Delta Lloyd Regatta, 2009, Medemblik, Netherlands
Finn Focus at the Delta Lloyd Regatta, Medemblik
Day one – Wednesday 27 May
Strong winds and steep waves made for a spectacular start to the Delta Lloyd Regatta in Medemblik, the fifth event in the ISAF Sailing World Cup series. The Finns had a late start and only one race was sailed in the tough conditions as the wind increased through the day.
Still fresh and confident from his victory in April at the Princesa Sofia Mapfre regatta in Palma, and more recently at the Expert Olympic Garda regatta, Giles Scott (GBR) took the first race win of this year's Delta Lloyd Regatta. Improving all the time, this young sailor – and still the current Junior World Champion – is making his mark on the Finn circuit in the best possible way – from the front.
The local favourite in Medemblik is Pieter-Jan Postma (NED). Having struggled in Hyeres, mainly through what he described as “It's the beginning of the season, very rusty, speed is all right, but where do I go?”, he clearly enjoys breezy conditions and placed second in the opening race. But he likes the new World Cup format, “It's good, makes things more clear, and more in one programme. I like it.”
Third place in today's race was Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic (CRO), winner of the generally light wind Hyeres week, normally his preferred conditions, but today proving he is also improving in the breeze.
After missing both Palma and Hyeres, the 2008 Olympic Silver medalist Zach Railey (USA) is back in the Finn with a confident fourth place. “This is my first event of the European season. I am really excited to be back on the circuit and racing.”
“Today the racing was hard with big puffs and steep waves. It was a very windy day. The Finn start was at 3 pm with 25 knots of wind and higher gusts. Some classes raced and some didn't. We were only able to complete one race with the tough conditions. I finished fourth so a good start to the regatta.”
Railey is one of the sailors taking advantage of new technologies to promote himself and his all-important sponsors. “We're doing some really exciting things with the campaign this time around. We're going to do pre and post regatta videos and also Twitter updates every day. Each day when I get off the water I will send an update direct from my cellphone in the boat park. It's going to tell you the conditions, my results, mistakes I made, how the regatta is going and how I am feeling.” Zach's website is www.zach2012.com.
Day two – Thursday 28 May
A dramatic sea change on day two at the Delta Lloyd Regatta in Medemblik, Netherlands resulted in some very up and down results for the 63 strong Finn fleet. One man steering a steady course though is Giles Scott (GBR). After a second and third place today, the young Brit has a seven point lead over second placed Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic (CRO).
It proved a very long day on the water for some, but the wind gradually increased from 8 to 15 knots during the day. The first race of the day went to Daniel Birgmark (SWE). This is his first major outing since the Olympics in Qingdao where he finished in a frustrating fourth place, and on the same points as the bronze medalist. Mastering the shifting winds, Birgmark led across the finish line followed by Kljakovic Gaspic and then Scott. Zach Railey (USA) placed fourth to match his fourth in the first race.
Race three changed the landscape somewhat with several new faces at the front. Rafael Trujillo (ESP) took the race win with the ever consistent Scott in second and his team mate Ed Wright (GBR) in third. Wright has so far been the runaway leader of the ISAF Sailing World Cup in the Finn class with top two finishes at the last three regattas.
These results brought Trujillo up to third overnight with Wright climbing to fourth. Railey posted a 18th after choosing the wrong side of the first upwind to drop to fifth while Chris Cook (CAN) placed fourth to jump to sixth. After a fifth and a sixth in the first two races, Dan Slater (NZL) picked up a black flag in race three to drop out of the top 10 to 17th.
Day three – Friday 29 May
Despite blotting his scorecard in race five today, Friday, Giles Scott (GBR) has maintained his seven point lead at the top of the Finn fleet after day three at the Delta Lloyd Regatta in Medemblik, Netherlands. A third in race four was followed by a 10th in race five as the sailors enjoyed another tough day on the IJsselmeer.
However in a gusty 15 to 20 knot winds it was his team mate Andrew Mills (GBR) who took the first gun of the day. Mills, who took race wins at both the Palma and Hyeres regattas is another product of the strong GBR team that now has three inside the top 10 here in Medemblik. Mills was followed over the line by Pieter-Jan Postma (NED), with another Brit, Ed Wright (GBR) in fourth place. In the wavy conditions, there were big gains to be made downwind and most of the top 15 places were tight until the finish.
