420 World Championship, Athens, Greece, 22 - 31 July, 2008 - Reports
Ray Steele reports on Day
5, 3rd day of the Final Series - 3 more bullets for
the kiwis in stronger winds
On
a day when the land breeze gave the fleet its strongest conditions,
gusts of 18 - 30 knots, Simon Cooke & Scott Illingworth
produced
their best performance recording a 9th and two wins in the Gold Open
Fleet, to climb into fourth place overall. Paul Snow Hansen &
Ben
Goodwin kept things close also, with some good average scores to move
into 6th place overall.
Other
kiwis had some gear failures in at least one of the races, including a
luckless Marcus & Finn who were in a 3rd place position 300
metres
from finish when their rudder snapped. Frankie &
David's gear
failure resulted in a DNF, spoiling a good day with their best a 4th in
the first race - they are 18th overall; Marcus & Finn are 25th
overall; and Tom & Chris are 34th overall, their best today
18th.
In
the womens fleet, only two races were sailed today, Sarah &
Emma
Berry won the first and Alexandra Maloney & Bianca
Barbarich-Bacher
providing a Kiwi quinella with a second in the same race. Alex
&
Bianca are in13th overall while Sarah & Emma are 16th.
The
other Kiwi ladies held their positions from yesterday; Alex &
Maddy
in 25th overall with a 12th in the second race; and Emma &
Gabby
are in 38th with a 23rd in the second race.
The
Open Silver Fleet only had one race before the Race Committee returned
them to shore because of 'concerns for their safety'. The Ladies Silver
Fleet stayed on the water and managed to complete their two races which
raised eyebrows in the disillusioned Open Silver Fleet. Mike &
Vicki maintained 13th place overall, with a 11th in the only
race; Yelena & Andrew are in 26th with a 37th in
todays race.
Simon
summarised the day by saying ' it was good to see only 40 degree shifts
today as opposed to 60 degree shifts' From Scott ' it was like a
Takapuna offshore with some survival stuff out there... a podium is
still possible but we have to do well tomorrow and the others have to
not go so well'
Forecast
for tomorrow is for stronger stuff. An earlier 11 am start,
and
hopefully the RC get another two races away - locals in first place in
both fleets and not so good in heavy.
The
final report may be late tomorrow so the Kiwis thank all for their
support and look forward to returning home.
Ray Steele reports on Day
4, 2nd day of the Final Series - 2 bullets for kiwis but
conditions testing
At
the end of todays racing for the Open Fleet, Simon & Scott made
up
ground to lie in 7th place overall, their best today a 7th place; Paul
& Ben made a significant recovery to be 10th overall - their
best a
!st in race one today; Frankie & David also improved to 17th
overall, their best a 9th; Marcus and Finn moved up to 18th with their
best result so far in the regatta, a 1st in the third race; Thomas
& Chris are in 31st place, their best a 32nd.
In the
Ladies Fleet, Alex M & Bianca are lying in 17th place overall
with
an 8th their best today; Sarah & Emma are in 18th, their best
race
a 13th; Alex D & Maddy are in 31st their best a 10th; and Emma
& Gabby are 38th with a 21st today.
In the Silver Fleet,
Mike & Vicki are in 16th place overall, best today a 22nd and
Yelena & Andrew are 25th with an 8th today.
A couple of quotes from the Kiwi sailors:
Paul
Snow-Hansen: ' it was suppposed to be a typical Maltimi but the land
didn't heat the winds enough to make it as strong as predicted. Big 30
plus degree oscillations making consistency key and taking each gain
and being patient waiting for the next shift critical...'
On
the ladies course, Alexandra Maloney said 'shifts were more consistent
and persistent from the right in the last race. Most of the time you
had to somehow stay in touch with the fleet and not get too greedy'
The coaches Geoff & Jim were overheard saying 'I wouldn't want
to be racing in this today'.
So
there it is, generally a positive day for Kiwis, some improvements,
some consolidations and most important 'the fat lady is not yet warming
up her vocals...'
Best regards. For detail results link to http://www.420worlds08.gr/
Since
writing this report the top Italian crew, Mancinelli/De Felice, who
came into the final series in first position have been granted redress
which has put them into 2nd position overall, and moves Simon and Scott
to 8th, and Paul and Ben to 11th. Unfortunately the event website
doesn't seem to have any reports for the media so at this stage we
don't know any more than what can be seen on the overall
results.
