Craig Heydon, Thursday, 25 August 2011Australia’s Women’s Match Racers have continued their great start to the Buddy Melges Challenge with race wins all around on day two of racing in Sheboygan, Wisconsin.

Olivia Price, Nina Curtis and Lucinda Whitty also had a strong day on the water, picking up another four wins with just a single loss on day two. “Today's conditions were really volatile, meaning that big leads were hard to defend,” said Price. “We had five races this afternoon, with one loss to American Genny Tulloch, bringing our overall scorecard to nine wins and two losses.  “We had a very exciting race against Anna Tunnicliffe of the US, where we were trailing by quite a way until we got in touch with her up the second work,” she said. “Down the final run we forced three separate penalties on her for luffing, gybing too close and then breaking proper course restrictions, which enabled us to take the race win. “It was a long day on the water in very hot and dry weather, but we’re looking forward to another full day tomorrow where we’ll finish the round robin and then start the quarter finals in the afternoon.” The Buddy Melges Challenge runs until Saturday 27 August. For more information on the Australian Women’s Match Racing Team visit www.australiansailingteam.com.au. 

'We had a solid day on the water with five wins out of six races, with our only loss being to Nicky,' said skipper Price. 'We had some exciting races against both French crews led by Le Berre and Bossard, with the lead changing twice in both races. 

'Tomorrow afternoon there’s another three races scheduled and the conditions are looking better with heavy winds coming from the west,' she said. 'We've been really keen to get back into racing after the test event and were happy with our day.' 

After 10 flights at the BMC - Tunnicliffe 6-0 and Souter 4-0. Olivia Price (AUS) 5-1 and Genny Tulloch (USA) 4-1 are very close behind. The round robin for the 16 teams continues Wednesday and Thursday before the top 8 advance to the quarter-finals. http://www.sailsheboygan.org/BMC_2011.php

Australian Women's Match Racing Team  Due to the 30kts smashing our course this afternoon our 5th and 6th race off was cancelled. We are a bit disappointed that we could not go and get some good racing in however the good news is that this secures us in 5th position.


The 5-8 knock outs are now finished and places are set: 5- Price-AUS, 6-Mulder-NED, 7-Macgregor-GBR, and 8-Kjellberg-SWE.

Craig Heydon, Tuesday, 9 August 2011 

Breezy conditions have again tested the sailors at the Weymouth and Portland International Regatta, the test event for the London 2012 Olympic Games, with Australia’s Women’s Match Racing and 49er crews have strong days.

After narrowly missing out on a place in the semi-finals, Australia’s Women’s Match Racing crew of Olivia Price, Nina Curtis and Lucinda Whitty took on Great Britain’s Lucy Macgregor in the first round of the fifth to eighth sail off. 

The Australians started exceptionally well against their higher ranked opponents and quickly raced out to a two-nil lead, with the first team to get to three wins progressing to the fifth and sixth sail off. The Brits fought back well, winning the next two and forcing a fifth and final race. Price and crew found themselves on the back foot in the fifth race but stormed home to take the win and a well deserved spot in the sail off against Mandy Mulder of the Netherlands. 

The first race in the match up against the Dutch took place in the early evening on Monday with Price, Curtis and Whitty again forced to come from behind, taking the win on the final downwind to lead one-nil. 

The final races will be sailed on Wednesday. “Today was tough, with really tricky conditions,” said Price. “The breeze was shifty all over the place, with the pressure being up and down but we had a good day, we came up against the British team and won the first two, lost the next two but came back well to take the overall win. “To us today felt like a semi-final,” she said. “We were racing against really tough competition and we’re happy to get in such good racing in a great venue like this,” she said. 

Crew member Nina Curtis said that the trio pushed hard in the final race of the day to get the one-nil lead over their Dutch opponents. “We came from behind on that last downwind which was really good for us,” said Curtis. “We were strong downwind which is a massive leap forward for us compared to the other day and we’re continuing to learn all the time and are loving the racing here.” 

For more information on the Australian Sailing Team visit www.australiansailingteam.com.au and follow the team on Twitter at www.twitter.com/AusSailingTeam. 

Craig Heydon, Friday, 5 August 2011Australia’s Women’s Match Racing crew of Olivia Price, Nina Curtis and Lucinda Whitty have won their way through to the quarter-finals of the Weymouth and Portland International Regatta, the test event for the London 2012 Olympic Games, following a tense final day of round robin racing on Portland harbour.

The Australian trio went into Thursday’s final four races in a three way tie for eighth, knowing that they would have to win at least two races to progress to the knock-out stage of the competition. 

