Sail Melbourne, the first stop on the 2011 ISAF World Cup Circuit, is almost finished after a week of fluky weather in southeastern Australia ranging from too much wind to not enough, to a squall that caused a scare across the racing circles with the possibility of broken boats and injured sailors a real threat. Luckily, everyone was okay.
You can read about the squall and the rest of the week's racing from the perspectives of some of the members of the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics:
470's Full results
Stu McNay and Graham Biehl find themselves in 2nd, in the middle of a heated 4-way brawl for the podium spots. Going into the medal race (where the results count double and can't be dropped) the top four are as follows:
The 5th place German team is 15 points back from 4th so you can pretty much guarantee that three of the above boats will podium and one will go home disappointed with a 4th.
Adam Roberts and Nick Martin are in 6th with padding on both sides. They could move up or down one spot if the circumstances are just right.
49ers Full Results
Erik Storck and Trevor Moore are sailing the best regatta of their careers together, sitting in 3rd place going into the medal race. Consistency early on in the week and a few slip-ups by the Aussies leave them 8 points ahead of the 2009 World Champion team of Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen (AUS.) Unfortunately, a silver medal is out of reach of Storck/Moore but it will be fun to see the New Zealand and Austrian teams fight it out for Gold. They are only 2.5 points apart (the leaders aparently finished in 10 and a halfth place in race 10.)
Finns Full Results
The Finn regatta is turning into an all-Brit affair after Zach Railey had a less than stellar day on Friday. For most of the week, he was hanging within a few points of his 2008 Olympic rival and sometimes heralded "best sailor out there," Ben Ainslie (GBR), who is making his return to the class after two years of match racing and big-boat driving in hopes of an America's Cup bid.
While Ainslie is likely to cruise to an easy win, the rest of the podium is still within reach of both Lobert (FRA) and Railey (USA.) That would require a very uncharacteristic digger of a race from the 2010 World Champion Ed Wright (GBR) or teammate Giles Scott (GBR.) We'll just have to wait and see tonight!
Medal Races Start at 7pm EST:
All photos copyright Sail Melbourne
You can read about the squall and the rest of the week's racing from the perspectives of some of the members of the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics:
- - Storck/Moore Sailing - Erik Storck and Trevor Moore, 49er
- - Team Roberts/Martin - Adam Roberts and Nick Martin, 470
- - Team McNay-Biehl - Stu McNay and Graham Biehl, 470
- - ClaySails - Clay Johnson, Laser
- - Lihan Sailing - Sarah Lihan, Laser Radial
470's Full results
Stu McNay and Graham Biehl find themselves in 2nd, in the middle of a heated 4-way brawl for the podium spots. Going into the medal race (where the results count double and can't be dropped) the top four are as follows:
| 1. | Matthias Schmid / Florian Reichstaedter | AUT | 15 |
| 2. | Stu McNay / Graham Biehl | USA | 16 |
| 3. | Mathew Belcher / Malcolm Page | AUS | 17 |
| 4. | Samuel Kivell / Will Ryan | AUS | 19 |
The 5th place German team is 15 points back from 4th so you can pretty much guarantee that three of the above boats will podium and one will go home disappointed with a 4th.
Adam Roberts and Nick Martin are in 6th with padding on both sides. They could move up or down one spot if the circumstances are just right.
49ers Full Results
Erik Storck and Trevor Moore are sailing the best regatta of their careers together, sitting in 3rd place going into the medal race. Consistency early on in the week and a few slip-ups by the Aussies leave them 8 points ahead of the 2009 World Champion team of Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen (AUS.) Unfortunately, a silver medal is out of reach of Storck/Moore but it will be fun to see the New Zealand and Austrian teams fight it out for Gold. They are only 2.5 points apart (the leaders aparently finished in 10 and a halfth place in race 10.)
Finns Full Results
The Finn regatta is turning into an all-Brit affair after Zach Railey had a less than stellar day on Friday. For most of the week, he was hanging within a few points of his 2008 Olympic rival and sometimes heralded "best sailor out there," Ben Ainslie (GBR), who is making his return to the class after two years of match racing and big-boat driving in hopes of an America's Cup bid.
| 1. | Ben Ainslie | GBR | 25 |
| 2. | Giles Scott | GBR | 31 |
| 3. | Ed Wright | GBR | 32 |
| 4. | Jonathan Lobert | FRA | 36 |
| 5. | Zach Railey | USA | 37 |
| 6. | Thomas Le Breton | FRA | 40 |
While Ainslie is likely to cruise to an easy win, the rest of the podium is still within reach of both Lobert (FRA) and Railey (USA.) That would require a very uncharacteristic digger of a race from the 2010 World Champion Ed Wright (GBR) or teammate Giles Scott (GBR.) We'll just have to wait and see tonight!
Medal Races Start at 7pm EST:
All photos copyright Sail Melbourne
