Kiwis going for Gold in 2008

Kiwi's finish second in Yngling Worlds!!

The USA team of Sally Barkow, Carrie Howe and Debbie Capozzi are the World Champions in the Women's fleet of the Yngling Class.

Sharon Ferris and crew (NZL-4) on the final day of racing

Second overall is the team from New Zealand with Sharon Ferris, Raynor Smeal and Ashley Holtum. Both teams were fighting to the last race. But the Americans stayed on track and finished 11th. New Zealand was just behind them. Russia took the third place with Vlada Ilienko, Ekaterina Kovalenko and Natalia Gaponovitch. The Australian crew of Nicky Bethwaite, Karyn Gojnich and Helen Impey.

Only one races was sailed on the final day and overall placings did not change from the penultimate day. The top three match raced each other throughout the final race, finishing 11th, 12 and 13 respectively.
 

Sharon Ferris reports:

"Wow what a week!!!  With the last race starting just 45 mins before the cut off time and we raced and it was the most stressfull race of my life. And guess what the results was USA 337 11th, NZL 4 12th and RUS 1 12th so as you can imagine there was heaps of stress and the overall result stayed the same.  So we are second overall and very happy yes we would like to win but next year!!!!! Now we are on our way to Milan to leave the boat at Harken and then the flight back Home!!!!  For 3 weeks before we head to the US for more racing! Thank you to everyone for all your support and to my fantastic team!!! David your sails are great!!!" And Happy Birthday!!!"

The World Champion in the Open Fleet was already decided by Race 9. The Team of Maarten Jamin, Gert Henk Bakker and Jansje Hofsta decided not to participate in the last race.

The medal for second place is in Dutch hands. Tom Otte together with Maryke von Ogk and Ester Otte finished runner-up. Third place also didn't Change from yesterday. The John Ingalls led crew from the USA took the bronze.

More to follow.

KS240705

Kiwis going for Gold in 2008

Kiwi's second with one race to sail in Yngling Worlds

Sharon Ferris, Raynor Smeal and Ashley Holtum hold 2nd place going into the final day of racing in the Yngling World Championships. Racing gets underway again in Mondsee, Austria late today and final results will be available Sunday morning.

Sharon Ferris and crew (NZL) leads Sally Barkow (USA-337)

Introduced to the Olympics in Athens the three person keelboat class looks likely to return a World Championship medal for New Zealand with Ferris just one race away from the end of the regatta. Last night they recorded some solid results to establish their place behind the leading USA team skippered by Sally Barkow. Three races were sailed and the kiwis came 5th, 11th and 7th in the fleet of 34 boats.

Barkow and crew were able to extend their lead on the kiwis though and now have a nine point advantage over Ferris. Taking a leap up the ranks overnight, and now close behind the New Zealand girls is Vlada Ilienko and her crew from Russia moving into 3rd from 13th the previous day. Ilienko recently finished 2nd at Kiel Regatta in the lead up to this event and now sits only two points adrift of Ferris.

Also improving overnight were the Australian trio lead by Nicky Bethwaite who moved up one into 4th, while the British team including Athens Gold medalist Sarah Ayton now holds 5th.

Sharon Ferris reports:

"A huge Hello to everyone! With one race to go we are all waiting for wind. We have a time limit today of 3pm in which we can start the final race, so we are all waiting ashore as there is no wind or a little from the east which is the wrong direction for here and the local conditions. Right now it is 11.44 so we have a few more hours to wait.

"Yesterday was a very difficult day, with again light winds and shifty conditions, but for the lake we had strong wind. We started the day with a 5th after passing a few boats downwind and then after the second race they race committee told us we had an OCS with means we started early and we were disqualified. I was very sure we were not over the line and wanted to protest. But first I had to concentrate on the 3rd race of the day and we sailed consistent to finish 7th.

"Once I got ashore I asked Bruce to go to the Port end start boat to check that they had us recorded as over the line and I went ot the race committee boat. Bruce came back to say they did not have us down and I asked the race committee to please check their records also. Neither had us recorded and we were given our finishing position of 11th.
"Now this has saved our second as the RUS 1 team as found new evidence to clear them also of a OCS and they have caught up a lot. Now just 2 points behind.
"New lesson learnt everyday and we are all keen to go sailing today we can still win the championship USA 337 team are just nine points in front!!
Time will tell!!!"


