Finn Gold Cup – Giles Scott holds lead after Day 3
by Imogen Stanley on 26 Nov 2015
Giles Scott - Finn Gold Cup 2015 Robert Deaves/Finn Class
http://www.finnclass.org
Giles Scott continues to set the pace at the halfway stage of the Finn Gold Cup, consolidating his lead amid a third day of light wind racing in Takapuna, New Zealand, on Thursday (26 November).
The defending champion posted an eighth and a fourth in two testing and tactical races on the Hauraki Gulf to keep hold of the overall lead with three race days of World Championship competition to go.
The 2010 World Champion Ed Wright is currently fourth overall, with fellow British Sailing Team Podium squad talent Ben Cornish breaking into the top ten for the first time this week in seventh overall.
After an hour’s postponement ashore, sailors faced a further wait afloat for the cloud to lift and a light sea breeze to form and settle enough to allow for racing.
Scott made the best of it when it did to finish eighth in the first race, but teammate James Hadden fared even better, finishing the opening race of the day in fourth.
“It was quite good fun turning round and seeing Giles behind me. I enjoyed that!” Hadden admitted.
“I just got on the right shift early on and managed to cross over the top of the fleet and made the right decisions from there.”
The 24-year-old is placed 43rd overall after five races in what will be his final Finn Gold Cup.
“I’ve just got to the point where I feel like I’ve got as far as I can and I want to go and do something different in my sailing career. Time to call it a day, but hopefully it will be a really good event to finish on!”
Scott, meanwhile, was satisfied with his day’s two races.
“I stayed pretty consistent which is always a good thing in this light and shifty stuff,” he explained.
The 28-year-old is happy to have had an impressive series so far to be wearing the yellow bib at the halfway stage, but knows there’s a lot of racing still to be done, with a change of conditions in the offing.
“For sure it is a good place to be, but as ever with the Gold Cup there’s an awfully long way to go so we’ll just be looking to try and take the same sort of approach into tomorrow and we’ll see what that brings. But things are going well and hopefully that will continue.”
“I think the change of conditions will maybe shake things up a bit. We’re back into hiking conditions and it’s looking like at least 10-15 knots which will change things a little bit. It’ll be back to the norm.”
Ben Cornish sailed a steady two races to finish 11th in his first race and just behind Scott in fifth in the second.
Ed Wright endured a mixed day, finishing tenth in his first race before a discard of 56th in the second. He’s poised just outside of the podium positions in fourth overall.
Full result
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