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2008 Olympics

Last Day: Andrew Wins the Medal Race and finishes 5th overall

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'Andrew Murdoch (NZL) looks for the Committee Boat end of the start line with 12 sec to go in the start of the 2008 Olympics Medal Race in the Laser.'    Richard Gladwell

Sail-World presents its coverage of the first medal race in Qingdao involving New Zealand sailors.

Andrew Murdoch competed in the Medal race for the Mens Laser, this afternoon in Qingdao. He had an outside chance of a medal, however in spite of winning the race, he finished 5th overall.


In this sequence, Murdoch started at the Committee end of the line, then tacked for the seawall at Qingdao, to escape the tide, initially he was buried, however when he came off the wall he was ahead of most of the fleet, and picked up the remainder after another couple of tacks.

The wind lightened as the fleet neared the top mark, and Murdoch rounded with a good lead. Behind him the match race between series leader Paul Goodison (SWE) and Rasmus Mygren (SWE) had resulted in the Swede being sailed off the course and out of contention for any medal.

In the end it was the Slovenian sailor Vasilij Zbogar who took the Silver medal and Dieho Romero (ITA) the bronze. Andrew Murdoch was in fifth place six points away from a medal.

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Andrew Murdoch (NZL) setup with seconds left before the start - 2008 Olympics Qingdao - Medal Race - Laser -  Richard Gladwell

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Andrew Murdoch (NZL) lines up a start under the committee boat - 2008 Olympics Qingdao - Medal Race - Laser -  Richard Gladwell

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Andrew Murdoch (NZL) is just visible to leeward of the pack - 2008 Olympics Qingdao - Medal Race -  Richard Gladwell

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The fleet heads to the wall with Murdoch buried - 2008 Olympics Qingdao - Medal Race - Laser -  Richard Gladwell

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The fleet heads to the wall to escape the tide - 2008 Olympics Qingdao - Medal Race - Laser -  Richard Gladwell

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Paul Goodison (GBR) and Rasmus Myrgren (SWE) indulge in a match race - 2008 Olympics Qingdao - Medal Race - Laser -  Richard Gladwell  

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Vasilij Zbogar (SLO) eventual silver medalist crosses ahead of the Gold medalist, Paul Goodison (GBR) ion the first beat of the 2008 Olympics Qingdao - Medal Race - Laser -  Richard Gladwell

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Andrew Murdoch (NZL) struggles to cross the rest of the fleet as breeze lightens - 2008 Olympics Qingdao - Medal Race - Laser -  Richard Gladwell

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Andrew Murdoch (NZL) roll tacks 100 metres short of the top mark - 2008 Olympics Qingdao - Medal Race - Laser -  Richard Gladwell

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Andrew Murdoch (NZL) goes over the top of Vasilij Zbogar (SLO) on the first geat of the 2008 Olympics Qingdao - Medal Race - Laser -  Richard Gladwell

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Andrew Murdoch (NZL) clears the end of the Olympic marina having taken the lead in the medal race - 2008 Olympics Qingdao -  Richard Gladwell  

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Andrew Murdoch (NZL) heads for the windward mark, having got on the edge of a new breeze out of the Olympic marina- 2008 Olympics Qingdao - Medal Race - Laser -  Richard Gladwell

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Andrew Murdoch (NZL) is first around the wndward mark - 2008 Olympics Qingdao - Medal Race - Laser -  Richard Gladwell

Link to Sail-World article

Date Released: 19th August 2008
From: Jodie Bakewell-White


Today saw the conclusion of the Laser and Laser Radial classes, race ten and the end of the opening series for the windsurfers and no racing for the Star class.

New Zealand’s Standings Summary

3rd - Tom Ashley, Men’s RS:X (after 10 races)
6th - Barbara Kendall, Women’s RS:X (after 10 races)
7th - Hamish Pepper & Carl Williams, Star (after 7 races)

5th - Andrew Murdoch, Laser (Final Result)
7th - Jo Aleh, Laser Radial (Final Result)
11th - Carl Evans & Peter Burling, Men’s 470 (Final result)
12th Dan Slater, Finn (Final result)

The stage is set for an almighty battle for the men’s windsurfing medals at the 2008 Olympic Games with kiwi Tom Ashley right in the mix. Just one point separates the top three in the men’s RS:X class - France’s Julian Bontemps, Great Britain’s Nick Dempsey and New Zealand’s Tom Ashley going into their medal race set to be sailed tomorrow off Qingdao.

Andrew Murdoch has finished 5th overall in the Laser class which wrapped up today the gold medal secured by Great Britain’s Paul Goodison, adding the third Olympic sailing gold for his nation at this Games. Olympic debutante Murdoch won today’s Laser medal race in front of a spectator packed break wall which lifted him up into the top five finishers in the 40 strong fleet.

Jo Aleh has finished 7th overall in the Laser Radial class after sailing their medal race today on course A soon after the Lasers. Aleh’s medal race today was defined when she had to return to the start line fearing she was over early, and never managed to get back in the race, crossing the line in 9th place.

Barbara Kendall moved from 7th overall up to 6th place on the women’s RS:X leader board after race ten sailed today, and while the five time Olympian has booked a spot in the medal race her chances of adding a fourth Olympic medal to her collection of three has slipped away. The points gap for her to now catch up with the leaders is too great to get to the podium tomorrow.

Despite race eight getting started and more than half way through, the lack of wind on course area E saw that race abandoned, and no further racing for the Star class today.

MEN’S RS:X

The top ten to sail the medal race were decided today when race ten was sailed for the Men’s RS:X fleet. Things have closed up at the top of the standings and Tom Ashley’s three point leading margin after race nine has disappeared after he finished towards the back of the fleet today in very light conditions on course area B.

Ashley started well at the pin end forcing the others to tack away however after choosing to stay on the left the kiwi suffered dramatically when a 30 degree wind shift hit the course.

The kiwi discards his result from today, while those close on his tail in the standings both managed a decent finish in the race sailed today. Julien Bontemps of France now has the overall lead on 45 points while Nick Dempsey GBR and Ashley are both on 46 points, so it all comes down to tomorrows double-points medal race.

Neither Bontemps, Ashley or Dempsey is far enough ahead of the fleet on points to be assured of a medal just yet. Also in with a shot at a podium finish is early competition leader, Shahar Zubari of Israel. Zubari posted a 4th place in today’s race and is nine points back from Dempsey and Ashley, so a top medal race for him, combined with a poor performance for one of the leading trio could see him climb up.

Further back Ricardo Santos on 65 points has 5th place ahead of the deciding race tomorrow which leaves him an extreme outside chance to close the gap to the podium, though it’s near on impossible.

The Men’s and Women’s RS:X races will be sailed tomorrow with a scheduled start time of 1 o’clock local time.

Men’s RS:X (provisional)
Top five standings going into the medal race

1st FRA Julien Bontemps - 45 points
2nd GBR Nick Dempsey - 46 points
3rd NZL Tom Ashley - 46 points
4th ISR Shahar Zubari - 54 points
5th BRA Ricardo Santos - 65 points

WOMEN’S RS:X

The women’s RS:X fleet rounded out their ten race series today with Barbara Kendall finishing 21st in the race. Today’s race becomes her discard and she manages to leap frog Klepacka of Poland into 6th place.

Despite advancing up the standings Kendall appears to be out of range of the podium with a 22 point gap up to the 3rd placed Shaw of GBR. Alessandra Sensini today relinquished the overall lead to Jian Yin of China, who won today’s race, a master in the extreme light conditions.

Women’s RS:X
Top six standings going into the medal race

1st CHN Jian Yin - 33 points
2nd ITA Alessandra Sensini - 38 points
3rd GBR Bryony Shaw - 41 points
4th AUS Jessica Crisp - 46 points
5th ESP Marina Alabau - 46 points
6th NZL Barbara Kendall - 63 points

STAR
Light winds out on course area E where the Star class race caused delays, and eventually abandonment of all racing for the day. The 16 boat fleet has only sailed seven races so far and have only tomorrow remaining in the schedule to conclude the planned ten race series before the medal race on Thursday.

If wind doesn’t appear tomorrow the series may be shortened for the Star class, though if time and breeze allow they will go for three races tomorrow.
Hamish Pepper and Carl Williams are lying 7th overall in the fleet at this stage with a five point gap up to third placed sailors Rohart and Rambeau of France. Despite the close points on the board the talent pool in this, the oldest Olympic sailing class, is phenomenal and the kiwi boys have got a challenge on their hands to finish strongly.

Star (provisional) top seven after 7 races

1st SWE Fredrik Loof & Anders Ekstrom - 23 points
2nd GBR Iain Percy & Andrew Simpson - 26 points
3rd FRA Xavier Rohart & Pascal Rambeau - 32 points
4th POL Mateusz Kusznierewicz & Dominik Zycki - 33 points
5th GER Marc Pickel & Ingo Borkowski - 36 points
6th POR Afonso Domingos & Bernardo Santos - 37 points
7th NZL Hamish Pepper & Carl Williams - 38 points

LASER
Andrew Murdoch performed best at the very start and the very end of the regatta, rounding out his first Olympic Games with a win in the medal race sailed today after also winning race nine yesterday afternoon.

In the extreme light winds Murdoch took the early lead in today’s medal race which got underway just after one o’clock off Qingdao. While GBR’s Paul Goodison was intent on doing what was required to secure gold – simply beat Rasmus Myrgren of Sweden to the finish line – Murdoch led the fleet around the course with only Vasilij Zbogar of Slovenia in touch.

Goodison won gold, Zbogar lifted to take silver for Slovenia, and Diego Romero of Italy benefitted from the misfortune of Myrgren to take bronze.

A few average results during the middle of the regatta was Murdoch’s undoing, and given his standing in 12th place going into the penultimate day of racing he did well to recover from there and score a top five placing.

Laser top five final results

GOLD GBR Paul Goodison
SILVER SLO Vasilij Zbogar
BRONZE ITA Diego Romero
4th POR Gustavo Lima
5th NZL Andrew Murdoch

LASER RADIAL

The Laser Radial medal deciding race followed the Laser race of course A.

Jo Aleh’s hopes of a podium finish were dashed yesterday when she slipped out of contention after races 7, 8 & 9 were sailed. The 22 year old Aucklander was 9th in the medal race today which was won by Gintare Volungeviciute of Lithuania.

Aleh’s final result for the 2008 Olympic Games a 7th place. USA’s Anna Tunnicliffe claimed the gold medal, silver went Gintare Volungeviciute LTU and bronze to China’s Lijia Xu.

Laser Radial top seven final results

GOLD USA Anna Tunnicliffe
SILVER LTU Gintare Volungeviciute
BRONZE CHN Lijia Xu
4th AUS Sarah Blanck
5th FRA Sarah Steyaert
6th SUI Nathalie Brugger
7th NZL Jo Aleh

Day 6 Three races and a Win gets Andrew back into the medal race tomorrow.

