SAILING: Six months out from the Rio 2016 Olympic Games the is the Nacra 17, 49er, and 49erFX World Championships are the final World Championship for these classes and a major milestone on the road to Rio for Australian Sailing Team’s already selected crews of Nacra 17 World #1 Jason Waterhouse (NSW) and Lisa Darmanin (NSW) as well as 49er Olympic gold medallists Nathan Outteridge (NSW) and Iain Jensen (NSW). Both crews were selected on the Australian Olympic Team in December. In the Women’s 49erFX the crew to represent Australia in Rio 2016 is yet to be decided. With Olivia Price (NSW) and Elize Solly (VIC), Haylee Outteridge (NSW) and Nina Curtis (NSW) plus Tess Lloyd (VIC) and Caitlin Elks (WA) at the start line in Clearwater, three crews will be aiming to put in convincing performances at these World Championships with selection ongoing over the next couple of months.
MEDAL RACES:
SAILING: The 2016 Nacra 17, 49er/FX World Championships regatta wrapped up with Olympic gold medallists Nathan Outteridge (NSW) and Iain Jensen (NSW) finishing outside the medal ranks and in sixth place. Going into the final top-ten Medal Race in second, the pair also finished the race with a second place, but an early start and disqualification as a result meant a drop to overall sixth in the end.
World #1 Jason Waterhouse (NSW) and Lisa Darmanin (NSW) finished the Nacra 17 World Championships in fifth after a third place in the Medal Race.
Both crews were already selected on the Australian Olympic Team in December.
It was the first time all three of the fastest Olympic boats teamed up for a championship together. The 49er men’s skiff has been on the Olympic program since Sydney 2000, while both the 49erFX women’s skiff as well as the Nacra 17 mixed-gender multihull will premier on the program at Rio 2016.
Over 120 teams from more than 37 countries competed in front of the Pier on Clearwater Beach, Florida from February 9-14, 2016.
The Nacra 17 and 49er/FX World Championships in Clearwater, Florida, USA will be followed by another highlight on the pre-Olympics racing calendar, the 470 World Championships in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Defending World Champions Matt Belcher (QLD) and Will Ryan (QLD) will contest the event with racing scheduled from 22 – 27 February 2016 and after the pair just won the pre-event, the South American Championships over the week-end.
Men’s Skiff – 49er
Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen went into the Medal Race in Silver position after posting a fourth, ninth and first in three strong races earlier in the day. This catapulted them back up from their penultimate day sixth place and into second going into the final race.
But unfortunately a premature start (OCS) in the Medal race cost them dearly and the pair finished outside the medal ranks in sixth.
“We were pretty happy with this mornings sailing and it was to give ourselves a chance for the podium. But we had a bit of a disappointing Medal race from a results standpoint. There was an individual recall at the start and we saw the Danish going back so we wanted to see if the flag went down when they went back. They went back and the flag stayed up, but by that point we were quite a way up wind. And for us to go back would have meant that we would have been last in the race the whole way around, so we decided to keep going. The race was sailed well and we came second, unfortunately we were just a little early at the start,” Iain Jensen explained the events in the Medal race.
This wraps up a challenging week for the pair.
“It’s been a tough week here. We had an up and down qualifying, one really good day and one wasn’t the level we need to be to be at the front of this fleet. There were a few odd mistakes throughout the week, which set us back. Yesterday was tough in the rough conditions and quite a painful exercise with the injury I’m carrying and to sail well today was quite nice. This is not really what we’re looking for, we need to do better and we can’t make mistakes like we are. There’s lot of promise but there’s still a lot of hard work to still do,” Nathan Outteridge said summing up the week.
And with regards to the rest of the Australian crews he added: “The Aussies squad had a bit of a tough event as well. Dave (Gilmour) and Lewis (Brake) had a really tough day in qualifying and were sitting way down the fleet in 47th. But from there they sailed one of the best events of everyone. They made the cut into Gold fleet, had a really good final series and just missed the Medal race. So after a tough start they had a good finish and it was nice to do Gold fleet with another Aussie team.”
