Hyeres mixes it up to test sailors in light conditions

by Megan McKay on 29 Apr 2016 Sailing World Cup Hyeres has served sailors a completely different set of conditions on day two, with racing postponed early in the day due to a lack of wind.

A light five - ten knot breeze filled in during the early afternoon, meaning that a full day of racing was had by all classes with both the Nacra 17s and the 49er FX classes both completing four races. The breeze built to 10-12 knots later in the day. The day provided a stark contrast to the wild 25 to 30 knots of yesterday.

In the Finn class, Australia’s two leading Finn sailors are in top positions. Queensland’s Jake Lilley is currently sitting first overall after winning both of today’s races, while Oliver Tweddell of Victoria is lying third overall having scored two and eighteen in today’s two races.

Jake Lilley commented “I had a really good battle with Oli in the first race on the final downwind. I managed to get inside him and take the win. In the second race I rounded in about third, gained the lead, extended on the first downwind and controlled the rest of the race for another bullet.”

After challenging in the first race, the second race was more difficult for Tweddell, who commented, “In the second race I got caught out on the sails I was using and I was struggling a little bit for speed.

“Obviously this event is quite important with regards to selection…so now is the right to time to bring your ‘A-game’ and it looks like both Jake and I are doing that. We are focusing on our own races, but currently this sees Jake in first and me in third. I’m really looking forward to what will happen over the next couple of races.”

Meanwhile good Aussie performances in the Laser class have continued on the second day, with Olympic team member, Tom Burton currently lying second overall after winning the first race and finishing 12th in the second race. Matt Wearn is fourth overall (12, 13) and Mitchell Kennedy is the third Aussie in the top ten, currently lying seventh overall (three, fourteen).

Australia’s 470 Men, Matt Belcher and Will Ryan continue to lead their fleet, after finishing 17th in the first race of the day, and coming back to win the second race of the day. They are currently three points clear of the Croatian pair.

“It was quite a tricky day and we had a long postponement on shore waiting for wind,” said Ryan. “When we got out there the conditions were actually quite nice, fairly light, but during race one the wind built up quite a lot for us. Most of the fleet found themselves a little bit out of tune with the conditions. We didn’t react to it quite as well as some of the others, so it was bit of a tough race, but in race two thankfully we managed to rectify it a little bit and went on to have a good one. Overall, this keeps us in a good position. Little bit more hard work going forward but we are happy.”

In the 49ers, Australia’s team of Will and Sam Phillips have held onto second overall, only three points behind the Kiwi team.

“It was pretty good today,” commented Will Phillips after racing. “We had a second in race one, and two fifths. For us it’s just about getting clear from the forty-boat pack. We managed to do that in every race, so we we’re pretty pleased.

'Today was perfect racing conditions, with 10-12 knots, maybe a little bit lighter at times. There were subtle angle changes and subtle pressure variations. It was really good fun, particularly when you’re in the race on the second lap and you can manipulate what you are doing with regard to the other boats.'

With four races completed today in the 49er FX, Australia’s three female crews sit outside the top ten overall. Tess Lloyd and Caitlin Elks are the leading Aussies in the class, currently lying 11th overall; with Haylee Outteridge and Nina Curtis in 19th; and Olivia Price and Eliza Solly in 20th overall.

'Obviously, the fleet is quite good at the moment,” commented Tess Lloyd. “Almost everyone has been selected for the Olympics, so with a few exceptions, it’s one boat per country at the moment....'

'Tomorrow we just need to focus on starts. We had a couple of average starts today, so we need to focus on that and a little bit of speed stuff. Otherwise, I think a lot of our tactical decisions were pretty good today.'

In the Nacra 17, Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin sailed four races today. After finishing 15th in the first race, they came back to score six and two in the final races of the day, leaving them in seventh place overall.

“It was really shifty out there with huge oscillations and about anywhere from four to ten knots,” said Waterhouse. “The breeze kicked in at the end and it was a lot better racing, but before that it was like ‘snakes and ladders’.

'Being our first European event of the year, we struggled a bit to get off the start line in the first races but in the last two races we locked in a bit better and got back in the groove, so it was really good to finish with a good result.

