only one entrant per nation.
Luke Elliott finished off a strong regatta by coming second in the Medal Race and finishing seventh overall. Fellow squad member Mitch Kennedy (QLD) finished the event in 20th.
Men's One Person Dinghy (Heavyweight) – Finn
Both of Australian Sailing Squad's Finn sailors had qualified for the final Medal Race with Oliver Tweddell (VIC) going into the final round ranked sixth and Jake Lilley (QLD) ranked second.
Lilley, who had just finished second at the Finn Junior European Championships a couple of weeks ago, built up his performance during the week, posting two race wins over the last two days of final series racing and cementing his second position.
"This week didn't go as smoothly as it might have looked on the scoreboard. I was actually pretty sick the first two days and contemplating retiring. But I had a good team around me to get me through the week and to put in some good races, which I'm happy about," Lilley explained after racing.
"The season is starting to come around nicely with some good results at the Europeans and now to finish here with the silver medal and I will look to keep building on this for the rest of the season."
Oliver Tweddell finished the event in fifth, with both sailors vying for the Olympic berth and aiming to build on their performances at the Sailing World Cup in Weymouth next.
Men's Skiff – 49er
Young guns Joel Turner (QLD) and Lewis Brake (QLD) charged into the lead of the 49er on the second day of the event, but then dropped back into third, a podium position that they held up till the end.
"It's been both interesting and exciting. Lewis and I have not really been performing too well this European season and coming here with a fair bit of breeze we finally started sailing well together. We're really happy we are performing well again and it's been a fun regatta."
"This regatta has been more of a warm-up and training regatta in the lead up to Weymouth where we'll head tomorrow for training and then hopefully some good results at the World Cup."
David Gilmour (WA) and his crew Rhys Mara (VIC) did not have the best regatta and dropped into 20th over the opening two days of the 49er class. The pair managed to climb back up the ladder into overall 13th and finished the regatta on a high by winning the last race.
Australian Sailing Squad's new combination of Will Phillips (VIC) and James Wierzbowski (VIC) finished in overall 18th, which secured them the qualifying spot for the ISAF Sailing World Cup in Weymouth.
Women's Skiff – 49erFX
Both Australian Sailing Squad's Women's 49erFX crews racing at Delta Lloyd Regatta qualified for the final medal race with Tess Lloyd (VIC) and Caitlin Elks (WA) finishing the regatta in overall sixth and Haylee Outteridge (NSW) and Sarah Cook (NSW) in seventh.
It was the fist international medal race for the still new combination of Outteridge and Cook and the seventh place also secured the pair the qualifying spot for the ISAF Sailing World Cup in Weymouth.
"We are really pleased we have qualified for Weymouth as it allows us to compete against the top FX teams and work towards our campaign goals. And it's great to finish seventh in our only second international event together " Haylee Outteridge said after securing the qualifying spot.
About the event she added: "It was a really challenging regatta, but we are really pleased with the progress we have made this week and have enjoyed racing here as it has helped us prepare for the key events this summer, which are the Weymouth World Cup and the Europeans in Porto in July."
In other results, both Australian Nacra 17 crews racing at Delta Lloyd Regatta qualified for the Medal Race with Euan McNicol (NSW) and Lucinda Whitty (NSW) finishing the event in overall fifth and Darren Bundock (NSW) and Nina Curtis (NSW) following in seventh.
In the Laser Radial Ashley Stoddart (QLD) steadily climbed up the results ladder throughout the regatta to just scrape into her first Medal Race of 2015 by one point and to finish the event in overall ninth. Australian Sailing Squad's windsurfer Joanna Sterling (QLD) also made the Medal Race and finished the regatta in tenth.
In other Olympic class events and following a stint on the sidelines through illness, Australian Sailing Squad's Carrie Smith (WA) returned to the regatta action in the Netherlands in the women's 470 alongside crew Jaime Ryan (QLD) with the pair qualifying for the top-ten Medal Race and ticking the box to qualify for the Weymouth World Cup. They did not contest the medal race for extra recovery time, but finished the regatta in overall ninth.