Yngling World Championship 2005
Current Top Five Standings, July 23

1st – Sally Barkow, Carrie Howe & Debbie Capozzi (USA) – 37.1 points
2nd - Sharon Ferris, Raynor Smeal & Ashley Holtum (NZL) – 46 points
3rd – Vlada Ilienko, Ekaterina Kovalenko & Natalia Gaponovich (RUS) – 48 points
4th - Nicola Bethwaite, Karyn Gojnich & Helen Impey (AUS) – 65.4 points
5th – Sarah Ayton, Anne Lush & Liza McDonald (GBR) – 67 points

Mondsee, so far has produced light fickle winds which can make it difficult to produce the consistent results required to claim medals. The kiwi girls from the Bay of Islands will be hoping for one final top performance at this year’s Yngling World Championships.

Jodie Perkins YNZ 230705

Kiwis going for Gold in 2008

Jury decision costs kiwis' lead in Yngling Womens Worlds

An International Jury decision has altered the places at the top of the points table in the 2005 Yngling Womens World Championship.

As reported by Australia’s Nicky Bethwaite earlier on Sail-World.com there was some conflict between the Open Worlds fleet and the Womens World fleet on the race course. While specifics of the Jury decision are not to hand, it would appear that the Race Committees actions/omission would have given good ground for a redress claim, and clearly this view was upheld by the International Jury.

 The Womens World's are being conducted in conjunction with an Open event.

Provisional points leader after six race, Sharon Ferris (NZL) reported that the redress had been granted and describes the racing on the Austrian lake.

‘We lost the lead after the USA team were given redress.

‘The location of Mondsee is just 25 km west of Salzburg and has great mountains on both sides.  We were training here in May and the mountains had snow on the top!!

‘We have had wind from all 360 degrees and from 0 - 28 knots. So we have had a bit of everything in the lake. The lake is made up of two parts and the first day we were in the southern part were it is very norrow and has very high cliffs. The wind is dumping down and you have to react very quickly. 

‘In the second race we were third at the top mark and the wind died and turned 180 degrees to come form the other direction of the lake.  We finished 6th in that race and it could of been so much worse.

‘At the moment we are flying in the light conditions and that is giving us options to do what we want to do. 

‘Tomorrow is another day and we have four races to go anything can happen and we just want to make sure we are on the right side of the shifts sailing towards the top mark.

‘As usual on the lay day we have perfect conditions and we will see what happens tomorrow we are expecting light and shifty conditions again.’

Racing commences again tomorrow on Lake Mondsee, Austria, with two races scheduled.

KS220705

Kiwis going for Gold in 2008

Kiwi's lead Yngling Womens Worlds + score second win in Race 6!!

The New Zealand crew of Sharon Ferris, Raynor Smeal and Ashley Holtum are leading the Yngling Women’s World Championship after the completion of six races.

The crew from the Bay of Islands Yacht Club in the far north of New Zealand had a very consistent day on the water again, finishing fourth on the first race of the day and then winning the second.

USA led in Race 5, but could only finish 12th in race 6 (Photo: Yngling2005.com).

The consistency of the Kiwi crew, on a difficult day, was the factor that marked them out from others in the top group at the end of four races. Overnight leader, Sally Barkow and her crew from USA started out well with a win in the fifth race, but crashed out to 12th place in the sixth, taking many of the other top competitors down into the double digit paces in the 34 boat fleet.

A factor making the Kiwi’s success even more remarkable is the fact that they are using some home-made sails. Sharon Ferris explains the days and the sails:
‘Again in very light and shifty conditions that we are told are just like China we finished with a fourth and a first in the 34 boats that are racing in our fleet.

‘This puts us in first or second overall as we do not have the 6th race results up as yet we cannot be sure but for sure we won the 6th race and that is all that matters.

‘There are a lot of protests from Race 6. Against the race committee and also different boats on boats we are just waiting to see what happens. If the race stays we have a lay day tomorrow if not we will be racing as usual.
‘For this regatta we designed some sails at home built and designed by my brother David. David thank you for the fantastic boat speed we have your sails are fantastic!!'

Starts are a challenge on Lake Mondsee, Austria (Photo: Yngling2005.com)

Second overnight, Australia’s Nicky Bethwaite and crew, from Royal Sydney YS did not have a good day finishing 29th in the fourth race and then improving to 11th in the second.