Australian Sailing’s new combination of David Gilmour (WA) and Lewis Brake (WA) sailed a strong regatta, but after carrying a few high scores from earlier in the week a 23, first and fourth on the last day was not enough to make it into the top-ten. The pair just missed the Medal and finished the regatta in 13th.
“We haven’t spent a lot of time sailing together and the more time we spend in the boat together in race situations the better. Our boat speed improved and we were actually sailing really well at the end. Just day two of the regatta was just a shame. This was probably one of the most competitive Worlds to be at as it’s just before the Olympics, so we are pretty happy with how it is going,” David Gilmour said.
London 2012 Olympic silver medallists Peter Burling and Blair Tuke from New Zealand won their fourth 49er World title and will be the crew to beat heading into Rio 2016. Austrians Nico Delle Karth and Nikolaus Resch finished second, while Great Britain’s crew of Dylan Fletcher-Scott and Alain Sign won the bronze medal.
The Australian 49er squad will head to Palma and the European Championships in Barcelona in March next before planning more time training in Rio.
Mixed multi-hull – Nacra 17
In the Nacra 17 World #1 Jason Waterhouse (NSW) and Lisa Darmanin (NSW) went into the final top-ten Medal race after a ‘character building’ tough penultimate day saw them drop from second into fifth place and with only a slim chance left for a podium spot.
It was a day the pair would rather forget, but with the pressure for selection off their shoulders and after winning Silver at the Sailing World Cup in Miami a couple weeks ago, it is all about learning from each race and to take the most out of it for the tasks ahead.
“We went into the Medal race in fifth and the goal was to win it but unfortunately we didn’t quite execute that. We sailed the race pretty well, but a few critical mistakes on the first beat cost us a bit. We still finished the race in third and fifth overall and it was a good day,” Jason Waterhouse said.
“The World Cup in Miami and the Worlds were priority events for us as they are very similar Rio events. And we were happy to get a Silver medal in Miami and fifth here, which shows our consistency at both regattas and in all wind conditions. So we’re happy with that.“
And about the event as a whole crew and cousin Lisa Darmanin added: “It’s been a pretty tricky week and the conditions have thrown a lot at us. But overall we are happy with how we’re sailing and how we are pushing ourselves. We had one really costly day and a few costly races, which was disappointing, but in the end we’re training for a Gold medal in Rio and we’ve learnt a lot of lessons this week. It was a tough event, we’re still pretty stoked with fifth and our eyes are still on the prize.”
Defending World Champions Billy Besson and Marie Riou from France already secured the World title after the 15-race series with one day to spare. Austrians Thomas Zajac and Tanja Frank took home Silver, while Danish crew of Allan Norregaard and Anette Viborg Andreasen finished third.
Women’s Skiff – 49erFX
Both the 49erFX and Nacra 17 fleets will premier on the Olympic sailing program in Rio, with the Olympic spot in the 49erFX still up for grabs and to be decided over the next couple of months. .
Three Australian Sailing Squad 49erFX crews contested the Worlds with all three crews qualifying for Gold fleet but missing out of the top-ten Medal race.
Tess Lloyd (VIC) and Caitlin Elks (WA) finished the regatta as the top ranked Australian boat in 14th after posting a 16-14-12 on the last day.
“It was pretty tricky today and a bit shiftier than all the other days, but overall I think there are some good positives we can go away with. We are going back to Australia now and will have to put in some good hours and will head back to Europe after that to aim for those good results.” Tess Lloyd said.
And crew Caitlin Elks added: “We didn’t end up in the top ten as we had hoped, so we’ll have a bit of work to do over the next few weeks. But we are really trying to get an Olympic worthy performance on the score board.”
Olympic silver medallist Olivia Price (NSW) and Elize Solly (VIC) have the same goal and were not far behind to finish the regatta in 16th after posting a 22-20-9 series on the last day of the finals series.
“We had a shifty breeze off the land, which we haven’t really had so it was interesting today. We couldn’t really pull ourselves together and make the best decisions on the racecourse and really suffered because of that,” Olivia Price said about the last day.