Date Released: 18th August 2008
From: Jodie Bakewell-White


Adding three races in one day was always going to make some impressions on the overall standings at the Olympic Sailing Regatta in Qingdao, China. With sufficient breeze, albeit fading through the day, the Laser, Radial and Star and fleets all sailed three races today and things have changed on the leader boards.

The top ten to sail in the medal race has now been decided for the Laser and Radial classes and these will be sailed tomorrow.

New Zealand’s Standings Summary

1st - Tom Ashley, Men’s RS:X (after 9 races)
6th - Andrew Murdoch, Laser (after 9 races)
7th - Jo Aleh, Laser Radial (after 9 races)
7th - Barbara Kendall, Women’s RS:X (after 9 races)
7th - Hamish Pepper & Carl Williams, Star (after 7 races)

12th Dan Slater, Finn (Final result)
11th - Carl Evans & Peter Burling, Men’s 470 (Final result)

The RS:X fleets both added two races today, have now completed nine and will be back on the water for race ten tomorrow ahead of their medal races on Wednesday.

Tom Ashley continues to lead the Men’s RS:X class though Nick Dempsey of Great Britain has gained some ground on the kiwi after today’s two races. Ashley returned two more consistent races, finishing 6th and then 8th. Race ten was abandoned late in the afternoon due to a dying breeze and has been rescheduled for tomorrow. Ashley leads on 38 points with Dempsey close behind on 41, while Julien Bontemps of France is third with 42 points.

Barbara Kendall was 6th in race eight and then 13th in race nine today which sees her slip slightly to 7th overall. One race remains before the top ten medal race participants are decided in the Women’s RS:X class.

Jo Aleh sits in 7th place overall going into the Laser Radial medal race. After two 14th places and a 20th in today’s three races her medal chances have slipped away. With a 28 point gap between her and Lijia Xu who holds 3rd overall Aleh won’t be able to make up the ground to hit the podium with only the medal race to sail.

Over in the Laser class Andrew Murdoch had some work to do today to move from 12th place up into contention for the medal race. The 26 year old from Kerikeri, Northland has managed that with ease climbing his way back up to sit in 6th overall at the end of what was a nine race opening series for the Lasers. Murdoch was 5th in race seven, 17th in race eight and closed the day with a win in race nine.

After seven races for the Star class the points remain close. Starting the day with a convincing win in race five, Hamish Pepper and Carl Williams then went on to post a 12th and an 11th in races six and seven. They now sit in 7th place on the leader board, on equal points with Robert Scheidt of Brazil in 8th place.

MEN’S RS:X

While the intention was for three RS:X races today only two were possible. The fleets are required to return ashore after two consecutive races in order to recuperate. However in the dying breeze in Qingdao today this meant that by the time the windsurfers went back out for race ten the wind had evaporated.

Tom Ashley was 6th in his first race of the day, and then 8th. His previous poorest race had been a 7th place early on in the series, so race nine now becomes his discard and he has a points total of 38. His five point buffer over second place has dropped to three points, with GBR’s Nick Dempsey moving up and ousting Julien Bontemps of France for second place. The Frenchman has third and is just one point adrift of Dempsey.

With race ten rescheduled for tomorrow the 35 strong fleet will be back on the water on what was originally planned as a rest day. By tomorrow afternoon in Qingdao the overall standings ahead of the Men’s RS:X medal race will be decided.

Men’s RS:X medal race is planned for Wednesday 20th on course area A off Qingdao.

Men’s RS:X (provisional) top results after races

1st NZL Tom Ashley - 38 points
2nd GBR Nick Dempsey - 41 points
3rd FRA Julien Bontemps - 42 points
4th ISR Shahar Zubari - 51 points
5th BRA Ricardo Santos - 52 points

WOMEN’S RS:X

As with the men’s fleet the Women’s RS:X sailed two races today, one short of the planned three, leaving race ten to be sailed tomorrow before Wednesday’s medal race.

Barbara Kendall was 6th in race eight and then 13th in race nine, which becomes her discard score. Today’s results saw her slip from 5th overall back to 7th place in the overall standings. She has 50 points just one shy of Polish sailor Klepacka ahead of her in 5th place.

Reigning world champ, Alessandra Sensini has taken the lead today pushing local Chinese girl Jian Yin back into second place.

Women’s RS:X (provisional) top results after races

1st ITA Alessandra Sensini - 30 points
2nd CHN Jian Yin - 32 points
3rd ESP Marina Alabau - 37 points
4th GBR Bryony Shaw - 39 points
5th AUS Jessica Crisp - 41 points
6th POL Zofia Klepacka - 49 points
7th NZL Barbara Kendall - 50 points

STAR

Hamish Pepper and Carl Williams made a great start today winning their opening race of the day in flying form. Opening up a sizable gap on the fleet in the second beat, the pair was 43 seconds ahead going around mark three and romped home over a minute clear to take the win.

Races six and seven weren’t as fruitful for the kiwi pair who was 12th and then 11th in those races respectively. Mixed results for many Star crews today, Pepper and Williams included, meant that overall standings shuffled continuously. At the conclusion of the day the kiwis have 38 points and 7th place; Robert Scheidt also has 38 points in 8th place.

The points are still close ahead of Pepper and Williams and another three races are yet to be sailed before the top ten are decided, which means there may be more shuffling on the leader board.

Fredrick Loof of Sweden currently holds the lead. The Star medal race is Thursday 21st August.

Star (provisional) top seven after 7 races

1st SWE Fredrik Loof & Anders Ekstrom - 23 points
2nd GBR Iain Percy & Andrew Simpson - 26 points
3rd FRA Xavier Rohart & Pascal Rambeau - 32 points
4th POL Mateusz Kusznierewicz & Dominik Zycki - 33 points
5th GER Marc Pickel & Ingo Borkowski - 36 points
6th POR Afonso Domingos & Bernardo Santos - 37 points
7th NZL Hamish Pepper & Carl Williams - 38 points

LASER RADIAL

Today didn’t go the way of New Zealand’s Jo Aleh on the Laser Radial course who slipped from 3rd overall to 7th place after races 7, 8 and 9 sailed today off Qingdao.

Aleh, competing at her first Olympic Games, will line up with the top ten tomorrow for the Laser Radial medal race, but the points difference that opened up today means that she is not in a position to make a challenge for the podium.

Anna Tunnicliffe of the USA will start the medal race as the favourite for the gold medal, with a seven point leading margin over Volungeviciute LTU in second place.

The Laser Radial Medal race is scheduled to start at 1pm tomorrow.

Laser Radial (provisional) top seven after 9 races

1st USA Anna Tunnicliffe - 33 points
2nd LTU Gintare Volungeviciute - 40 points
3rd CHN Lijia Xu - 44 points
4th AUS Sarah Blanck - 54 points
5th FRA Sarah Steyaert - 61 points
6th BEL Evi Van Acker - 71 points
7th NZL Jo Aleh - 72 points

LASER

Andrew Murdoch made the most gains today of all the New Zealanders still in action. Leaving the boat park this morning Murdoch was in 12th place and needed to lift his game and return some top results to make the medal race cut for tomorrow.

In race seven Murdoch stayed in the leading pack throughout the race and crossed the finish line in 5th place. He couldn’t repeat this in race eight, and rounded mark one mid fleet in 20th place, then managing to come back to cross in 17th.

In race nine the kiwi took the lead early on, and despite the group just behind in hot pursuit Murdoch held on to take his first race win of the Olympic regatta and further improve his overall position.

The Laser Medal race will be sailed tomorrow on course A.

Laser top five (provisional) after 6 races

1st GBR Paul Goodison - 45 points
2nd SWE Rasmus Myrgren - 63 points
3rd POR Gustavo Lima - 65 points
4th SLO Vasilij Zbogar - 67 points
5th ITA Diego Romero - 69 points
6th NZL Andrew Murdoch - 79 points


Day 5 Wind at last, but only 1 race sailed!

Date Released: 17th August 2008
From: Jodie Bakewell-White


It’s been an action packed day at the Olympic Sailing venue, Qingdao, China, on day ten of the regatta. Strong winds and heavy rain, medals decided in three classes, delays and further postponements.

New Zealanders in action included windsurfers Tom Ashley and Barbara Kendall sailing two races each; Andrew Murdoch; Jo Aleh and Star crew Hamish Pepper and Carl Williams all sailing one race a piece. The day has had its ups and downs for the kiwi team.

New Zealand’s Standings Summary

1st - Tom Ashley, Men’s RS:X (after 7 races)
3rd - Jo Aleh, Laser Radial (after 6 races)
5th - Barbara Kendall, Women’s RS:X (after 7 races)
6th - Hamish Pepper & Carl Williams, Star (after 4 races)
12th - Andrew Murdoch, Laser (after 6 races)

12th Dan Slater, Finn (Final result)
11th - Carl Evans & Peter Burling, Men’s 470 (Final result)

Tom Ashley has moved up into the lead spot in the Men’s RS:X fleet who have now sailed seven races. After a 5th and a 3rd in racing today the kiwi has ousted Shahar Zubari of Israel from the top of the leader board, and now has a five point buffer over Julien Bontemps FRA in second place.

Barbara Kendall relished the blustery and choppy conditions and came away with two more solid results to add to her scorecard. After a 4th and a 3rd in races six and seven sailed today the veteran Olympian has moved up from 6th overall into 5th place four points back from 4th.

Jo Aleh slipped out of the lead in the Laser Radials after a 14th place in the one race sailed today. She now has 3rd place overall just one point behind Anna Tunnicliffe USA in second.

The Star class has now completed four races, adding just one today, conditions on course area E reportedly rugged. Kiwi crew Hamish Pepper and Carl Williams were 11th in today’s race which means they now sit in 6th place overall in the 16 boat fleet on equal points with USA in 5th.

MEN’S RS:X

Today’s wet and windy conditions provided an exciting prospect for Tom Ashley who often demonstrates the advantage of performing well regardless of the conditions. So while the Auckland based windsurfer, who is competing at his second Olympic Games, has been consistent in the extreme light of Qingdao so far, he can also produce results on windy days. And that’s what Qingdao provided today – 15-20 knots of south westerly winds with swelly, choppy sea conditions.

“The racing is extremely tight and everyone is sailing at a very high level,” said Ashley yesterday. “Events like this generally are won and lost on attrition as guys make mistakes and take themselves out of the running, so consistency will definitely be the key as the regatta goes on and we race in different conditions.”

Underway on schedule today the Men’s RS:X started first on course area B at around midday, organizers hoping to fit in three races to catch up on the programme. At mark one Ashley was buried in the fleet rounding in 17th place, dropping back to 27th at one point. But, as he did in race five, Ashley staged a comeback, up to 5th, and gaining another place on the final run to the line, finishing 4th.

