Good vibe approaching Medal Stage in Medemblik

Medemblik, Netherlands (May 25, 2017) – It was another day with light wind conditions at the Delta Lloyd Regatta, but it is the warmest edition in years, the event is on schedule, and the vibe among the Olympic caliber competition is good as the competition approaches the Medal Stage.

Due to the light conditions today, the 49erFX sailors had time to relax in the sun, awaiting their first race. “The delay wasn’t that bad with the sun out,” said Rio gold medalist Hannah Mills (GBR) who is climbing the learning curve.

“I just transferred to the class after my Olympic campaign in the 470,” explained Mills. “Alain Sign has a lot of experience in the 49er, so it’s good to sail with him and be coached by him at the same time. This week is good for me, mixed conditions on the water and great competition.”

Mills and Sign have climbed up to 3rd place after 9 races, with the Croatian team of Enia Nincevic and
Peiar Cupac leading and Annemiek Bekkering with Jeske Kisters (NED) in second place. Americans Stephanie Roble and Maggie Shea continue to climb as well, now up to 8th after posting a 7-7-4.

It’s a unique event with a mixed 470 fleet, with both men and women benefiting from the experience. “The Dutch women are really fast downwind,” said Austrian Nikolaus Kampelmühler. “When we are near them we try to watch how they handle the boat and learn from this.”

Kampelmühler is sailing with Thomas Czajka, it’s their fourth event together in the 470. “We just started sailing together, I’m coming from the 420 youth class. The week so far is going ok. We are here to qualify us for the World Cup 2018, so we have to end in the top 4 tomorrow.”

The biggest competition for the Austrian guys are the Russian Pavel Sozykin and Denis Gribanov, the Dutch Anneloes van Veen and Afrodite Kyranakou and the Italian team. Those are also the teams in top 4 at this moment.

Megan Pascoe is still leading the fleet in the 2.4mR. “Today was a bit closer racing. It’s nice to be back at racing and in 1st place here.” Her biggest opponent is Carol Dugdale who is getting better and better during the week. Dutch Cor de Graaff is in 3rd place after 6 races.

After three days of racing on the IJsselmeer, Japan’s Manami Doi is leading the fleet in the Laser Radial. For the Dutch, Marit Bouwmeester, it’s her first event after her gold medal in Rio. She mentioned: “I had some physical problems when I started the season at the end April in Hyères – I couldn’t finish that event. The first day at Medemblik was good, the second day not so good. I’m trying to find my rhythm here in preparation for the World Championships this summer.” Canadian Sarah Douglas struggles continued today, posting a 31-26 to fall to 30th place.

In the the Laser fleet, Britain’s Elliot Hanson is leading with Croatia’s Tony Stipanovicis in second place, while Pavlos Kontides, from Cyprus, is in third. Charlie Buckingham (USA) dropped a place to fifth after scoring 15-10. With three more races planned tomorrow morning, the top ten will then advance to the Medal race in the evening.

The Germans, Tim Fischer and Fabian Graf, are leading the 49er field after 9 races. Graf comments: “The week is going well, with yesterday being the toughest day for us. In the first race we capsized and gained 3 black flags, but we had a great come back. Today there was a tricky wind with a lot of shifts. However, we sailed well with the wind shifts so it wasn’t bad.”

In the RS:X, Kiran Badloe (NED) is leading the fleet, due to a bad start from teammate Dorian van Rijsselberghe. In third place is the Britain, Samuel Sills: “It’s great to be here. Today was a bit difficult with the light winds, which make it physically a lot of work. I’ve had lot’s of fun with Dorian and Kiran, but they’re hard to beat in this event. Their participation makes this kind of low level event more interesting. For me it’s good to race here and learn a lot. My goal for this event is to finish in the top 12 and participate in the finals, and learning the new format.”

The RS:X are racing in a new format this event: The top 12 from the opening series will race in the quarter finals. The best 6 will then go into the semi finals. After that, the top 3 decide who will win the gold in the finals. All competitors start with 0 points for each final.

The 33rd edition of the Delta Lloyd Regatta continues daily through to Saturday, May 27.

Event details – Results – Facebook

Source: DLR