Masters Worlds Layday report

Al Musannah, Oman is a beautiful venue with blue skies every day, 25 to 30 degrees during the day and low 20's in the evening, great hotel, wonderful pool, nice bar, good food.............tough but someone has to be here.

The sailing has reached the half way point with 2 races being sailed each day so far in light but varying conditions. The first day was a light westerly, 3 to 6 knots with a small chop. The breeze was very patchy and never built, upwind sitting in or on the side at best. There was some tidal flows which seemed uneven across the course. The wind was shifty but no particular side seemed to pay off consistently. 

The second day there was a bit more breeze, building slowly. The start was delayed 2 hours and we sailed in a NNW sea breeze, 6 to 10 knots and even managed to hike a little late in the day. There was a significant swell under the wind chop which made life a bit more interesting on the downwind legs. Still shifty and some tidal currents to add to the challenges.

The third day the start was again delayed and we raced in 5 to 10 knot Northerly sea breeze. Choppy but no swell. Again quite shifty and puffy but reasonable pressure allowed us to catch the odd wave downwind. On the beats it seemed to favour keeping to the sides of the course, working the shifts up the middle not seeming to pay off at all.

The standard of racing here is high with seemingly more depth in most fleets than in Brisbane last year, particularly with more European sailors here. Most fleets are very tight with typically the first two or three getting a bit of a break but then almost the entire rest of the fleet literally nose to tail at every mark and at the finish. Heavier sailors are struggling with the conditions and many who have had top finishes in past worlds are deep in their respective fleets. Getting a slot in the procession to the windward mark is critical and many report having lost many places when they have been caught short of a layline or looking for a port approach without a gap appearing.

As can be seen from the results the fortunes of the Kiwi sailors has varied so far. 

In the Apprentice Masters Scott Leith is looking very strong. When he has had a good start and first beat he has been able to put ground on the fleet and win by clear margins. When he has struggled on the first beat he has been able to recover downwind and still post top results. Kris Decke and Alistair Tait (a kiwi currently living in Dubai) and Alan Coutts (Sailing for Oman) are also strong contenders in that fleet in the light conditions, while Kent Copplestone and Rob Woodward are finding the lack of breeze challenging.

In the Masters Andrew Dellabarca has had some excellent races but had a couple of tougher ones on Tuesday with finishes in the teens in a very tight fleet which has dropped him out of the top 5 at this stage. Two past world champions, Arnoud Hummel (NED) and Al Clark (CAN) are having a close battle at the head of the Masters fleet. Arnoud, who is about 6' 2'' and 77kg, spent time training here with his son, who was in the gold fleet in the Open worlds and certainly seems to be in tune with the conditions.

In the Grand Master I started very poorly on the light first day, improved significantly on the second and third day but managed to blow a top 10 spot when I got a BFD in the second race after finishing 7th! Greg Adams (AUS) is dominating this fleet. A bit like Scott in the Apprentices if he get the first beat right he pretty much sails away. If he get the first beat wrong, and in one race he was about 25 at the first mark, he works through the fleet and still manages a top placing. Again weight is a factor with most of the top 10 being 80kg or less and benefitting from the light conditions.

In the GGM full rig both Bob Blakey and Sandy Grigg are having good regattas. The fleet is dominated by the Australian Mark Bethwaite, but Bob was rapt to be able to take one off him, the first time he has beaten his long time adversary at a Laser worlds.

In the Radial Apprentice Edmund Tam is having a fantastic regatta, having led the fleet from the first day. However it is very tight at the top of his fleet with Jon Emmett (GBR) and Fabio Suyama Ramos (BRA) right on his heels so it will be a tough battle for Ed to hold off the challengers in the second part of the regatta.

In the Radial Masters both Roger Winton and Hamish Atkinson had a tough first day in the very light but have improved significantly with a little more breeze. The fleet is being dominated by Ian Jones (GBR).

In the Radial Grand Masters Bruce Jones has struggled to get ahead of the pack, consistently finishing mid fleet. Bruce Martinson (USA) leads the fleet but Vanessa Dudley (AUS) is right on his heals and with a 4th as her discard currently must be in a strong position for the balance of the races.

In the GGM's youngster Tom Speed has been consistently mid fleet. The fleet is led by the amazing Peter Seidenburg who at 76 is still able to dominate. There may be hope for the rest of us to improve with age!

So we go into the second half of the regatta with a forecast of 5 to 10 knots North'ish sea breezes for the next 3 days. ie more of the same. This gives us the prospect of completing all 12 races and of a second discard to help balance any further disasters.