In race seven which followed Ashley didn’t lose sight of the leaders, rounding each mark within the top five, and again passing sailors as the race progressed to record a 3rd place. As some of his counterparts fell by the wayside unable to bring home the results in the strong winds Ashley moved up the leader board to take the top spot after seven races.

Ashley will compete again tomorrow.

Men’s RS:X (provisional) top five results after 7 races

1st NZL Tom Ashley - 25 points
2nd FRA Julien Bontemps - 30 points
3rd ISR Shahar Zubari - 31 points
4th GBR Nick Dempsey 11 - 33 points
5th HKG King Yin Chan - 40 points

WOMEN’S RS:X

Barbara Kendall was strong in the breeze today as well, continuing her climb up the standings in the women’s RS:X improving from 6th to 5th overall after today’s racing. Kendall, like Ashley is showing consistent results finishing within the top four in her most recent four races, her worst result so far coming in her first race of the regatta.

Points are close around her, Kendall is four adrift of Marina Alabau ESP in 4th and three points ahead of Bryony Shaw GBR. China’s Jian Lin of Qingdao is China’s biggest hope for a sailing medal continuing to lead the Women’s RS:X ahead of three time Olympic medalist Alessandra Sensini of Italy.

Both RS:X medal races are scheduled for Wednesday 20th so there is time in the schedule to complete the ten race series to decide the top ten. They will be back on the water again tomorrow.

Women’s RS:X top six results after races

1st CHN Jian Yin - 16 points
2nd ITA Alessandra Sensini - 23 points
3rd AUS Jessica Crisp - 26 points
4th ESP Marina Alabau - 28 points
5th NZL Barbara Kendall - 32 points

STAR

The Star fleet had a long day on the water, despite this they only managed to sail one race, and have now completed four. Set for an early start to racing at midday the sailors on course area E (Star and Tornado) found their racing held up while the Committee boat recovered from a potential sinking.

Finally underway at 3:40pm in the afternoon, Hamish Pepper and Carl Williams returned their poorest race yet, coming home in 11th and slipping back to 6th place overall in a day which saw much shuffling of positions on the leader board.

Points remain tight at the top and the kiwis are only five points behind the Polish pair who have taken the lead today. The last class to get underway at the Games regatta, the Stars will see plenty more water under the bridge before the medal race next Thursday.

Star top six (provisional) after 4 races

1st POL Mateusz Kusznierewicz & Dominik Zycki - 21 points
2nd FRA Xavier Rohart & Pascal Rambeau - 22 points
3rd SWE Fredrik Loof & Anders Ekstrom - 23 points
4th GER Marc Pickel & Ingo Borkowski - 25 points
5th USA John Dane & Austin Sperry - 26 points
6th NZL Hamish Pepper & Carl Williams - 26 points

LASER RADIAL

Just one race was sailed for the Laser Radial fleet in today’s conditions which were at the other end of the extreme to what’s been seen during the opening week of the Olympic sailing event.

Jo Aleh wasn’t able to continue her streak of 2nd places finishing 14th in today’s race. After today Aleh lies 3rd overall just one point behind Anna Tunnicliffe of the USA.

The Laser Radials will be back on the water tomorrow.

Laser Radial top five (provisional) after 6 races

1st LTU Gintare Volungeviciute - 17 points
2nd USA Anna Tunnicliffe - 23 points
3rd NZL Jo Aleh - 24 points
4th CHN Lijia Xu - 26 points
5th FRA Sarah Steyaert - 37 points

LASER

Back in form after suffering at the mercy of Qingdao’s light and shifty wind over recent races, Andrew Murdoch finished 5th in his only race of the day – race six for the 43 strong Laser fleet. The improved result improves his overall standing in the fleet and the 26 year old gains one place to 12th overall.

Murdoch was disappointed that just one race was sailed today, three were scheduled but course officials struggled with sea conditions and had difficulty setting courses and getting the fleet started.

Laser top five (provisional) after 6 races

1st GBR Paul Goodison - 34 points
2nd SLO Vasilij Zbogar - 37 points
3rd ARG Julio Alsogaray - 38 points
4th FRA Jean Baptiste Bernaz - 38 points
5th SWE Rasmus Myrgren - 38 points

12th NZL Andrew Murdoch - 56 points

Day 4 Some wind would be nice

Date Released: 16th August 2008
From: Jodie Bakewell-White


New Zealand sailors in four classes were on the water off Qingdao today returning some solid results despite the extremely light air conditions.

New Zealand sailors in four classes were on the water off Qingdao today returning some solid results despite the extremely light air conditions.

Just one race was sailed in the Laser Radial’s, Jo Aleh continuing with her great form from yesterday returning another 2nd place in today’s race. Now at the halfway point, the Laser Radial sailors discard their worst score, working in favour of Aleh who moves up into the lead spot.

Star class sailors Hamish Pepper and Carl Williams sailed two races today adding a 9th and a 2nd to their scorecard which improves their overall standing. The pair lie 2nd overall in the fleet of 16 boats, now three races into their ten race opening series.

It was young 470 skipper, Carl Evans, birthday today and the day produced a mixed bag for the boys who got a win on the water in race nine, only to later miss out on the top ten medal race cut. At the conclusion of race ten the boys finished an agonizingly narrow two points off the crew ahead of them who scraped into the medal race.

Wind was light and shifty across all five courses today and racing was long and slow. On course A the Finn class sailed into the last leg of their medal race only to see the race abandoned as the wind dropped away to nothing and the tidal current of Qingdao meant sailors were all but going backwards.

Tom Ashley and Barbara Kendall didn’t sail today.

New Zealand’s Standings Summary

1st - Jo Aleh, Laser Radial (after 5 races)
2nd - Hamish Pepper & Carl Williams, Star (after 3 races)
4th - Tom Ashley, Men’s RS:X (after 5 races)
6th - Barbara Kendall, Women’s RS:X (after 5 races)
11th - Carl Evans & Peter Burling, Men’s 470 (after 10 races)
13th - Andrew Murdoch, Laser (after 5 races)

12th Dan Slater, Finn (Final result)

STAR

It was day two for the Star class who endured two long races today both around 80 minutes in length the wind strength marginal in both.

In race two of the series the kiwi sailors, Hamish Pepper and Carl Williams were 9th to finish, bouncing back with a 2nd place in the second race of the day. Now three races into the ten race series, Pepper and Williams lie in 2nd place.

John Dane of the USA move into the lead today just two points clear of the New Zealand crew just behind. Overnight leader Fredrick Loof (SWE) didn’t fare so well on the water today and has slipped to 7th overall after a 4th and a 15th. Afonso Domingo

Star top five (provisional) after 3 races

1st USA John Dane & Austin Sperry - 14 points
2nd NZL Hamish Pepper & Carl Williams - 15 points
3rd POR Afonso Domingos & Bernardo Santos - 16 points
4th GER Marc Pickel & Ingo Borkowski - 17 points
5th FRA Xavier Rohart & Pascal Rambeau - 18 points

LASER RADIAL

Jo Aleh racked up another top result in Laser Radial race five. In the very light wind conditions in Qingdao just one race was completed despite best efforts to get race six underway and concluded it never eventuated.

In a race that played out for the kiwi in similar fashion to yesterday’s race four, Aleh was 7th around mark one, but gained ground as the race progressed to finish 2nd. After this race the discard came into play for the Radial sailors, and Aleh, now able to drop the 22nd from race one, climbs up to lead the Laser Radials at the halfway point in their opening series.

Aleh has 10 points with Lithuanian sailor, Volungeviciute, who won today’s race, close behind in the overall standings on 13 points. Overnight leader Anna Tunnicliffe of the USA remains consistent returning a 6th place in today’s race, but has slipped to third place overall with the introduction of the discard lifting Aleh and Volungeviciute.

Laser Radial top five (provisional) after 5 races

1st NZL Jo Aleh - 10 points
2nd LTU Gintare Volungeviciute - 13 points
3rd USA Anna Tunnicliffe - 20 points
4th CHN Lijia Xu - 24 points
5th CRO Mateja Petronijevic - 26 points

LASER

Following on the same course area as the Radial’s Andrew Murdoch wasn’t able to emulate his team-mate Aleh’s performance. A 24th place in race five for the Lasers puts Murdoch in 13th place overall with some work to do in the remaining half of the opening series to climb the standings.

Laser top five (provisional) after races

1st ITA Diego Romero - 24 points
2nd SWE Rasmus Myrgren - 25 points
3rd SLO Vasilij Zbogar - 26 points
4th GBR Paul Goodison - 27 points
5th FRA Jean Baptiste Bernaz - 28 points

13th NZL Andrew Murdoch - 51 points

MEN’S 470

Carl Evans and Peter Burling have narrowly missed out on the Men’s 470 medal race finishing in 11th overall just two points behind the Japanese crew in 10th place. In an action packed day for New Zealand’s youngest ever Olympic sailors, the boys sailed three races even winning one of them.

The race win for the kiwi boys came in race nine of the series for the men’s 470 and will serve as somewhat of a consolation birthday present for skipper Evans, who turns 18 today, despite missing out on the top ten medal race cut.

In their other two races sailed today the boys were 12th and 7th – their final result for the Games will be 11th place – impressive for their age and the experience and talent of the 28 boat fleet they compete in.

The top ten placed sailors will sail their medal race on Monday 18th. Australians Nathan Wilmot and Malcolm Page appear to have an unassailable leading margin on their nearest competitors – with a 22 point buffer the gold medal is almost assured.

Men’s 470 (provisional) top five after 10 races

1st AUS Nathan Wilmot & Malcolm Page - 42 points
2nd NED Sven Coster & Kalle Coster - 64 points
3rd FRA Nicolas Charbonnier & Olivier Bausset - 66 points
4th GBR Nick Rogers & Joe Glanfield - 69 points
5th ESP Onan Barreiros & Aaron Sarmiento - 79 points

11th NZL Carl Evans & Peter Burling - 95 points

MEN’S RS:X

No races were sailed today in the Men’s RS:X. Sharing course area B with the 49er class the windsurfers were scheduled to start at 2pm, however the 49er races dragged on and the boards didn’t get started.

Tomorrow’s schedule has three races planned for the Men’s RS:X with a midday start to competition.

Men’s RS:X (provisional) top five results after five races

1st ISR Shahar Zubari - 8 points
2nd HKG King Yin Chan - 14 points
3rd GBR Nick Dempsey - 15 points
4th NZL Tom Ashley - 17 points
5th FRA Julien Bontemps - 20 points

WOMEN’S RS:X

No races were sailed today in the Women’s RS:X. Sharing course area B with the 49er class the windsurfers were scheduled to start at 2pm, however the 49er races dragged on and the boards didn’t get started.

Tomorrow’s schedule has three races planned for the Women’s RS:X with a midday start to competition.


