Kiwi's tackle tough conditions on day four

The transition from qualifying to the finals series at 2010 Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta in Weymouth was heralded with shifty and tricky conditions on the Weymouth race track.

From here the regatta moves into the penultimate day when, for those within reach, it is all about being in the top ten of the fleet to make the medal race on Saturday in England. After last night’s tough conditions nine of the NZL Sailing Team still currently have a spot in the top ten.

Reporting after racing, 470 sailors Paul Snow-Hansen and Jason Saunders had this to say: “Today brought out some of the most difficult sailing conditions we have experienced in Weymouth. We had huge 40 degree shifts with big changes of pressure spreading the fleet very soon after the start.”

Laser
Best placed of the whole team after day four is Andrew Murdoch in the Laser class lying in second place on equal points with Paul Goodison of Great Britain. In last night’s Laser gold fleet race Murdoch was 20th across the line, which is his poorest result to date, although given his relative consistency to date he remains well and truly in medal contention.

Australia’s Tom Slingsby has found form in Weymouth and after a disappointing opening race he has gone on to an almost perfect record of five wins and one second from six races.

New Zealand’s Mike Bullot is in ninth place after finishing in 19th in last night’s race.

Radial
Behind Murdoch, one of the next best placed of New Zealand’s sailors is Sara Winther in the Laser Radial event who has continued her climb through the standings to sit in fourth overall going into the penultimate day. With a race win and a 10th overnight Winther is in touch with those out in front – with 29 points she is two adrift of third and three away from second at this stage.

The 28 year old from Auckland’s North Shore will be looking to finish the regatta strongly.

Men’s RS:X
Jon-Paul Tobin leads the kiwi charge in the Men’s RS:X and with another two solid races last night, where he finished 5th and 7th he is also in fourth place in the standings, just one point off third. Tom Ashley remains in ninth place after an 11th and an 8th in last night’s two races.

Finn
Dan Slater managed the tricky conditions without too much trouble coming home with two decent race results last night – 7th and 6th – holding on to sixth place in the standings in good shape to be on the water for Saturday’s medal race.

Star
Early leaders in the prestigious Star class Hamish Pepper and Craig Monk have fought back on day four after taking a tumble on day three. Starting the day in ninth place they had a 2nd and a 6th on the water to climb back up to sixth place on the leader board.

Also in the top ten...
Jo Aleh and Olivia Powrie are now in seventh place in the Women’s 470 fighting back from 13th place with a 2nd and an 8th last night. While 49er pair Peter Burling and Blair Tuke sailed three races overnight and took a slide down the board to sit in seventh place with two days to go.

Women’s Match Racing
For Stephanie Hazard, Jenna Hansen and Susannah Pyatt who make up New Zealand’s Women’s Match Race crew the regatta is now over. After struggling to secure the wins in the early stages they have managed to finish the regatta on a high note.

“Today we finished the silver fleet round robin to decide our final place. We won all our races to finish 13th (the best we could achieve from our pool). Onwards and upwards from here,” they report.

Daily reports on the New Zealand team performance will continue to be issued during the regatta and you can now follow the NZL Sailing Team via their Facebook page.

Full results, images and more information is available on the regatta website. Media requiring high resolution images or footage can contact event media services on Sarah.Alexander@intotheblue.biz

2010 Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta
New Zealand’s Current Standings after day four as available

Star (36 boats)
6th Hamish Pepper and Craig Monk (1, 1, 9, 10, 22, 25, 2, 6)

Laser (180 boats)
Gold fleet
2nd = Andrew Murdoch (1, 2, 4, 7, 5, 15, 20)
9th Mike Bullot (13, 12, 3, 13, 5, 2, 19)
15th Sam Meech (5, 34, 3, 4, 3, 6, 42)
25th Josh Junior ( 2, 39, 1, 1, 14, 13, 62BFD)
28th Andy Maloney (43, 9, 21, 10, 6, 19, 8)
Silver fleet
24th (86th overall) James Sandall (10, 32, 45, 34, 33, 36, 7)
Bronze fleet
7th (128th overall) George Lane (34, 37, 53, 46, 44, 45, 6)
14th (135th overall) Spencer Loxton (DSQ, 52, 33, 41, 47, 45, 7)

Laser Radial (91 boats)
4th Sara Winther (5, 22, 3, 4, 6, 1, 10)
32nd Rachel Basevi (33, 24, 6, 8, 1, 35, 30)
34th Miranda Powrie (33, 31, 15, 11, 14, 24, 15)

470 Men (60 boats)
Gold fleet
14th Paul Snow-Hansen and Jason Saunders (18, 8, 11, 3, 6, 4, 10, 22, 11)
29th Geoff Woolley and Daniel Willcox (15, 10, 14, 24, 14, 10, 19, 20)
Silver fleet
2nd (32nd overall) Francisco Lardies and Finn Drummond (20, 18, 9, 11, 15, 15, 6, 4)

470 Women (46 boats)
7th Jo Aleh and Olivia Powrie (20, 12, 16, 1, 19, 20, 2, 8)

49er (58 boats)
7th Peter Burling and Blair Tuke (3, 3, 4, 2, 3, 2, 14, 16, 12, 11)

Finn (50 boats)
6th Dan Slater (2, 17, 9RDG, 3, 8, 14, 7, 6)

RS:X Men (75 sailors)
4th Jon-Paul Tobin (6, 6, 1, 1, 8, 1, 5, 7)
9th Tom Ashley (19, 2, 4, 4, 2, 8, 11, 8)

RS:X Women (50 sailors)
24th Natalia Kosinska (25, 30, 28, 24, 17, 15, 19, 30)
34th Stephanie Williams (40, 27, 23, 16, 44, 43, 37, 28)
35th Alice Monk (41, 34, 24, 31, 42, 33, 31, 20)

Women’s Match Racing (24 teams)
13th overall - Stephanie Hazard, Jenna Hansen and Susannah Pyatt - Top of Silver Round Robin: 5 wins/0 losses

Coaching Team
Graeme Sutherland
Jez Fanstone
Mark Howard
Andrew Palfrey
David Robertson
Rod Slater
Hamish Willcox