Nick Page

The 2013 Laser Standard Mens World Champs was sialed from the 17th to 23rd November in Mussanah Sports City in Oman.
From the daily reports it sounded like a very shifty and dificult regatta.

The final places for the NZL team was;

• Andy Maloney 11th
• Sam Meech 13th
• Thomas Saunders 22nd
• Michael Cate 39th
• George Lane 42nd

The regatta was one Brazlian Robert Scheidt - a remarkable return to the Laser class from the 41 year old. Confirming his position as the Laser classes most successful sailor.

Full results and reports at;

• http://omanlaserworlds2013.com/
• http://omanlaserworlds2013.com/results/Laser_Standard_World_Results.php
• Or try search 'Laser Standard' on the sail world http://www.sail-world.com/NZ/search.cfm

It was a game of 2 halves for Sara Winther at the 2013 Womens Radial Worlds in Rizhao China.
After 6 qualifying races, including a 2nd and two 3rds she was in 2nd place in the gold fleet. Then more mixed results in the 6 final races saw here drop back to 19th overall.

Rachel Basevi also scored her best results in the first half to make the Gold fleet and finish 32nd overall.

Susannah Pyatt finished 9th in the Silver fleet getting two 2nds at the start of the final 6 races.

All results at:  http://www.sailing.ca/results/2013_Laser_Womens_Worlds.htm

Panmure Lagoon Sailing Club (PLSC) was founded 50 years ago on 14^th August 1963 and was known then as the Panmure Lagoon Aquatic Club, its aim was and still is, to promote yachting and to instruct young people in the handling of boats. The Club regularly offers Laser and Optimist training sessions to the public to introduce them to sailing. 
 
PLSC enjoyed last weekend the closing ceremony of its Jubilee celebrations.The celebrations started in March this year with a dinner attended by old and current members at the Waipuna Conference Centre followed by a well attended RSA Laser regatta with just under 50 boats.  We had sailors coming all the way from Melbourne, Taipa, Lake Ngaroto and many Clubs around Auckland. Last Sunday 17th August, 20 boats came down to race and to celebrate the Club’s 50^th birthday.
 
For more information on our club, please consult our website www.plsc.org.nz.

Andy Maloney won the medal race to grab bronze at the 2012 Delta Lloyd Regatta at Medemblik, in the Netherlands. Sam Meech also finished strongly to get 5th. Olivia and Jo won their medal race and the regatta in the 470 womens, and Paul Snow-Hansen and Daniel Willcox got silver in the mens 470.
The regatta site www.deltalloydregatta.org has reports and results.
Sail World has a good wrap of the NZ efforts.
And a report from Andy Malony below ...

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Another event here in Europe has just wrapped up. I finished the Delta Lloyd regatta with a bronze medal, after a week of sailing in a range of conditions, some fairly extreme!

Read my update on how the event went here: http://www.andymaloneyracing.com/blog

Be sure to click on the "Delta Lloyd Regatta 2013 - Bronze!.." post to read the full story.

Keep up to date more regularly during with short posts during events on my facebook page;  https://www.facebook.com/AndyMaloneySailing

Thank you for the continued support!
Cheers,
Andy

The final standings for out Laser Men at the ISAF Sailing World Cup in Hyeres.
Andy Maloney and Sam Meech still at the sharp end of things in a regatta that saw the return of Robert Scheidt to Lasers, claiming a 2nd.

7. Andy Maloney
12. Sam Meech
23. Thomas Saunders
50. Andrew McKenzie
91. Michale Cate
107. Jack Collinson

And a regatta wrap from Andy Maloney

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Hey everyone!

The latest ISAF World Cup event wrapped up a few days ago in Hyeres, on the South coast of France. Check out my quick blog update on the event here; (be sure to click 'full story' to read the update)
http://www.andymaloneyracing.com/blog

I am now in Lake Garda, Italy! A week of fitness and getting mentally refreshed will be followed by a week of competing in the Garda Olympic Week. Another great fleet is registered for what is sure to be an intense competition.

Thanks for the continued support!
Cheers,
Andy

The 2013 seasons first big European regatta, the Princess Sofia Regatta in Mallorca was a brilliant start for the NZL Laser men. Andy Maloney's two bullets in the two medal races eased him past the leading Aussie, Tom Buton who OCS'd in the last race.
Sam Meech was third and Thomas Saunders 15th in the 119 boat fleet.

Andrew Murdoch and Josh Junior were  7th and 8th in the 72 strong Finn fleet.

All Results

Andy's latest wrap up and links below.

Hey Everyone!