Women’s RS:X top six results after five races

1st CHN Jian Yin - 6 points
2nd AUS Jessica Crisp - 10 points
3rd ESP Marina Alabau - 15 points
4th ITA Alessandra Sensini - 16 points
5th GBR Bryony Shaw - 24 points
6th NZL Barbara Kendall - 25 points

Day 3 Another Hard Day at the Office

Date Released: 15th August 2008
From: Jodie Bakewell-White


Late start and just one race for all

Today all New Zealand’s yachties sailed just one race in Qingdao, China, late in the day after waiting for wind until around 4pm.

Our two women impressed - both Barbara Kendall and Jo Aleh returning a 2nd place in their respective races. Hamish Pepper and Carl Williams returned a 4th place in the opening race of the Star class and Tom Ashley made a huge comeback in his race five, after sitting deep in the Men’s RS:X fleet, he climbed through to finish 5th.

Things didn’t go the way of Dan Slater, finishing 6th in his race but it seems, failing to make the cut for the medal race tomorrow. At the close of racing Slater was lying provisionally in 12th place overall, though at the time of writing protests were pending which may affect the kiwi’s result. It’s doubtful however that it would put him in the top ten, which means it’s all but certain that his Olympic Games has come to a close.

New Zealand’s Standings Summary

4th – Hamish Pepper & Carl Williams, Star (after 1 race)
4th - Tom Ashley, Men’s RS:X (after 5 races)
4th – Jo Aleh, Laser Radial (after 4 races)
6th – Barbara Kendall, Women’s RS:X (after 5 races)
12th – Dan Slater, Finn (after eight races)
13th – Carl Evans & Peter Burling, Men’s 470 (after 7 races)
15th – Andrew Murdoch, Laser (after 4 races)

With an early start to racing planned for some classes, extra races in the schedule and a forecast which talked of northerly winds it was all action at the Qingdao sailing venue this morning. Sailors left the boat park and hit the race track suitably amped to get on with racing after yesterday’s delays and cancellations. However the midday and one o’clock scheduled start times came and went and the wind, once again, failed to show.

During the day the weather watchers observed as much wind as 15 -18 knots on the islands in the outer Fushan Bay, and sloppy sea conditions on the course areas spoke of breeze somewhere nearby. However close to shore in Qingdao was a different story with a light offshore breeze seemingly keeping the wind hitting the outer islands at bay, and most sailors were sent ashore to wait.

Once racing got underway the breeze maxed at around 10-12 knots at times, but sailors reported that the two conflicting breezes were fighting each other and there were big shifts on most courses resulting in some big position changes during racing.

STAR

Star sailors Hamish Pepper and Carl Williams are now underway with the first race of the 2008 Olympic Games for them kicking off at 4:20pm on course A with a reported 8-9 knots of wind.

In the small but star-studded sixteen boat fleet, the kiwis got away to a good start and remained in touch with the leading group for the entire race. They finished 4th, Fredrick Loof of Sweden taking the win in the first race of the series.

Speaking ahead of today’s race Williams said, “I am starting to see what really makes this the Olympic Games. This is competition at its ruthless best. Goals are destroyed, ambitions are pressured and resolve is tested.”

They race again tomorrow starting at midday.

Star top five (provisional after one race)

1st SWE Fredrik Loof & Anders Ekstrom (1)
2nd GER Marc Pickel & Ingo Borkowski (2)
3rd POR Afonso Domingos & Bernardo Santos (3)
4th NZL Hamish Pepper & Carl Williams (4)
5th POL Mateusz Kusznierewicz & Dominik Zycki (5)

LASER RADIAL

Jo Aleh was a standout amongst the kiwis today in race four for the Laser Radials. Rounding mark one in 7th place she continued to climb through those in front of her and take 2nd place behind Gintare Volungeviciute of Lithuania.

Today’s performance sees Aleh move up the leader board to now sit in 4th place overall despite still carrying a 22 from her first race. Anna Tunnicliffe of the USA retains the lead.

An early start at midday is on the schedule for the Laser Radials tomorrow, organizers looking to make up lost races will run three races for the Radials if possible.

Laser Radial top five (provisional) results after four races

1st USA Anna Tunnicliffe - 20 points
2nd LTU Gintare Volungeviciute - 25 points
3rd CRO Mateja Petronijevic - 26 points
4th NZL Jo Aleh - 30 points
5th FRA Sarah Steyaert - 36 points

LASER

In the largest fleet of the Olympic sailing events, Andrew Murdoch came home mid fleet in their fourth race of the series. A 20th today puts Murdoch in 15th overall.

As with the Radials’ an early start at midday is on the schedule for the Lasers tomorrow, organizers looking to make up lost races will run three races if possible.

Laser top five (provisional) results after four races

1st GBR Paul Goodison - 33 points
2nd SWE Rasmus Myrgren - 33 points
3rd RUS Igor Lisovenko - 37 points
4th FRA Jean Baptiste Bernaz - 41 points
5th POR Gustavo Lima - 43 points

15th NZL Andrew Murdoch - 67 points

FINN

Just prior to 4pm the Finn fleet waiting patiently on course area E got started in race eight – an opportunity for those hovering around 10th place to move up and make the cut to sail in tomorrow’s Finn medal race. For New Zealand’s Dan Slater lying 12th overall, this was a last chance race to close the gap and preclude his regatta coming to an end today.

Unfortunately a 6th place finish in today’s race for Slater failed to improve his overall standing, undone by his results from earlier races and the performance of some others close to him on the leader board in today’s race. He provisionally retains 12th place.

Ben Ainslie was once again in fine form, and now has an eleven point leading margin over Zach Railey of the USA putting him in a good position to collect the Finn Gold medal expected of him from the outset.

Finn (provisional) top five results after eight races

1st GBR Ben Ainslie - 21 points
2nd USA Zach Railey - 33 points
3rd SWE Daniel Birgmark - 44 points
4th FRA Guillaume Florent - 50 points
5th CAN Christopher Cook - 51 points

12th NZL Dan Slater - 76 points

MEN’S RS:X

Underway at 5:30pm local time the Men’s RS:X race five was sailed in winds of around 10 knots on course area B. It was a “topsy turvy” race, kiwi Tom Ashley rounding the first mark in 14th place, dropping as deep as 27th at the third mark only to stage an impressive comeback and finish the race in 5th place.

Points are relatively close around Ashley on 17 points, he’s only two points behind third place and three points off second. Shahar Zubari of Israel retains the lead after race five for the fleet.

Back on the water tomorrow the men’s RS:X are scheduled to start at 2pm on course area B with three races planned if time and conditions allow.

Men’s RS:X (provisional) top five results after five races

1st ISR Shahar Zubari - 8 points
2nd HKG King Yin Chan - 14 points
3rd GBR Nick Dempsey - 15 points
4th NZL Tom Ashley - 17 points
5th FRA Julien Bontemps - 20 points

WOMEN’S RS:X

With her best race yet at this Olympic Games, Barbara Kendall still sits in 6th overall but has closed the gap up on those ahead of her. Thailand’s Napalai Tansai struck out an early lead, but couldn’t hold on, Jessica Crisp (AUS) and Kendall passing her to take the top two spots in race five for the Women’s RS:X. At the finish Kendall was just 14 second behind the Australian.

With 25 points total, just one behind Bryony Shaw (GBR) Kendall will be back on the water tomorrow aiming to continue her form from today. Racing doesn’t start until 2pm for the windsurfers, who have to wait for the 49er class to sail on course area B before them, but if possible they will have three races.

Women’s RS:X (provisional) top six results after four races

1st CHN Jian Yin - 6 points
2nd AUS Jessica Crisp - 10 points
3rd ESP Marina Alabau - 15 points
4th ITA Alessandra Sensini - 16 points
5th GBR Bryony Shaw - 24 points
6th NZL Barbara Kendall - 25 points

MEN’S 470

Carl Evans and Peter Burling were back in action in the Men’s 470 class after a rest day yesterday, for them today’s race was race seven in their opening series. Unfortunately for the young up and comers, both just 17 years old, they finished 22nd today which saw them slip three places down the leader board.

They now lie 13th overall in the fleet of 27 boats. Racing continues for them tomorrow where they will be aiming to regain their standing in the top ten ahead of the Men’s 470 medal race which is scheduled to take place on Monday 18th.

Men’s 470 (provisional) top five results after seven races

1st AUS Nathan Wilmot & Malcolm Page - 22 points
2nd FRA Nicolas Charbonnier & Olivier Bausset - 27 points
3rd POR Ãlvaro Marinho & Miguel Nunes - 43 points
4th GBR Nick Rogers & Joe Glanfield - 44 points
5th ITA Gabrio Zandona & Andrea Trani - 49 points

13th NZL Carl Evans & Peter Burling - 75 points

[ Olympic Results ]

Day 2 "Nobody said it was going to be easy!"

Andrew leads Day 1 Tacking
Andrew drops to 13th after the race today ©© Clive Mason/Getty Images

Date Released: 13th August 2008
From: Jodie Bakewell-White


Very light winds challenge sailors

Light winds meant delays, some cancelled racing and tough conditions for the kiwis in action at the Olympic sailing regatta today. Men’s 470 sailed two races, while the lack of breeze dictated that the Finns, Radials and Lasers only managed one race apiece.

In the overall placings Tom Ashley stands as the best placed kiwi lying third overall in the men’s windsurfing. Both Ashley and Kendall enjoyed a rest day today and were probably pleased to sit out what appears to be one of the more challenging days, conditions wise, of the regatta so far.

A highlight today was a second place for Jo Aleh in the Laser Radial which saw her climb up the standings from 11th place to 7th. However, now only three races in, there’s a long way to go for both Aleh and Murdoch who lost his lead in the Lasers after a disappointing race today.

The Laser sailor is philosophical at the end of the day well aware that some other top contenders also came up against the roll of the dice that Qingdao’s light winds present. He now lies 13th overall and along with Aleh in the Radial’s will be back on the water tomorrow.

Evans and Burling sailed two races today, and now sit in 10th place in the Men’s 470, while Dan Slater is in 13th on the leader board after one race today for the Finns.

LASER RADIAL

The sea breeze took longer to satisfy officials on course area C where the Lasers were racing today on day two of their regatta. They only managed one race and have now completed three.

Jo Aleh was the best performer of the kiwi team today trailing Great Britain’s Penny Clark around the course just a few second behind the Brit who had the lead for the entire race. Aleh came home in 2nd place which sees her take a climb up the leader board from 11th overall into 7th overall.

Anna Tunnicliffe of the USA continues to lead the standings in the 28 strong Radial fleet showing consistency pays off. She was 6th in today’s race and leads with 15 points in total from Petronijevic in second seven points adrift.

The Radial fleet will be back on the water for more racing tomorrow.

