Australian Sailing Team at the Hempel World Cup Series Enoshima - Day 5
by John Curnow / Australian Sailing Team 31 Aug 2019 08:45 PDT
25 August - 1 September 2019
Tess Lloyd and Jaime Ryan - Hempel World Cup Series Enoshima, Day 5 © Pedro Martinez / Sailing Energy / World Sailing
Steady 18-knot conditions provided the perfect canvas for a pair of rising female stars of the Australian Sailing Team (AST) to shine in Enoshima today.
In what can only be described as a stratospheric rise, the two natural talents from Perth - Nia Jerwood and Monique de Vries - took their 470 to a win in the last race of the day, returning them to the top of the leader board. A three-point buffer places them in a seriously sweet spot for tomorrow's medal race.
Jerwood, a 20-year-old skipper and the strong athletic de Vries are clearly going places, especially under the frank and firm teaching style of Ukrainian-born coach Ruslana Taran, herself the 1997 World Champion, Sailor of the Year and a protégée of coaching legend Victor Kovalenko.
"Our starts were not going so well, so Ruslana came up in between races and told us we were too far back from the actual line," they said.
"She said our speed around the course was good, so we just focused on keeping them behind."
The girls had elected to stay this week after other crews left following the Ready Steady Tokyo event, aiming for a top ten. Their fight for a podium place is therefore a surprise.
"We have never worn a coloured bib in World Cup event ever before, let alone the medal race. Tomorrow we will get out there and race like we want to, and not be overly concerned about the result, more the execution."
Iain Murray, the AST's Director of High Performance was also very pleased, having observed their emerging talent over the past year. "They sail well in the windier weather. It is to their liking. They are from Perth, so are used to it. The other important factor is that they have been consistent."
The other stars of the 470s are Mat Belcher and Will Ryan. Today they simply added to their enviable lead. Five wins out of ten, with an incredible 16-point buffer at the top of the table puts them in a dream position.
Murray simply added, "They don't leave many crumbs for others."
And neither do our Laser sailors. Reflecting on the fine positioning of European Champion Matt Wearn in second place going into tomorrow's Laser class medal race, and World Champion Tom Burton in fourth, Murray said, "Any other country would be happy to have either representing them in Tokyo."
This will be an unmissable event to watch on the track tomorrow for any fan of sailing.
Jake Lilley finished in ninth place overall in the Finn class, and is part of tomorrow's medal race.
For others, the course today provided bitter disappointment and hard lessons in the march to the promised land of medal hope and glory. Both champion Nacra teams finished unexpectedly off the podium.
SailGP is currently the hot global contest, so a wrestle between Team Australia's Jason Waterhouse and Team Japan's Nathan Outridge posed the possibility of distraction on the course. Robbed of the chance to compete in the strong winds of yesterday and forced into a 15-minute sprint in changing winds today, the talented duos ran out of runway today.
AST Nacra coach Darren Bundock explained, "When they started when it had not settled in at the weather mark, where it went right to 215 degrees. This meant you had to gybe set, which Nathan and Haylee Outteridge did, but Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin who had gone around earlier did not, and overlayed the mark."
Darmanin said, "Overall our time in Japan has been good. We have done some great things over the last two weeks, and our mistakes were costly. The good news is that we know what they are and how to fix them. This has been our worst result in 12 months. The shift on the downwind leg cost us the medal."
The promise of great things to come was clear across all the female teams. A positive performance saw the 49erFX crew of Tess Lloyd and Jaime Ryan, climb commendably from ninth place to seventh, a brilliant result for a crew that has only been racing together for a year.
An eighth place in Race Eight of the ten-race Laser Radial series shows Mara Stransky's potential, and she returns as the leading Australian in this class. Zoe Thompson finished two place further behind in 27th overall, a mark of very consistent results, and Elyse Ainsworth was in 35th.
Alistair Murray AM, the Chairman of Ronstan, and a Director of Australian Sailing expressed passionate support from Australia today. "We would like the Australian Sailing Team to know we are with them and behind them for every tack and gybe of the journey."
"We follow every move, and are thrilled to see our team doing so well in the Hempel World Cup in Enoshima, particularly Mat and Will dominating the Men's 470, Matt Wearn and Tom Burton in the Laser, as well as Nia and Monique starring in first place in the Women's 470."
"The team spirit is so strong, with all athletes working so well under the guidance of Iain Murray, but there is also that depth of support at home. I am just one of many willing our great team onto greater success and fulfilment. Bring on the Tokyo Olympics."
Australian Sailing Team results at the Sailing World Cup, Enoshima after Day 5:
Men's 470 (34 boats)
1st: Mat Belcher and Will Ryan 5, 1, 1, 2, 1, 2, 2, (8), 1, 1 - 17 points - qualified for the medal race
19th: Chris Charlwood and Connor Nicholas (27), 17, 20, 20, 8, 24, 16, 20, 7, 19 - 151 points
Women's 470 (22 boats)
1st: Nia Jerwood and Monique de Vries (10), 4, 2, 2, 2, 6, 7, 3, 6, 1 - 33 points - qualified for the medal race
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)
7th: Tess Lloyd and Jaime Ryan 19, 16, 5, 8, (37) DNF, 6=12 in the double points medal race - 60 points
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)
9th: Jake Lilley (16), 8, 9, 13, 2, 14, 8, 8, 9, 9 - 80 points - qualified for the medal race
Laser (51 boats)
2nd: Matt Wearn 18, (19), 2, 2, 16, 4, 1, 3, 7, 4 - 57 points - qualified for the medal race
4th: Tom Burton 20, 14, 5, 6, 12, (35), 9, 6, 4, 7 - 76 points - qualified for the medal race
19th: Mitch Kennedy 4, 10, 12, 16, 29, 17, 27, 29, (35), 23 - 167 points
28th: Luke Elliott?(34), 25, 26, 13, 27, 18, 32, 18, 16, 32 - 207 points
31st: Finn Alexander 19, 38, 23, 20, (42), 37, 26, 17, 20, 18 - 218 points
Laser Radial (49 boats)
25th: Mara Stransky 21, (42), 17, 18, 21, 26, 41, 8, 13, 32 - 197 points
35th: Elyse Ainsworth 29, 26, 33, 31, (38), 37, 26, 28, 36, 27 - 273 points
Nacra 17 (32 boats)
4th: Nathan Outteridge and Haylee Outteridge 5, 3, 2, 4, (19), 7=14 in the double points medal race - 28 points
6th: Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin 7, 2, (33) DNF, 3, 2, 9=18 in the double points medal race - 32 points
17th: Paul Darmanin and?Lucy Copeland 23, (25), 15, 14, 8 - 60 points