Slater's stellar start at Finn Gold Cup

Slater's stellar start at Finn Gold Cup
Date Released: 24 January 2008
From: Jodie Bakewell-White

Slater's stellar start at Finn Gold Cup

Dan Slater has kicked off with two race wins on day one at the Finn Gold Cup on Port Phillip, Melbourne. The stellar start puts the kiwi Olympic campaigner in the top spot at the start of this World Championship regatta.

"We started in a light seven knots and by the end of the day we saw 15 knots and steep choppy waves," says Dan Slater at the conclusion of racing yesterday. "I couldn't have asked for a better start to the regatta after scoring two wins."

"The first race I didn't have a great start but lucky for me I was able to get in phase with the shifts and after three or four tacks I had a clear lane to pop out from the fleet and round the top mark I was third. Throughout the remainder of the race I was able to gain on both down winds to cross the finish line with a 50m lead."

By race two the breeze had increased to 11-15 knots and Slater came through on the final leg once more to claim another win in the 83 boat fleet.

"In race two I liked the right hand side of the course and got a good start at the windward end and as the beat went on the breeze clocked 15 degrees to the right leaving just two boats in front of me who had hit the right hand side hard on the first beat," describes Slater. "Once again downwind I managed to pass the two boats in front me and win the race by 4-5 boat lengths."

Aimilios Papathanasiou of Greece will go into day two of the six day regatta in second place overall after recording a 2nd and a 6th in racing on day one. While Giorgio Poggi of Italy is currently in third.

Often dominant in the Finn fleet Ben Ainslie of Great Britain was 13th in race one and 4th in race two which puts him in 8th place overall at the end of the first day.

Racing resumes on Port Phillip today with just one race scheduled.

"Tomorrow we just have one race with a later start so we may see another day of 15 knots and with some luck the wind gods will be on my side again," says Dan Slater.

A total of nine races are scheduled over the course of the regatta which concludes next Tuesday on Jan 29th. Full results are available on the regatta website through the link below.

[ Finn Gold Cup Results ]

470 Worlds set to start
The 470 World Championships for 2008 will start today at the Mordialloc Sailing Club on Port Phillip Bay, Melbourne. Both the men's and women's world titles as well as final Olympic qualification will be decided over the next seven days.

A total of thirteen New Zealand crews will take part in the two-handed Olympic class World Championship regatta with eight men's pairs and five women's pairs.

Amongst them is young guns Carl Evans of Auckland and Peter Burling of Tauranga who looked in promising form at last weeks ISAF grade one Sail Melbourne. The duo flew through into the top ten medal race sitting in fourth place only dropping to finish 7th overall after a disqualification in the final double points race.

A qualifying series for both the men and women will take place over the next three days following which a final series will determine the top ten placed crews to sail the final double points medal race on the last day.

Results and news will be posted on the regatta website (link below) as they come to hand.

[ 470 World Championships ]

ENDS

[ Yachting New Zealand site click here ]

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