Laser Radial
Top seven (provisional) results after three races

1st USA Anna Tunnicliffe - 15 points (4, 5, 6)
2nd CRO Mateja Petronijevic - 22 points (8, 9, 5)
3rd LTU Gintare Volungeviciute - 24 points (3, 13, 8)
4th AUS Sarah Blanck - 24 points (6, 11, 7)
5th GBR Penny Clark - 25 points (2, 22, 1)
6th BEL Evi Van Acker - 27 points (1, 10, 16)
7th NZL Jo Aleh - 28 points (22, 4, 2)

LASER

Andrew Murdoch wasn’t able to repeat the form of his opening day yesterday and has slipped from the leading spot after a finishing towards the back of the fleet in race three sailed today. He now lies 13th overall in the standings - Diego Romero of Italy taking over the lead.

With just three races now on the board the Laser fleet has a long way to go. They’re back on the water tomorrow for another two races.

Laser
Top five (provisional) results after three races

1st ITA Diego Romero - 14 points (6, 3, 5)
2nd POR Gustavo Lima - 16 points (5, 8, 3)
3rd ARG Julio Alsogaray - 23 points (1, 12, 10)
4th RUS Igor Lisovenko - 29 points (11, 14, 4)
5th SWE Rasmus Myrgren - 31 points (7, 16, 8)

13th NZL Andrew Murdoch - 47 points (2, 5, 40)

MEN'S 470

Race officials made one general recall in getting the Men’ 470 fleet underway in the first race of the day, and unfortunately the kiwis found themselves one of four boats black flagged in the race start proper. This effectively put them out of the running in this race, the fifth in their series, an incident which the young pair will clock up to experience.

They proved their fighting spirit in their second race of the day - the 17 year olds were deep in the fleet up the first leg rounding mark one in 24th place. They went one to recover from there climbing up to a 10th place finish in the race which was sailed in a very light five to six knots of wind.

The fleet has now completed six races in their ten races series to decide who proceed s into the medal race. After today’s performance Evans and Burling are now lying in 10th place overall, but will be aiming to maintain consistent results after their hiccup in race five early this afternoon.

Reigning world champs and hot favourites in the class Nathan Wilmot and Malcolm Page of Australia retain their lead placing 3rd and 4th in today’s racing.

Men’s 470
Provisional top five results after six races

1st AUS Nathan Wilmot & Malcolm Page 17 points (4, (7), 3, 3, 3, 4)
2nd FRA Nicolas Charbonnier & Olivier Bausset - 24 points (6, 3, 8, 1, 6, (18))
3rd GBR Nick Rogers & Joe Glanfield - 25 points ((19), 5, 1, 4, 9, 6)
4th ITA Gabrio Zandona & Andrea Trani - 30 points (10, 4, 7, 7, 2, (21))
5th POR Ãlvaro Marinho & Miguel Nunes - 34 points (2, 8, (15), 6, 11, 7)

10th NZL Carl Evans & Peter Burling - 53 points (7, 10, 14, 12, (30), 10)

FINN

Just one race was possible on the Finn course today due to the marginal wind conditions. Dan Slater finished 13th and now lies 13th overall in the standings.

Ben Ainslie (GBR) has consolidated his lead over Zach Railey (USA) by finishing 2nd in today’s race. He extended his leading margin over Railey and is now six points clear.

If conditions allow the Finn fleet will be back on the water again tomorrow.

Finn
Provisional top five results after seven races

1st GBR Ben Ainslie - 19 points ((10), 1, 4, 1, 1, 10, 2)
2nd USA Zach Railey - 25 points (2, 5, 2, 2, 7, (8), 7)
3rd FRA Guillaume Florent - 30 points (5, 8, (20), 3, 4, 6, 4)
4th SWE Daniel Birgmark - 39 points (14, (17), 1, 6, 12, 3, 3)
5th SLO Gasper Vincec - 42 points (9, 11, 6, 5, 3, (13), 8)

12th NZL Dan Slater - 70 points ((21), 19, 18, 4, 9, 7, 13)

ISAF Olympic Laser Day 1 Report

Andrew leads Day 1 Tack
Andrew Murdoch of New Zealand, overall leader at the end of day one ©© Clive Mason/Getty Images

New Zealand's world #2 ranked skipper Andrew MURDOCH grabbed the early lead after day one of racing in the Men's One Person Dinghy - Laser event at the Beijing Olympic Games.
Andrew MURDOCH (NZL) posted solid 2, 5 results on a day that competitors described as tricky, frustrating and difficult. Waiting for stable breezes on course area A in front of the breakwater at the Qingdao Olympic Sailing Center, the first day of racing for the Lasers started after an hour's delay, with both scheduled races completed.

Reflecting on his day, the #2 skipper in the ISAF World Sailing Rankings said:
"You had to be in the right place and get good starts. The pin end was best in race 1, but the boat end was better in race 2. It was tricky and difficult, but if you got off the line well, you held on."

Italy and Argentina also scored well on the opening day. Like MURDOCH, 
Diego ROMERO (ITA) did not win a race, but his 6, 3 results were enough for second place on a day when results were all over the place. 

Julio ALSOGARAY (ARG) led race 1 from start to finish on the 'SoIdier's' course and made it look easy. His style was relaxed in the light 4-5 knot breezes, unlike others, whose facial expressions said it was a race for complete concentration.

The Argentine, who finished the 2008 Laser World Championship in second place, did not do so well in race 2. He finished 12th, but hangs on to third place, but on equal points with 
Gustavo LIMA (POR).

Further back in sixth overall, the #3 sailor in the World Rankings and winner of both Test Events in Qingdao 
Paul GOODISON (GBR) commented on his day: "It was really tricky in both races. The guys on the left [in race 1] got a 50 metre jump on the rest - and the rest couldn‘t get back into the game." He finished 15th in that race. Of his second in race 2, GOODISON said: "In the second race, you had to keep plugging away and wait for an opportunity to arrive."

In 23rd overall, double World Champion and world #1 
Tom SLINGSBY (AUS) had what he described as "two bad ones”. He now has a mountain to climb to get back into contention and cannot afford any mistakes in tomorrow’s two scheduled races.

12 August Andrew Leads after Day 1

Tom Day 1
World #1 Tom Slingsby finishing race 2 today after a hard day at the office (Richard Gladwell) 

Date Released: 12th August 2008
From: Jodie Bakewell-White


Murdoch opens well & Ashley has a race win

Day four of the Olympic Sailing Regatta saw kiwis compete in the Laser, Laser Radial, RS:X Men and Women, and the Men’s 470 classes. While light winds meant some delays to the start of racing all fleets were able to complete two races as planned.

There were some highlights for the kiwis on the water today including a strong opening day for Andrew Murdoch in the Lasers who has the lead spot. This was the first day of competition for the 26 year old Olympic debutant from Kerikeri, Northland, and the series has a long way to go yet with another eight races planned over the coming week before the Laser medal race on Tuesday.

Another highlight was a bullet for Tom Ashley in his fourth race of the series placing him provisionally in 3rd overall.

Andrew leads Day 1
Andrew after a good day at the office looking great in his Rooster Gear!
(Guy Nowell)

Laser…

First time Olympian Andrew Murdoch has opened his Olympic regatta with two solid races - enough to give him the lead on a day where some top contenders suffered.

The Laser’s were the first to start racing today, race one kicking off on course area A at around 1:30pm in 6 knots of wind from 130 degrees. Argentinean representative Julio Alsogaray broke away to lead the pack with Murdoch in hot pursuit behind him. By the top mark Alsogaray had just under half a minute over the kiwi with a similar margin back to the chasing pack behind.

Both the Argentine and Murdoch extended away from the fleet as the race unfolded and the kiwi crossed in second place in his first Olympic race.

In race two Murdoch came home in fifth place giving him a points total of seven at the end of the day and a two point leading margin over Diana Daniela Raponi of Italy on nine points.

The Laser’s are back on the water tomorrow for another two races.

Laser
Top five (provisional) results after two races

1st NZL Andrew Murdoch - 7 points (2, 5)
2nd ITA Diana Daniela Raponi - 9 points (6, 3)
3rd ARG Julio Alsogaray - 13 points (1, 12)
4th POR Gustavo Lima - 13 points (5, 8)
5th CYP Pavlos Kontides - 15 points (8, 7)

Laser Radial

Jo Aleh’s day was mixed, as it was for many sailors in the light conditions. In her first race of the series she came home in 22nd place in the fleet of 28 Laser Radials, but came back fighting in race two to record a 4th place on the water.

Overall at the end of day one the 22 year old Aucklander sits in 11th place, while Anna Tunnicliffe of the USA has the lead ahead of Evi Van Acker (BEL) and reigning world champ Sarah Stayaert of France.

Laser Radial
Top five (provisional) results after two races

1st USA Anna Tunnicliffe - 9 points (4, 5)
2nd BEL Evi Van Acker - 11 points (1, 10)
3rd FRA Sarah Steyaert - 12 points (11, 1)
4th LTU Gintare Volungeviciute - 16 points (3, 13)
5th AUS Sarah Blanck - 17 points (6, 11)

11th NZL Jo Aleh - 26 points (22, 4)

Men’s RS:X Windsurfing…

Tom Ashley put in another solid day on the water, consistent in the challenging light airs of the 2008 Olympic sailing venue. In race three for the Men’s RS:X he was 7th and then followed that up with his best race yet – a win.

From the outset of race four Ashley was in the hunt for the gun at the finish line, rounding mark one 12 seconds behind the leader, and then taking the lead by mark three and going on to secure the race win by a 22 second margin.

Today’s performance on what was day two for the Men’s RS:X has put Ashley in third overall. Shahar Zubari of Israel, who won bronze at the World Champs earlier this year has the lead with a scorecard that reads, 1st, 3rd, 1st, 3rd.

Zubari has 8 points, Kin Yin Chan of Hong Kong lies second on 16 points, with Ashley not far behind on 19 points.

Men’s RS:X
Provisional top five results after four races

1st ISR Shahar Zubari - 8 points (1, 3, 1, 3)
2nd HKG King Yin Chan - 16 points (5, 4, 2, 5)
3rd NZL Tom Ashley - 19 points (4, 7, 7, 1)
4th FRA Julien Bontemps - 23 points (13, 1, 5, 4)
5th GBR Nick Dempsey - 25 points (11, 9, 3, 2)

Women’s RS:X Windsurfing…

Barbara Kendall has also improved her overall standing in the Women’s RS:X fleet who were subject to start delays on course area B due to light winds.

Kendall was 12th in race three and then 4th in race four which saw her gain two places to now lie 6th overall after four races. Local sailor Jian Yin was in hot form once again with a win and a 3rd in today’s racing consolidating her lead on the women’s RS:X fleet.

