Super light day at 2015 Rio Test Event

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Issue date

19 Aug 2015

A lack of wind in the 2016 Olympic city hampered racing today on what was day four of the 2015 Rio Test Event for Olympic class sailing.

The only kiwi crews to complete racing today were 49erFX pair, Alexandra Maloney and Molly Meech (pictured above) who are now lying 5^th overall, and Andy Maloney in the Laser, who has lifted to 10^th.

49erFX

The 49erFX were the first to get underway today, but not until around 2:30pm when the women’s skiff fleet were towed to the closest course where a light breeze had filled in.

Alexandra Maloney and Molly Meech had a tough day at the office, but remain in the top five at the halfway mark for fleet racing. They’re now 5^th overall, three points behind Sweden in 4^th.

“It was a tough day on the race course, pretty light, shifty and a bit of current effect as well – so a little bit of everything out there today,” says 49erFX Coach Jim Maloney.

“The girls had a couple of really good comebacks. They got a 12^th in the first race and in the second race they ended up 8^th, and that was a really great comeback considering the first beat.”

“Tomorrow is a new day, we’ll look at the forecast, we’re racing on bridge course, and it’ll be exciting to get going again.”

Local Brazilian’s Martine Soffiatti Grael and Kahena Kunze (BRA) are so far proving their hometown advantage and lead the fleet from Italy by one point.

Laser

Andy Maloney has climbed back into the top ten with a 6^th in today’s single race in the Laser fleet.

Around 3:30pm the men’s single handed fleet, the largest of all ten events being contested here, hit the Ponte Course area where a 7-8 knot breeze provided race worthy conditions.

The 25 year old from Murrays Bay Sailing Club says, “I was pretty confident in my game plan I just had to execute it and I managed to a decent enough job of that on the first beat and rounded the top mark in 10^th or so. Then in the second beat it got pretty tricky and I just managed to get it ‘right enough’ - a solid day and worth waiting around for.”

“We’ve still got four fleet races to go and then a medal race. I will just try to keep plugging away at some top ten, top five results and execute my game plan each race.”

Other fleets

Both the 49er (Peter Burling and Blair Tuke) and Nacra 17(Gemma Jones and Jason Saunders) were on a scheduled reserve day today which spared them the long and fruitless wait ashore that others endured.

With insufficient wind on the outside courses both the Men’s and Women’s 470 (Paul Snow-Hansen and Daniel Willcox / Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie) were held in the boat park until mid-afternoon when racing was abandoned for them.

An attempt was made for the Finn fleet, in which New Zealand’s Josh Junior is competing, late in the afternoon, but abandoned.

2015 Rio Test Event, Rio de Janeiro

The NZL Sailing Team current standings

1^st Peter Burling and Blair Tuke - 49er (2, 6, 1, 12, 1, 1)
4^th Gemma Jones and Jason Saunders - Nacra 17 (2, 2, 14, 1, 3, 13)
5^th Alexandra Maloney and Molly Meech - 49erFX (3, 1, 15, 5, 12, 8)
6th Josh Junior - Finn (7, 10, 4)
7^th Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie - Women’s 470 (4, 12, 5, 9)
10^th Andy Maloney – Laser (11, 6, 9, 22, 23, 6)
15^th Paul Snow-Hansen and Daniel Willcox - Men’s 470 (17, 10, 17, 12)