Day three here at Sail Sydney has come to an end, after a windy and tough day on the water. Across all three course’s, competitors were met with a strong 15 – 20 knot Nor Easter that was partnered with difficult cross chop.
Up racing near the heads the Laser and 470 sailors battled through the swell to complete 3 races for the day. The rest of the fleets raced close to the famous Sydney Opera House or right up close to Shark Island.
In the double handers today, 470 pairing of Sasha and Will Ryan hold their lead after tight racing against multiple NSW teams. In the 420 class Gough and Galloway dominated their third day with two quick back to back bullets. Elloise Brake and Jamie Ryan the 420 Qld girls team had another strong day with two 3rds to put them up into 2nd overall.
On the Laser radial course, the Queensland boys and girls had a tough day, struggling to find a comfortable groove in what were difficult racing conditions. In the Full rigs World Champion Tom Slingsby dominated in the large waves and strong winds, with Queensland Sailing Team members such as Ryan Palk, Jared West and Klade Hauschilt fighting it out behind him in the top 10.
The 29er class had some high performance racing in the moderate pressure on the course situated in Rose Bay. Queensland pairing Brake and Franklin again battled the NSW team (White and Rooklyn), and are holding a dominant 2nd position overall.
On the Rose Bay course the sailboarders have had some fun racing in the upper ranges of the breeze they all enjoy. Luke Baillie from Queensland raced well in the breeze that he described as “Fun and enjoyable considering it was sunny and windy for a change…” This strong racing has put Luke up into 2nd overall. Full sailboard and all other results can be found here: http://www.sailingscoreboard.com/sailsydney2010/
Tomorrow sees the final day for Sail Sydney 2010, once this regatta ends many of the team members head to the final leg of the SailDownUnder series in Melbourne. Battling it out with national and international competitors, Sail Melbourne is another fantastic opportunity for quality racing.
Andrew Gough