Great Britains Paralympic Sailors ready for sailing regatta

GREAT BRITAIN'S PARALYMPIC SAILORS READY FOR INAUGURAL PARALYMPIC YACHTING REGATTA

Sydney Harbour, the jewel in Sydney's crown, will once again become a hive of international focus over the next nine days as the inaugural Paralympic Yachting Regatta, part of the Paralympic Games in Sydney Australia, gets underway.

Next weeks regatta will be the first time sailing has featured in the Paralympic Games as a full medal sport. At the 1996 Paralympics it was classed as a demonstration event and won by Sydney 2000 Sonar helmsman Andy Cassell.

Both the British Sonar and 2.4mR crews have passed measurement and have been spending the past few days building on their knowledge of the two course areas (Olympic courses B & C) on Sydney Harbour, just insight of the world famous Opera House and Harbour Bridge. Overall, the team led by former Olympian and RYA Paralympic Team Manager Cathy Foster have been ensuring that every last detail that could make a medal winning difference has been covered.

Although the Great Britain Paralympic sailing and support team have just four years of history compared to the sixteen years of work that produced five Olympic sailing medals last month, the RYA support structure, funded by the lottery's World Class Performance Programme, means both the Sonar and 2.4 classes will start the six day series in the medal hunt.

The four sailors, Andy Cassell (Sonar helmsman), Andrew Millband (Sonar middleman), Brian Harding (Sonar frontman) and Mike Browne (2.4mR helmsman) will be aiming to taste the same success experienced by their Olympic team mates who returned to Great Britain as the top Olympic sailing nation after capturing three Gold and two Olympic Silver medals.

In the Sonar class, Andy and his new team will be aiming to repeat Cassell's 1996 triumph this time, however, the extremely challenging conditions inside Sydney Harbour mean that no medal is a certainty.

Amongst the seventeen nations who line up for the Sonar series, the Americans, Canadians, Dutch, Germans and Australians all promise to be formidable competitors for the Paralympic title.

The advent of lottery funding has allowed Cassell's team to spend a considerable amount of time on the water over the last three seasons. As Cathy Foster pointed out: "The Sonar class has some gained some new but very experienced players since Atlanta, but the internal strength of the British crew with Andrew and Brian on board could be the deciding factor in such a shifty venue."

Andy's team are in a confident mood but know the task ahead won't be easy. "The pressure is higher on us in light winds," explained middleman Andrew Millband. "You have to look for the last breath of wind and all your movements on the boat have to be slow and meticulous. We would certainly prefer a strong breeze but in Cowes in the summer we sailed a series in light airs and we were very competitive. People should remember that Andy didn't win easily in Atlanta and it won't be easy for us here".

"I've been sailing with Andy for a number of years and Brian joined us two years ago so we've got to know each very well, it's almost psychic on the boat. We don't need to talk to each other very much, we know what to do and just get on with it," added Andrew.

Despite only starting sailing six years ago after an off-piste skiing accident broke his lower back in 1993, Mike Browne has become the dark horse of the 2.4mR class. His international results over the last two seasons show he is capable of stealing the show, but, as Foster explained, "Mike has the speed and technical competence in this very tricky boat but lacks the years of experience that the others have." His underdog status may be his trump card.

Considering the competition, Mike commented: "The clear favourite has to be the German, Heiko Kruge, he has done some outstanding sailing this year. The fleet size (17) is perfect. It's not too big and there are not too many people who can mess you up".

Along with tune up helmsman, Steve Bullmore, Mike has also put some time into developing a new foresail (jib) for the Games "which is better than any other I could have bought off the shelf."

Alongside Cathy Foster, the four sailors representing Great Britain at the Paralympic Games will be backed up by Martin Cheshire (Sonar reserve), Steve Bullmore (2.4mR shore crew), Sue Cotgrove (physiotherapist), Chris Pegna (Sonar support) Sue Burgess (house manager), Duncan Bates (Sonar tune-up helmsman) and Rick Williams (sonar support).

The nine race (two discard series) for both the Sonar and 2.4m classes starts on Saturday 21st October.

Schedule for the regatta will be as follows:

• Saturday 21st October - Racing starts Sonar and 2.4mR classes
• Sunday 22nd October - 2.4mR racing (Sonar lay day)
• Monday 23rd October- Sonar racing (2.4mR lay day)
• Tuesday 24th October - Sonar and 2.4mR racing
• Wednesday 25th October - 2.4mR racing (Sonar layday)
• Thursday 26th October - Sonar racing (2.4mR layday)
• Friday 27th October - Sonar and 2.4mR last day of racing
• Friday 27th October - Paralympic Sailing Regatta Medal Ceremony
• Tuesday 31st October or Wednesday1st November - Team flies home

TELEVISION COVERAGE

BBC 2 Television will be doing a daily roundup covering all the Paralympic Sports.

• Wednesday 18th October - 17.55hrs - 50 mins
• Thursday 19th October - 17.15hrs - 50mins
• Friday 20th October - 17.15hrs- 50mins
• Saturday 21st October - 18.05 hrs - 50mins
• Sunday 22nd October - 18.55hrs - 50mins
• Monday 23rd October - 18.45hrs - 45mins
• Tuesday 24th October - 18.50hrs - 45mins
• Wednesday 25th October - 18.45 hrs - 45mins
• Thursday 26th October - 18.00 hrs- 45mins
• Friday 27th October - 17. 15hrs- 45mins
• Saturday 28th October - 16.00hrs- 50mins
• Sunday 29th October - 18.40 hrs - 50mins

RADIO

Radio 5 Live, 909 & 693 medium wave, are also in Sydney. They may do a regular slot on the Breakfast Show 6-9am. There will be a daily roundup on the Nicky Campbell show 11.30 - 12.00 am.

GOOD LUCK MESSAGES

Friends, Family and supporters can send good luck messages by email to SailingTeamGB@hotmail.com