High Octane One Designs

The final qualification day at the 2009 Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta in Weymouth brought more of the same, with cold and shifty moderate north-easterly winds mixing up the fleet. In the slightly lighter winds, Zach Railey (USA) won the first race while regatta leader Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic (CRO) took the second race to build up a nine point cushion over
second placed Ed Wright (GBR).

With several of the top sailors picking up high scores, the points at the top narrowed. Just five points now separate second to fourth, and just eight points between the next five boats, which will make for an exciting medal race on Saturday morning with everything still wide open. The medals are far from decided.

The first race of the day was an all-American affair with Zach Railey (USA) being followed across the finish line by Bryan Boyd (USA). Daniel Birgmark (SWE) placed third.

Railey favoured the left hand side of the course and led throughout. He explained his plan, “I didn’t have such a great day yesterday, so went home last night and thought about the racing and it seemed my best races were when I had some leverage on one side of the course, so today I was going to try and do that again. In both starts I started about 5-6 boats up from the pin and the wind shifted to the right out of the line so I just hung on in there. Both times it stayed long enough so I was able to make it back across the course to the right.”

“I think the biggest difference between today and yesterday was that the shifts lasted all the way in, so you were able to get back across. Yesterday if you got stuck in the middle got could get pin-balled between the two sides.”

“The problem is that the wind drops down off the cliff which makes it stand out, so you can have a line of boats on starboard tack and only five or six boats will get into the pressure straight away. You just have to make sure you are on the right side of the top ten or so boats. And if you choose thatright you have a good day, and if not you have a day like I had yesterday.

Railey followed up his second win of the week with a second place in race eight, to record the best score of the day. Regatta leader Kljakovic Gaspic took that race, taking lots of ground on the downwind legs to win his first race of the week. Andrew Mills (GBR) rounded off an up and down week with a third.

Kljakovic Gaspic summed up the week. “These are fun conditions, but it’s something I am not used to. It’s the first time I’ve sailed in these conditions, since maybe Cascais. But I seem to be sailing OK. Sometimes you have really gusty winds, but it’s just sailing. There’s no big philosophy.”

“But tomorrow is going to be an exciting day. The points from second to fourth are very tight so I am probably going to be able to sail my own race and be able to sail as best I can.” He added, “The facilities here are great. It is a very nice place. We still have three years to go before the Olympics, so I think it will get even better by then. I’m certainly looking
forward to coming back next year.”

Railey added, “We’re really enjoying it here . We came a did a week’s training camp here before this week when we had a bit of south-westerly then but now we have had this north-easterly for 8-9 days. I know it’s not all that common, but it’s actually been pretty good. It’s good to get a consistent direction like this. I can’t believe its stayed in for so long.
We are learning a lot about the venue.”

So the medal race looks like this:

Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic (CRO) – after many years of being ever-so-close, Ivan
finally cracked it this year with a bronze at the world championships and a
win at the Europeans and is having his best season ever. He is headed for
the runner-up slot in the Sailing World Cup, but he still has a lot of work
to do in the medal race.

Ed Wright (GBR) – already the clear winner of the inaugural ISAF Sailing
World Cup in Finns, a win on home waters at the Olympic venue would be a
great confidence boost ahead of what could be an epic battle to represent
the UK in 2012. Has a habit of winning medal races, so he’s by no means out
yet.

Zach Railey (USA) – 2008 Olympic silver medalist but had a few high scores
this week but an excellent final day boosted him into the medal zone. Good
chance of taking home any colour.

Pieter Jan Postma (NED) – seems to have turned the corner after some poor
results since last season. Won races at the Europeans and this week. Prefers
the breeze and loves the excitement of the medal race.

Daniel Birgmark (SWE) – always a solid competitor but has yet to win a major
event. Performs well in medal races, but gold is too far away.

Giles Scott (GBR) – leading the series early on, he suffered on Thursday’s
shifting winds and now has it all do. Can still take a minor colour, but a
lot to do.

Dan Slater (NZL) – using a new boat this week and certainly going faster
than he was at the worlds, in spite of a lack of training. On equal points
with Scott, so can still take bronze or silver if it all goes his way.

Thomas Le Breton (FRA) – first year in the class for the ex-Laser sailor.
Has put in some good results this year but has a lack of medal race
experience.

Andrew Mills (GBR) – had a great season all round and won the opening race
here before posting a few high scores and struggling a bit. Can still
technically medal but with 14 points off silver he needs some luck as well.

Eduard Skornyakov (RUS) – 2007 European Champion started to show some form
again, but too far adrift here to make an impact.