2006 2.4mR worlds in Helsinki Finland. Day 1 The 2.4mR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS BEGIN IN HELSINKI From Betsy Alison, Coach USDST Nick Scandone in 8th Place after Day One of Racing Defending World Champion Nick Scandone, a member of the 2006 US SAILING Team, had a solid first day at the 2.4mR World Championship being held in Helsinki, Finland. With 96 competitors in the field, starting is the biggest challenge for most of the fleet. If you can get off the line in decent shape, it is possible to be in the top 25 at the first mark, if not – it is a struggle. A Finnish sailor, Harri Malm, tops the leader board with 4–7-3 followed closely by Ulf Arvidsson from Sweden. Thierry Schmitter from the Netherlands currently rounds out the top three. Four of the top eight sailors on the score board are fielding active Paralympic campaigns in the 2.4mR – Schmitter (NED), Heiko Kroeger (GER), Bjornar Erikstad (NOR), Scandone (USA) – and several more are in the top 25. Approximately 25-30% of the competitors have disabilities and the 2.4mR, a small technical single person keelboat, minimizes the differences between the sailors. The boat is technical and tactical, so the sailor who makes the fewest mistakes and the best decisions rises to the top of the field. Scandone posted several consistent finishes in the light to semi-moderate breeze today. His finishes of 9,8,13 are good enough to find him in 8th, only 5 points out of third. In a fleet of this size and deep with talent, any significant mistake can plummet a sailor in the scores. With 8 more races to go, anything and everything can happen. With good forecasts for clear weather and decent winds, the sailing here in Finland should be excellent. Sailing conditions were challenging with an easterly wind dominating the day of racing. Oscillations were seen across the board, with a slightly more significant right shift late in the day. Low chop with no real pattern to it was present, making it difficult to keep the boat rolling fast both up and downwind. Stay tuned. More news to come tomorrow. Resuts Betsy
From Peter Wilson, President US 2.4mR Class 96 boats...so neither Jim, Carolyn or I started well. It is very very painful digging yourself out, but possible. Top 10 boats after three races are all scandanavians except Nick who is 8th with 9, 8, 13. Next north american is Paul Tingley (Can) in 22nd with 42 low points, then comes me in 31st with 103 low points. Jim is mid fleet and Carolyn is leading the bottom third. Allan Leibel is 49th after blackflaging his best race. The sailing is very difficult. 6-12 knots with a lot of chop and slop....very hard to keep the boat going. The good sailors know how to start and keep the boats going, so they are up top. Allan Leibel's comment to me after the first race where he was 37th and I was 53rd, "sailing in a 20 boat fleet at Noroton is a lot more fun". Well, tomorrow is another day, and perhaps we will all be more willing to poke our nose out at the start. According to Betsy and the TV film crew, the RC is only getting about 1/3 of those who are over. Ah well, we are all laughing and the Baltic is beautiful and not too cold. More tomorrow...if we survive. Peter 07/31/06
From Betsy Alison, Coach USDST Scandone stays in top 10! After 6 completed races at the 2006 2.4mR World Championship, each sailor gets to discard his/hers worst race so far. With all that being said, the scoreboard still shows most of the same names as yesterday though the order has slightly changed. Past World Champion Stellan Berlin from Sweden posted two wins in the first two races today to take the overall lead. He now has 4 races in the top 5, a 13 and a discard of 22. Harri Malm of Finland, yesterday’s leader closely follows Berlin in the scores trailing by only 6 points – his consistent finishes keep him vying for the lead. Heiko Kroeger of Germany is the top disabled sailor now sitting in 4th place. He crossed the line in the top 5 in all three races today, only to find himself the victim of a Black Flag DSQ in race #4. Even so, he has been sailing extremely well and only trails the top three by a few points. Theirry Schmitter (NED) and Nick Scandone (USA) sailed fairly well today – top ten for most of the day, but both sailors found themselves in the 20s in one race each today to drop them to 7th and 9th respectively. Biggest difficulties seemed to be getting off the starting line with some degree of accuracy and clear air. With 96 boats on the line, it is a crowded place to be and a simple error compounds itself in to big losses. It is dangerous to pull the trigger a bit early and risk a BFD but on the other hand, if you are late to accelerate, there is little breeze behind the front row boats. BFDs plagued more than a few of the sailors on these first two days, but with one throwout in hand, they all sit in much better shape. There is no real middle of the course here in Finland. With the light to moderate winds we have been having, it is imperative to play a side and play it to win that side. Crossing over from side to side has been deadly. Gate choices have also had significant impact on placings in individual races. With the gates fairly narrow, it is critical to choose the gate that gets you away from the boats still coming downwind as quickly as possible and in the least amount of disturbed air. Alan Leibel from Canada had a great day today – moving into 15th place with a 5,21,3. Peter Wilson (USA) is now in 30th, Paul Tingley (CAN) 35th, Bruce Millar (CAN) 41st, Danny McCoy (CAN) 45th, Jim Linville (USA) 52nd, Darrel Suderman (CAN) 62nd, and Carolyn Wilson (USA) 77th Betsy From Peter Wilson, President US 2.4mR Class Well, all of us but Nick are experiencing humility. If you aren't in the first row, you struggle to make the top half of the fleet. Today was SE 6-8 building to 10-15 knots. After 6 races, Stellan Berlin is leading. Nick is 9th, Allan Leibel is 15th, and I am 30th. Full results should be on the website soon. Jim had a black flag on the downside and on the upside a 19th, after which he proclaimed himself to be a teenager You won't believe the lump at the leeward gate. It is a big washing machine. In the last race today I had the good fortune to have a front row start and sail the correct side of the beat with adequate speed to reach the weather mark in 5th. While I couldnt stay there (problems at the gate), I must say the view was beautiful and it is remarkable how fast the first 10 boats get a big lead on the fleet. Best to all.. Peter 08/01/06
From Peter Wilson, President US 2.4mR Class Bummer... Winds 15-20 with incredible washing machine chop and slop. Carolyn opted not to torture herself. Jim and I sailed, but my rudder broke off after the first race while I was enjoying a soggy sandwich. Betsy towed me in, and Jim stayed to endure two more races. Allan Leibel had two good races and then a bad one. Nick had two bad races and then a good one...the conditions are very hard for him, particularly jibing. Marko and Stellan (and some others) really do well in these conditions. They ease sheets, go fast, and let the keel do the lifting. Stellan just needs one good race tomorrow and he has the championship wrapped up. Forecast is for 15-20 plus with rain. I won't be sailing since it is hard without a rudder. Unfortunately for Gavia, my boat sitting on the hard with no rudder and a rudder stock with three tiny welds broken, was not a pretty picture for the US builder. This is the second (that I know of) rudder that has failed the same way, and has reinforced for the Europeans that the boats are not well built. Oh well, the people are friendly (no I told you so's), Helsinki is beautiful, and we are having a good time. Peter 08/02/06
From Peter Wilson, President US 2.4mR Class 15-20 with eavy seas and some rain. Toughest conditions we've ever seen. Stellan wins it and I believe Thiery is second and Heiko third. Jim, Nick, and I were in the mid 20's in the first race, surviving better than most. In the second race (I was now sailing Carolyn's boat after my rudder was lost), my steering malfunctioned when I was in 20th, and Jim was close behind and his jib ripped...so we didn't finish. Nick was just exhausted...can't blame him, so he sailed in after a respectable first beat. Clearly the scandinavian sailors have these conditions down cold, although Allan Leibel does too....with a third or so in the first race. About to head to the prize ceremony and then pack the container tomorrow. Peter 08/03/06 |
