Stevie Morrison and Ben Rhodes overcame a slow start to finish Day 3 in third place
9 June 2011
The 2012 waters of Weymouth and Portland provided some spectacular and physical racing conditions, averaging 18-22 knots, for third day of competition at this penultimate leg of the ISAF Sailing World Cup series, dubbed ‘Big Wednesday’.
G4S 49ers Stevie Morrison and Ben Rhodes finished Day 3 of the Sail for Gold Regatta in third place at the Sail for Gold Regatta. The pair, who finished the first day of racing in 25th place, are pleased with their achievement amidst ‘gnarly’ conditions on the water.
Stevie said: “Well, it was windy, and out at sea they had to bring some of the boats, like the Finns and Stars closer to shore. It was a day for calm heads and getting the ship around. We did ok. Tomorrow is the start of the Gold fleet, where it gets really interesting.”
The other G4S 49er boat of Peter Greenhalgh and Chris Draper finished the day in tenth place overall.
In the Laser Class, G4S 4teen member Juan Maegli had a disappointing day on the water, when his mast broke during the second race of the day, but the Guatemalan sailor remains in the hunt, as he has qualified for the Gold Fleet race today. Juan, who spent some time training with Olympic Champion Paul Goodison and the rest of the Skandia Team GBR Laser squad last summer, has been pleased with his performance so far this week.
Juan said: “I have been training really hard this year and it’s been great to see my hard work pay off this week. I had a difficult day today, but I’m looking forward to the rest of the week.”
The triple Olympic gold medallist Ben Ainslie earned two further race wins today to create a nine point margin between him and the second placed sailor, Skandia Team GBR teammate Giles Scott, who boosted his overall position from fourth to second with the help of a third and a second from his two races today. Ed Wright, Mark Andrews and Andrew Mills have maintained a strong British presence in the top ten.
British sailors are in pole position in five of the 13 classes at the halfway stage of the Skandia Sail for Gold World Cup regatta (Wednesday 8 June).
Racing at the Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta continues until Saturday 11th June. For up-to-date results please check www.g4ssports.com , follow G4S Sport on facebook or on Twitter (@G4S_Sport).