Aussie duo sail past Prince Frederik

by Chris Clarke on 16 Oct 2009
Former Olympian Tom King (AUS) and crew Harley Kruse (AUS) shot past Denmark’s Crown Prince Frederik (DEN) on day four of the sailing at the Sydney 2009 World Masters Games.

Prince Frederik and open +35 tasar class partner Chris Meehan (AUS) finished Thursday’s competition ninth over all with consistent results of ninth, eighth and seventh in the individual races.

They were run out of the water by King and Kruse who had a clean sweep in all three races.

'They smoked them (the rest of the field) by about a good minute,' Competition manager Daniel Williams said.

Other races saw Brett Beyer (AUS) continue his strong run towards gold in the +35 laser class.

The Australian international sailing coach, from Sydney’s St Ives on the Northern Beaches, has so far won all six races every race of the men’s +35 laser class and is confident he will take home gold on Friday afternoon.

'Well I’ve won everything so far so I’m fairly confident at the moment,' said Beyer.

'I’ve got an eye on that other bloke from Sydney (Australian Sean Feeny) who I think has come second so far every time.'

The laser class was the only one to compete in Sydney’s strong winds on Wednesday, and Beyer says the calmer conditions were a pleasant change.

'Yeah it was definitely a lot more windy yesterday and it got pretty rough out there, made for a good challenge that’s for sure.'

Beyer is currently the Singaporean Olympic Laser coach and has a wealth of sailing experience being a six time Laser World Master Champion.

The Sydney 2009 World Masters Games are Beyer’s first world masters event.

'Yeah it’s been really good competing here. Such a nice feeling and atmosphere,' he said.

Norm Marsh (AUS) is in a comfortable position in the +35 lasar radials, as is Mark Kennedy (AUS) in the +45 laser radials, while Rod and Kerry Waterhouse (AUS) are powering through the +45 hobie.

Thursday marked a great day for race organisers as calmer conditions at Rose Bay meant they were able to catch up on lost time.

'I’m pretty ecstatic mate, we got all races today completed. It’s good stuff,' Williams said.

The final day of racing starts on Friday at Woollahra Sailing Club, Rose Bay from 10am.