Tricky conditions on first day Delta Lloyd Regatta 2008

Other competitors were consistent in the top, like Laser Radial sailor Anna Tunnicliffe (USA) with two bullets and a second. Dutchmen Dorian van Rijsselberge leads with two wins in the RS:X and so does Marina Alabau (ESP) in the women fleet and Gasper Vincec (SLO) in the Finn. Yngling trio Schuemann/Bleck/Hoepfner (GER) leads with a series of 1-1-3.

“We are taking advantage of our improvement in team work, on which we have worked hard in last week’s training session”, said Yngling skipper Ulrike Schuemann on the dockside. “We are using everybody in the boat, whereas in the past we did not use the knowledge of all of us. But our boat speed and starts were also good.” The Dutch team of Mulder/Faber/Witteveen climbed on the leading board during the day. The girls finished 6-4-2 and are second overall after three races. Mandy Mulder: “It was difficult sailing. The wind changes were hard to predict, so we had to wait and adapt to it.” According to Merel Witteveen (bow), they did not choose a side of the course: “We positioned ourselves so that it would not matter from which side the breeze would come.” The Russian girls Skudina/Krutskikh/Koefoed are third overall with a series of 4-11-1.
Laser Radial: Tunnicliffe dominates
The fleet of 71 competitors in the Laser Radial was split up in two groups. Winner of the pre-Olympics Anna Tunnicliffe (USA) had a flying start with two bullets and a second. It was not easy on the Laser Radial course either, explained Sarah Blanck from Australia. In April, she won the Semaine Olympique Française in Hyeres after which she did some training sessions. Blanck took today’s second bullet and finished fifth in the last race: “There was a big, big shift to the left and I didn’t get it, since I was in the middle. The breeze got a lot lighter in the last two races.” For most Olympians the Delta Lloyd Regatta is their second last regatta before the Olympics start. Blanck: “I am still working on a few technical things, so this is an important event for me.” Gintare Volungeviciute (LTU) is second overall with just on point lead on Blanck.

470 Men & Women: France and Brasil in the lead
“Downwind it was easier to gain and lose some places”, said Sven Coster from the Netherlands. He and his brother Kalle Coster scored two seconds and an eighteenth, which lifted them to a third position overall. “Not much happened on the beat. Mostly it was a matter of split tacks. It was hard to read the wind, especially below the bird island.” Nicolas Charbonnier and Olivier Bausset from France did a good job on finding the breeze and are leading by seven points, followed by the Italians Gabrio Zandona and Andrea Trani. The Brazilians Fernanda Oliveira and Isabel Swan are leading the 470 Women fleet of 28 teams. The finished 4, 2 and first. Sylvia Vogl and Carolina Flatscher (AUT) are second overall with 19 point and the Swedish Therese Torgersson and Vendela Santén by just one point.

Tornado: Dutchmen and Australians tied on points
Although they have a name for being heavy weather specialists, the Dutchmen Mitch Booth and Pim Nieuwenhuis scored their best results in today’s lighter breeze. Nieuwenhuis: “That is how it should be, since we are focussing on China conditions. We had 5/6 knots in the first two races, after which the wind picked up to about 20 knots in the final race. It was a beautiful racing day.” The Dutch multihull sailors are tied on points with the current World Champions Darren Bundock and Glenn Ashby (AUS). They do top the leader board of 22 participating crews, since they scored a bullet and the Australians did not.

Other classes
The Japanese Akira Ishibashi and Makino Yukio had a promising start in the 49er class (45 entries). They were leading until today’s third and final race, in which they finished fifteenth. Ishibashi, who dropped to a fourth position overall: “We had a good starts and the boat speed is great. Both are important to benefit from.” According to Ishibashi, it mostly paid to go to the left side of the course. Jonas Warrer and Martin Kirketerp from Denmark took over the lead. Dorian van Rijsselberge (NED) won both RS:X races for men (41 windsurfers) and so did Marina Alabau in the women fleet (20 entries). The Brazilian Star duo Robert Scheidt and Bruno Prada (BRA) is tied on points with the Swiss team of Flavio Marazzi and Enrico De Maria. Vasilij Zbogar (SLO) is leading the 117 Laser Standard competitors. His fellow countryman Gasper Vincec scored two bullets and leads the 37 Finn competitors.

Besides from title sponsor Delta Lloyd, the regatta 2008 is also sponsored by Volvo Cars Netherlands, Infotec, Provincie Noord-Holland, AD Sportwereld Pro, Heuvelman Sound & Vision, WeerOnline, Spa mineral water and ARMA Verhuur.