2008 Paralympic Sailing Competition - Day Two

Brits focussing on reversing Paralympic fortunes

Britain’s Paralympic sailors will be looking for an upturn in fortunes in the second part of week after reaching the midway point of the Beijing 2008 regatta in Qingdao.

With the full scheduled complement of five races completed after two days, tomorrow (Wednesday) will be a rest day for the athletes meaning the six Brits, who currently lie in sixth, seventh and seventh overall in the three classes, will look to regroup ahead of the restart of racing on Thursday in a bid to work their way up the fleets.

Niki Birrell and Alex Rickham are the highest placed Britons, lying sixth in the SKUD-18 two-person keelboat class. The pair scored a 9, 8 4 from their three races today (Tuesday) but with the first discard coming into play after five races, Birrell and Rickham have ditched the ninth and sit on 22 points overall.

American duo Nick Scandone and Maureen McKinnon Tucker continue to lead the SKUD fleet with a total of five points.

Helena Lucas picked up the best British race score today, finishing third in her third and final 2.4mR race of the day, moving through the fleet from seventh at the first mark rounding. Lucas had picked up scores of 7,7 in her earlier two outings. Lucas has discarded her race one 10th to be placed in seventh overall also on 22 points. Canadian Paul Tingley maintains his position at the head of the 2.4mR pack on nine points.

John Robertson, Stephen Thomas and Hannah Stodel in the Sonar class grappled back from 11th at the first mark in their opening race of the day to eventually take sixth, but they struggled to make an impact on the fleet in the follow up encounter scoring a subsequently discarded 10th.

A fifth in their final outing of the day also puts them in seventh position overall on 23 points with French trio Bruno Jourdren, Herve Larhant and Nicolas Vimont-Vicary leading the class on eight points.

RYA Olympic Manager Stephen Park said: “Generally across all the fleets we have not been starting well enough and the sailors need to be a bit more assertive in their sailing and more confident in making good starts.

“Everyone is going to use the opportunity of the lay day tomorrow to get some training time in and reinforce the basics. There are still six races left and plenty of opportunities for them to force their way into the running for the medals.”

Sonar skipper Robertson echoed Park’s sentiments. “This wasn’t where we expected to after five races,” he admits. “Our boat speed has been generally good but now we’ve got to go and get hold of the regatta on Thursday. We are still confident of being in the medals at the end of the series.”

Lucas said: “I was struggling to start well at the beginning of the event but I seem to have got that sorted by the end of the day today. Now I’ve got to make that count for the rest of the regatta.”

SKUD helm Birrell added: “We felt we were a little bit short of downwind speed and we will be using the opportunity tomorrow to work on that.”

The Paralympic Regatta is scheduled to consist of an 11 races series for each of the three classes - when nine races have been completed, sailors can discard a second score from their series.

Unlike the Olympic Regatta, there is no double points’ medal race sailed on the last day of the regatta rather the sailor(s) finishing on the lowest number of points at the end of the series wins the gold medal. The series is scheduled to conclude with the 11th and final race on Saturday.

Three races are scheduled for all classes when racing resumes on Thursday with racing due to start at 12pm local time (5am British time). For the lowdown on the ParalympicsGB team sailors and the most-up-to-date information straight out of the British camp in Qingdao, visit www.rya.org.uk/beijing2008

Irish Update (from Bernadette Fox)

In the Skud 18 (2 person keelboat) class Irelands Amy Kelehan and John Twomey lie 10th overall after day two of racing when they placed 10th in race three, four and five. America’s Nick Scandone & Maureen McKinnon Tucker continue to lead the fleet.

In the Sonar (3 person keelboat) class Paul McCarthy, Paul Ryan and Richard Whealey placed 12th, 13th and 11th in race three, four and five respectively to lie 11th overall. Bruno Jourdren, Herve Larhant and Nicolas Vicary of France continue to hold the lead.

Tomorrow (Wednesday, 10th September) is a rest day for sailing with racing resuming on Thursday, 11th September.

The Paralympic Regatta is an eleven race series with the boat with the lowest points taking the championship. With five races now complete, competitors can discard their lowest results.