Racing here in Palma at the first European stop of the ISAF Sailing World Cup of 2013 has just wrapped up, and I am happy to come away with the win after having an awesome final day racing with two wins!

Here is a link to my blog where there is an update from the week of competition;
http://www.andymaloneyracing.com/blog

I have also created a short video update with some highlights of our NZL Laser team's adventure to Palma over the past few weeks, and the racing over the last week. It can be viewed by clicking on the following link; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ko20-nwkrKk

I am looking forward to a week off the water and then getting back into it in the build up to the next event in Hyeres, France.

Thanks for all of the continued support,
Cheers!
Andy

A great result for Sam Meech to wind the Open Lasers at Sail Sydney, holding off world #1 Austraia's Tom Burton.
With Andy Maloney 5th and Thomas Saunders 8th.

Another standout performance was Alexandra Maloney and Molly Meech who one the 49erFX skiff at both Sail Melbourne and Sail Sydney. The 49erFX is the new womens skiff for the Brazil Olympics.

All NZL Laser results from both regattas below.

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2012 ISAF Sailing World Cup / Sydney (Sail Sydney)
YNZ Report
sailsydney.org.au
NZ Results

Laser

• 1st Sam Meech
• 5th Andy Maloney
• 8th Thomas Saunders
• 20th George Lane
• 21st Andrew McKenzie
• 22nd Sam McKenzie
• 24th Jack Collinson
• 25th Matthew Kempkers
• 26th Michael Cate

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2012 ISAF Sailing World Cup / Melbourne (Sail Melbourne) 
YNZ Report
sailmelbourne.com.au

NZ Results

Laser

• 6^th Thomas Saunders
• 14^th Andrew McKenzie
• 15^th Michael Cate
• 21^st George Lane
• 23^rd Sam McKenzie
• 24^th Jack Collinson

Laser Radial

• 7^th Susannah Pyatt
• 14^th Laura Lowther

Laser Radial Men

• 6^th Cullen Le Roy
• 18^th Jacob Miller

See attached Minutes of the 2012 NZ Laser Association AGM.
Thanks to all those who attended and to new comittee members Sam Meech, Andy Maloney, Ken Atchison and Mike Keeton.

The past season has again been successful for the class both locally and internationally.
 
From a successful Nationals at Worser Bay, excellent results for our open sailors on the world stage, an extremely successful Masters Worlds for our sailors in Brisbane to the amazing coverage from the Olympics it has been an interesting season.
 
Congratulations to Scott Leith for his second defence of his Apprentice Masters Radial World title and to Mark Orams (Radial Masters) and Mike Keeton (Radial Grand Masters) on their successes in Brisbane.  I would also like to specifically congratulate Andrew Murdoch for his strong showing in the Olympics. There were also many outstanding performances from our other top sailors at other international regattas including, Andy Maloney and San Meech in the open divisions and Pete Thomas’s 3^rd in the Radial Grand Masters. This is again a reflection of the depth of our Laser fleet.
 
Our coaching initiatives continue and NZLA will continue to encourage and sponsor coaching this season and any club or group of Laser sailors should contact Bonnie, NZLA secretary, if they would like to arrange a coaching session.
 
The Nationals at Worser Bay were a success, with the at times challenging conditions for which Wellington is justly renowned making for exciting sailing for all. The reach back home on the first day was one to remember. Planning for the Nationals at Napier is well advanced and we again look forward to large fleets competing in all divisions.  Sail Auckland at Akarana was a success and they will again host the regatta this year.
 
On an international organisational level the uncertainty with the class builders in the Northern Hemisphere unfortunately continues. We hope that these issues are able to be resolved satisfactorily between the class and manufacturers and the future production of the class continues world wide without disruption. There have been distributor changes in NZ but we continue to enjoy good support for the class from the dealers.
 
We have unfortunately seen little progress with the challenges identified last year including our desire to increase the popularity of the class for women sailors at all levels and also arrest the decrease in the standard rig open fleet. We have canvassed some ideas in these areas but will continue to seek ideas to strengthen the fleet in both these areas.
 
Financially we enjoyed another successful season and the association remains in very good financial health.
 
I would like to thank all our committee for their input this year, with special mention of Mike Knowsley who continues to do a fantastic job in managing our website and Bonnie for her work as class secretary.
 
We have some new members on the committee but are always keen to see new blood so please let me know if you are interested.
 
If anyone would like to propose or discuss any Laser issue you are always welcome to contact me or any member of the committee via the NZLA website e mail contacts
 
Thanks and looking forward to seeing many of you at regattas this season.
 
Nick Page
Chairman NZLA