Women’s RS:X
Provisional top six results after four races

1st CHN Jian Yin - 6 points (1, 1, 1, 3)
2nd ESP Marina Alabau - 15 points (3, 5, 5, 2)
3rd AUS Jessica Crisp - 17 points (2, 4, 3, 8)
4th ITA Alessandra Sensini - 18 points (6, 2, 9, 1)
5th GBR Bryony Shaw - 24 points (4, 3, 11, 6)
6th NZL Barbara Kendall - 35 points (12, 7, 12, 4)

Men’s 470

Over on the Men’s 470 course Carl Evans and Peter Burling slipped from 7th place back to 11th after what was day two of the regatta for them. 14th in race three and then 12th in race four the young kiwis find themselves in 11th on a tight knit leaderboard with only three points between them and 7th place.

Aussies Nathan Wilmot and Malcolm Page who took the gold in the 2007 Olympic Test event have the lead in the fleet of 29 boats after posting two 3rds in racing today.

Men’s 470
Provisional top five results after four races

1st AUS Nathan Wilmot & Malcolm Page - 17 points (4, 7, 3, 3)
2nd FRA Nicolas Charbonnier & Olivier Bausset - 18 points (6, 3, 8, 1)
3rd ESP Barreiros Onan & Aaron Sarmiento - 25 points (8, 2, 6, 9)
4th ITA Gabrio Zandona & Andrea Trani - 28 points (10, 4, 7, 7)
5th GBR Nick Rogers & Joe Glanfield - 29 points (19, 5, 1, 4)

11th NZL Carl Evans & Peter Burling - 43 points (7, 10, 14, 12)

Finn…

The Finn class wasn’t on the water today, enjoying a rest day. They resume racing tomorrow.

Finn
Provisional top five results after day three

1st GBR Ben Ainslie 17 points ((10), 1, 4, 1, 1, 10)
2nd USA Zach Railey 18 points (2, 5, 2, 2, 7, (8))
3rd FRA Guillaume Florent - 26 points (5, 8, (20), 3, 4, 6)
4th CAN Christopher Cook - 33 points (8, 3, 7, 10, (23), 5)
5th SLO Gasper Vincec - 34 points (9, 11, 6, 5, 3 (13))

13th NZL Dan Slater - 57 points ((21), 19, 18, 4, 9, 7)

[ Olympic Results ]


What’s on tomorrow…

Dan Slater – Finn class
2 races (Race 7 & Race 8)
Start time: 1300 hours
Course area E

Carl Evans & Peter Burling – Men’s 470
2 races (Race 5 & Race 6)
Start time: 1300 hours
Course area A

Andrew Murdoch – Laser
2 races (Race 3 & Race 4)
Start time: 1300 hours
Course area C

Jo Aleh – Laser Radial
2 races (Race 3 & Race 4)
Start time: 1300 hours
Course area C

12 August Andrew Starts Today

Date Released: 11th August 2008
From: Jodie Bakewell-White


Olympic Sailing Daily Wrap

Day three of the Olympic Sailing Regatta is now complete with another full day of racing being run off the coast of Qingdao, China.

Windsurfers Tom Ashley and Barbara Kendall sailed two races a piece to open their series, as did Carl Evans and Peter Burling in the Men’s 470. Finn sailor Dan Slater completed races five and six and now has a rest day tomorrow.

Men’s RS:X Windsurfing…

It was a solid start for Tom Ashley who opened with a 4th and a 7th on day one of competition sailed on course area A just off the spectator lined main break wall at the sailing venue. His results put him provisionally in 4th place overall in the fleet of 35 windsurfers.

“First day of racing today. Finally! It was great to get underway,” says Ashley after racing. “7-10 knots, very unstable breeze with lots of current and big waves.”

“Conditions were very tricky and extremely physical, and a lot of guys had at least one bad race, so I am very happy to have come away with two solid races.”

“I made it a little hard on myself with some conservative starts and first beats, but my first downwinds were both awesome and I got back into the races nicely. I wasn't competing for race wins- my focus was on consistency and not making big mistakes as these conditions really punish errors.”

“I'm 4th overall after today. Doesn't mean much yet as we're only one sixth of the way through the event. Looking forward to more racing tomorrow. Looks like a light one.”

In race one Ashley rounded mark one in 11th place and went on to make up ground as the race unfolded and cross in fourth place behind Zubari (ISR), Wang (CHN) and Oberemko (UKR).

The breeze shifted direction slightly and the sailors waited out a short delay while officials reset the course for race two. It was another solid race for Ashley who finished 7th to round out day one of the men’s RS:X racing. The kiwi is just one point adrift of third place.

Bronze medalist at this year’s World Championships in Auckland, Shahar Zubari of Israel leads the fleet with a win and a 3rd in today’s racing giving him a total of four points. Hong Kong sailor King Yin Chan also opened well holding second overall on nine points, while local sailor Aichen Wang (CHN) has third place on ten points.

Men’s RS:X
Provisional top five results after day one

1st ISR Shahar Zubari - 4 points (1, 3)
2nd HKG King Yin Chan - 9 points (5, 4)
3rd CHN Aichen Wang - 10 points (2, 8)
4th NZL Tom Ashley - 11 points (4, 7)
5th GRE Nikolas Kaklamanakis - 12 points (10, 2)

Women’s RS:X Windsurfing…

Over in the women’s fleet the local spectators watched on as the Chinese sailor Jian Yin took two bullets on day one of competition, to hold the overall lead at this early stage in the event. Behind her the usual suspects line up in the top ten Barbara Kendall in the mix in eighth place overall at the end of day one.

The light and sometimes fluky wind off Qingdao makes for physically demanding sailing from the windsurfers and today exemplified that. In race one decisions early on in the race made all the difference with the first three around the top mark China, Australia and Spain holding their positions to the finish. Kendall finished 12th in that race.

In race two Kendall came home in 8th place giving her a points total of 20, and eighth place overall.

Both Kendall and Ashley are back on the water tomorrow with another two races on the schedule. Medal races for the RS:X are scheduled for Wednesday 20th.

Women’s RS:X
Provisional top eight results after day one

1st CHN Jian Yin - 2 points (1, 1)
2nd AUS Jessica Crisp - 6 points (2, 4)
3rd GBR Bryony Shaw - 7 points (4, 3)
4th ITA Alessandra Sensini - 8 points (6, 2)
5th ESP Marina Alabau - 8 points (3, 5)
6th UKR Olga Maslivets - 11 points (5, 6)
7th FRA Faustine Merret - 15 points (8, 7)
8th NZL Barbara Kendall - 20 points (12, 8)

Finn…

Dan Slater continued to claw his way back up the Finn placings starting the day in 16th place the kiwi has lifted to 13th overall with a 9th in race five and a 7th in race six. He now discards his worst result of the series, his opening race and has a points total of 50.

Ben Ainslie of Great Britain has climbed into the lead overtaking Zach Railey of USA who has slipped to second place. The Finn fleet will enjoy a rest day tomorrow following which two races are planned for both Wednesday and Thursday. The Finn medal race for the top ten placed sailors will take place on Saturday.

Finn
Provisional top five results after day three

1st GBR Ben Ainslie 17 points ((10), 1, 4, 1, 1, 10)
2nd USA Zach Railey 18 points (2, 5, 2, 2, 7, (8))
3rd FRA Guillaume Florent - 26 points (5, 8, (20), 3, 4, 6)
4th CAN Christopher Cook - 33 points (8, 3, 7, 10, (23), 5)
5th SLO Gasper Vincec - 34 points (9, 11, 6, 5, 3 (13))

13th NZL Dan Slater - 57 points ((21), 19, 18, 4, 9, 7)

Men’s 470

The first of the Olympic debutants amongst the kiwi team, Carl Evans and Peter Burling sailed well on day one of competition in the men’s 470 class. It was a tricky day out on the 470 course which made for mixed results all round, no one crew dominant on day one.

Evans and Burling were 7th in race one demonstrating that they know how to make the most of opportunities as they’re presented. 19th at mark one the young 17 year olds fought their way back up through the fleet and finished in 7th place.

In race two sailed in six knots of wind, they climbed through to lie fourth rounding the final mark only to slip back and record a 10th place finish. In the overall standings they lie in 7th place in the 29 boat fleet at this early stage in their regatta.

French pair Charbonnier and Bausset have the early lead with reigning world champs, Wilmot and Page of Australia lying 4th.

Men’s 470
Provisional top seven results after day one

1st FRA Nicolas Charbonnier & Olivier Bausset - 9 points (6, 3)
2nd ESP Barreiros Onan & Aaron Sarmiento - 10 points (8, 2)
3rd POR Álvaro Marinho & Miguel Nunes - 10 points (2, 8)
4th AUS Nathan Wilmot & Malcolm Page - 11 points (4, 7)
5th SLO Karlo Hmeljak & Mitja Nevecny - 14 points (3, 11)
6th ITA Gabrio Zandona & Andrea Trani - 14 points (10, 4)
7th NZL Carl Evans & Peter Burling - 17 points (7, 10)

4 August Sailing Info on the Olympic Games

The Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Sailing Competition

8th – 24th August 2008, Qingdao, China


Prepared by:Jodie Bakewell-White  

                                Media Contact for the New Zealand Sailing Team

                                In Qingdao from August 6th – 24th

Contact details:

                            Email: jodie@yachtingnz.org.nz

                                                Skype: JodieBW

                                                China Mobile: +86 13661333764

                                                New Zealand Mobile: +64 (0) 21 709 065

Olympic Blog:                    http://www.nzoc.org.nz/Blog/BlogList.aspx?ID=6117   

Racing Format & Scoring

At the 2008 Olympic Sailing Competition a new Olympic Format will be used for the first time. The Medal Race format was decided on by the ISAF Council at the 2005 ISAF Annual Conference in Singapore.

For each event the sailing competition will consist of an opening series and a medal race. Eleven races are scheduled for each event in which New Zealand is represented - of the 11 races, 10 are scheduled as opening series races and one as a Medal Race.

During the opening series, competitors score points equivalent to the position in which they finished the race (i.e. first place scores one point, second place two points). There are a number of letter scores awarded for breaking the Racing Rules of Sailing (such as crossing the line early etc) which usually incur a points score of the equivalent of a last-place finish +1 point.

The series score of each boat is the total of their race scores, except after five races they shall discard their worst race score.

The top ten boats (i.e. the ten boats with the lowest series score) at the end of the opening series progress to the Medal Race (for the other boats the competition is over and the positions from 11 upwards are final). The Medal Race is sailed over a shorter course close in to the shore, with a race target time of approximately 30 minutes.

Scores in the Medal Race are doubled (i.e. you score two points for first place, four points for second place etc) and any letter scores (for crossing the line early, kinetics etc) are calculated based on a fleet size of ten. The Medal Race is officiated by on-the-water umpires, with sailors required to make any protests during the race.

For the top ten competitors, scores from the Medal Race are added to their score from the opening series to decide the final positions. Any ties in the overall score at the end of the Medal Race shall be broken in favour of the boat who recorded the better finish in the Medal Race.


