2014 ISAF Sailing World Cup - Melbourne- Final day Preview

by Lisa Ratcliff on 14 Dec 2014 The breeze returned to Port Phillip early on the final day of racing at the ISAF Sailing World Cup – Melbourne and Sail Melbourne for the Medal races for six classes and final races for the Invited classes.

Competitors arriving at Sandringham Yacht Club this morning were greeted by a decent NW breeze which is forecast to swing around to the south-west and at 10am that transition had begun. The Medal Race sequence opens at 11am on the Stadium course for the Nacra 17s, their decider held over from yesterday afternoon when the wind clapped out.

It was a long afternoon for the Nacra crews waiting on the water for two hours then ashore in the heat of a dry and still Melbourne summer’s day for another two hours. The Japanese team of Hiroki Goto and Wakako Tabata admitted it was hard to stay motivated. 'We are still keeping our concentration for last race, which is double points,' the skipper said this morning while rigging up. 'It doesn’t help our results...we just need to finish with a nice feeling.'

Given the three teams ahead of Goto and Tabata are either Australian Sailing Team or Australian Sailing Squad athletes the pair is happy the points gap is slimmer at the end of the week-long international event. 'We improved a lot, the gap was so big in the early stage now it’s getting smaller and smaller, and sometimes we led the fleet,' Goto added.

He and his family head back to Japan for Christmas before Goto returns to Victoria for the Moth world championship at Sorrento on the Mornington Peninsula.

Medal races are scheduled for the Nacra 17, Men’s 470 and Women’s 470, Finn, Laser Radial, Laser, Men’s and Women’s Kiteboard classes.

In the Sail Melbourne Invited classes regatta the following fleets are due to complete their schedule - Viper, International OK, International 505, International 420, 29ers, Minnow, International Cadet and Optimist.

The kiteboarders will be busy today with the Breakwater to Beacon Race starting around midday. After their medal race at 2.10pm they will be out again on the Stadium course for another thrilling Foiling exhibition race, the curtain-closer for the longstanding regatta that drew 800 competitors sailing more than 500 boats representing 33 countries to Melbourne.

Invited Classes

Australian Youth Sailing team member Alistair Young has used his 2014 ISAF Youth Sailing World Championship experience to manage the challenges of racing in an international fleet and take out the Laser Radial Men’s fleet honours. Second overall was fellow West Australian Nicholas Conor with NSW’s Alex Finnian in third.

In the 45-boat Laser 4.7 fleet, NSW’s Jordan Makin placed first overall. Just three points behind and in equal second place was West Australia’s Zoe Thomson and Caelin Winchcombe.

The 420 crews have today to complete their series after too much wind and then not enough wind hampered their race program. Leading the 25-boat fleet of youth sailors are NSW’s Alec Brodie and Xavier Windsor Smith. In second overall is West Australia’s Nia Jerwood and Lisa Smith. Holding onto third and two points behind is Victoria’s Nicholas Sharman and James Grogan.

Liberty

Stewart Cathie racing for Albury Wodonga Yacht Club out-sailed the Liberty fleet at Sail Melbourne, beating Genevieve Wickham from RPAYC at Pittwater and Lachlan Clear from Middle Harbour Yacht Club in third.

International 420

Three more races are left to decide the series for the International 420 fleet currently in the hands of Alex Brodie and Xavier Winston Smith on four points ahead of Nick Sharman and James Grogran’s seven points.