Report from Ray Steele - Racing Day
3 - Kiwis generally struggle in unfamiliar conditions
First
day of Gold Fleet racing for both Open and Ladies Championship and
Silver Fleet races saw light conditions (6 - 12 knots) as the sea
breeze struggled to overcome the land breeze off Athens. A
reasonable chop added to the challenging conditions for most of the
sailors as nearly all recorded at least one race they would consider a
drop out of the three races for the Open Gold and Silver Fleet and the
two races that managed to get completed on the Ladies Gold
Fleet.
The Kiwis generally struggled in these conditions trying to minimise
the damage as best they could hoping for better results tomorrow. Most
of the Kiwis felt that the breeze was filling from the right, and even
though at times it looked better out that way, generally the left side
of the course proved more rewarding...
It
was the sort of day that if you dipped one boat off the start you ran
the risk of dipping the entire fleet.
The
European sailors scored well today, with the locals getting excited
that a few of theirs are going well. Our sailors report that the locals
seem to be able to sail through the chop better than us in the light
airs - quite simply, they have had experience with these sorts of
conditions all through their sailing so good on them.
At
the end of the day's racing in the Open Fleet, Simon & Scott
did
best to stem the slide and were 13th overall, with a best place 16th;
Tom & Chris averaged best of the day to move 16th place, best
today
a 6th; Marcus & Finn in 19th overall, best today 25th; Frankie
& David 21st with a good 9th in the very difficult first race
of
the day; Paul & Ben are in 22nd overall, best today a 22nd.
In
the Ladies races, a similar story for the Kiwis, with Sarah
&
Emma Berry holding the best position in 11th place, their best today a
12th; Alex M & Bianca in 17th with a 23rd today; Alex D
& Maddy
are in 33rd overall, best score today matching this position; and, Emma
& Gabby in 36th with a best of 26th today.
In
the Open Silver Fleet, Mike & Vicki had a resonable day placing
11th overall and scoring the highest of any Kiwi in a race today with a
4th in their second race. Yelena & Andrew had a best of 14th
today
to sit in 26th overall.
Detail results of scoring can be viewed by going to the event website www.420worlds08.gr
Still
7 or 8 more races in the regatta to go so the Kiwis have a chance to
restore some of their results and climb back up the table.
All
send their regards to friends, families and supporters.
Report from Ray Steele - Racing Day
2 - Gold and Silver fleet decided
Another
day of variable conditions at the former Olympic Sailing Venue, Athens
with winds ranging from 10 - 20 knots throughout races and switching
from 260 to 290. Some big gains and some big losses with all boats
going hard to make the Gold Fleet, there was some close racing and
tight mark roundings. Kiwis generally consolidated positions with all
the Ladies teams making the Gold Fleet and five of the open fleet
getting through.
Overall
provisional results and best places from today's racing - Open Fleet;
Paul Snow Hansen & Ben Goodwin fifth overall with a fifth and
second but unfortunately black flagged in the last race; Simon Cooke
& Scott Illingworth 12th overall with a win and 4th and another
win
scored OCS (Scott says he's glad to be sailing!); Marcus Hansen
&
Finn Drummond 16th overall with really consistent scoring today of
16th, 6th and a great 3rd; Frankie Lardies & David Hazard 19th
overall with a 9th today; Tom Saunders & Chris Steele in 39th
overall with a comeback 3rd in the last race. Mike Snow-Hansen
&
Viki Francis had a better day were 66th overall - their best a 6th; and
Yelena Lee & Andrew Beetle not getting any breaks finishing
75th -
these two will contest the silver fleet.
Ladies
Fleet saw a great day from Alexandra Maloney & Bianca
Barbarich-Bacher including a win and two fifth placings to move up
sharply to 4th overall - they repelled in today's conditions; next are
Sarah & Emma Berry who are 16th overall including a 3rd today;
Alex
Davies and Maddy Urry consolidated their position in 25th with a 9th
today; Emma Goodwin and Gabby Warmsley sailed really hard to just make
the cut line for the Gold fleet.
The
pressure was on today and a lot of protests were dealt with by the
jury. The competitors get a Lay day tomorrow before they carry their
finishing position as their score through to the start of the Gold
Fleet/Silver Fleet regatta. Hopefully a further 11 races are possible
to sort out the championship. All the Kiwis are aware of the bad
weather conditions at home and hope you are all well.
