Day One laser and Radial Racing

Wind Speed: 5 knots
Day 4 of the Sailing in Qingdao was the first day of the Laser and Laser Radial Regatta. The day started with the AP flag being raised at 11am, which allowed for a steady stream of sailors to come and complain about centerboards and rudders bending in the heat. The Chinese Team must really be tuned into the weather as they turned up at 12. 1hr before the racing was scheduled to start. Our task for the day was simple:
1. Make sure all authorized repairs got completed on time
2. No one swapped equipment after measurement
3. Arrange for all repairs after racing to be completed prior to 9am on Wednesday.
Race One Std Rig
The racing eventually started at around 1:30 and Paul Goodison (UK) in his standard Laser was buried in mid pack for most of the race but managed to pick up some places on the final leg to finish 15th. American sailor Andrew Campbell finished one better in 14th. The race winner was Julio Alsogaray of Argentina (who finished 2nd in the Worlds in Australia) second Andrew Murdoch of New Zealand and third Matias del Solar of Chile. When speaking with Paul after the racing he said that “it is very annoying when you can do nothing but watch the rich get richer.”
After the first race the team had to check the measurement for the 2,4 and 6th placed finishers.
Race One Radial Rig
Evi Van Acker (Belgium) got off to a flyer in race one and lead from start to finish, followed home by Penny Clark from the UK and Gintare Volungevicute from Lithuania. Anna Tunicliffe from the USA was 4th.
Race Two Std Rig

The sailors had clearly got over their nerves in the second race and started pushing early on the port bias line. Much barging and colourful language was used until a general recall happened. The race officers didn’t mess around after this and went straight for the Black flag. Paul Goodison had a much better race in the second and demonstrated why he has won the last two events in Qindgao by finishing second behind Jean Baptiste Bernaz of France. This puts Paul in sixth place overall for the day. Laser race leader is Andrew Murdoch of New Zealand.

Race Two Radial Rigs
The second race of the radials saw many of the top sailors from the first race at the back of the fleet. Flore Cerutti (PAR) lead for the first lap closely followed by Sarah Steyaert (current world champ), Lijia Xu (China), Jo Aleh (NZ) and Anna Tunicliffe (USA). The girls finished in this order.

Overall Leading positions after day 4

Laser after 2 races

1. NZL - Andrew Murdoch 7 pts
2. ITA - Diana Daniela 9 pts
3. ARG - Julio Alsogaray 13 pts
4. POR - Gustavo Lima 13 pts
5. CYP - Pavios Kontides 15 pts
6. GBR - Paul Goodison 17 pts

Laser Radial after 2 races

1. USA - Anna Tunnicliffr 9 pts
2. BEL - Evi Van Acker 11 pts
3. FRA - Sarah Steyaert 12 pts
4. LTU - Gintare Volungeviciute 16 pts
5. AUS - Sarah Blanck 17 pts
6. CRO Mateja Petronijevic 17 pts