'The forecast (tomorrow) looks very similar, so hopefully we can take a lot out of today and put it into tomorrow to get some good results.'

In the 470 women, Carrie Smith and Jaime Ryan are currently lying 12th overall; and Sasha Ryan and Ella Clark are in 23rd overall.

In the Laser Radial, Ashley Stoddart of Queensland is currently 14th overall after finishing with a 27th and a fifth in the final race of the day. In the Women’s RS:X fellow Queenslander Joanna Sterling is 20th overall having completed three races today and scoring twenty-six, fourteen and five.

Meanwhile in the Paralympic classes, Australia’s Matt Bugg is currently leading the 2.4mR class, having scored a third and a second today.

“We didn’t have nearly as much wind as yesterday,” said Bugg from the dock this afternoon. “Tomorrow will be our second last day. I’m sitting in first overall and I got a buffer of few more points today. And I think, tomorrow’s forecast looks quite similar to today.”

In the Sonar class, Australia’s Colin Harrison, Jonathan Harris and Russell Boaden are lying third overall, having scored a five and one today.

Results for the Australian Sailing Team and Squad at the conclusion of day one, Sailing World Cup Hyeres 2016:

Women's Two Person Dinghy – 470W

• Carrie Smith (WAIS) and Jaime Ryan (QAS) – AST: 11, 6, 16, 21 – 12th
• Sasha Ryan (QAS) and Ella Clark (WA) – ASS: 14, 25, 24, 18 – 23rd

Men’s Two Person Dinghy – 470M

• Mathew Belcher (QAS) and Will Ryan (QAS) – AST: 2, 1, (17), 1 – first
• Patrick and Alexander Conway (NSW) – ASS: 31, 27, (32), 10 – 28th
• Tom Klemens (VIS) and Tim Hannah (VIS) – ASS: 21, 29, 36, 29 – 31st

Mens’ Skiff – 49er

• Will Phillips (VIC) and Sam Phillips (VIC) – ASS: (6), 4, 1, 2, 5, 5 – second
• David Gilmour (WAIS) and Lewis Brake (QAS) – ASS: 17, 33, 12, 16, 31, (40) – 24th
• Joel Turner (QAS) and Tom Siganto (QAS) – ASS: 36, 25, DNF (41), 37, 40, 8 – 37th

Men's One Person Dinghy (Heavyweight) – Finn

• Jake Lilley (QAS) – ASS: 2, (10), 1, 1 – first
• Oliver Tweddell (VIS) – ASS: 7, 3, 2, (18) – third

Men’s One Person Dinghy – Laser

• Tom Burton (NSW) – AST: 3, 9, 1, (12) – second
• Matt Wearn (WAIS) – AST: 1, 7, 12, (13) – fourth
• Mitchell Kennedy (QAS) – ASS: 5, (19), 3, 14 – eighth
• Luke Elliott (WAIS) – ASS: 2, 17, (26), 24 – 17th
• Jeremy O’Connell (VIS) – ASS: 15, 31, (32), 18 – 27th

Mixed Multihull – Nacra 17

• Jason Waterhouse (NSW) and Lisa Darmanin (NSW) – AST: 10, 13, (15), 6, 2, - seventh

Women’s One Person Dinghy – Laser Radial

• Ashley Stoddart (QAS) – ASS: 18, 11, (27), 5 – 14th

Women’s RS:X Windsurfer

• Joanna Sterling (QAS) – ASS: 11, 28, (30), 26, 14, 5 – 20th

Women's Skiff – 49erFX

• Tess Lloyd (VIS) and Caitlin Elks (WAIS) – ASS: 14, (17), 5, 10 – 11th
• Haylee Outteridge (NSW) and Nina Curtis (NSW) – ASS: 19, (23), 18, 12 – 19th
• Olivia Price (NSW) and Eliza Solly (VIS) – ASS: (20), 19, 15, 15 – 20th

Paralympic Three Person Keelboat - Sonar

• Colin Harrison (WA), Jonathan Harris (NSW) and Russell Boaden (WA) – AST: (8), 5, 1 – third

Paralympic Single Person Keelboat – International 2.4mR

• Matt Bugg (TIS) – AST: 1, (3), 2 – first