Conditions at Lake Mondsee, Austria have been very tricky for the competitors, and this is evidenced by the third placed crew led by Ulrike Schumann (GER) who lie in third place overall, even though their best placing in any race is fifth, and they have had only one race in their teens.

Discards have been applied for the first time in the racing and while this has closed up the points gap between Ferris and Barkow, it has also allowed them to establish a 10 point margin over the third placed competitor.

2004 Olympic Gold Medalist Sarah Ayton (GBR) was another big mover today coming through from 11th overall to fourth – with placings of sixth and ninth – underlining how consistency has paid in this regatta.

Tomorrow is a rest day and no doubt a day of contemplation for the crews.

KS210705

Kiwis going for Gold in 2008

Kiwi Crew in top three in Yngling World Championships

Kiwi crew of Sharon Ferris, Raynor Smeal and Ashley Holtum, all from the Bay of Islands Yacht Club are in third place overall, after winning the fourth race, in the Womens 2005 Yngling Championships being sailed in on Lake Mondsee, Austria.

The regatta is led by a USA crew helmed by Sally Barkow with Australia second (Nicky Bethwaite, Karyn Gojnich and Helen Impey) after the completion of four races.

 Sally Barkow's crew (USA) lead after the 4th race in the 2005 Womens Yngling Worlds on Lake Mondesee,  

Just four points cover the first three boats – which is testimony to the rewards for consistency 34 boat fleet which represent 21 nations.

Two races were sailed overnight and while the current world champion Trine Palludan (DEN) led after the first day on the basis of having scored fourth and fifth placings, she fell through the poinstscore to be seventh overall after placings of 23^rd and 13^th on the second day.

The Australian crew did the reverse jumping from 12^th over night to second after four races when they placed fourth and third.

For Ferris and her crew it has been a slightly steadier ride in the points table offsetting a 16^th in Race 3 with a win in Race 4 to stay in contact with the top three. Ferris reports:

'Today was an interesting day; we woke up to heaps of rain and very little wind, but when they did race us the wind certainly picked up. In fact, while we were waiting in between races, there were gusts of over 20 knots. but while we were racing the pressure was a little less.

'Our first race we had a pretty good start, but just found it a "Mondsee type challenge" in finding the pressure. It was a real challenge for each of us and the communication wasn't as good as it has been. We ended up 16th on that race.

'The next race looked to be more of the same; we had an incident at the start, got bounced out of where we wanted to be and actually got hit by a boat. The pressure was still difficult to find, and on the first downwind we weren't exectly where we hoped to be. But we didn't give up and after rounding the bottom mark Ray and Sharon put us in great pressure. All the sudden we were doing really well! We got to the left edge and saw some serious pressure coming down. We were the only ones who got into it!! Ray picked another great pressure patch and we rounded the top mark first!! On the run down we did really well mantaining our lead without problem. And we won a worlds race!!!!!

'So this afternoon we are very happy with our performance so far, our results today have lifted us up one place to 3rd overall. But the points are still close.'

Sally Barkow and her crew, had a similar result to the New Zealanders, when the  US crew won the third race and then crashed to 18^th in the fourth. The fact that almost all of the top crews have had a place in the teens means that when discards come into play, initially there should not be a big change in the points table.

In the context of the 2004 Olympics and the campaigns for 2008, there are some interesting comparisons. Barkow was fourth in the 2004 World Championships in Spain, and the top placed USA competitor, however she placed third in the US Olympic trials and was not selected. Carol Cronin’s crew (2004 US Olympic rep) won the trials and went on to place 10^th in Athens. Cronin is not competing at this world championship.

Nicky Bethwaite’s crew, now second overall, placed 13^th in the Olympic fleet in 2004. The British crew of Sarah Ayton (Gold medalist in 2004 with Shirley Robertson) is lying in 10^th place overall with a best placing of third in Race 2.

The other competitor of interest is the French crew of Anne Le Hally, Marion Deplanque and Catherine Lepesant who are one of the few combinations that seem to have survived the 2004 Olympics. There they finished fifth overall, however in this world championship they are 18^th overall having being 12^th overnight – with a fourth place in the last race of the day doing wonders for their points score.

Two more races are scheduled for Wednesday, with Thursday being a rest day.

KS200705