The Events & Boats

In 2008 New Zealand will be represented in seven of the eleven Olympic sailing events. The classes we’re competing in include…

Laser – Men’s one-person dinghy

Total fleet: 40

New Zealand’s representative: Andrew Murdoch, 26 years

Laser Radial – Women’s one-person dinghy

Total fleet: 26

New Zealand’s representative: Jo Aleh, 22 years

RS:X – Men’s windsurfer

Total fleet: 35

New Zealand’s representative: Tom Ashley, 24 years

RS:X – Women’s windsurfer

Total fleet: 28

New Zealand’s representative: Barbara Kendall, 40 years

Finn – Heavyweight Dinghy

Total fleet: 26

New Zealand’s representative: Dan Slater, 32 years

Star – Men’s Keelboat (Two-person)

Total fleet: 16

New Zealand’s representatives: Hamish Pepper (helm) & Carl Williams (crew)

470 – Men’s two-person dinghy

Total fleet: 30

New Zealand’s representatives: Carl Evans (helm) & Peter Burling (crew)

Local Time – Time difference

Beijing time is eight hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time. China is four hours behind New Zealand, which means that the scheduled daily start to racing at 1pm in China will be at 5pm in New Zealand.

Qingdao, China

New Zealand

Midday

4pm

1pm
(scheduled start to racing)

5pm

6pm

10pm

Midnight

4am

6am

10am

Website links

www.sailing.org/olympics  - The ISAF Olympic Games microsite will have live competition information, international news and photography. Key Documents, background information and Olympic sailing history will also be available here.  

www.yachtingnz.org.nz – The YNZ website homepage will carry daily wrap-up reports focussed on the New Zealand team’s day on the water.

www.nzoc.org.nz – Check out the NZOC site for blogs with regular updates during competition from the likes of Jo Aleh, as well as a blog from Jodie Bakewell-White with regular updates during competition days.

http://www.sailing2008.org/en/  – The official site of the Olympic Sailing Regatta in English

Reports, Quotes & Information

  • Daily Wrap-up Report
    A daily wrap-up report written by Jodie Bakewell-White and focussed on the New Zealand sailing team’s day on the water will be emailed at the conclusion of each day. If you already receive Yachting New Zealand Media Releases you will automatically receive these, if you don’t, sign-up by
    clicking here. 
  • Jodie Bakewell-White’s Sailing News Blog
    For diary style updates during the day, quotes and other general information.
    http://www.nzoc.org.nz/Blog/BlogList.aspx?ID=6117

 Schedule for Racing – New Zealand Team

  • Two races are scheduled per day for each event in which New Zealand is represented
  • Scheduled time of the warning signal for the first race each day is 1300 hours or 1pm local China time (1700 hours or 5pm New Zealand time) 

CLASS

FINN

470 MEN

LASER & RADIAL

RS:X MEN & WOMEN

STAR

DAN SLATER

CARL EVANS & PETER BURLING

ANDREW MURDOCH

JO ALEH

TOM ASHLEY

BARBARA KENDALL

HAMISH PEPPER & CARL WILLIAMS

Friday 8th August

OPENING CEREMONY IN BEIJING

Saturday 9th August

Racing Starts (A)

Sunday 10th August

Racing (E)

Monday 11th August

Racing (E)

Racing Starts (D)

Racing Starts (A)

Tuesday 12th August

Reserve

Racing (D)

Racing Starts (A)

Racing (B)

Wednesday 13th August

Racing (E)

Racing (A)

Racing (C)

Reserve

Thursday 14th August

Racing (E)

Reserve

Racing (C)

Racing (B)

Friday 15th August

Reserve

Racing (D)

Reserve

Reserve

Racing Starts (A)

Saturday 16th August

MEDAL RACE

Racing (D)

Racing (C)

Racing (B)

Racing (E)

Sunday 17th August

Reserve

Reserve

Racing (C)

Reserve

Racing (E)

Monday 18th August

Reserve

MEDAL RACE (A)

Reserve

Racing (B)

Reserve

Tuesday 19th August

Reserve

MEDAL RACE (A)

Reserve

Racing (E)

Wednesday 20th August

Reserve

Reserve

MEDAL RACE (A)

Racing (E)

Thursday 21st August

Reserve

Reserve

MEDAL RACE (A)

Friday 22nd August

Reserve

Reserve

Saturday 23rd August

Reserve

Sunday 24th August

CLOSING CEREMONY IN BEIJING

About the Qingdao Olympic Sailing Centre

The purpose-built Qingdao Olympic Sailing Centre will host the Olympic Sailing Competition.  The Qingdao Olympic Sailing Centre is located on Fushan Bay, just a short bus ride or 20-minute walk from the centre of Qingdao city. The venue was formerly the Beihai Shipyard, which has been relocated to Haixi Bay in the Huangdao District of Qingdao.

The Olympic Sailing Centre site covers 45 hectares, 30 of which are being used for the Olympic Sailing Competition (the remaining 15 have been sold to help finance the build). The principle buildings on the site are the Qingdao Olympic Village, Athletes Centre, Administration Centre, Media Centre and Logistics Centre, covering a total area of 138,000 sq m.

The Olympic Village, Athlete and Administration Centre are clustered close together at the north of the venue. The 30,500 sq m boat park separates them from the Media Centre, which is situated at the south of the venue, on the near end of the Breakwater. The Breakwater is 534 m long and provides a high-capacity and well-sighted viewing area.

The Logistics Centre is located on the east of the venue, whilst the Olympic Memorial Dock, where the Olympic Torch will be located, is to the west.

 Course Areas


About Qingdao

The 11 sailing events of the 2008 Olympic Games will be held in the coastal city of Qingdao, China, approximately 800 kilometres southeast of Beijing. Qingdao, also known as Tsingtao, lies along China’s east coast at the south of the Shandong Peninsula, approximately 800 km southeast of Beijing. Approximately 2½ million people live in the Qingdao urban area, where the Qingdao Olympic Sailing Centre is located, while Qingdao’s overall population is around 7.5 million.

Qingdao is one of China’s key economic centres and one of China’s largest mainland ports, is famous for its cultural heritage and a renowned tourist centre.

Climate

Qingdao’s climate is temperate all year long. The annual average temperature is 12.7 degrees Celsius, while August is the hottest month with an average temperature of 25.3 degrees Celsius.

New Zealand Olympic Sailing Team 2008


The Sailing Team

In 2008 New Zealand will be represented in seven of the eleven Olympic sailing events.

Andrew Murdoch

Age: 26 years

Yacht Club: Kerikeri Cruising Club

Event: Laser – Men’s one-person dinghy (Total fleet: 40)

Jo Aleh

Age: 22 years

Yacht Club: Takapuna Boating Club

Event: Laser Radial – Women’s one-person dinghy

(Total fleet: 26)

Tom Ashley

Age: 24 years

Yacht Club: Takapuna Boating Club

Event: RS:X – Men’s windsurfer (Total fleet: 35)

Barbara Kendall

Age: 40 years

Yacht Club: Bucklands Beach Yacht Club

Event: RS:X – Women’s windsurfer (Total fleet: 28)

Dan Slater

Age: 32 years

Yacht Club: Murrays Bay Sailing Club

Event: Finn – Heavyweight Dinghy (Total fleet: 26)

Hamish Pepper

Age: 37 years

Yacht Club: Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron

Event: Star – Helm Men’s Keelboat

(Two-person) (Total fleet: 16)

Carl Williams

Age: 26 years

Yacht Club: Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron

Event: Star – Crew Men’s Keelboat

(Two-person) (Total fleet: 16)

Carl Evans

Age: 17 years

Yacht Club: Kohimarama Yacht Club

Event: 470 – Helm Men’s two-person dinghy (Total fleet: 30)

Peter Burling

Age: 17 years

Yacht Club: Tauranga Yacht & Powerboat Club

Event: 470 – Crew Men’s two-person dinghy (Total fleet: 30)

The Support & Coaching Team

Russell Green
Team Manager

Rod Davis
Star Class Coach

Grant Beck
Windsurfing Coach

Shayne Bright
Windsurfing Coach

Nathan Handley
470 Class Coach

Peter Fox
Laser & Laser Radial Class Coach

Nino Viali
Finn Class Coach

Janice McLennan

Massage Therapist

Donna Wilson
Team Doctor

Scott Cresswell
Sports Psychologist

Roger Badham
Weather Expert

Paul Wilson

Team Physiotherapist

3 July: Last World Ranking release before the Olympics: Andrew Murdoch World #2

Kiwi Olympic Sailor, Andrew Murdoch, has moved up one place in the latest World Rankings to be World #2.  The ISAF world rankings are the last ones to be released before the Olympics and confirm the great year that Andrew has had in preparations for the Olympics.  Andrew has finished in the top 3 for most of the Grade 1 Regatta he has entered in 2008.  Andrew is currently in China for his last training sessions before Olympics.  Andrew, like the rest of the sailors training in China, is hoping the Green Algal Bloom which is invading the sailing area will be able to be controlled.  Barbara Kendall, who is also training in China, recently hit one of these green islands at speed and promptly cart-wheeled off the front of her board as she was brought to an abrupt halt.


Workers clean up blue-green algae from the sea as windsurfers sail behind, at Qingdao, the host city for sailing events at the 2008 Olympic Games, in eastern Chinas Shandong province Tuesday June 24, 2008 (Photo: AP Photo/EyePress)

'The algae blooms in the green fields surrounding Qingdao'    Supplied Image

Sailing on greener pastures - 2008 Traing Camp Qingdao China June 2008 -  Australian Sailing Team  

Chinese Authorities are confident they can control this problem and have moblised 10,000 people to help.  They are looking at installing a 50km fence across the sea to stop the green bloom from floating onto the Race Course.  

 
Kiel Week 2008

29 June Kiel Day 5

Andrew Murdoch 3rd in Medal Race at last Regatta before the Olympics

New Zealand's Olympic Representative in Men's Single Handed Dinghy, Andrew Murdoch, has just finished third in the Medal Race of the Kiel Week Regatta in Germany.  Kiel Week, with over 4,500 sailors competing, is the last ISAF Grade 1 Regatta before the Olympics.  Andrew Murdoch finished the Regatta strongly with a 3rd in the double points Medal Race sailed by only the top ten sailors out of the 156 in Andrew's fleet.  The 3rd place in the Medal Race took Andrew to 7th overall after Andrew had led the Regatta earlier in the week.  World #1 Tom Slingsby from Australia won the Regatta after finishing 2nd in the Medal Race.   

Winner, World #1 Tom Slingsby, wore the Yellow Jersey from Day 2(event media)

The Medal race was sailed inshore in lighter sailing conditions, which are similar to those expected at the Olympics so Andrew is pleased with his 3rd place.  Andrew now heads to China for some practice before heading back to NZ before heading to China again for the Olympics.  Andrew is happy with his preparations so far for 2008 and is expected to at least retain his #3 World Ranking after this event. 

