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Oly Sailing: Monday's Schedule & Sailor Comments


Oly Sailing: Monday's Schedule & Sailor Comments
_Date Released: 9am, 18th August 2008
From: Jodie Bakewell-White

_What's happening Monday for the kiwi team?
Hamish Pepper & Carl Williams - Star
Current position: 6th (after four races)
3 races - Races 5, 6 & 7
Start time: 1100
Course area E

Andrew Murdoch - Laser
Current position: 12th (after six races)
3 races - Races 7, 8 & 9
Start time: 1100 hours
Course area C

Jo Aleh - Laser Radial
Current position: 3rd (after six races)
3 races - Races 7, 8 & 9
Start time: 1100 hours
Course area C

Tom Ashley - Men's RS:X
Current position: 1st (after seven races)
3 races - Races 8, 9 & 10
Start time: 1100 hours
Course area B

Barbara Kendall - Women's RS:X
Current position: 5th (after seven races)
3 races - Races 8, 9 & 10
Start time: 1100 hours
Course area B


[ Olympic Results ]

Comments from Tom Ashley after yesterday'ss racing:
"Breeze on today! We sailed two races in 17-23 knots with big waves and frequent rain squalls. Epic sailing conditions!"

"I posted a 5th and a 3rd to take the series lead from Julien Bontemps (FRA) and Shahar Zubari (ISR)."

"The first race got off to a pretty bad beginning as I chose the wrong end of the start line and struggled to get going on the first upwind. I passed a bunch of boards on the first downwind and a couple more on each leg to end up fifth in the race, just ahead of rivals Zubari and Nick Dempsey (GBR)."

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"The second race went much better for me. I had a great start and was with the leaders for the whole race, sailing conservatively and not having to take any risks to catch up. I rounded the top mark 7th and improved to 3rd as the race went on and a few guys made mistakes."

"The race committee was planning on holding a third race for us today, but in the end they decided against it. It would have been nice to do another one in those conditions!"

"Tomorrow's forecast is for good breeze in the early morning which should back off as the day goes on. We are scheduled to do three races starting at 1100, but in Qingdao you never know whether racing will happen until the start gun goes, so we'll see!!!"


Comments from Jo Aleh after yesterdays race:
"We were out on the water for a 12pm start, but by the time the guys fleet had a whole lot of recalled starts, and the race committee boats worked out how to lay their anchors so they didn't drift, it was about 1pm when we started our race."

"The wind was in today, with torrential rain and a rather large swell running as well... Weather that was not quite in the brochure."

"I had a good start, but got paced a bit on the first leg, to round in an ok position, I held for the first downwind, but on the second upwind leg, I just got smacked! I didn't quite get the sides right, and was struggling for speed, and so I lost a few boats. The tide was running down the course quite strongly, and so the downwind legs were very short, which didn't sit well with me, as that's where I like to make my comebacks.. So I finished the race in 14th.. Not great, but at least it was better than the 22nd in my opening race."

"We then waited around on the water for quite a while, as the wind picked up, and the rain continued to pour down - it was that sort of hard rain, that stings a little when it hits you in the face, basically just another lovely day for a bit of sailing."


"Tomorrow is our last scheduled day of racing, and as we are 4 races behind (but can only fit in a max of 3 tomorrow) we will be starting at 11am, and they will be hoping to finally get more than one race in per day. At the moment, we have been racing for 6 days, and have 6 races done - not the greatest record. So here's hoping to a nice (lightish) breeze, and a few good races!"


Comments from Carl Williams after yesterday's race:
"To be honest it's very hard to put today's experiences into words. Extreme would sum up every element A day I'm sure l will remember for a while."

'After a scheduled start of 12pm was delayed due to the Race Committee Boat sinking while anchored at the start line. We were all held ashore for an hour. Once a replacement committee boat was found we were all out on the racecourse E by 1pm. The conditions were 18-30knts with a serious 2-4m chop. Due to these conditions it took the race committee 3 hours to set a start line that would hold long enough. In the mean time 16 Star boats reached around waiting. Rainsqualls would come through that literally hurt and visibility would drop to about 100m."

"Finally with the breeze slightly moderated to about 18knts at 4pm we started our race."

"We a had a very good position at the top of the line but when the gun went and the Individual recall flag went up we were concerned that we were over. Double digits on your score sheet can be bad but letters can be worse and we decided against risking an OCS (on course side). Team GER also made the same decision."

"Speed up wind so far has been good this regatta and a drag race style of a beat put us in touch with the back of the fleet by the top mark. The POR were flagged as OCS and were pulled out of the race at the top, the exact thing we avoided at the start by turning back. By the run the wind had built to 20knts+ and there were some serious surfing conditions."

"If for a second you are not catching the waves you will lose a lot. So after a huge effort together we put ourselves in the top 10 by the bottom of the run. However, about 30 seconds after our final gybe into the gate our runner block exploded under sheer load! I caught the runners as they flew past my head and when then wiped out head to wind."

"Pepsi got the mainsheet on and we rolled into a tack and bore away for the opposite gate. On the second beat while Pepsi dragged us back up to the fleet l lashed the runner to the edge of the boat where the ratchet block once sat. A dury rig (Whitbread style) but the important thing was to finish the race. We rounded the top in 14th and had a full on run to the finish picking up 3 boats on the way eventually finishing in 11th. Both CRO and AUS broke their masts on the last downwind proving how on the limit we all were."

"Drained from that experience to say the least. An 11th is not great but as this regatta unfolds just finishing race 4 could be very decisive. We are both looking forward to getting out there tomorrow for potentially another 3 races!? Will wait and see."


ENDS


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