2012 Paralympics- Sun shines as Kiwis hold status quo on Day 5

by Yachting NZ on 6 Sep 2012
The sun finally showed its face on the penultimate day of sailing at the London 2012 Paralympic Sailing competition, and the New Zealand competitors have maintained their status quo with results hovering around the top ten.

Tim Dempsey and Jan Apel had all eyes on their SKUD 18 competitors from Spain and Malaysia in today’s two races, both sailed in heavier wind conditions than they have seen all week.

'They had to beat Malaysia in today’s two races to pull in front of them and that was quite the battle' said Coach Rob Hielkema. 'In the first race, after a good start and first beat, they lost ground on the second lap. They worked really hard to catch up and did, which was good.'

The Kiwi SKUD 18 team beat Malaysia in that first race by two points, but the Spanish finished two spots in front of the kiwis to extend their lead. In the next race, Tim and Jan finished narrowly behind both teams so have maintained their overnight position of 10th overall, finishing the races on day five in ninth and 10th place.

'It was a nicer day for sailing, that’s for sure' Rob continued. 'It was quite breezy with about 18kn early in the day, and it just very gradually dropped all day.'

Paul Francis also maintained his overall position of 13th; finishing his two races today in 14th and ninth.

The Paralympic sailors do not sail a double point medal race as the Olympic sailors do, so for tomorrow’s final race it will remain routine as normal. The final race of the London 2012 Paralympic Games will be sailed for both the SKUD 18 and 2.4mR from 10:00pm NZT (11:00am local time) on Portland Harbour.

Day 5: Current Standings after 10 of 11 races

10th – Tim Dempsey and Jan Apel (SKUD 18) – 9, 9, 5, 7, 8, 11, 10, 10, 9, 10

13th - Paul Francis (2.4mR) 14, 10, 14, 12, 14, 3, 11, 12, 14, 9