New Australian Sailing Squad's combination of Angus Galloway (QLD) and Joshua Dawson (NSW) finished in overall 29th and missed out of the ISAF Sailing World Cup Weymouth qualification.
Paralympic Classes
Australian Sailing Team's Paralympic class sailors finished a challenging but successful week of sailing at the Delta Lloyd Regatta with two gold and one bronze medal
Three-Person keelboat – Sonar
Points were tight in the Sonar class for Colin Harrison (WA), Russell Boaden (WA) and Jonathan Harris (NSW) all week. The triumvirate won both races on day one, before slipping to second overall in the 12-boat fleet. They went into the final race day ranked second behind the French team and finished the regatta with a bang by winning the last two races and taking home the overall win.
"It was an important event for us, because all countries were well represented across all three classes, so it's been good and tough competition. All the top teams were here," Colin Harrison said about the event.
"It's been a cold and windy week, very challenging and shifty, but we've enjoyed the challenge and the team has worked incredibly well together and we are stoked about the result."
Two-Person Keelboat – SKUD-18
It was the first European regatta this year for 2012 Paralympic gold medallists Daniel Fitzgibbon (NSW) and Liesl Tesch (NSW) who started the event out in second behind archrivals Britain. But with three race wins over the last two days they moved into the lead on the penultimate day of racing. Racing was cancelled for the Skud-18 on the final day due to the rough conditions, which meant the regatta win for the pair:
"It was a great experience to come back from behind but quite disappointing that we didn't get to race on the last day", Liesl Tesch said.
"It's been a really tough regatta and it's been a lot windier than we thought it was going to be. It's not really what we wanted to be testing out here, but it shows our strengths and coming back from behind is quite satisfying."
"This win is a really good psychological advantage for us going into Rio and it gives us a good indication of what we need to work on at home and in preparation for the next stage of regattas including the World Championships at the end of the year in Melbourne."
Delta Lloyd Regatta marks the third regatta win in a row after the pair won the World Cups in Melbourne in December and in Miami at the end of January and shows they are on track in their Rio 2016 preparations.
Australian Sailing Squad's Ame Barnbrook (NSW) and Brett Pearce (NSW) sailed a consistent regatta and finished in overall seventh in the 17-boat fleet.
One-Person Keelboat – 2.4mR
In very tough windy, rainy and rough conditions Tasmanian Matt Bugg secured the bronze medal, while Australian Sailing Squad's Neil Patterson (TAS) finished the event in overall 17th in the 31-boat strong fleet.
"It's been a really important regatta for us in the 2.4mR – almost like a World Championship. Every good disabled 2.4mR sailor in the World was here, so it's been good for me to see how I go against the best in the World," Matt Bugg explained.
"It's been a tough regatta for me with a lot of wind and I had not done much racing recently in a strong breeze so I learnt a few tough lessons. But by the end of the week I had my speed up and was sailing quite well."
The 2015 Delta Lloyd Regatta proved a welcome warm-up and training event ahead of the next World Cup with a tough, windy week for the 707 teams from 74 nations. The shifty, gusty breeze and short, sharp, unsympathetic chop of the IJselmeer made it challenging regatta. Next year's event takes place 24-28 May 2016.
The Delta Lloyd Regatta is followed by the ISAF Sailing World Cup Weymouth (8-14 June). It is the fourth ISAF Sailing World Cup of the 2015 series and will see all Australian Sailing Team and Squad Olympic contenders compete at the London 2012 venue. Several European and World Championship Regattas in the individual classes fill up a busy competition calendar for Australian Sailing up to the Rio Test event to be held at Marina de Gloria from August 12-22.
