HYERES 2008 – DAY TWO REPORT

Here is a report by Tommy Wharton, National Team Sailing Coach just posted on the CYA website. - Ralph, Montreal Sailing.

The 40th running of the Semaine Olympique Francaise de Voile (SOF regatta) has not been without it’s drama. Day one was sailed in big breeze and crazy seas, with fleets racing in the afternoon treated to pelting rain and limited visibility. The day started actually quite nice, but it just went from bad to worse as the racing went on. Looking at the score card the first day, across the fleets there were few boats who managed to put together two consistent races. Thankfully, the second day of the competition had sunny skies and a nice 10-16 knot westerly, a classic Hyeres day of sailboat racing.

Canada has representatives in eight of the ten Olympic classes here, with seven of Canada’s 2008 Olympic reps in attendance as well. All fleets are deep in talent, as Hyeres week represents the first official “Grade one” of the European circuit. Racing continues for the next three days, with Friday reserved for the top 10 medal race in each Olympic discipline.

CST Finn Sailor and 2008 Olympic rep Chris Cook opened the regatta with a fantastic 2,3 to be leading the regatta after the first day. Day two started with a little misstep (16th), but Cooker turned it on with a convincing race win in the second race. He currently sits in second place overall. Olympic rep Mike Leigh also started the event with a solid 2,3 in the Laser fleet, and followed this up on day two with an equally solid 2,4. He also sits in 2nd place overall after four races. In the 49er class, China-bound Gordon Cook and Ben Remocker are showing how their hard work is paying off with consistent set of scores so far and currently lie in 10th overall. Another highlight of the event so far is RSX Olympic rep Nikola Girke, who had a fantastic second day and currently sits in 14th place overall.

Tomorrow’s racing is calling for 25-30 knots, with gust in the afternoon up to 35 knots. Sounds like fun. The big question in the boat park is if there will be racing, but if one event can pull it off, it is Hyeres. Stay tuned for all the action.

For full results, please check http://sof.ffvoile.net/index.php?page=7
There are also complete updates at www.sailing.org, and please check this CYA page for daily regatta reports on the Canadian team.

** Canadian scores after 2 days of racing:

Finn (56 boats)
2nd – Chris Cook

Laser (156 boats)
2nd - Mike Leigh
19th – David Wright
119th – Abe Torchinsky

Laser Radial (78 boats)
27th – Lisa Ross
54th – Keamia Rasa
76 – Genevieve Bougie-Bastien

49er (42 boats)
10th – Gordon Cook and Ben Remocker

Tornado (21 boats)
15th – Oskar Johansson and Kevin Stittle

RSX Women (61 boats)
14th – Nikola Girke
35th – Dominique Vallee

RSX Men (92 boats)
52nd – David Hayes

470 Men (75 boats)
48th – Stephane Locas and Oliver Bone