Peter Burling / Blair Tuke - NZ (49er)
Summer has hit in Melbourne and as the temperature headed towards the high 30s the racing stepped up a notch on the water in the first session of the day.
The 49er, 29er, 2.4m, Skud 18 and Laser 4.7 and OK Dinghy classes started racing on day three at 12pm, with the remainder of the fleets heading out from 3pm.
In the 49er class current World Champions Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen had a fight on their hands all day with New Zealand crew Peter Burling and Blair Tuke winning the opening two races. The Kiwis led the fleet from start to finish in race one before Outteridge and Jensen hit back in race two, only to be beaten over the finish line by the smallest of margins by Burling and Tuke.
Heading into the final race of the day the New Zealanders had a slender one point lead but the final honours went to Outteridge and Jensen with Burling and Tuke third behind brothers Will and Sam Phillips. So after nine races it’s the World Champions one point ahead of the Kiwis with the Phillips brothers third.
“We had to fight all day to stay up there,” said Outteridge. “In race one the Kiwis didn’t make a mistake and we had to follow them around the course, while in race two we led the whole way only to have them get past us at the last minute for the victory.”
“In the third race the Kiwis had a bad start which we were able to force on them and they got to the top mark in fourth with us in second. Will and Sam Phillips had the lead and on the final lap we went left and he went right and we managed to gain 40 seconds. We followed them down the last beat and when they gybed we gybed and we managed to roll them and cross the line about a boat length ahead,” said Outteridge.
Peter Thompson had a much better day three in the 2.4m class, winning both races ahead of Canadian Paul Tingley, with the pair tied for the lead on ten points, with Michael Leydon third.
In the Skud 18 fleet Duncan and Peter Macgregor continue to lead the way, having a first and second place finish to move ten points clear of Krista Bailey and Michael Lewenhagen in second place with Ame Barnbrook and Lindsay Mason moving into third.
Adam Lahey and Troy Rushton jumped up the ladder in the 29er fleet, winning both of today’s races to be tied on points with Byron White and Thomas Koerner with James Sly and Andrew Gillies third. The 29er class is destined to go down to the wire with just one point separating the top three crews.
In the Laser 4.7s Lloyd Collings continues to lead but it was second placed Ella Evans who was the star of the day, winning both races to consolidate second place ahead of Stephen Collings.
The OK Dinghy class joined the regatta today with Tim Davies jumping into the early lead with a first and third to be two points ahead of Roger and Andre Blasse.
Full results are available at www.sailmelbourne.com.au with a release featuring the action from the second session of racing available later this evening.
High resolution images are available from www.sportlibrary.com.au
Craig Heydon
Communications Coordinator
Yachting Australia