Sail Auckland 2012's penultimate race day

Just one day remains for Sail Auckland 2012, New Zealand’s premier Olympic and Paralympic class regatta. Today saw slightly lighter winds and choppy water on most courses due to the influx of Waitangi Day holiday goers enjoying some time on the Waitemata Harbour.

Ray Hall, secretary of the New Zealand Finn Association reported on today’s racing from the Finn divisions. “There’s been good courses set, but boat wash has impacted us a wee bit” he said. “Racing today was quite tight with no Oscar flag (no pumping allowed). On the last race the whole fleet finished within 100 meters”.

“When it was a bit windier we saw Matt and Karl stretch out. Today was good for the main group to get back into place” continued Ray. The Finn class has been dominated by Matt Coutts who so far has won all nine races sailed, fending off two times OK Dinghy World Champion Karl Purdie and local Finn sailor Brad Douglas.

“Karl and I got fairly close to Matt today, there was only about 20 seconds between us in one race. We have every chance to catch him on the last day tomorrow”.

Brendan Tourelle in the Access Liberty Class caught up to and passed John Buchanan to take home the second National Championship title ever awarded in this fleet. John was unable to recover from a DNF in race eight today, and throughout the regatta these top two were chased by last year’s National Champion Michael Jones of Wellington.

As expected in the Flying Fifteen fleet, Aaron Goodmanson and Alister Rowlands held on to their firm grip of the National Championship title as they have for most of the last decade. This is not a small feat considering the depth of talent in this national fleet.

On the RS:X courses today, lighter wind and more disturbed water brought the need for a different style of sailing. Natalia Kosinska of the NZL Sailing Team had a solid day in lighter conditions, and has subsequently brought herself back up to the top of the RS:X 8.5m fleet after two wins and a fourth. Jessica Crisp sits only one point behind. Richard Stauffacher of Switzerland still narrowly leads the Men’s RS:X 9.5 fleet, two points ahead of Tae Hoon Lee of Korea.

The NZL Sailing Team’s Jo Aleh and Olivia Powrie are reeling the points in over team mates Paul Snow Hansen and Jason Saunders, sitting second and first overall respectively in the hotly contested Olympic 470 class.

Andrew Murdoch continues to hold on to his strong lead of the Laser fleet, he is now 14 points ahead of the next sailor, Jee Min Ha of Korea. Sara Winther is in a similar position in the Laser Radial Fleet, 11 points ahead of Wakatere Boating Club’s Logan Dunning Beck. Andrew Mckenzie in the Laser Radial fleet is one to watch heading into the final day of the event, after two wins today he is in easy reach of finishing in the silver position.

Erica Dawson and Ellie Copeland of Murrays Bay Sailing Club had a fantastic day today in the 420 fleet, repeating the same performance as the first day of racing with three race wins in a row. They sit comfortably in first place overall, ahead of Club mates Gemma Jones and Tomer Simhoney who are twelve points behind in second place as the regatta heads into its last day tomorrow.

Racing continues for the final day on Tuesday, from 11:00. Only two races are scheduled for most fleets, and three for the skiffs, so the sailors may enjoy a shorter day before packing up their gear and attending prize giving at the Royal Akarana Yacht Club at 6:30pm.

Getting in behind Sail Auckland is a team of dedicated sponsors including The Orakei Marina, Auckland Council, The Lion Foundation, Te Waihou Reserve New Zealand Spring Water and DB Breweries.

Sail Auckland 2012 Provisional Results


Day 3 - Olympic Classes
Laser top three
1st NZL Andrew Murdoch- 12pts
2nd KOR Jee Min Ha- 26pts
3rd NED Rutger Van Schaardenburg - 27pts

Laser Radial top three
1st NZL Sara Winther- 17pts
2nd NZL Logan Dunning Beck- 28th
3rd NZL Andrew McKenzie- 32pts

470 top three
1st NZL Paul Snow-Hansen & Jason Saunders – 10pts
2nd NZL Jo Aleh and Olivia Powrie - 29pts
3rd KOR Chang Ju Kim & Kim Ji Hoon - 35pts

Finn top three
1st NZL Matt Coutts- 8 pts
2nd NZL Karl Purdie- 19 pts
3rd NZL Brad Douglas- 24pts

RS:X 9.5 (Men) top three
1st SUI Richard Stauffahcer- 23pts
2nd KOR Tae Hoon Lee- 25pts
3rd NED Dorian van Rijsselberge= 29 pts

RS:X 8.5 (Women and youth) top three
1st NZL Natalia Kosinska - 22pts
2nd AUS Jessica Crisp- 23pts
3rd NZL Steffanie Williams- 25pts

49er top two
1st NZL Peter Burling and Blair Tuke- 13pts
2nd NZL Marcus Hansen and Josh Porebski- 19pts
Day 3 Standings Paralympic Classes

2.4 metre top three
1st NZL Brett Willcock- 6 pts
2nd NZL Paul Francis- 9 pts
3rd NZL Josh McKenzie Brown- 13pts

SKUD18 top two
1st NZL Tim Dempsey and Jan Apel – 5pts
2nd NZL Russell Phillips and Quentin Smith- 10pts

Day 3 Standings - Other Invited Classes
420 top three
1st NZL Erica Dawson and Vicky Francis- 18pts
2nd NZL Gemma Jones and Tomer Simhony- 30pts
3rd NZL Taylor Burn and Oscar Rovick- 31pts

29er top two
1st NZL Trent Rippey and Alex Munro- 13pts
2nd NZL Markus Sommerville and Jack Simpson- 19pts

Access 303
1st NZL Robbie Love and Katy Kenah- 8pts

Flying 15 National Championship- FINAL RESULTS
1st NZL Aaron Goodmanson and Alister Rowlands- 12pts
2nd NZL Ben Lowe and Kate Gilbert 22pts
3rd NZL Craig Coulam and Adrienne Rekke- 23pts

Access Liberty National Championship FINAL RESULTS
1st Brendan Tourelle- 14pts
2nd John Buchanan- 18pts
3rd Michael Jones- 29pts

Daily results can be found online the event website www.sailauckland.org.nz and facebook page www.facebook.com/SailAKL