49er class at Semaine Olympique Française, Hyeres - Day 4

Stevie Morrison & Ben Rhodes at the Semaine Olympique Française de Voile 2006 © Richard Langdon / Skandia Team GBR

Danes profit from light-wind shake-up

The Danish brothers Peter and Soren Hansen emerged as the new leaders of the 49er class after a light-wind opening race to the Gold Fleet finals at Hyeres Olympic Regatta today. With the wind blowing a soft but surprisingly steady 5 to 6 knots, it was a difficult race to get right.

Despite the port-end bias on the start line, the majority of the fleet opted for the committee boat end and many tacked off early to the right-hand side. Marcus Baur and Max Groy, on the other hand, were part of a small group who were keen to get left. “We thought before the start it looked good on the left, so that’s where we went,” said Groy. “We didn’t feel so good half way up the beat, but then when we tacked over towards the mark we were lifted and with good wind.” And so the Germans led around the first mark, while many other top teams were struggling to get back from the right-hand side of the course which hadn’t worked out as well as they had hoped.

Iker Martinez and Xabier Fernandez, along with Chris Draper and Simon Hiscocks, realised the error of their ways and sailed back over to the left to grab as much lost ground back as they could. So too did the Hansens. “It was very light and pretty stable,” said skipper Peter Hansen, “but it was pretty hard to see which side was favoured. After going right, we spotted quite early that the left was paying and we got over there while we could.” The Hansens rounded in the top 10 and pulled back to 6th by the finish. Fortunately for them, previous series leaders Stevie Morrison and Ben Rhodes did not make much of the first beat and rounded well back in the teens. Although they climbed back up to 10th by the finish, today’s single race has still relegated the British team from 1st to 3rd in the overall standings.

Meanwhile at the front of the fleet, the Germans relinquished their race lead to the French team Emmanuel Dyen and Yann Rocherieux, but in a tense duel to the finish Baur and Groy slipped past their rivals and crossed less than a metre in front of the French. The German’s victory elevates them to 2nd in the overall rankings, just two points behind the Danes. Emil and Simon Toft Nielsen, another team of Danish brothers, finished 3rd on the water today, which has pulled them back up the rankings into the top 10.

Iker Martinez and Xabier Fernandez had slipped to 4th in the rankings this morning, following a late-night protest where they were disqualified for having tacked in another boat’s water at the windward mark yesterday. With a lacklustre 9th place from today’s race the reigning Olympic Champions slide to 5th overall, with the Italian Sibello brothers continuing to hold their 4th place despite not having raced today. A family illness has forced Pietro and Gianfranco Sibello to go home early from the regatta and return to Italy to join the family.

With the lack of wind, only one Gold Fleet race was completed today and no Silver Fleet racing took place. More light winds are in store tomorrow, which may or may not suit the Hansens as they try to defend their lead. “We will do whatever we can to hang on to our lead,” said Peter. “But Morrison is looking very dangerous - the British always look good. And Iker, he’s amazing, he’s so good, you have to keep him in mind. Baur is really fast, as we saw today, and he’s wise. He’s the wise old man of the fleet.” The Hansen brothers are still relatively young, although a 3rd in last year’s European Championships suggests they have the calibre to win Hyeres this week.

Provisional Results after 10 races: (Gold fleet, 1 discard)

1. Peter & Soren Hansen (DEN) 32 points
2. Marcus Baur/ Max Groy (GER) 34 points
3. Stevie Morrison/ Ben Rhodes (GBR) 34 points
4. Pietro & Gianfranco Sibello (ITA) 42 points
5. Iker Martinez/ Xabier Fernandez (ESP) 43 points
6. Chris Draper/ Simon Hiscocks (GBR) 51.40 points
7. Paul Campbell-James/ Mark Asquith (GBR) 60 points
8. Jonas Warrer/ Martin Kirketerp (DEN) 61 points
9. Emil & Simon Toft Nielsen (DEN) 64 points
10. Tomasz Stanczyk/ Pawel Kuzmicki (POL) 66 points

For full results from Hyeres, visit sof.ffvoile.net/results/49er.htm