The Official
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www.sailing.org |
Day 2 of racing proved to be frustrating for both the race committee and the competitors. The light northerly gradient wind allowed an early start, but the developing sea breeze killed it off for a period before another light air filled in from the southwest. This breeze held until late afternoon, when it was replaced by the original gradient. Eight more flights were sailed from the first round robin, leaving four to be completed on Day 3. Andy CORNAH (GBR) won all three of his matches, SUTHERLAND took five out of six and Jon PINNER (GBR) took four out of five.
On Day 3 the promised sea breeze appeared at noon, taking the fleet to sea to finish Stage 1. Four flights were completed by 1500, leaving the following standings:
Pos | Skipper | Nation | Wins | Losses |
1 | Michael DUNSTAN | AUS | 10 | 1 |
2 | Graeme SUTHERLAND | NZL | 9 | 2 |
3 | Andy CORNAH | GBR | 7 | 4 |
4 | Seve JARVIN | AUS | 7 | 4 |
5 | Mark DORLING | AUS | 7 | 4 |
6 | Jonathon PINNER | GBR | 6 | 5 |
7 | Pierre-Antoine MORVAN | FRA | 5 | 6 |
8 | Rob GRIEG-GRAN | GBR | 5 | 6 |
9 | Victor LANIER | FRA | 4 | 7 |
10 | Brian ANGEL | USA | 3 | 8 |
11 | Katie ARCHER | GBR | 2 | 9 |
12 | Silke HAHLBROCK | GER | 1 | 10 |
Because of time lost through lack of wind, the Race Committee decided to delete the repechage stage two, so the top six skippers were placed in the Gold Fleet to sail a five-flight round robin to determine the semi-finalists.
Day 4 dawned bright and sunny with wind! Eight to ten knots from the north west and a forecast for breeze all day. The Gold Fleet round robin had been completed on Day 3 except for two outstanding matches for Andy CORNAH (GBR), taken ashore to hospital after a blow on the head from his boom. Fortunately it hit a tough part of his body and he was back out on the water, but without success. Seve JARVIN ran a clean sweep of five wins and, with the two GBR teams only managing one win each, the other semi-final places went to DUNSTAN, SUTHERLAND and DORLING.
The Silver fleet then took over for a last round robin to determine seventh to twelfth places, resulting in a three way tie for eighth place and minor honours to Pierre-Antoine MORVAN in seventh place.
In the semi-finals, JARVIN chose to race against DORLING and beat him 2 - 1. DUNSTAN was paired with SUTHERLAND and went through to the final winning two straight matches. The final, between the two top seeds, went to four matches with DUNSTAN turning the tables on JARVIN to be the first to three wins.
Thanks are due to George CHAPMAN, the Chief Race Officer, and his highly efficient race management team for their swift response to changing conditions and to Don BECKER and the umpire team for their sound decision-making and attention to post race de-briefing. This year sees the completion of the sponsorship arrangement with Skandia. The organisers are grateful for the company's assistance and support over the past three years.
The final placings were as follows:
Pos | Skipper | Nation | Total Wins |
1 | Michael DUNSTAN | AUS | 18 |
2 | Seve JARVIN | AUS | 15 |
3 | Graeme SUTHERLAND | NZL | 14 |
4 | Mark DORLING | AUS | 10 |
5 | Andy CORNAH | GBR | 8 |
6 | Jonathon PINNER | GBR | 7 |
7 | Pierre-Antoine MORVAN | FRA | 10 |
8 | Silke HAHLBROCK | GER | 4 |
9 | Robert GRIEG-GRAN | GBR | 8 |
10 | Brian ANGEL | USA | 6 |
11 | Victor LANIER | FRA | 5 |
12 | Katie ARCHER | GBR | 2 |