And about the event as a whole she added: “Our result here wasn’t really what we were hoping for. We do need to go back and just figure out where exactly we went wrong, but we’ve got a pretty good idea. We do have to put in a performance at some stage and we’re hoping to do that in the European events.”
About the plans ahead crew Eliza Solly said: “We’re going back home now and getting straight back into it all and reviewing what we’ve recently done. We’ll head over to Europe for Palma and our Euros in Barcelona and then over to France for the World Cup in Hyeres.”
Haylee Outteridge (NSW) and Olympic silver medallist Nina Curtis (NSW) finished the regatta in 24th. The pair reunited after Nina Curtis missed out of selection to the Australian team in the Nacra 17 together with skipper and dual Olympic silver medallist Darren Bundock at the end of last year.
AUSTRALIAN SAILING TEAM
DAY 3:
Olympic gold medallists Nathan Outteridge (NSW) and Iain Jensen (NSW) jumped to the top of the results ladder and into overall second place on day three of the 2016 Nacra 17, 49er, and 49erFX World Championships in Clearwater, Florida (Thursday, 11 February 2016 EST). It was only the second day of racing for the men’s skiff fleet after Wednesday was cancelled due to too much wind.
World #1 in the Nacra 17 Jason Waterhouse (NSW) and Lisa Darmanin (NSW) also moved up into the top three and are ranked third after three days of racing. The pair also has a results enquiry and possible correction pending from Wednesday’s OCS score.
In the light conditions, the women’s 49erFX fleets got four races in with two Australian Sailing Squad crews ranked in the top fifteen – Tess Lloyd (VIC) and Caitlin Elks (WA) in 13th and Haylee Outteridge (NSW) and Nina Curtis (NSW) 14th. Olivia Price (NSW) and Eliza Solly (VIC) follow in 21st.
Men’s Skiff – 49er
Four races were completed in the 49er fleet on Thursday, 11 February and after Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen had started the event with a 15th on the first day, followed by no racing on the second day, the pair made the most of a full day of racing to jump up the results ladder into second.
In light conditions the pair posted a strong series of one race win, a second, third and fourth.
“We didn’t get a race in yesterday and today the conditions were really light. It’s a completely different game in the light air compared to the heavier conditions, but we take each day as it comes,” Iain Jensen said.
“The first race was really light and then it swung around and we got a light sea breeze for the rest of the day. We had a second, first, third and fourth and were just executing good starts, going the right way and the speed seemed pretty good,” he summed up the day.
“We seem to be going fast in the light stuff, which is an area we struggled in at the last Worlds. We’re expecting some of the same for tomorrow and the days after that are looking pretty good.”
Racing in the other fleet, defending World Champions Peter Burling and Blair Tuke (NZL) continued their series of straight wins to keep their lead going into day four of the event, which will see the completion of the Qualifying Series.
The three other Australian Sailing crews struggled with the light conditions and dropped down the ranks as a consequence.
Joel Turner (QLD) and Tom Siganto (QLD) are ranked 36th, David Gilmour and Lewis Brake 49th and Harry Price (NSW) and Harry Morton (NSW) 63rd.
With the jury having decided for another day of qualifying, they still have the chance to make up points before the fleet is split into Gold and Silver fleets.
Mixed multi-hull – Nacra 17
In the Nacra 17, the fleet was happy about a day in lighter conditions after an exhausting day two with four races in tough conditions.
Eight races have been completed thus far and after a consistent series of a fifth and fourth plus a race win in the last race of the day Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Waterhouse are sitting in overall third.
“Day three was a really good for us and we sailed a consistent day. It was quite soft and variable out there so we just used that to try and gain some points from the few errors yesterday,” Jason Waterhouse said.
With a big shift in wind conditions and sea state it was all about adjusting the equipment accordingly and using the right finesse on the boat as Jason Waterhouse explains: “You just have to set up the boat a bit differently, the rig and the foils. We also had to change the way we sailed and needed a bit more finesse on the boat to keep it going fast. There was still a bit of left over swell there from yesterday so you still needed technique and the groove. But Lisa is sailing really well, keeping the boat go forward and that allows me to make good decisions.”
