2001 IFDS World Disabled Sailing Championships - Day 3
by Royal Yachting Association 29 Oct 2001 15:54 GMT
Cassell in bronze medal position after day three of IFDS World Championships
The third day of racing took place in 15-20 knots of breeze and very shifty conditions. Brian Mackie and his team from Canada carried on their dominance of the Sonar class and despite starting prematurely in the first race of the day, went on to score their fourth race win of the championship, giving them an eleven point lead over Jens Kroker and his team from Germany. 1996 British Paralympic Gold medallist and 1994 World Disabled Champion, Andy Cassell, sailing with Brian Harding and Edward Suckling sailed well to score a sixth and an eighth place to keep them in a bronze medal position and only two points off a silver.
Heiko Kroeger of Germany is continuing his dominance in the 2.4mR class, adding two more first places to his spectacular score line, he is yet to be beaten in a race, and is now a clear ten points from his closest rival Thomas Brown of the United States.
RYA Team GBR sailor Andrew Millband scored a fourth and a thirteen place to keep him in seventh position overall, with team mate Allan Smith only one point behind in eighth.
John Robertson and his crew of Hannah Stodel and John Long have been forced to pull out of the 2001 World Disabled Sailing Championships as a result of a protest over their classification. The Classification Protest committee have unfortunately stood by their decision to classify the crew as having 15 points which is one point to many for disabled competition.
Sailors disability is measured on a scale to determine how mobile they are and how much strength they have. Sonar racing is designed for all levels of disability and the classification is strict in order to open up the sailing to everyone. Sonar sailors are awarded a rating based on how strong and mobile they are, with one being very immobile and weak to seven points awarded to those sailors that are the most mobile and have greater strength. Between the three sailors their overall scores must not exceed 14 points, and unfortunately for Robertson and his crew, they exceeded this by one
point. This is a huge disappointment to the team as after day two they were in a silver medal winning position, and had high hopes for this event.
Competitors will be enjoying a day off today and the last six races will be sailed on the 30th and 31st October, with the medal ceremony taking place on the eve of the 31st.
Results: (after day 3, 6 races, 1 discard)
| Pos | Helm | Crew | Nat | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | Pts |
|---|
| Sonar Class |
|---|
| 1 | B. Mackie | B. MacDonald & P. Tingley | CAN | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | (OCS) | 1 | 6 |
| 2 | J. Kroker | D. Steigal & P. Reichl | GER | 3 | 3 | (7) | 7 | 1 | 3 | 17 |
| 3 | A. Cassell | B. Harding & E. Suckling | GBR | 5 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 6 | (8) | 19 |
| 2.4mR |
|---|
| 1 | H. Kroeger | GER | (1) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 2 | T. Brown | USA | (6) | 4 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 15 |
| 3 | J. Stordahl | NOR | (9) | 3 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 19 |
| Team GBR results |
| 7 | A. Millband | GBR | 5 | 12 | 4 | 7 | 4 | (13) | 32 |
| 8 | A. Smith | GBR | 8 | (11) | 2 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 33 |
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