| ROTA, BAY OF CADIZ, SPAIN-(16-9-2003) Defending world champion and Olympic gold medallist Iain
Percy sailing with Steve Mitchell made a good start to the ISAF World
Sailing Championships scoring a thirteenth and two first places to finish
fifth overall at the end of day one.
In the local Levante wind, Team GBR sailors Iain Percy and Steve Mitchell
scored a thirteenth place in the first race which they admitted they were
disappointed with, but came back with a vengeance. They started in the
middle of the line on the next two races and had good boat speed, which was
enough to see them cross the finish line first in both races.
Percy commented, ` We didn't sail well in the first race, it was more of a
mental thing but Steve and I had a chat after the race and went back to what
we know well. We worked hard physically and did a good job, so I am pleased
as it is easy to get into a downward spiral after a bad race so we did well
to turn it around.`
Talking on whether he could successfully defend his world title, Percy said,
`There seems to be more strength and depth in the fleet this year but I
still think that in a mixture of conditions we have an edge, but sailing
doesn't always work that way!`
Francesco Bruni and Guido Vigna of Italy currently lead the Star class from
the 2002 worlds bronze medallist Xavier Rohart and Pascal Rambeau of France.
Fellow Olympic gold medallist Shirley Robertson returned to form on the
third day of the Yngling world championships. Sailing with Sarah Webb and
Sarah Ayton they managed a third and a second in the 41 boat fleet to
catapult themselves up the score board to seventh place overall. This move
up the score board put them a step closer to qualifying Great Britain in the
class for the Olympic Games and also their own ticket to Athens.
Robertson summed up the teams performance in the event so far, `We were not
sure what went wrong on the first day but we seemed very slow and it was
really frustrating, yesterday we were still not the fastest and were not
that sharp but today we sailed a lot smarter and it paid off. On the whole
we are reasonably happy, we can't afford to mess up so we just need to sail
relatively steady, not push the lines and take each day as it comes.`
Ulrike Schuemann, Wibke Buelle and Winnie Lippert of Germany have taken over
the lead in the class but with only six points separating first and sixth
place and with five races still to go there is all to play for.
The Mistral class completed their second day of racing and GBR sailor Nick
Dempsey had the best day of the British sailors. Dempsey scored a fourth and
a sixth place which has pushed him up into tenth place overall.
Tomorrow sees the start of the racing for the Finn class and the practice
races for the Laser, Tornado, 49er and 470 men and women, who are scheduled
to commence racing on Thursday.
Results
Star (after day one)
1, Francesco Bruni/Guido Vigna, ITA (1,2,4) 7 pts
2, Xavier Rohart/Pascal Rambeau, FRA (1,2,5) 8 pts
3, Fredrik Loof/Anders Ekstrom, SWE (3,6,2) 11 pts
GBR
5, Iain Percy/Steve Mitchell (13,1,1) 15 pts
31, Jez Fanstone/Luke Chapman (19,20,12) 51 pts
Mistral Men (after day two)
1, Przemek Miarczynski, POL (1,1,1,8) 11 pts
2, Joao Rodrigues, POR (4,3,3,1) 11 pts
3, Julien Bontemps, FRA (1,2,7,3) 13 pts
GBR
10, Nick Dempsey (14,7,4,6) 31 pts
22, Dominic Tidey (16,12,7,19) 54 pts
48, Leo McCallin (20,24,22,34) 100 pts
76, Richard Potter (45,32,38,33) 148 pts
79, Toby Monk (29,41,43,44) 157 pts
90, Douglas Etheridge (43,50,38,39) 170 pts
93, Gavin Rogers (45,42,47,42) 176 pts
96, Peter Bird (42,47,45,48) 182 pts
105, Paul Sibley (49,49,53,50) 201 pts
Mistral Women (after day two)
1, Lee Korsitz, ISR (1,4,3,6) 14 pts
2, Barbara Kendall, NZL (2,1,12,5) 20 pts
3, Jessica Crisp, AUS (4,10,1,10) 25 pts
GBR
17, Natasha Sturges (18,21,18,15) 72 pts
35, Bryony Shaw (23,44,28,34) 129 pts
Yngling (after day three)
1, Ulrike Schuemann/Wibke Buelle/Winnie Lippert, GER (15,(27),1,1,13,2) 32
pts
2, Hannah Swett/Joan Touchette/Melissa Purdy, USA ((16),12,2,7,1,10) 32 pts
3, Jody Swanson/Cory Sert/Elizabeth Krat, USA (3,1,11,(16),7,11) 33 pts
GBR
7, Shirley Robertson/Sarah Webb/Sarah Ayton ((37),18,5,10,2,3) 38 pts
15, Cathy Foster/Jane Norris/Annie Lush (22,23,10,5,10,(28)) 70 pts
39, Dominica Lyndsey/Lucy Burn/Vicky Symmers (40,39,29,34,(OCS),41) 183 pts
Europe - Gold fleet (after day four)
1, Siren Sundby, NOR (1,1,3,5,2,3,(15),1) 16 pts
2, Lenka Smidova, CZE (2,8,5,8,3,4,7,(11)) 37 pts
3, Trine Julie Abrahamsen, DEN (3,7,7,2,7,(24),9,10) 45 pts
GBR
44, Laura Baldwin (29,30,23,25,29,10,21,(43)) 167 pts
54, Nicky Muller (9,31,20,18,54,47,36,(55)) 215 pts
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