Day 8 Women’s Match Racing Stage 2 – Progress Report
With each team fighting for a place in the quarterfinals, all were eager to get their scores up in this crucial repechage stage of the Perth 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championships.
The first matches kicked off at 1000 local time but racing had to be postponed for 90 minutes until the sea breeze settled in. Some gusts followed by a few strong lifts made for some close matches with the winning boat only edging clear ing the last few seconds.
Nicky Souter’s (AUS-1) team had an excellent first three flights, defeating New Zealand, Portugal and Denmark in strong wins, although their plans for a straight 4-0 win were dashed when they narrowly lost out to Brazil, despite putting up a fight.
Fellow Australians, Olivia Price’s AUS-2 team, did not fare as well. They were beaten by Portugal and Denmark but scored points against New Zealand and Brazil.
Silke Hahlbrock (GER) and her crew had a bad opening to their day with four losses, while New Zealand, beaten by both Australian teams, ended up winning two out of the first four matches of the day.
The top four in stage two will join teams USA, Russia, France and Netherlands in the quarterfinals, scheduled to start on Tuesday afternoon.
Women’s Match Racing continues on Inner Harbour course.