High noon at Laser Radials...Kosinska heads for Hyeres...Slater on OKs

by . on 19 Apr 2016 Welcome to Sail-World.com's New Zealand e-magazine for April 20, 2016

Peter Burling and Blair Tuke have won another major regatta – their 25th on a trot at the 2016 European Championships in Barcelona in the 49er class.

In this edition, we have full coverage and images from the combined 49er and 49erFX Worlds.

The top sailing coach in the world, Victor Kovalenko (AUS), the man who has coached more Olympic sailing medals than anyone in history is attributed with a mantra that “in the year before the Olympics, you aim for complete domination”.

Burling and Tuke have certainly done that and continued onto Olympic years with no let-up.

Behind them, it seems that their fellow competitors are thinking about the 2016 Olympics in terms of who will win the Silver and Bronze in the 49er class.

But nothing is for certain, and the Olympics are a graveyard of sailing reputations – as well as being a place where the super novas of the sport first shine brightly.

The key for Burling and Tuke will be to keep their America’s Cup distractions at bay as well as not falling into the trap of believing that Rio 2016 will be a walk in the park.

Having followed their fortunes for the past decade, it is hard to see that they will fall into the trap of excessive self belief. But at the same time, another competitor can always crack their code, and start doing what they do so well, that little bit better. Nothing is forever.

In quite a different situation from Burling and Tuke are the Laser Radial and RS:X sailors, Sara Winther and Natalia Kosinska.

To put it bluntly, they have both had a very rough ride since qualifying New Zealand for the 2016 Olympics at the 2014 ISAF World Sailing Championships in Santander.

But in the past few months, they have taken a very positive approach and are probably better for it.

Natalia Kosinska is yet to show the results of an intense two-week long training camp with the 2015 Women's World Champion, the Men's #4 in the 2015 Worlds, and the Brazilian 2016 Olympic representative. She has also had input from several coaches - all of whom are top windsurfers in their own right.

Kosinska doesn't have a New Zealand coach, but now has a coaching/support/training relationship with the Brazilian team, one of whose coaches is JP Tobin, who beat Tom Ashley for the 2012 Olympic berth.

Sara Winther is further down the track in the self-sufficiency route. Forced to sell her boat to fund her three-regatta trip, Winther is being coached from New Zealand by email.

That process has forced her to become very self-sufficient but is geared around teaching her to think for herself on the water and in her whole daily preparation instead of being coach reliant.

She does have the assistance of a support coach, provided by Yachting New Zealand, Rachel Basevi, a former NZ National Champion in the Laser Radial class. But an analysis of her results on a leg by leg basis shows both a steady improvement, a gain in self-confidence and the ability to effect and change a game plan on the race course.

One of the faults of highly coached and coach reliant competitors is that they cannot readily adapt to changing conditions in a race situation.

Winther's NZ based coaches have given her a set of tools by which she can analyse her performance and self-coach to the point of identifying her own errors, deciding new strategies - trying them, and if they don't work - then learn and try something else.

At Palma in the Princesa Sofia Trophy, Winther had a strategy of being more aggressive on the start line and her tactics around the course, found where the limits were, and was prepared to trade positions for learning.

One thing that was clear at both Palma and in the Worlds is that she can be in the top three at the first mark - which is an excellent launch pad for the rest of the race, meaning she only has to hold her position downwind.

Yesterday's fourth place in the first race of the Finals, was another step up - when she came up against the top 35 sailors in the fleet, with less passing lanes if she made an error.

In the next race, she lost her composure but certainly has the ability to pick herself up and perform with confidence.

The latest results have not been so good, but Winther is in 13th place overall. More later this afternoon.

Following the paths of these two sailors has been a fascinating experience, quite how it all pans out remains to be seen, but certainly we thank them for their openness and sharing the ups and downs of an Olympic sailor chasing selection.

Hopefully, others can take strength from their experience, and realise that there is more than one way to run a top level campaign.

However whatever the outcome the question must always remain as to what these cometitors and JP Tobin could have achieved with a properly supported campaign after the ISAF Worlds in Santander in 2014 to August 2016.

Never was the saying more true - what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

Kia kaha, Natalia and Sara.

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Good sailing!

Richard Gladwell
NZ Editor

sailworldnzl@gmail.com

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