Australian Sailing Team at the Hempel World Cup Series Enoshima - Day 4
by John Curnow / Australian Sailing Team 31 Aug 2019 01:55 AEST
25 August - 1 September 2019
Nia Jerwood and Monique de Vries - Hempel World Cup Series Enoshima, Day 4 © Pedro Martinez / Sailing Energy / World Sailing
After the carnage of yesterday, two entire classes - the 49erFX and the Nacra 17 - were left sitting on the bench today as officials at Enoshima played it safe with the squalls. Consistency retained team positions in the 32-strong Australian Sailing Team (AST), with some in leading positions, and others right where they were yesterday.
Continuing to inspire the whole team, Mat Belcher and Will Ryan maintain their domination of the 470's leader board with a first and two seconds. Ryan spoke after making some minor repairs to their boat, "Conditions are oppressive and we have been here six weeks. My eyes are bloodshot from sun and salt, and I am hard pressed to hold a bottle of water, let alone the sheets."
"Today we had clouds and it was only 26 degrees. It felt like a Winter's day in comparison. It is wonderful to have my support crew of Mum, Dad, and my Grandfather (91.5 years young) here. My Grandfather was the one who taught me to sail, so to share an Olympic venue with him is really cool."
"Tomorrow they will watch my sister Jaime in the 49erFX medal race. I am enjoying the journey this time for sure", said the Silver Medallist from 2016.
The good solid work ethic displayed by Matt Wearn in the Laser Standard brought him up from sixth into a thrilling second place overall. The win in the last race of the day is what catapulted him there.
"Yes it absolutely felt nice to cross over that line first," said Wearn, a quiet and exceptionally likeable achiever. "It has been a big year of regattas, so right now it is all about gritting your teeth and keeping on going. I am looking forward to next week, especially if I can go home with a great result."
Australia's original Laser legend and founding father Glenn Bourke speaking from Hamilton Island during the racing, wished all the athletes the best for their medal races.
"I have been impressed and heartened by the level of competition and level of camaraderie shown inside the AST Laser squad. It is perhaps not so much a legacy as it is the efforts of all the generations of Australian sailors who genuinely help each other out to raise the collective level. The current crop is driving themselves to perform at the highest level."
"When you are a small country this is really important, and our level is astonishing. Just look at Tom (Burton) winning the Olympics and the World Championship in what is probably the world's most popular class. It is enough to make me feel like getting back in the boat."
The thrice World Champion said, "Sailing opened many doors for me and I hope it does for them too. It does lead onto other things, and the sense of confidence from operating at a high level you then get to use across your whole life.
Speaking of such levels, Nia Jerwood and Monique de Vries in the 470 trio of seconds have really helped stabilise their results. This leaves them in second place overall and well positioned to be in the medal race on Sunday.
Laser Radial sailor Zoe Thompson is now the highest ranked Australian in 29th place, a result of a more consistent and higher average set of results, with Mara Stransky and Elise Ainsworth close behind.
Racing continues in the Laser, 470, and Finn classes tomorrow. Australia is represented in the all-important medal races for the Nacra 17, and 49erFX (Tess Lloyd and Jaime Ryan). The wind has been quite shifty all week and this is expected to continue tomorrow. It is forecasted to be much lighter, in the 5-8 knot range.
Having waited it out patiently all day, Nacra 17 squad coach Darren Bundock said it was all to play for tomorrow. "I am delighted that we have Jason Waterhouse with Lisa Darmanin, and Nathan and Haylee Outteridge through to the medal race. The top three are almost equal, so it will be winner takes all. As Jason races with Team Australia in the SailGP, and Nathan skippers Team Japan, this could also be a dress rehearsal for Marseilles. It is definitely going to be exciting."
Australian Sailing Team results at the Sailing World Cup, Enoshima:
Men's 470 (34 boats)
1st: Mat Belcher and Will Ryan (5), 1, 1, 2, 1, 2, 2 - 9 points
20th: Chris Charlwood and Connor Nicholas (27), 17, 20, 20, 8, 23, 16 - 104 points
Women's 470 (22 boats)
2nd: Nia Jerwood and Monique de Vries (10), 4, 2, 2, 2, 6, 7 - 23 points
49er (37 boats)
14th: Lachy Gilmour and David Gilmour 14, (30), 16, 9, 10, 10, 23 - 82 points
18th: Thomas Needham and Joel Turner 4, 16, (28), 19, 13, 16, (38) UFD - 96 points
36th: Sam and Will Phillips (35), 13, 34, 38 (DNF), 38 DNF, 38 DNF, 38 DNC - 196 points
49erFX (36 boats)
9th: Tess Lloyd and Jaime Ryan 19, 16, 5, 8, (37) DNF - 48 points - qualified for medal race tomorrow
13th: Natasha Bryant and Annie Wilmot 17, 19, 14, 5, (37) DNF - 55 points
19th: Amelia Stabback and Caitlin Elks 35, 18, 2, 19, (37) DNF - 74 points
Finn (25 boats)
10th: Jake Lilley (16), 8, 9, 13, 2, 14, 8 - 54 points
Laser (51 boats)
2nd: Matt Wearn 18, (19), 2, 2, 16, 4, 1 - 43 points
8th: Tom Burton 20, 14, 5, 6, 12, (35), 9 - 66 points
13th: Mitch Kennedy 4, 10, 12, 16, (29), 17, 27 - 86 points
29th: Luke Elliott?(34), 25, 26, 13, 27, 18, 32 - 141 points
34th: Finn Alexander 19, 38, 23, 20, (42), 37, 26 - 163 points
Laser Radial (49 boats)
30th: Mara Stransky 21, (42), 17, 18, 21, 26, 41 - 144 points
35th: Elyse Ainsworth 29, 26, 33, 31, (38), 37, 26 - 182 points
Nacra 17 (32 boats)
2nd: Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin 7, 2, (33) DNF, 3, 2 - 14 points - qualified for medal race tomorrow
3rd: Nathan Outteridge and Haylee Outteridge 5, 3, 2, 4, (19) - 14 points - qualified for medal race tomorrow
17th: Paul Darmanin and?Lucy Copeland 23, (25), 15, 14, 8 - 60 points