Next
report Monday.
Report
from Ray Steele - Qualification Racing Day 1
It
is nearly 11 pm after the first days racing with the first three races
completed in trying conditions. Both the Open Fleet and the Womens
fleet were trying to qualify for the gold fleet which will be
determined from overall positions after 6 races.
About
50 boats will make the gold Open fleet and the rest go into the silver
fleet for a further 12 races. The ladies fleet will split at about 38
in each fleet. Kiwis featured prominently in several races throughout
the day.
Summary
of the first day, variable winds of between 2 knots to 20 knots, very
shifty all day with race committee forced to abandon four races after
30 degree windshifts made the course unfair.
Throughout
the day the wind direction shifted 100 degrees from 165 to 265,
throwing a few waves in as well.
Quite
a lot of boats damaged and a few rudder stocks destroyed throughout the
day. The results were able to be followed nearly 'live' online on the
regatta website www.420worlds08.gr or link through the NZ 420 website.
Racing did not get completed until after 7 pm local.
Some
of the Kiwis had a great day, Paul Snow-Hansen and Ben Goodwin leading
the charge, with two bullets and a 12th to see them 2nd overall - a
great result considering they had been sailing 29ers until last week at
the Youth Worlds in Denmark.
In
the second race of the second flight, the Kiwis made a great statement
to the rest of the competitors by filling the first three places.
Other
results, Simon Cooke and Scott Illingworth in 18th overall, Frankie
Lardies and David Hazard 25th (another recent Youth World pairing),
Marcus Hansen and Finn Drummond in 29th (including a 3rd place in the
Kiwi Trifecta), Tom Saunders and Chris Steele 40th, Mike Snow-Hansen
and Vicky Francis 65th, and Yelena Lee and Andrew Beetle in 77th.
In
the Ladies Fleet, Emma and Sarah Berry lead the Kiwi challenge
recording a grat win in race 2 and solid other races to lay 20th
overall ahead of Alex Maloney and Bianca Barbarich-Bacher in 21st place
(Alex and Bianca too have just competed in the 29ers at the Youth
Worlds) including a 3rd in race 2.
Alex
Davies and Maddy Urry are in 29th overall and Emma Goodwin and Gabby
Warmsley are in 43rd place overall.
With
three races left before the fleets split and the variety of conditions
experienced, a better day tomorrow will see some of these sailors
climbing up the rankings.
All
Kiwis in good spirits, a few scrapes and bruises but otherwise good
health. They all appreciate your support.
Report
from Pete Saunders - team arrives in Athens
NZ
420 Team measured today with little or no drama, fastest measuring I
have been involved with including any Optimist Worlds.
However...
the officialdom continues which is irritating some supporters as,
unless you are a registered coach or team leader, you are unable to get
into the area where boats are stored, launched and retrieved. We had
similar scenario in Switzerland with Optimist Worlds 3 years ago where
parents/supporters were excluded from contact with sailors during
pre-race preparation.
We
are learning to go with the flow, they cross eyebrows when we enter
their offices with our arms folded which has been regular of late!
The
Kiwi sailors have been keeping a relatively low profile and relaxed
approach to the main event. Geoff Woolley is doing a good job of
keeping our sailors in a good mode and catering to the team as a whole,
definitely worth while having a designated coach here, thanks
to
YNZ for contributing to Geoff's costs.
We
also have Mike Drummond here, primarily here as parent of son Finn, but
having his worldly experience in the team environment has been a real
bonus as often he will put things into perspective by drawing on his
personal sailing experience dealing with previous European campaigns
and the Americas Cup.
Racing starts in earnest
today (I must get to bed soon). Looking forward to Kiwis performing to
the best of their abilities - the team is in good spirits.
Thanks
to Christine Snow-Hansen and Caroline for her efforts in getting team
organised before their departure.
Four
Women's crews, and seven Open crews from New Zealand are taking part
in the 420 Worlds to be held out of the Nautical Club of Tzitzifies,
Kallithea, in Athens. Racing begins on Friday 25 July with
a six race Qualification Series to decide gold and silver fleets,
followed by
a layday, finishing with an 11 race Final Series which ends on 31 July.
For results and real-time online racing, go the the website link above
- results will also be posted on this site sometime later each day.
For the International 420 Class news click the red, white and blue logo
above left. We hope to
receive a NZL team report daily which will be posted on this site.