Mid-Week at the Games     

Here we are halfway through week one of Olympic Sailing at the 2012 Summer Games. Weymouth and Portland National Sailing academy, host venue for the Olympic sailing, has seen its fair share of drama unfold already. Our Star sailors had a pretty brutal blow yesterday when they crossed the start early and failed to realize they needed to return to the start. The result was a gut wrenching fleet +1 score, 17 points. Laser medal hopeful Paul Goodison from the UK’s sailing team was in severe pain yesterday having reported major back pains though he was on the course today. Also from the UK team come the low results from superstar Finn sailor Ben Ainslie, whose norm is to take a bullet every race, but was recorded this week as low as 12th. Ben has moved his was up in the fleet to be sitting nicely at 2nd overall currently, albeit 10 points behind leader Jonas Hogh-Christensen. With 4- 6 races remaining and the 470 men and women’s fleet yet to hit the water there is still a substantial amount of racing left.

Two more fleets hit the water today in Weymouth to compete at the 2012 Olympic Games. Joining their Canadian team mates were Zac Plavsic and Nikola Girke in the men’s and women’s windsurfer, the RS:X. Conditions were yet again good with winds around 17 knots diminishing slightly over the day to 15, but in a slight drizzle all day. The entire Canadian fleet, minus the 470 boys, were out for blood today and it’s paying off. Finishes are looking great with top tens across the board. A few mistakes here and there have held us back but with lots of racing still, the medal races aren’t totally out of sight.

High noon was packed with 4 races starting simultaneously! 49er, Finn, Radial and Men’s RS:X all hit the course at the same time. Following them closely were the Star, Women’s RS:X and Laser Fleets.

Day two at the 2012 Olympic Games brings more of the Canadian fleet out on the water. Joining the Star and the Finn fleet in their second day was also the Radial, Laser and 49er’s. First to start were the Lasers in about 13 knots of breeze, and partly cloudy skies. David Wright sailed a vicious pair of races landing an 18^th place finish in his first race and 15^th in his second. Up next was the radial fleet – Danielle Dube of Glen Haven, Nova Scotia sailed her first race in a tough crowd of very experienced radials. Finishing 22^nd in her first race and making an improvement to 21^st in her second she sits at 23^rd overall.

Day one at Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy brings tough results in the 2012 Olympic Summer Games. It was the Finn and Star fleets on the water today, sailing in tricky conditions with wind fluctuating between 12 and 15 knots under very little cloud cover with 25 degree shifts. The tight Star fleet was in a constant state of positional change as Richard Clarke and Tyler Bjorn battled through the crowd. The Star guys were right on the money at the beginning of the first race but ran into some trouble on the second leg. Taking a 16th and a 10th place finish leaves the guys in 15th overall after the first day. 8 races remain in their series, not including the medal race.

“In the first race we had a nice start, maintained good contact with the pack and it all went pear shaped on the second beat. We were a bit out of phase and a bit unlucky. On the second race, we had a great second beat, rounding in fourth but just couldn’t hang on. It’s not the start we wanted, but it’s only the first day. The positions fluctuate all over the map and we’re moving our focus to more racing tomorrow”

Here we go everyone, just a few short hours until the Games begin!!! A few more helpful links to ensure you get full coverage – CTV will have up to date Olympic coverage for all your viewing pleasure. Also, ISAF has dedicated a site to keep the updates rolling in, you can check it here.

Remember that Stars and Finns are first to hit the wet stuff tomorrow with a practice race Saturday followed by their first race on Sunday. We’re sure that everyone will be cheering on Tyler Bjorn and Richard Clarke as they reach the peak of their long hard Star campaign and dig into the final few battles in Weymouth. Greg Douglas, our Canadian Finn sailor will also receive tons of support from us here at home, best of luck Dougie we hope you get that big weather stuff you like!!