Strong results for Australian Sailing Team on day one of Sail Sydney

by Craig Heydon on 7 Dec 2010 Australian Sailing Team crews have made solid starts to the second round of the 2010 Sail Down Under Series, with racing in all classes on day one of Sail Sydney.

Recently crowned 2010 Australian 49er Champions Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen started their week well, finishing the opening day with a first, second and fifth place finish.

'We had an alright day today to begin the regatta,' said Jensen. 'It was a tricky day on the water and in the first two races we did quite well with a first and a second and in the last race we got a little unlucky with the ferry situation and then struggled to get back and finished fifth.'

The pair is looking for their third win in three weeks following their Australian championship win on Lake Macquarie last week and the Gold medal at the Perth International Regatta the week before.

'It was one of those days today,' said Outteridge. 'We had a bit of a light and tricky easterly and were racing from the northern side of the harbour to the southern side across two ferry lanes and with 35 degree wind shifts and five to 10 knots, it was one of those days where you could be looking really good and comfortable and then you lose 300 metres.'

'We gained a lot at times and we lost a lot at times but overall it was a pretty good day,' he said.

The 14 boat 49er fleet featured close racing off of Chowder Bay entries including leading New Zealand crew Peter Burling and Blair Tuke and leading ISAF World Match Racing Championship sailor Torvar Mirsky who only flew in from finishing second at the Monsoon Cup in Malaysia at 10.15am this morning.

In the RS:X women’s class Jessica Crisp picked up a race win and two second places in a small but highly competitive fleet.

'The racing today was good, it was pretty tricky with a lot of hard work but the results were quite good,' said Crisp. 'I’ve been training a lot on the harbour recently and it’s been going well but today we had a lot of pumping in the races and the breeze was really up and down and you never quite felt like you were in the right place.'

'You really had to work for a good result today,' she said.

Three-time Laser World Champion and recently crowned ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year, Tom Slingsby, had a mixed day in the Laser fleet with a seventh and a 10th position in the opening two races.

Krystal Weir ended the day in 10th overall in the Laser Radial fleet, following a eighth and 11th in the variable conditions on Sydney harbour.

Skud 18 crew Daniel Fitzgibbon and Rachael Cox are competing in their first regatta since winning the final round of the ISAF Sailing World Cup in Weymouth, England, in August, and had a third and two seconds on day one.

Ame Barnbrook and Lindsay Mason, who’s performance at the 2010 IFDS World Championships has qualified them for the 2011 Australian Sailing Team, finished Monday with two fourths and a third position.

For full results and to follow the live event blog and live tracking visit www.sailsydney.org.au or www.saildownunder.org.au

For more information on the Australian Sailing Team visit www.australiansailingteam.com.au