Olympic regatta report 2000 - Sydney, Australia

By Corinne Rolland-McKenzie and Gus Miller

Races 1 and 2

More than a week after the Olympic Games opening ceremony, the Finns finally started racing. It was a very light day with only five knots at midday when racing started on course area E, outside Sydney Harbour.

The first race used an inner trapezoid course. No one was over early but many boats had to bail out right. Usually this second row position loses 100 yards in the first 400 meters and by taking away the tactical options can result in being at the back by the first mark and way back by the finish. Iain Percy and Karlo Kuret were exceptions, finishing 2nd and 6th. Balazs Hajdu, Fredrik L””f and Luca Devoti got hammered.

At the end of the first reach the wind was down to 3-4 knots and the Finns and Stars became one fleet. Iain and others were blanketed badly by the big mains and this sprang Mateusz Kusznierewicz free, going from a diminishing 40 meter lead to a 250 meter lead. Actually Mateusz won by nearly three minutes and finished ninth in the Star Class but the measurers disallowed that because he lacked a funny little sail up front.

In the second race, again no one was over in the Finn start, but soon Luca Devoti and Christoph Bergmann had to bail out right. There was a 10-15ø left hand shift at the top of the first beat which separated the fleet. Imre Taveter who got pushed back on the first start, sailed really well and was 5th at the first mark, lost two on the run but neglected to cover Mateusz and others on the second beat and got hammered by a bad shift.

After two races Iain Percy was leading."I am very fast on the outside courses and have to make the most of it. Inside is another story." Iain is taking a day at the time and with a rest day next, he wanted to think of Monday like the start of the regatta. "After four days of racing I will be able to look back. At the moment I have to take each day as it comes."

In second place and only two points behind Iain is 1996 Gold Medalist and current World Champion, Mateusz Kusznierewicz. Ali Enver Adakan is in third place after scoring a 5th and a 7th. With only two years in the Finn, Ali Enver has shown constant progress.

Many people have expressed surprise to see a Finn sailing with a flag from Sri Lanka. Lalin Jirasinha sailed today his first Finn races. After collecting a wild card from ISAF he chartered Sebastien Godefroid's spare boat, had a sail made especially for him by North NZ (Lalin only weighs 70 kg) and started training. With lots of commitment and good advice and great help from Gus Miller, Lalin is enjoying his Finn sailing.

Gus Miller, under the Olympic Solidarity Program funded this year by a generous donation from our President of Honour, Gerardo Seeliger, is coaching four Finns. Lalin Jirasinha, Ben Beer, Imre Taveter and Evgeny Tchernov.

Someone once said Finnsters need adult supervision when out in their boats on the sea. Such was the case today. Ian Ainslie was yellow flagged on the last reach for the second day in a row, for a huge pump down a big one and then taking five completely illegal pumps halfway down the roller. Luca was in two protests, one with Balazs Hajdu and the other with Evgeny Tchernov for not going behind and outside when he had no overlap on Ben Beer and forced Luca into the gybe mark right in front of the Jury.

Races 3 and 4

After a rest day, the second day of racing took its toll on the Finn fleet with two races sailed on area D, between the heads. Shifty winds and coastal effects provided excitement and frustration with most sailors collecting up and down placings throughout the day. "They looked like a bunch of yo-yos," commented Mike Fletcher, the Australian coach!

Freddy L””f put on an awesome display in the first race, coming from being near last half way up the first beat and sailing past everyone, boat by boat the hard way, to win the race. The outside courses are very different from those inside. On course D there is a bit of both. Inside there is flat water, nasty small chop, currents with different wind shifts coming out of different bays. Outside there are wind streaks that are difficult to see and a restless complex swell that makes steering a real challenge.

The first race was an outer trapezoid, three times around the sausage. Clifton Webb lead for the first two legs before losing places during the last two beats to finish 15th. Richard Clarke then took the lead before progressively losing ground. On the second beat, Luca managed to move from 17th to 3rd by sailing to the far right of the course. Luca built up his lead on the run to pass Richard and take the lead. Christoph Bergmann who had moved from 14th to 5th, took the lead from Luca on the last beat, but Christoph had to give in the pressure from Fredrik on the run.

