Vicky Blog

Day 2 of Sail Melbourne saw crazy gale force winds shut down racing for the day, with kiteboarders the only ones who were able to get out on the water.

No racing at Sail Melbourne today

Germany’s Florian Gruber is currently leading the race in the men’s class, scoring four first places over the first two days and took advantage of the 25 knot winds yesterday to stay on top of his competitors. In second place we have New Zealand’s Torrin Bright and Germany’s Dirk Hanel.

 

Kiteboarding at Sail Melbourne

In the women’s competition, French kiteboarder Ariane Imbert is in first place with three wins, with Lisa Hickman from Australia and our own Aussie Marine Sudre from Sydney behind her.

Once the day’s kiteboarding had ended, our Olympic sailors got all spruced up for Official Sailing World Cup Dinner at the spectacular Sandringham Yacht Club. Guests enjoyed a very entertaining speech by Andrew Plympton of the Australian Olympic and Sports Commission who shed some light on the future of sailing for Australia, along with speeches from the Victorian Minister for Sport and Recreation, the Hon. Hugh Delahunty MP and Sail Melbourne Chairman Bruce Griffiths.

Guests enjoying Glenn Ridge's speech at the Official Dinner

The highlight of the evening was definitely the Q&A session with my favourite sailors including Mal Page and Mat Belcher, Olivia Price and Lucinda Whitty, and Brendan Casey and Krystal Weir. It was incredible to hear about their Olympic experiences, what it felt like for Malcolm to carry the flag for Australia at the Closing Ceremony, and just how hard it was for Olivia to get back on her boat during that infamous knock out race!

After an inspiring speech from the Medal Maker himself Victor Kovalenko, guests ended the night on a high, and with a delicious chocolate desert.

Today the kiteboarding is scheduled to begin at 12.00pm again and the rest of the sailing classes will hopefully kick off at 2.00pm. Keep updated on the action by following me on Twitter @VickyBoat.

Sailing off,
Vicky

It’s official, Melbourne weather is just bonkers.

It’s a bit of a running joke in the industry where the hosts of the regatta say, “The weather isn’t usually like this at this time of year,” but seriously who can predict the weather in Melbourne?

Monday saw clear blue skies and light breezes, Tuesday saw too little wind and Wednesday had way too much wind!

Fortunately most of the 12 o’clock races were able to finish with two of the three scheduled RS:X Women’s races going ahead. Jess Crisp slipped down to No. 2 on the overall ladder after claiming two 4th places, pushing British rival Bryony Shaw to the top ahead of Jess by 3 points.

 

Lasers heading out to race 

In the Men’s 470 Australians Sam Kivell and Will Ryan are still leading the pack ahead of American team Stuart McNay and Graham Biehl, followed closely by Australian World No. 1 team Mathew Belcher and Malcolm Page.

The weather was absolutely beautiful for most of yesterday after light showers in the morning. The Lasers were looking fantastic as they began heading out onto the bay for their first scheduled race at 2:30pm but heavy winds saw media boats turn into rescue boats as the entire fleet was called back into the boatyard. Many athletes could be found on the yacht club balcony nervously watching the bay and hoping the winds would die down.

Meanwhile, guests were enjoying the Sail Experience Luncheon as part of the Sailing World Cup Carnival up in the yacht club. Groups of corporates and other sailing fiends enjoyed a three-course lunch and were treated to a presentation from leading CSIRO scientist Dr Hajkowicz on global trends and the rise of lifestyle sports.

Sail Experience Luncheon guests heading out on the bay

Dr Hajkowicz discussed the massive growth in extreme sports and how Beijing introduced BMX cycling and now kiteboarding is going to be part of the Olympic course – activities that have culturally been taken up at a street level are now being recognised as true sports. This is spurred on by digital medio, especially channels like YouTube.

Another key point was that as Australia’s cultural profile has changed, with immigration being focused on the British and then on the Europeans, dominating sports have gone from the traditional AFL, cricket and rugby to sports such as soccer.

The rise in personal participation in sport as opposed to structured sports was discussed, with time-poor individuals preferring to exercise in gyms or put their iPods in and go for a run instead of committing to an 18-hole round of golf once a week.

Athletes helping out at the Sail Experience Luncheon

 

The lack of racing in the afternoon meant that guests getting out in boats on the bay to get up close to the competition wasn't possible, but a few of the more thrill seeking attendees went out for a spin while the rest were entertained by Olympians including Tom Slingsby and Nathan Outteridge who came straight off the water to chat to guests.

The storm that halted competition

It’s going to be a very busy bay over the next few days as we all try and get back on track with the racing. Races are expected to resume today at 10:30am. Let’s keep our sails crossed the weather improves!

Sailing off,
Vicky

 

There was a lot going on at Sandringham Yacht Club on Day 2 of sailing at the ISAF Sailing World Cup.

Winds – or lack there of – were a bit of a trouble out on the bay, causing multiple postponements and the cancelling of RS:X, Skud, 2.4m and Access Liberty races. However despite weather troubles the Laser, 49er and 470 classes were still able to compete. 

Wind-whisperer Tom Slingsby has had a great performance in the Laser class winning every race but his second so far, in which he came a strong 2nd.

Australians are still dominating the Men’s 470 with Sam Kivell and Will Ryan in the lead by 4 points followed closely by sailing superstars Matt Belcher and Malcolm Page who are currently tied neck to neck with American sailors Stuart McNay and Graham Biehl.

Unfortunately we didn’t get to see Jess Crisp show all the international competitors who’s boss out on the bay today due to light winds but the good news is she’s still leading the pack by a heavy 4 points.

Laser fleet in action

Still with plenty of action taking place on the bay, yesterday’s events were about more than just competition as the International Sailing Summit took place at Sandringham Yacht Club.

Key issues raised at the summit included the importance of growing participation in the sport amongst youth and the growing potential for sailing and boating sports to achieve a greater profile both in Australia and internationally.

Some great speakers were able to offer and share their ideas on how to raise the sport’s profile.

Chairman of the Boating Industries Alliance Australia, President of the BIA of NSW and final speaker for the summit Darren Vaux finished his speech with great optimism saying, “We have a very exciting future ahead of us.”

With so many amazing athletes and sporting growth potential it really is an exciting time for sailing in Australia.

10th International Sailing Summit

We then went straight to the Official World Cup Dinner held in the amazing Port Phillip Room, where just as we sat down to begin our meals there was a sighting of dolphins out on the bay! Everyone rushed over to the floor-to-ceiling windows to gush over the gorgeous creatures, including me.

We were treated to a fabulous night of delicious food and an entertaining host in the form of ISS founder Alistair Murray, who kept guests laughing all night. Sailing legend John Bertrand and Olympian and member of the Oarsome Foursome Nick Green inspired all in the room with their tales of Olympic Games past. We also heard from Tom Slingsby and Nathan Outteridge, who will find out if he has won the title of 2011 ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year today, and the night finished off with a beautiful singing performance by Chloe Maggs of Collective Live as a tribute to our Olympians.

Tom Slingsby at the International Sailing Summit

Hopefully weather conditions will improve for Day 3 of the competition – I can’t wait to see windsurfer Jess Crisp rip up that bay!

See you all down on the water.

Sailing off,
Vicky