After a pretty average start to the regatta, Wright, who is the current leader of the ISAF Sailing World Cup was back on form in race five with a race win to bring him right back into contention. Postma was also going fast in the increased wind to post another second place while Zach Railey (USA) picked up a third for his efforts.
Railey said, “It was very tough again today. Both sides of the course were paying at times, so playing shifts was key. The waves also made for big gains and losses on the downwind legs, and if you could get into a good groove you could make a lot of distance on boats around you.”
Wright's win lifts him to second overall, while Railey climbs two places to finish the day in third. After two low teens results yesterday, Postma's two second places today moves him up to fourth.
The final qualification races will be sailed on Saturday to be followed by Sunday’s medal race, tracked live through the event website.
Day four - Saturday 30 May
Giles Scott (GBR) will go into the Finn medal race at the Delta Lloyd Regatta in Medemblik, Netherlands on Saturday in pole position, the spot he has occupied all week. After two more races Saturday, his lead has narrowed, but he hasn't really done much wrong yet. Barring a disaster, his only serious competition comes from team mate and current leader of the ISAF Sailing World Cup, Ed Wright (GBR).
In each of the last four ISAF Sailing World Cup events, Wright has left it to late in the series to make his move and hasn't appeared to change that strategy this week. Tricky conditions again prevailed with about 6 knots rising to 15 knots and choppy waves to content with, but the final day of qualification races belonged to Wright, who posted a third and a second to move within three points of Scott.
The race six win went to Daniel Birgmark (SWE), the only man here this week to win more than one race so far. A late charge by Mark Andrews (GBR) into second in this race (and then an eighth and the next) was just too late to make the medal race cut. Wright finished third to close the gap on Scott and put him under pressure.
Wright said, "It was a bad start to the week with tricky conditions. Then we had a good hike off in the second race yesterday which brought me up a bit. A couple of solid results today has put me three points off the lead, so it should be full on in the medal race tomorrow. Let's hope for some wind. This regatta seems so short with only five days. After losing a race on the first day and only seven qualifying races it's hard to come back."
The second race brought a return to form of Hyeres winner Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic (CRO) with a race win ahead of Wright. Third was Deniss Karpak (EST), sailing his best race of the series so far.
Karpak said later, "Today was a really difficult day. In the second race I had a good start, which was about the 65 per cent of the race result. I was going fast, and won the first upwind 50 metres ahead of Ivan and Ed. That was cool, first time I have led round the top mark. But then I lost the downwind, because the wind went right, and I went left. It was a battle between myself, Zach, Ed and Giles on the last downwind, and I ended up third. I'm happy with that."
Scott placed fifth and fourth in the day's races, to lose four of his seven point advantage on Wright. But the pair are 11 points clear of third placed Kljakovic Gaspic, so apart from a major mishap on Sunday are likely to be heading for first and second.
Nine out of the 10 boats going into the medal race technically have a chance at a medal. The line up looks like this:
Giles Scott (GBR) - winner of Palma and Expert Olympic Garda in past few months. Improving at a rapid rate, across all conditions, but still has a lot to do in the medal race to beat team mate Ed Wright.
Ed Wright (GBR) - Current leader of the ISAF Sailing World Cup after top two placings at the past three events. He has also won the medal race in all those three events, so has to be the favourite to take the race. Needs at least one boat between himself and Scott to take the regatta though.
Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic (CRO) - won Hyeres and sailed well again this week, though slightly lost his way mid week. Needs to be up the front, with Wright and Scott near the back to have a chance at the week, which looks pretty unlikely based of the form of the top two.
Daniel Birgmark (SWE) - finished fourth in Qingdao last year and this is his first major outing since then. Won two races so far this week, and clearly on form. Clever tactical sailor who can often surprise with good results, so can never be written off.
Zach Railey (USA) - 2008 Olympic silver medalist, back on the campaign trail after a long break since the Rolex Miami OCR. Apart from the odd slip, has performed well this week and could easily snatch a medal if things go his way
Rafael Trujillo (ESP) - 2007 world champion and after a very inconsistent week, can still take the bronze if he has a good race and Kljakovic Gaspic slips up. Prefers the breeze, but can produce in the light at times.