See 2015 events overview here: www.australiansailing.org/event/ast-events-2015-2016
Australian Sailing Team and Squad at 2015 Delta Lloyd Regatta:
Paralympic Classes
One-Person Keelboat – 2.4mR
Matt Bugg (TAS/TIS) – AST: 4, 4, 2, 5, (13), 9, 2, 5, 10 – 3rd
Neil Patterson (TAS/TIS) – ASS: 12, 8, 14, 21, 15, 17, 21, (32 OCS), 32 DNF – 17th
Two-Person Keelboat – SKUD-18
Daniel Fitzgibbon (NSW) & Liesl Tesch (NSW) – AST: 2, 4, 2, (5RDG), 1, 1, 1, 2 – 1st
Ame Barnbrook (NSW) & Brett Pearce (NSW) – ASS: 5, 18 (DNF), 10, 2, 7, 7, 6, 6 – 7th
Three-Person keelboat – Sonar
Colin Harrison (WA/WAIS) & Jonathan Harris (NSW) & Russell Boaden (WA/WAIS) – AST: 1, 1, 3, (4), 2, 2, 4, 3, 1, 1 – 2nd
Olympic Classes
Men's One Person Dinghy – Laser
Matthew Wearn (WA/WAIS) – AST: 1, 2, 2, (5), 3, 2, 4, 4, 4 – 2nd
Luke Elliott (WA/WAIS) – ASS: 6, (15), 9, 14, 1, 6, 10, 15, 4 – 7th
Mitchell Kennedy (QLD/QAS) – ASS: 12, 17, 4, 7, 21, 25, (36), 16, 19 – 20th
Other non-AST/ASS Australian crews: Jeremy O'Connell (VIC): 20, 12, 10, 11, 17, 24, 21, 35, (41) – 28th
Women's One Person Dinghy – Laser Radial
Ashley Stoddart (QLD/QAS) – ASS: 14, 7, (42 BFD), 21, 7, 11, 9, 7, 5 – 9th
Men's One Person Dinghy (Heavyweight) – Finn
Jake Lilley (QLD/QAS) – ASS: 2, 5, (9), 6, 2, 1, 2, 1, 7 – 2nd
Oliver Tweddell (VIC/VIS) – ASS: 9, (13), 4, 3, 3, 8, 10, 8, 6 – 5th
Men's Skiff – 49er
Joel Turner (AST – QLD/QAS) & Lewis Brake (ASS – QLD/QAS) – ASS: 1, 2, 5, 2, 16, 5, (22), 2, 5, 7 – 3rd
David Gilmour (WA/WAIS) & Rhys Mara (VIC/VIS) – AST: 8, 10, 4, 13, 10, (19), 9, 8, 17, 1 – 13th
Will Phillips (VIC/VIS) & James Wierzbowski (VIC/VIS) – ASS: 14, 8, 8, 6, 13, 5, (24), 7, 21 – 18th
Women's Skiff – 49erFX
Tess Lloyd (VIC/VIS) & Caitlin Elks (WA/WAIS) – ASS: 1, 4, 4, 5, (25OCS), 3, 25 OCS, 13, 5, 5, 4, '4, 4 – 6th
Haylee Outteridge (NSW) & Sarah Cook (NSW) – ASS: 2, 11, (15), 10, 4, 6, 4, 8, 12, 7, 7, 7, 9 – 7th
Mixed Multihull – Nacra17
Euan McNicol (NSW) & Lucinda Whitty (NSW) – ASS: 14, 16, 3, 1, 5, 1, 4, 10, 10, (28), 12, 3 – 5th
Darren Bundock (NSW) & Nina Curtis (NSW) – AST: 2, 2, 15, 4, 15, 9, 5, (26), 6, 12, 8, 4 – 4th
Women's Windsurfer – RS:X
Joanna Sterling (QLD/QAS) – ASS: (24), 11, 11, 5, 11.9 RDG, 5, 14, 5, 16, 15, 14, 11, 9 – 10th
Women's Two Person Dinghy – 470W
Carrie Smith (WA/WAIS) & Jaime Ryan (QLD/QAS) – ASS: 17, 18, 4, 2, 12, 7, 22 (DNC) – 9th
Men's Two Person Dingy – 470M
Angus Galloway (QLD/QAS) & Joshua Dawson (NSW) – ASS: (37), 25, 21, 3, 36, 27, 30, 27 – 29th
Full results at www.deltalloydregatta.org
More about the Australian Sailing Team at www.australiansailing.org/team-members