Rio 2016 - America's Cup champ says Paralympic racing is closest ever

by Richard Gladwell, Sail-World.com on 13 Sep 2016 Twice America’s Cup champion, Rick Dodson is extremely impressed with the standard of racing in the three man Sonar keelboat class at the 2016 Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro.

The regatta is being held in Guanabara Bay on three of the courses used for the Olympic Sailing Regatta in August.

For the opening day of the regatta, the Sonar class sailed two races, in conditions that were better than for the first races in last month’s Olympics.

“We are sailing on the Escola Naval course which is a little further out in the bay, which is good,” Dodson told Sail-World after the first day of racing.

“In the first race, we got a clear lane on the right-hand side which wasn’t very good. Then we had to thread our way back through the fleet to finish eighth, which was not too bad (the Sonar fleet is 14 boats).”

Dodson and his crew of Andrew May and Chris Sharp banged the beach, taking the right-hand side of the course in the first beat of Race 1. Most of the rest of the fleet went left sailing out the centre of the harbour and channel before coming back into the centre of the course.

The majority ruled, and the former World OK champion and his crew had some work ahead of them after rounding the first mark in 12th place.

“It was very frustrating,” Dodson explained. “I have never been in a race where it was so close. Everyone was up there – Germans, Americans Australian the Israelis. It is very close racing. Extremely close racing.”

Race 2 was sailed in a slightly fresher breeze, with the Kiwis opting for the left-hand side of the course and staying in the channel through which the vast Guanabara Bay drains into the Atlantic Ocean. They came across onto the starboard layline and tucked in behind USA and ahead of GBR crews with just eight metres covering the first three boats.

The Kiwis dropped back to mid-fleet on the first run, as USA and GBR fought for the lead.

Remarkably Dodson and his crew were able to regain the lead about three-quarters of the way down the first run, as USA and AUS battled in between themselves for second and third.

“We won the second race but were only just in front of the Australians, and again that was an extremely close race,” Dodson said after the race.

“We were getting 15-degree shifts sailing in 12kts of breeze.”

“We are very happy with our upwind speed. We are going well upwind.”

“Everyone is much the same downwind which makes for very close racing.”

As with the Olympics in August, the water quality in Guanabara Bay is good and much improved on media reports for two years previously.

Dodson admitted he was even tempted to go for a swim!

“The water is good, and the beaches are good. There are no complaints anywhere. “

“While there was plenty of breeze today. Tomorrow we are expecting 34 degrees, but we will cope with that.”

For Races 3 and 4, the Sonar fleet will be racing on the notorious Pao de Acuar course, which caused so much grief on the first three days of the 2016 Olympics, with its 40-50degree wind shifts.

“We will be racing off the beach under the Sugarloaf which is harder because it is a more shifty breeze,” Dodson explained.

“Tomorrow we are expecting between 4-8kts which will be very light and tricky.”