Andrew Mills (GBR) - third medal race in a row and has won races at each regatta. Surely a bright prospect for the future and doing much better than even he predicted. Finished on the podium in Palma and an outside chance of another third place here.
Pieter Jan Postma (NED) - An up and down week for the home favourite and still not showing the consistency that won him silver at the 2007 worlds and pre-Olympics,
Dan Slater (NZL) - second at last year's worlds, Slater is another sailor who can produce top results when needed, but has been a bit inconsistent this week. First major for him since the Olympics when he surprisingly ended up out of the top 10.
Tapio Nirkko (FIN) - Another young sailor in his third World Cup medal race in a row, after a pretty average week at Medemblik. However he has generally been consistent, but too far off to win a medal.
The medal race at 11.00 local time on Sunday will be tracked live through the event website at www.deltalloydregatta.org, while the final race to find the best of the rest will be sailed an hour later.
Day five – Sunday 31 May
Ed Wright (GBR) has done it again. At each and every medal race in the past four regattas of the ISAF Sailing World Cup he has pulled something extra out of the bag to give himself the best possible chance. He didn't win the medal race, today Sunday at the Delta Lloyd Regatta in Medemblik, Netherlands, but a second place was enough to move ahead of Giles Scott (GBR) and win the regatta in the most thrilling way.
Scott, who has led this series from the very first race looked to have it sewn up after a good start and leading Wright until the final upwind leg when it all came undone. At the first mark, Scott was in third and Wright was near the back. It looked like it was job done.
But the three laps of the course allowed plenty of time for Wright to catch up and he gradually nibbled away at the boats ahead to round the second downwind gate level with Scott. Then they split tacks for a while with Wright going left and Scott going right. Wright crossed ahead near the final upwind mark and then moved up to second on the final downwind to take the regatta by 11 points.
Scott faded away on the final downwind to end up ninth in the race and only hung onto second overall by two points. It was not the finale to a great week for him that everyone was expecting. Perhaps in the end Wright's experience in these situations was the deciding factor.
The race winner was the 2007 world champion Rafael Trujillo (ESP). Getting the best start and favouring the left hand side he never looked in danger and by the final downwind had extended his lead to 45 seconds. Third paced Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic (CRO) occupied second place for most of the race, just losing out to Wright on the final downwind, but it was enough for the Croatian to claim third place overall.
Trujillo's win moved him up two places to fourth, while Zach Railey (USA) hung onto fifth place overall after a steady fourth place in the race.
Railey said, “It was lots of fun today and also tense because the points were so close between third and ninth overall. The wind was very patchy with big differences in pressure so finding that was important. Rafa got in front and stayed there the whole race while everyone else was packed very tight and the last downwind was where the final spots were decided. Overall I am pretty happy with fifth, and other than two races I felt like I made good decisions and am very happy to be racing again.”
Meanwhile, in the final race for the best of the rest, Piotr Kula (POL) won from Bryan Boyd (USA) and Florian Raudaschl (AUT). A 13th place for Mark Andrews (GBR) though was enough to hang onto 11th overall.
At the Rolex Miami OCR Ed Wright won the medal race to overtake Chris Cook (CAN) who had led for most of the series. In Palma, he won again to take second from Andrew Mills (GBR), and in Hyeres he won a third medal race to snatch second place from Gasper Vincec (SLO). After two average opening races earlier this week, he rallied and came back strongly to take the regatta at the last possible moment. Wright is rapidly becoming the man to beat in the ever competitive Finn fleet.
The class reassembles for Kiel Week at the end of June before heading for Copenhagen for the world championships in early July. It is going to be fascinating to watch.
The final top 10 in Medemblik looks like this
1 GBR 111 Edward Wright 25
2 GBR 41 Giles Scott 36
3 CRO 524 Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic 38
4 ESP 100 Rafael Trujillo 42
5 USA 4 Zach Railey 45
6 SWE 11 Daniel Birgmark 45
7 NED 842 Pieter Jan Postma 57
8 GBR 634 Andrew Mills 60
9 NZL 1 Dan Slater 63
10 FIN 218 Tapio Nirkko 73
Delta Lloyd Regatta...Racing was hard with big puffs and steep waves finished 4th Zach – Race #1
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