28 June Kiel Day 4

Andrew Murdoch makes the cut for the Top 10 Medal Race

Andrew Murdoch has maintained his position in the Top 10 at the completion of the Gold Fleet racing at the Kiel Week Regatta in Germany.  The Top 10 Sailors will now sail a double points Medal Race tomorrow to determine their final place at this last ISAF Grade 1 regatta before the Olympics.  The Top 10 sailors are from 10 different nations and most of them will be sailing in China representing their countries at the Olympics in August.  World #1 Tom Slingsby from Australia is the runaway leader and only has to finish the race tomorrow to win the Regatta.  The last 2 podium places are realistically only able to be secured by the Canadian, Portuguese and Swedish sailors.  Racing today was in strong 15 to 25 knot winds and cold rain, the exact opposite of the conditions expected at the Olympics.  Conditions allowed the scheduled 3 races to be sailed and Tom Slingsby wearing the leaders Yellow Jersey dominated the first two races and has such a commanding lead of the Regatta that he was able to sail home while the rest of the fleet sailed the last race in the strengthening winds.  Andrew Murdoch steadied the ship today after yesterday's disappointment of losing the Yellow Jersey and recorded a 9th, 7th, and 31st in the 3 races.

Chaos at the Top mark in Women's Laser with NZL's Jo Aleh (centre in black)wondering were to go (event media)

New Zealand's women Olympic Rep Jo Aleh dropped out of the Top 10 today and will miss the Medal Race as she collected another maximum points Black Flag Penalty which she is unable to discard.  Jo has sailed well at this Regatta and is looking in very good form for China.  Andrew Murdoch will head into the Medal Race tomorrow determined to improve his position as he has beaten everyone in the Top 10 over the course of the Regatta. 

27 June Kiel Day 3

Wrong Side of Crazy Day drops Andrew Murdoch to 5th

Conditions at Kiel Week in Germany, the last big Regatta before the Olympics, were described as "crazy" today.  Kiwi number 1 Andrew Murdoch, who was the joint leader overnight, got the worst of it, recording an uncharacteristic 24th and a Did Not Complete (maximum points) in the final race.  The Race Committee had scheduled 3 races, but in the 180 degree wind shifts they struggled in the challenging conditions to set square start lines and were only able to complete two races.  A storm front was expected but all sailors and race officials got was lots of rain and plenty of crazy wind shifts.  Andrew Murdoch's scores of 24 and 53 for the day drop him back to 5th on 32 points (he is able to discard the 53) as about half of the leading sailors suffered similar results in the "crazy" day.  World #1 and joint overnight leader with Andrew Murdoch, Tom Slingsby from Australia, was on the correct side of the big wind shifts and recorded a win and a 2nd to retain the Yellow Jersey and comfortably lead the Regatta on 8 points.  The second placed sailor, Rasmus Myrgren from Sweden, has almost 3 times as many points with 21.

Racing was a game of "follow the leader" today caused by the big wind shifts

Stronger more stable winds are forecast for Saturday, the last day of finals racing, and Andrew needs the maximum amount of races to be sailed to allow him to claw his way back up the leader board.  The goal is to stay in the top ten and qualify to sail in the final, double points and non-discardable, Medal Race on Sunday.   NZ's Olympic Representative in Womens Laser Radial, Jo Aleh, had a good day and is currently in 4th in the Women's event.  Andrew and Jo are both well positioned to make the Medal Race for their respective fleets.

26 June Kiel Day 2

Andrew Murdoch tied for the lead with World #1

New Zealand's Olympic representative in the Single Handed Laser Dinghy, Andrew Murdoch, dominated his fleet in the 3 races sailed today.  The Kiel Week Regatta in Germany is the last Regatta before the Olympics for most of the sailors Andrew Murdoch will be competing against in China.  After 2 days Andrew Murdoch is tied for the lead of the 156 boat fleet with World #1 Tom Slingsby from Australia.  The 156 sailors are split into 3 fleets for qualifying and yesterday Murdoch and Slingsby had a win and 2nd as they sailed against each other in the same fleet.  Today there where in different fleets and both won their respective first 2 races with Murdoch coming 3rd in the last race of the day and Slingsby 4th.  They are now tied for the lead on 5 points after allowing for one discard now that 5 races have been sailed.  Tied for 3rd place behind them is yesterdays leader from Portugal, Guatavo Lima & Greek sailor Adonis Bougiouris on 9 points.  The next best Kiwi sailor is Josh Junior from Wellington who has 42 points in a tie for 32nd.

World #1 Tom Slingsby enjoyed the stronger winds today & leads with Andrew (event media) 

Sailing conditions were perfect today along the Kiel Fjord which allowed the organisers to complete the scheduled 3 races per day.  A Westerly breeze of 11 16 knots, with gusts up to 20 knots kept the Lasers planning and surfing around the course and the sailors working very hard when sailing upwind.  Many of the Olympic sailors have been on strict weight loss programmes for the light winds expected in China so today was a bit of a shock as most sailors are well below their normal body weights.  It was partly sunny with cloud cover which can be very cold in Northern Germany and the photo above shows Tom Slingsby wearing the leaders "Yellow Jersey" which the organisers have introduced in the this Regatta along with a Pink & a Green Jersey for 2nd & 3rd.  Tomorrow Andrew will be wearing the "Yellow Jersey" for the first day of the 2 day, 6 race finals series, before the Top 10 sail off in the Medal race on Sunday.

Andrew said of today's racing:

 "Racing has been pretty tight, but I have been doing well in the tight situations and have been making some good decisions so far which is great. I have been starting well, but we had a few black flag starts today and some recalls which made things tough.  You have to be right there pushing the starts but you can't get Black flagged so it is very tricky."

Of the sailing conditions he said:

"Yep it was hard work, it probably got up to 20 knots but also was dropping out to 10 knots or less at times. I certainly worked hard today, I am still feeling fit and well though"

With the two race wins Andrew pretty much led from start to finish. In the third race he picked the big left hand shift just before the start and started at the favoured Pin end:

"In the 3rd race we had a big shift left prior to start, I was at the pin end and tacked over as soon as possible, it faded back to left and a few of the guys who had got onto port earlier did well, I rounded the top in 4th the first time. I managed to fight back to 2nd at one stage but finished 3rd"

6 Race finals series starts tomorrow.

25 June Kiel Day 1

Great Start to Kiel Week for Andrew Murdoch

New Zealand's Olympic representative in the Men's One Person Dinghy (Laser dinghy), Andrew Murdoch, has made a great start to the last major sailing regatta before the Olympic Games.  Andrew, currently ranked #3 in the World, started the Regatta with a win and a 2nd which leaves him tied on points for second place with World #1 Tom Slingsby from Australia.  The Laser fleet has a massive 156 boats sailing, so the Regatta organisers have had to split the sailors into 3 separate fleets.  These fleets will be changed each day with the intention that all sailors will get a chance to sail against each other.  Later in the Regatta the Top 50 sailors from qualifying rounds will be split off to sail in the Gold Fleet to determine the overall winner .


Mark roundings are always exciting with 156 boats sailing ( event media)

Today Andrew Murdoch was arguably sailing in the hardest of the 3 fleets, with World #1 ranked sailor and 2007 & 2008 World Champion Tom Slingsby from Australia in his fleet.  The conditions today were challenging as the winds were unstable ranging between 6 & 12 knots and swinging between the East and the South East.  Andrew got a good start in the first race and he battled hard with Tom Slingsby all through the race to beat him at the finish and win the race.  In the 2nd race of the day Andrew got another great start and again duelled with Slingsby but this time the World Champion won with Andrew 2nd.  Andrew enjoyed the days racing and said of the day:

"I started well in both races and duked it out with Slingsby in both races, lots of fun!"

The firsts and seconds leave Andrew and Tom Slingsby tied for 2nd place on 3 points behind 2003 World Champion from Portugal, Gustavo Lima, who sailed in a different fleet and won both his races on 2 points.  4th place on 6 points is Abe Torchinsky from Canada.  Other Kiwi's in the fleet are Josh Junior 18th, Matt Coutts 50th, Max Andrews 73rd, Sam Meech who will be representing NZ at the Youth World Championships soon was 81st.  Tomorrow the fleets will be changed again as qualifying racing continues.

(For Sailors) Andrew has been using the Rooster Layered DS system for 2008 supplied by www.nzsailing.net and on his last trip back to NZ we updated his sailing equipment for the Olympics.  An article on the changes Andrew has made for the Olympics will be released shortly. To give you some idea of the magnitude of the changes, at the start of the year Andrew was using the large size Pro-Hike Shorts with the standard leg and the large Hike Pads. In the races today he used the small Pro-Hike Shorts with the standard leg and the medium Hike Pads. Andrew uses the large, medium and small Hike Pads depending on conditions.  Today he said:

" I am loving the smaller size hikers and pads and I used the medium pads today"

Big changes for China!  

Introduction to Kiel Week

There are just under 50 days before the first race starts at the 2008 Olympics.  New Zealand's representative in the Men's One Person Dinghy, Andrew Murdoch, is now in Germany for the last major regatta before the games.

4,500 sailors are expected, from more than 50 nations for the Kiel Week Regatta and they will sail in craft ranging from Olympic Class Dinghies to Offshore Yachts.  Andrew will be competing in the most competitive class, the Laser, against 150 other sailors.  Most of his competitors at the upcoming Olympics will be racing as they all take this last chance of serious competition before the games.  Andrew is currently ranked 3rd in the World and is back in Europe after coming second in his last ISAF Grade 1 Regatta, the Semaine Olympique Francaise at Hyeres in France.


Andrew working his boat through the big waves at the 2008 Asia Pacific Championships and the ISAF Grade 1 Regatta, Sail Melbourne, on his way to 2nd overall and beating the World #1 Tom Slingsby from Australia into 3rd .

2008 has been a very busy year for Andrew with trips to China in preparation for the Olympics, while also competing on the ISAF Grade 1 circuit around the world.  Andrew has had some great results so far this season and as part of his sponsorship by www.nzsailing.net we will be providing updates of Andrew's progress towards the Olympics.  We will also be reviewing his results and preparation this season and providing some tips for all those sailors who want to sail as fast as Andrew.  We will be publishing these news stories and articles on this website, so keep checking it regularly and click on the links on the right hand side to view Andrew's supporters.

2007 News 

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nzsailing.com is keen to help Sailing & Watersports clubs around New Zealand and Asia Pacific so please contact us if you have an Event coming up soon and would like us to help with prizes.  Please Register or Contact us with any questions 

About NZ Sailing Ltd.

 We Sell & Ship worldwide* quality sailing & watersport products at Factory prices from suppliers & manufacturers who share our goals.  *Please note all prices are in New Zealand Dollars (NZD) and all orders over NZD $500 are shipped for free to international customers using the postal service.

 

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