Price and crew opened the day with a win against the German team skippered by Sikle Hahlbrook, before narrowly losing to Lotte Meldgaard. The Australians then lost a hard fought race against Mandy Mulder of the Netherlands before fighting back with a final race win against their Finnish opponents, led by Silja Lehtinen. “We had two wins and two losses, so it was a 50/50 day, but we sailed well and are through to the quarter-finals,” said Price. “It all came down to the last race against the team from Finland which we won and then we needed the Portuguese to beat the Danish crew which happened so it’s all smiles at this end.” Nina Curtis said that the crew were in the mix in all four races, even the two that they lost. “We had a tough race against the Dutch where we led off the start and had a penalty on them but they applied the pressure which we’ve got to expect at this level,” she said. “We learnt some really valuable lessons in that one, it was good to learn them before the quarter-finals and hopefully we can now bring out the goods when it counts.” The Australians are competing in only their second regatta together with Lucinda Whitty commenting that they are developing with every race they contest. “As a crew we’re building and bonding every day,” she said. “We’re learning something about each other in every race and with every mark rounding.” Price, Curtis and Whitty have a day off on Friday before lining up against the top ranked Russian crew, skippered by Ekaterina Skudina, in Saturday’s first to three wins quarter final. The RS:X classes got underway on Thursday with Jessica Crisp and Tim Gourlay in action. Crisp had a mixed opening day with an opening race 11th and then a 17th leaving her 15th overall in the highly competitive fleet. “Today wasn’t the best start, if I was there it wasn’t the place to be, if I went right it was better going left and if I went left it was better going right,” said Crisp. “It took a bit of getting use to, we’re out on a really far away course which is unusual for windsurfers as we’re normally right off the beach. “It’s totally different out there to what we’re use to in the harbour, there are no waves inside the harbour and out there the swell doesn’t run in the same direction as the wind so it’s really different,” she said. “Tomorrow we’re on a different course again, the Nothe course, which I think will be more like Sydney harbour so I’m looking forward to that. “Even with two tough races I took a lot away from today, everyday here is about learning and you’ve just got to get it together by next year when it really counts,” said Crisp. West Australian Tim Gourlay is making his debut at an Olympic test event and finished day one 22nd overall following a 21st and a 23rd. “I beat a few guys that I haven’t before so it was a pretty good day,” said Gourlay. “I’m pleased with my performance in the two races, I had a bad start each time but managed to make it, in the first race I was third last around the top mark. “Having only one entry per country is fantastic and a new experience,” he said. “You know who everyone is and every position counts.” The RS:X classes return to the water for races three and four on Friday and will be joined by the Laser, Laser Radial, 470 men and 470 women who will be beginning their regatta. Tom Slingsby will contest the Laser class, Krystal Weir the Laser Radial, Mathew Belcher and Malcolm Page the 470 men and Tessa Parkinson and Belinda Stowell the 470 women.

Craig Heydon, Wednesday, 3 August 2011Racing is underway at the Weymouth and Portland International Regatta, the test event for the London 2012 Olympic Games, with Australia’s Women’s Match Racers the only crew in action on day one.

The Australian trio of Olivia Price, Nina Curtis and Lucinda Whitty contested three races on Tuesday, unfortunately coming away without a win in the light conditions. 

Skipper Price, who turned 19 on the opening day of racing, said that the team took a lot away from the first three races and are keen to hit the water again on Wednesday. “Day one was an interesting one, we had quite light conditions and were postponed first up in the morning,” said Price. “We had three races and the wind was maybe four knots and quite shifty. “It was a fairly tough day, we came up against Claire Leroy of France first up and she was quite tough, then against Sally Barkow of the USA we did quite well in the prestart of that race but were still trying to find our rhythm,” she said. “Our final race of the day was against Anna Kjellberg of Sweden and the lead changed quite a few times but she ended up getting us on the final downwind. “We had some very close racing and definitely learnt a lot from today about the conditions, about the boats and about ourselves and we’ll take those lessons into tomorrow’s races,” said Price. “We’re quite excited to get straight back into it tomorrow morning.” Price, Curtis and Whitty are a relatively new combination, with this event only their third together since teaming up at the end of June. The trio will be back into racing on Wednesday morning with four races scheduled. The remainder of the Australian team spent the day preparing for competition, with the crews taking the opportunity to train in the light conditions. The Match Racers will again be the only crew in action on day two, before the RS:X women and men, including Australian representatives Tim Gourlay and Jessica Crisp, begin racing on Thursday. For more information on the Australian Sailing Team visit www.australiansailingteam.com.au and follow the team on Twitter at www.twitter.com/AusSailingTeam.

The Weymouth and Portland International Regatta 2011 kicks off with the first day of racing on 2 August 2011.

Over the following four days, each fleet will take to the water to start their competition race schedule – so that everyone will be racing by 6 August. This staggered start enables race management to ensure all fleets get sufficient time and space on the water to complete their series.

Racing starts at 12 noon each day and continues until 6pm, depending on the weather and wind conditions.
The final race day is Saturday 13 August – the last of three medal racing days to determine the gold, silver and bronze medallists.
Download the detailed schedule

Download the Notice of Race