The pair’s current point score could still be bettered should the pair be successful in results enquiry they have put in about an OCS in Wednesday’s racing.
According to Jason Waterhouse, after a premature start they did go back to re-start and he hopes the result to be corrected after providing video evidence to the jury.
Women’s Skiff – 49erFX
Sailing in two fleets the 49erFX finally got underway on Wednesday, but with no racing on day one and just one race possible on day two the 49er/FX fleets tried to make up for lost racing on Thursday.
Three races were completed with some strong results across all Australian crews.
Australian Sailing Squad’s Tess Lloyd (VIC) and Caitlin Elks (WA), who started the regatta with a third place, are the top ranked Australian crew in 13th after posting a 13-10-4-11 series today.
Haylee Outteridge (NSW) and Olympic silver medallist Nina Curtis (NSW) started the day strongly with a 3-9-3 series, but finished with an OCS in the last race and are ranked 14th.
Olympic silver medallist Olivia Price (NSW) and Eliza Solly (VIC) posted a 20-3-15-7 series and are ranked 22nd.
Racing is scheduled to resume on Friday, February 12, 2016 EST (AEST minus 16hrs). Qualifying in the 49er/FX fleets will continue for an extra day with three races scheduled in the 49erFX from 12:00 EST and four races in the 49er from 14:00 EST.
DAY 2:
Harsh conditions make for action packed day two at Nacra 17, 49er and 49erFX World Championships (9 – 14 February 2016)
It was another day of tough conditions with plenty of action on day two of the 2016 Nacra 17, 49er, and 49erFX World Championships in Clearwater, Florida with only the Nacra 17 fleet getting a full set of four races in on Wednesday, 10 February 2016 EST local time. The 49erFX completed just one race to open their Championship, while the 49er fleet featuring Nathan Outteridge (NSW) and Iain Jensen (NSW) did not complete any racing.
After no racing on day one, and just one race possible on day two the 49er/FX fleets find themselves two days into the six day regatta with just one race on the board. The rough and bumpy sea state, which is compounded at the Clearwater venue by the shallow nature of the sailing waters, once again took its toll. Race organisers will do their best to catch up lost ground over coming days.
In the Nacra 17 it was an up and down day two for World #1 Jason Waterhouse (NSW) and Lisa Darmanin (NSW) who had two high scores (16, 20) plus two top five (4,5) finishes. Unfortunately, their score was later changed to an OCS (premature start) in the last race, which meant a race result change to 44th and thus a drop to 13th overall.
“It was a pretty tricky day. It was still a big sea state out there and some good breeze. We had four races back-to-back with big shifts and big waves so it was a really tough day,” Jason Waterhouse said.
“We’re not feeling too comfortable at the moment, the boat feels a bit slow and we don’t feel we have the right set up. We lost our good spinnaker due to the storm when our gear floated away, but we’ll just take it on. And overall we’re happy with the results in the end after a long day.”
And describing an action-packed Jason added: “There was plenty of action out there, I lost Lisa over board at one bottom mark, which was pretty interesting. Lisa clung for dear life on the foot strap and I managed to drop the spinnaker and get her back on board. Luckily she was alright and it was just at the bottom gate so we only lost ten boats so it wasn’t too bad. Then at the last top mark we were second around when we caught a huge bit of weed and we lost about six boats in twenty seconds. That was a bit frustrating but we managed to crawl back to a fourth. Tomorrow looks lighter and warmer, which we’re all looking forward to.”
Sailing in two fleets the 49erFX finally got underway on Wednesday and also had an action-filled day with lots of capsizes across the fleet. The fleet was first sent out in the morning to attempt a race, but had to come back ashore with coming back through the entrance to the harbour being one of the biggest challenges at this regatta venue.