Clifton was yellow flagged on the run and Freddy was really moving up. Iain was also moving up. After rounding the first mark in 19th place, Fredrik took the same option as Luca on the extreme right of the course on the following beats and made his way up to the top to finally win this very disputed race on the last run! The last beat was shortened and the jury was on top of the leaders for the last run where Freddy passed Luca to win. Luca stayed second with Christoph 3rd. Iain was 9th after being back in 20th place early on.

In the second race the current had changed and the Finns were given a windward-leeward course. Ben Beer finally got a good start and was near the front. Freddy led Clifton and Karlo right into an adverse current that became a lee bow after a while. Imre and Luca got bad starts. Freddy sensed the wind on the right, dug in and was soon in the lead. The rest of the fleet saw this and followed him, a group of six going further.

Going into the top mark a big right shift comes in and the group of six go over the top of Freddy on a planing reach. This group was led by Peter Theurer. Imre moved up and on the next run was battling with Mateusz and ahead of Dickey and Luca. On the run to the finish Sebbe battled with Iain. Mateusz used his downwind technique and speed to recover to finish the day with an 8th. Each race Lalin keeps closing the gap. A good effort as well from Ben who was the 6th boat at the first top mark, he finished a creditable 13th!

After four races, Iain kept his lead, 10 points ahead of Mateusz. Sebastien was in 3rd place, two points from Fredrik and Xavier. Xavier was the most consistent on day two with a 4th and a 3rd. "Xavier has switched to his old Wilke mast today and has more feeling on the downwind legs," commented Daniel Dahon.

Races 5 and 6

'Gorillas in the mist', today with a continuous series of rain showers sweeping across the D Course in the Sound before, during and after racing. So far there have been six races with six different winners and within the races there have been constant large position changes. Sailing on Sydney Harbour is very 'Democratic', as everyone takes turns in front and at the back of the fleet.

It all started like a normal day in the Sydney Olympic regatta. Like day two, the top mark was set under a cliff (Middle Head) but the conditions were far less shifty and made more sense than the day before.

After a general recall, Anthony Nossiter started near the pin, tacked and crossed the fleet. Even though the wind had gone left, most of the fleet still started at the other end of the line. Most went right on the lifted tack but Freddy, Luca, Ali Enver Adakan and Karlo Kuret went left. Those on the left made out as the wind dropped on the right and the good strong stuff remained on the left.

At the top mark it was Luca leading, then Balazs Hajdu, then Karlo, Xavier and Iain. During the run the wind dropped to four knots. Around the leeward gate, Luca went far left to the east looking for wind despite the adverse current. On the succeeding legs as showers approached it built back up and dropped again after the shower. Xavier eventually won the race followed by Russ and Balazs

After a long delay while waiting for the wind to settle, race six finally got under way. Fredrik and Michael Maier after starting at the boat end of the line and going to the right, met Iain at the top mark. Iain, had started at the pin and chosen the left side of the course. Balazs after another great start arrived at the weather mark in 4th. Iain moved into the lead.

The middle left of the course was the way to go on the third beat. Anthony Nossiter moved up to first place, while David Burrows gained three places to 3rd, behind Iain. With Anthony in a good lead, the race seemed over with just a run to go. But it wasn't over yet...

On the run the wind veered right 25 degrees. At the leeward gate, Freddy and Iain were level. It was here that Michael Maier got flagged for the second time and had to retire. On the beat, Freddy dropped behind Iain and Balazs to third and was followed by Lasse Hjortn„s who was also finally having a good race.

Lasse's view on racing on Sydney Harbour is don't come out early to speed test and try to understand the wind. This will only confuse you because it is different every time. It is best to come out late so you keep an open mind as to what is currently happening. Lasse's technique of not confusing himself by trying to see patterns in this wind was evidently working. The rain clouds thinned and the race continued in a tight pack w