Laser and Sonar Success for WAIS Sailors at Delta Lloyd
Three WAIS sailors have won gold in weekend racing at the 2015 Delta Lloyd Regatta in the Netherlands.
In total, Australia picked up six medals at the event but it was the success of Matt Wearn in the laser and Coin Harrison and Russell Boaden (along with Jonathon Harris) in the sonar that highlighted the week.
In a Laser fleet of over 140 boats Matt Wearn sailed a consistently strong regatta, taking the lead on the opening day before taking turns for second and first with the Netherland’s Rutger van Schaardenburg over the following days.
Going into the final medal race, the 19-year-old was in the lead, but only one point separated him from the Dutchman in second.
In an extremely close medal race, Matt Wearn posted a fourth place finish with van Schaardenburg in sixth, securing the WAIS athlete the regatta win.
Wearn said he had to work hard for the win and believed his Delta Lloyd form would prepare him well for the up-coming Weymouth World Cup and following World Championships in Canada.
“It was an extremely tricky race. Every time I thought I had it, Rutger would come back. He definitely made it hard for me, but in the end it was really good,” Wearn commented post-race.
“It’s a big step to win this event. I’ve had a couple seconds over the last few years, but have not been able to seal the win, so it’s great to finally get the win under my belt and hopefully it’s not the last.”
“I will head to Weymouth for the World Cup next, then straight to Canada for the Worlds and hopefully with those two regattas I can qualify for Rio (test event).”
Wearn’s WAIS training partner Luke Elliot enjoyed a strong regatta, qualifying for the medal race and finishing second, leaving him seventh overall in his best result to date in European racing.
Points were tight in the Sonar class for Colin Harrison, Russell Boaden and Jonathan Harris (NSW) all week.
The triumvirate won both races on day one, before slipping to second overall in the 12-boat fleet. They went into the final race day ranked second behind the French team and finished the regatta with a bang by winning the last two races to take the overall win.
Harrison said the victory was a significant result for his crew against a high calibre international field.
“It was an important event for us, because all countries were well represented across all three classes, so it’s been good and tough competition. All the top teams were here,” Colin Harrison said about the event.
“It’s been a cold and windy week, very challenging and shifty, but we’ve enjoyed the challenge and the team has worked incredibly well together and we are stoked about the result.”
WAIS athlete David Gilmour and his crew Rhys Mara (VIC) had a trying regatta and dropped into 20th over the opening two days of the 49er class. The pair managed to climb the ladder into 13th overall and finished the regatta on a high by winning the last race.
In the women’s 49er FX WAIS athlete Caitlin Elks, crewing for helm Tess Lloyd (Vic) produced a solid campaign to finish seventh overall. The duo might’ve finished higher but were left to count the cost of two disqualifications, for sailing over the starting line prematurely in what was an otherwise impressive outing.
WAIS athlete Carrie Smith and crew Jaime Ryan (Qld) sailed very conservatively in the women’s 470 class, with Smith returning after some considerable time out of the boat for medical reasons. The pair sailed well with minimum preparation and finished ninth overall despite having to withdraw from the final race.
The result however, took on greater significance with the top ten spot earning the girls entry to the Weymouth World Cup.
WAIS Head Sailing Coach Belinda Stowell said the difficult sailing conditions had presented the athletes with a real challenge and plenty of learning, but she was pleased with their performances over the week.
“It was a fairly windy regatta so it tested the sailors, and it is great preparation for them going on to Weymouth World Cup which is also an Olympic trials regatta,” she said. “A great result for WAIS sailors and great to have two gold medals.”
– with YachtingAus