27–knot gusts swept Ireland's Annalise Murphy back up the leaderboard of the Olympic classes Sail for Gold regatta yesterday. After a disappointing opener on Monday the 21-year old Dubliner bounced back with a 4,1,2 to be placed 15th overall in the 91-boat women's Laser Radial division. More strong winds – favoured by the National Yacht Club sailor – are forecast for today.
After three races in the Star keelboat Cork/Dublin duo Peter O'Leary and David Burrows are tenth with rivals for the London slot Dun Laoghaire pairing Max Treacy and Anthony Shanks in 36th overall in the 41–boat fleet.
A DNS and two DNC's are taking their toll on 49er pairing Ryan Seaton and Matthew McGovern in 47th place. Development team pairing Ed Butler and Ben Lynch also count a DNC but are 27th in the 63-boat fleet after counting a fourth and firth in the challenging conditions.
In the mens 470 class Ger Owens and Phil Lawton are 47th from 77 but top Irish.
Day Two of Skandia Sail for Gold was a tough day in the trenches for everyone, as race officers took the opportunity to catch up with the schedule. These are the hard yards, long days in tough conditions, and diametrically opposed to the glory moments of the medal race. If yesterday was all about the subtleties of light air racing, today was all about fitness and technique in the building breeze and waves. Weymouth turned it on with sunshine and an afternoon breeze that topped out in excess of 25 knots on the outer courses.
Day two of Skandia Sail for Gold opened on a much more positive note than day one with winds up to 20 knots and two tough but thrilling races for the Finn fleet. Dan Slater (NZL) won the opening race before Ben Ainslie (GBR) struck back to win the second and take the overnight lead from Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic (CRO) in second and Slater in third.
The weather had changed overnight bringing cloud, lots of breeze and a chilly start to the day with the sun trying to break through. The start was delayed slightly as the wind shifted about a bit but race two finally got away at 11.30
The race committee was still hoping to catch up the one race lost on Monday, but after rumours that another race might be held, the fleet was sent in for the day with winds gusting 25 knots. Ainslie said, "The first race was a bit strange. On the first beat I thought the right side of the course had the best conditions but I didn't read it very well and ended up well behind the leaders. I started to catch up from there and finished strong to get seventh place. In the second race the wind came up a bit more which made it difficult to read the best side of the course to take. Luckily I took the best side and at the first mark I was third and I then I slowly pulled through to win the race."
"Today was hard work physically. The winds were strong, the waves choppy and the races long. You're out there for six hours and racing for three so it's all about saving yourself for the right moment and getting the crucial decisions right."
The Match Racing completed the first group stage, giving us the Gold Group (Quarter Final) qualifiers. From Group A it was the Netherlands' Mandy Mulder, Annemieke Bes and Merel Witteveen topping the group with six points equal to - but winning the tie-break with - second placed Sally Barkow, Elizabeth Kratizig-Burnham and Alana O'Reilly from the USA.
In Group B, Anne-claire Le Berre, Alice Ponsar and Myrtille Ponge (FRA) went through on six points, one win clear of Australia's Nicky Souter, Jessica Eastwell and Lucinda Witty, qualifying in second. And from Group C it was Anna Tunnicliffe, Molly Vendemoer and Debbie Capozzi (USA) going through with a clean sheet, and Lucy Macgregor, Annie Lush and Kate Macgregor (GBR) joining them with five wins.
Racing continues at Skandia Sail for Gold until Saturday.
Provisional Results Tuesday 7th June
49er - Sailed: 5
1. Sibello / Gianfranco Sibello, ITA, 18 points
2. John Pink / Richard Peacock, GBR, 23
3. Stevie Morrison / Ben Rhodes, GBR, 52
470 Women - Sailed: 4
1. Hannah Mills / Saskia Clarke, GBR, 28
2. Heniette Koch / Lene Sommer, DEN, 35
3. Guilia Conti / Giovanna Micol, ITA, 36
470 Men - Sailed: 4
1. Pierre Leboucher / Vincent Garos, FRA, 17
2. Anton Dahlberg / Sebastian Ostling, SWE, 20
3. Sime Fantela / Igor Marenic, CRO, 21
Finn - Sailed: 3
1. Ben Ainslie, GBR, 10
2. Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic, CRO, 10
3. Dan Slater, NZL, 12
Laser - Sailed: 4
1. Andreas Geritzer, AUT, 15
2. Tom Slingsby, AUS, 15
3. Rutger Van Schaardenburg, NED, 15
Laser Radial - Sailed: 4
1. Evi Van Acker, BEL, 12
2. Marit Bouwmeester, NED, 14
3. Sari Multala, FIN, 15
Star - Sailed: 3
1. Robert Scheidt / Bruno Prada, BRA, 5
2. Mateusz Kusznierewicz / Dominik Zycki, POL, 10
3. Fredrik Loof / Max Salminen, SWE, 19
SKUD 18 - Sailed: 3
1. Daniel Fitzgibbon / Liesl Tesch, AUS, 4
2. Alexandra Rickmann / Niki Birrell, GBR, 7
3. Jamie Dunross / Rachael Cox, AUS, 9
Sonar - Sailed: 3
1. John Robertson / Hannah Stodel / Steve Thomas, GBR, 7
2. Udo Hessels / Marcel Van Veen / Mischa Rosseb, NED, 12
3. Aleksander Wang-Hansen / Per Eugen Kristiansen / Marie Solberg, NOR, 12
2.4 - Sailed: 2
1. Thierry Schmitter, NED, 10
2. Damien Seguin, FRA, 10
3. Andre Rademaker, NED, 16
RS:X Men - Sailed: 4
1. J. P. Tobin, NZL, 10
2. Taehoon Lee, KOR, 13
3. Dorian Vaan Rijsselberge, NED, 14
RS:X Women - Sailed: 4
1. Marina Albau, ESP, 8
2. Blanca Manchon, ESP, 13
3. Charline Picon, FRA, 1
