Barbara Kendall first; olympic squad in top 10

HRH Princess Sofia Regatta 2007 - 5 April 2007

Barbara Kendall lying first; all Yachting New Zealand Olympic Squad all in top 10 at Princess Sofia Regatta.

After four days of racing at the Princess Sofia Regatta in Spain, competing Yachting New Zealand Olympic Squad members are all in the top 10 of their respective classes and Barbara Kendall is leading the Neil Pryde RS:X Woman's field.

With two first places, two thirds, a sixth and an eight, Barbara Kendall is tied for points with French sailor Charline Picon, but has a better drop race. Fellow Olympic Squad member and windsurfer Tom Ashley is second in the Neil Pryde RS:X Men's class, recording a third and a fourth on day four of competition.

World number one Hamish Pepper and stand in crew Brad Nichol maintain their third position overall, despite testing conditions and only their second regatta for their new Star boat. Pepper finished sixth and ninth in todays races but said he is still working on the new boat.

"Its great having the new boat but it takes a fair bit of fine tuning to get her running the way we want her to. Today we tried a new jib but just felt a bit flat in the water, so it's a matter of again making a few adjustments and testing it out," said Hamish Pepper.

After a successful day three with a second and a first place in more wind, Jo Aleh had more mixed fortunes on the fourth day of racing of the Laser Radial class, dropping back to fifth. Andrew Murdoch is well placed in the Laser Class, currently second.

Dan Slater moved up to 10th in the Finn Class today despite having to pull out of the third race with a broken vang. He recorded his first race win in Europe this season, winning the first race of the day in 8 - 9 knots and a confused seaway. After rounding third at the first mark, he moved into first at the bottom mark and led from then on.

All classes sailed two races on the fourth day of the regatta, except for classes Yngling, 49er Gold and Finn that have sailed three races. Tomorrow is the last final series day. Medal races are held on Friday with only the top 10 competitors of each Olympic class battling for the final victory.

New Zealand is represented by 19 entries at the HRH Princess Sofia Regatta 2007 which started on March 31 and concludes on April 6. 28 sailors make up the New Zealand team including six members of the elite 2007 Yachting New Zealand Olympic Squad.

HRH Princess Sofia Regatta 2007 - New Zealand's Results after Day Four

Star
Hamish Pepper (YNZ Olympic Squad) & David Giles - 3rd overall, 40 points

Neil Pryde RS:X Women
Barbara Kendall (YNZ Olympic Squad) - 1st overall, 14 points
Steffanie Williams - 35th overall, 100 points
Kate Ellingham - 40th overall, 60 points
Hayley Thom - 46th overall, 82 points

Neil Pryde RS:X Men
Tom Ashley (YNZ Olympic Squad) - 2nd equal, 17 points
Jean Paul Tobin - 9th overall, 33 points
Antonio Cozzolino - 76th overall, 146 points
Michael Lichwark - 81st overall, 161 points

Finn
Dan Slater (YNZ Olympic Squad) - 10th overall, 82 points

Laser
Andrew Murdoch (YNZ Olympic Squad) - 2nd overall, 30 points
Michael Bullot - 12th overall, 64 points
David Weaver - 42nd overall, 121 points
Blair McLay - 54th overall, 181 points

Laser Radial
Jo Aleh (YNZ Olympic Squad) - 5th overall, 26 points
Miranda Powrie - 35th equal, 94 points
Sara Winter - 40th overall, 98 points

Yngling
Sharon Ferris, Raynor Smeal & Shandy Buckley - 14th overall, 92 points

Tornado
Bruce Kendall & Brett Sellers - 33rd overall, 222 points
David Shaw & Susan Shaw - 39th overall, 252 points

470 Mens
Geoffrey Woolley & Mark Overington - 34th overall, 86 points
Craig Brown & Nick Taylor - 112th overall, 190 points

470 Womens
Shelley Hesson & Bianca Barbarich-Bacher - 28th overall, 84 points

ENDS

© Scoop Media