GRSC with WSC are hosting the Australian Olympic Selection Regatta for iQ Men and iQ Women, along with iQ Youth (as well as Kite Foiling, and other classes on Sydney Harbour).
Day 1: 11/Dec/2023
Light SE Course Racing
Women, 4x bullets from Sam (AUS420), Emily (GBR316) and Amelia (AUS199) both with a couple of seconds...
Men, Grae (AUS81) also dominated with 4x wins, Harry (AUS22) and Rory (AUS170) both with a few seconds...
Youth: Andre (AUS521) 3 wins, Carter (AUS1114) got the 4th win with sub-flying conditions and 2x2nd with Lachlan (AUS463) in 3rd.
Looks like light conditions again today...
Results online:sailingresults.net/?ID=81664
This event has historically been run on Balmoral (Sydney Harbour), but is now on Botany Bay.
Apparently the conditions yesterday was really nice, except for a few jelly fish.
Solid fleet also, especially encouraging is the number of youth and Females.
Today had a NE about 7-14 knots mostly 8-12 with some big shifts, making one of the legs a touch tight, adding to the tactical elements of the race, especially picking your gybe line and exit position, favouring those that picked a line near the mark rather than wide and too far downwind.
The men's fleet is clearly dominated by Grae, Harry and Rory, while the mid-field is very strong with 6 riders scoring at least one 3rd place result across the two days. It seems that to be at the front of the fleet you need to be skilled at all aspects of sailing, while in the middle there are some riders who are better at one or two aspects (upwind speed, slalom starts, luck .) but have a weakness in another.
No major changes to note in the women's fleet. Sam is still leading with 3 wins today, Emily won the last race of the day while Amelia Q had a variable day, much like the wind. The youth have had some very mixed results today with Andre maintaining his overall lead despite a few 4-5th places and a win, followed by Carter, while James (AUS1041) crept ahead of Lachlan with some 2's and 3rds in the Slalom.
Interestingly, four different youth riders got a 2nd place today, while Ben (AUS108) managed 3 bullets!
I'll probably be on the start boat tomorrow so hope to stream some live footage! Stay tuned!