“We were postponed in the morning, as they needed to wait for the sea state to get smaller so we could sail. When we went out the waves were still pretty big and we were sent back in again. It’s quite challenging to come back in and we had to come up with a bit of game plan just before we came down wind to stay upright and not break any rigs or bodies and to be safe. There were lots of white caps and it was a bit like on a surf boat, going down a wave and trying to stay safe,” Eliza Solly described.
And skipper Olivia Price added: “I don’t think I’ve been out in conditions that bumpy before. It was a bit hairy at times and when the wind picked up it became pretty hard to really function and get upwind that much.”
In what was a hairy day for all sailors, Australian Sailing Squad’s Tess Lloyd (VIC) and Caitlin Elks (WA) managed to get around the course the best posting a third in the one and only race of the day, which puts them into fifth place overall.
Olivia Price (NSW) and Eliza Solly (VIC) posted 15th to be ranked 29th overall, while Haylee Outteridge (NSW) and Nina Curtis (NSW) finished the day with a 17th and sit in 33rd overall.
“When we finally got to race in the afternoon it started out ok, but then the tide started to change and the sea state got a lot worse and it was a big day,” Haylee Outteridge said.
“We didn’t really know where we were coming in the racing as everyone was upside down and all over the shop. We hung in there ok but on the last down wind we had a big capsize and I got stuck in the foot strap and I got swept away from the boat with Nina having to come to my rescue. We’ll check our rig after the capsizes as the mast goes straight down to the bottom when that happens and hopefully we’ll be all good to go for tomorrow.
No racing was completed in the men’s 49er with the fleet only getting one race in on day one.
DAY 1:
The 2016 Nacra 17, 49er, and 49erFX World Championships kicked-off at Clearwater, Florida, USA overnight (Tuesday, 9 February 2016 EST local time) but only one race was completed in the 49er and Nacra 17 fleets.
Racing had to be cancelled after winds built from a manageable 14 knots up to a ripping 18+knots during race one, making for some dramatic conditions in the shallow waters of Clearwater Beach.
Nacra 17 World #1 Jason Waterhouse (NSW) and Lisa Darmanin (NSW) made the most of it and finished in fourth in the 35-boats fleet – quite an achievement in the challenging conditions and after the day had started out with extra hurdles to overcome before even making it on to the water.
The Australians were one of a number of crews who had come down to the boat park in the morning to discover that some of their kit had either been damaged or disappeared altogether after stormy winds and a high tide had washed the water high up the beach, with a few boats actually afloat on the shallow sands. Some teams’ sails were buried below the sand, there was damage to some hulls, but for Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin their sail and equipment box had floated away completely. Fortunately it showed up in a marina further down the coast and Waterhouse was able to use his waterlogged equipment to notch up a fourth place finish.
In the 49er, Olympic gold medallists Nathan Outteridge (NSW) and Iain Jensen (NSW) started off with a 15th in the split fleet and are ranked 29th after day one in the 56-boats fleet. Australian Sailing Team’s David Gilmour (WA) and new crew Lewis Brake (QLD) finished fifth to sit in ninth place, while teammates Joel Turner (QLD) and new crew Tom Siganto (QLD) finished the race in 12th and are ranked 23rd.
Over the course of the race, the pressure consistently mounted and the fleet just about made it across the finish line in one piece and the race committee made the call to cancel the second start. The FX women waited on shore and never made it out on day one.
“When we got out there this morning it wasn’t too bad and around 15 knots at the start of the race. During the race the breeze built a little bit more and the waves got a big bigger. After the race finished it got pretty hairy and it built up to about 25knots and huge waves. So it was a good idea to call it and send everyone in. We were lucky not to break any gear and I think everyone who didn’t today was very lucky.” Joel Turner said about the conditions.
“We had a pretty good race with Dave (Gilmour), who finished fifth. We were in front of them at some stage but they managed to sail past us and we finished twelfth, so it wasn’t too bad. We’ re a bit behind schedule now, so I assume they will put on extra races over the next few days. Tomorrow could be another write-off with still plenty of breeze forecast and I think the sea state will stay around for a while and cause a bit of drama,” Joe Turner added.
AUSTRALIAN SAILING TEAM
