August 10th
Torrential rain and winds combined to upset the racing schedule for a lot of classes at Weymouth today. Some classes did not get to race at all and some were forced to abandon. The Star Class was fortunate to get in one race which brought an excellent result for Peter O’Leary and his German crew Frithiof Kleen. They finished in second place behind Xavier Rohart and Pierre Alexis Ponsot of France. Max Treacy and Anthony Shanks had a 12th position result. This leaves O’Leary and Kleen currently on 29 points with Treacy and Shanks on 60 points.
It seems Meteorologist Doug Chargo was correct in his predictions of the weather and lets hope that it will improve somewhat tomorrow as he has also predicted.
Two races were held today (9th) in the Star Class at Skandia Sail for Gold Week at Weymouth. In Race One Anthony Shanks and Max Treacy of Dublin finished in 17th place and 33rd in Race Two leaving them in 24th position on 50 points. Peter O’Leary of RCYC and his German crew Frithiof Kleen had a 23rd in Race One and a fourth in Race Two leaving them in 13th position overall on 27 points. Racing was delayed for quite a few classes but more windy conditions are forecast for tomorrow.
The Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta is taking place at Weymouth and Portland Sailing Academy from August 9th to 14th. It is the final event of this year’s ISAF Sailing World Cup, and the last but one Olympic class regatta at the 2012 venue before the main event.
A better and perhaps more informed view of Irish sailing form for the 2012 Olympics will be seen this week when the Irish Elite Sports Council carded sailors compete in an event of 800 sailors at the Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta in Weymouth. Annalise Murphy is in the Laser Radial and in the Star Class Max Treacy and Anthony Shanks go head to head with Peter O’Leary and a substitute crew. German sailor Frithiof Kleen, is listed in the Irish Times this morning as a last minute crew change for O’Leary due to the unavailability of David Burrows who had been entered as crew.
Of course some things weather wise never seem to chance and today Race 1 for the Stars and Finns has been postponed as has Race One for the RSX Women. However, US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics meteorologist (and former holder of the same position for the Luna Rossa America’s Cup team), Doug Charko reckoned that there will be plenty of opportunity to check heavy weather progress during the week. “There’s a low heading into the area, which will probably arrive for Tuesday. So ten to 15 knots for Monday, building during the day, and then Tuesday with the low passing over Scotland there’s quite a wide range in the global models, so although I’m hedging my bets a little, I’d say 15 to 20 and gusting to 25 knots from the south-west, raining and unsettled.” Things look a little better for the rest of the week, with moderate south-westerly sea breezes forecast – classic Weymouth conditions.
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