US Update (from Marni Lane)

Team USA continues winning streak

It was another successful day for Team USA today, with two teams each winning two out of their three races. Nick Scandone (Newport Beach, Calif.) and Maureen McKinnon-Tucker (Marblehead, Mass.) are enjoying the view from the top in the 11-boat SKUD-18 class, after grabbing two bullets and a third place finish today. After also winning two races today, John Ruf (Pewaukee, Wis.) now sits in second place in the 2.4 mR, only one point shy away from the leader, Canada.

"We couldn’t be more proud of their performances," said Head Coach Betsy Alison (Newport, R.I.). "They sailed consistently out on the water and were persistent. That’s all we can ask. As long as they stay positive and on track, things will come together in the end."

Ruf credits his two winning performances today with a strong start, fast speed and smart tactical decisions. In a tight and competitive fleet like the 2.4 mR, sailors must rely on finding their edge to claim a lead. One bad start or one missed opportunity, and they’re left behind. In Ruf’s first race today, he felt his start wasn’t stellar but he jumped on the first shift before the rest of the fleet, which gave him the advantage sailing down-wind. He then guided down the shift quicker than the three boats in front of him, so he was able to pass them and take the lead. In contrast, Ruf said he had his best start of the series in the third race of the day, and everything clicked. "I nailed the start, and it was all downhill from there," he said.

"I haven’t won that many races in my career, so it’s pretty remarkable," said Ruf after racing today. "I have to get myself back on the planet.” While Ruf basks in the glow of two bullets today, he knows there’s more work to be done. "If I keep my speed up and keep sailing smart, I think things will go well," he said. "I’m looking forward to it."

Ruf’s coach, Marko Dahlberg (Ylojarvi, Finland) credits Ruf with his smart tactical decisions on the water: Ruf knows when to tack and how to play with China’s strong current. Most importantly, Dahlberg said, "Speed is our key. I think we are the fastest boat in the world."

Scandone and McKinnon-Tucker padded their lead in the SKUD-18 class with two more wins today. They dropped their "worst" score today, an enviable third place finish. Despite a slow start in their first race today, they managed to pick off boats one by one, and claimed the lead by a substantial distance. After a brilliant start in their second race, Scandone and McKinnon-Tucker strongly suspected they started early. Fearing the worst, they circled back and restarted. Despite this initial setback, they relied on their boat speed and a little luck to capture the lead. On the first leg, the fleet leaders mistakenly mistook a mark from another course, and other boats followed suit. Scandone and McKinnon-Tucker diverted from the pack and headed for the correct mark for the SKUD-18 course, capturing the lead.

The duo first started racing together a year ago, when Scandone switched from the 2.4 mR to the double-handed SKUD-18. Ever since, they have been an unstoppable force in this competitive fleet, winning the 2007 U.S. Paralympic Team Trials and US SAILING's 2008 Rolex Miami OCR by wide margins. McKinnon-Tucker credits their teamwork with their success: "Nick and I just really gel, and we work well together as a team," she said. "I feel very privileged to sail with him."

"There isn’t a lot of chatter on the boat," she said. "We manage to know what each other is feeling without words. It’s different than any other team I have sailed with. Everything just clicks."

"Of course, it could be because we’re both Pisces," she added.

The Sonar team of skipper Rick Doerr (Clifton, N.J.), and his crew, Tim Angle (Marblehead, Mass.) and Bill Donohue (Brick, N.J.), faced a tough day on the water today – condition- and competition-wise. The light and shifty breeze forced them to commit to the sides of the course early, but one slight misstep or delay proved to be costly. Despite some good starts, Doerr and his team weren’t able to capitalize on the side opportunities when they presented themselves, said Alison. "They’re positive and looking forward to the second half of the series," said Alison today. "We have a lot of racing left."

The athletes will be able to recharge their batteries tomorrow during the scheduled Reserve Day. Because they had five races under their belts, sailors were able to drop their worst scores today. After nine races, they will be able to drop a second score. The sailors will race a total of eleven races over five days throughout the week. Medals will be awarded on the final day of racing, Saturday, September 13. There will not be a medal race in the Paralympic Regatta, unlike the Olympic Regatta last month.

For full results please visit ISAF’s web site.