| ROTA, BAY OF CADIZ, SPAIN-(22-9-2003) In a glorious westerly sea breeze, the Poniente, which steadily built as the day progressed, the 470 men and women sailed the first two races of their five race final today off the venue at Rota, in the Bay of Cadiz.
Following the expected calmer breezes yesterday, in conditions that are consistent with the switch from the easterly Levante to the westerly Poniente, athletes on both courses enjoyed the Atlantic swell that the wind brought. Having said that conditions were still tough, not so much due to the shifting wind, as the short chop that sat on top of the longer waves.
Split into Gold and silver for these last three days, the World Championship, as well as Olympic Qualification slots open to those who have not previously qualified, will be decided by the end of Wednesday. Following yesterday’s expected exodus of the Levante, and the 24-hour light period of breeze before the emergence of the Poniente today, it was clear that every athlete has their preferred conditions.
On course Alpha, where the gold fleet men and women are racing, Surfing conditions downwind, but difficult and technical upwind. British number one Nick ROGERS, currently ranked fifth in the ISAF World Sailing Rankings, summed up the conditions. ”The shifts today were very unpredictable, it was a bit of a struggle, especially in the first race. We had to learn what it was doing”
470 Men
Getting a good start was of vital importance in both races today. With the Atlantic driven waves and a more stable breeze, the Alpha course resembled the Monaco Grand Prix circuit, with little or no overtaking options. People who got a bad start found it difficult to claw back, with the results in both races reflecting this. The fleet separated into small bunches in both races, with every place being fought over.
Gildas PHILIPPE and Nicolas LE BERRE (FRA) mastered the tricky conditions well in the first race of the day, taking first place and scoring their best result of the regatta so far. That result coupled with a ninth place in the second race of the day has improved their position and they now sit a mere one point behind Alvaro MARINHO and Miguel NUNES (POR), who as well as a third place finish, also scored a disappointing 18, which they currently discard.
Gabrio ZANDONA and Andrea TRANI (ITA) have let slip their dominant early event performance of firsts and seconds and were less than impressed with a 20 place finish yesterday. Picking up slightly in the windier conditions today they finished eighth in the first race and seventh in the second, and still maintain a nine-point advantage over second place. That spot is still held by Spanish sailors Gustavo MARTINEZ DORESTE and Dimas WOOD, despite struggling to get to grips with today, finishing 11 and 14.
Nathan WILMOT and Malcolm PAGE are in the process of staging an impressive comeback after having dropped a couple of results out of the top ten in the groups stages of the regatta. They followed up solid sixth in the first race of the day by doing a horizon job on the fleet in race two, eventually winning by over a minute as they found they Championship winning form once again. On coming ashore the duo felt they were ”like a fish in water” in the newer, wavier conditions.
Three races are left in the regatta, with two to be sailed tomorrow when the Gold fleet again share the Alpha course with the women’s gold fleet.
470 Women
Sofia BEKATOROU and Emilia TSOULFA (GRE) are well on their way to claiming a record fourth World Championship title here in Cadiz. With no result lower than fourth, and counting five race wins and two seconds, they look set to add this title to an already impressive list of accolades that include more recently a victory at the Athens Regatta 2003, winning the 2002 ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Award, and just last month, nomination for the 2003 Sportswomen of the year Award. They got to grips with the change in conditions today quickly, winning the first race and finishing fourth in the second.
All in all, they now have a staggering 22 point lead over second placed Lisa WESTERHOF and Margriet MATTHIJSSE (NED) and Jenny ARMSTRONG and Belinda STOWELL (AUS), who are both on 31 points and can only be split on a third place countback, very close. Lisa and Margriet in fact replicated the Greek girls’ scoreline, just to let them know that the pack is chasing hard.
Racing all day was again close, Jenny ARMSTRONG highlighted why this is, ” all top teams are very consistent players. Playing on these waves is great. You can gain or lose in one wave which means you have to keep your eyes on them just because you can catch a wave and surf down it, that’s what makes the sailing so good here.
She went on to explain that their return to form today had much to do with their legacy”today’s conditions are more like what we’re used to at home”
In third place going into today’s racing, Christina BASSADONE and Katherine HOPSON (GBR) didn’t have a day to remember today, and drop to fifth overall having to count a 21 in the first race due to scoring an OCS earlier in the regatta. ” We didn’t have a very good start and had some problems to get acquainted with the conditions. Normally we’re strong downwind, but today we couldn’t manage to catch up with the fleet. The second race was a reflection of the experiences we had in the first race, giving us a lot better race to end up 5th.
Racing continues tomorrow, a day that could well see another World Championship decided with a race to spare.
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