NZL Sailing Team countdown to 2015 ISAF Sailing World Cup Weymouth
by Jodie Bakewell-White 7 Jun 2015 16:51 BST
8-14 June 2015
Women's 470 gold for Jo Aleh & Polly Powrie at ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami © Walter Cooper / US Sailing
This week the NZL Sailing Team is in Weymouth and Portland on the southern coast of England where in 2012 the Olympic sailing regatta took place.
Fifteen kiwi crews are at the venue preparing for 2015 ISAF Sailing World Cup Weymouth Regatta where racing starts on Wednesday. On Sunday, after five days of racing, medals will be awarded to those who have performed the best in each of the ten Olympic classes being contested.
Women's 470 partners Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie (pictured above) won Olympic gold on this patch of water in 2012 and they're excited to be back; "With forty of the top Women's 470 teams competing it will be a good tough event, with hopefully a little of that traditional Weymouth wind."
"We are all rigged up and ready to get on the water for a few days practice before we start racing! Looking forward to sailing out there again, we did rather a few hours on this patch of water in the build-up to London, so hopefully we can remember some of it!"
Jez Fanstone, Yachting New Zealand High Performance Director is in Weymouth with the team and he explains what they know about the venue; "In the past we have had every condition from flat calm to gales, and everything in between," he says. "Generally Weymouth offers good and challenging sailing conditions with varied winds, geographical features and tricky current."
Changes to the ISAF Sailing World Cup were introduced at the last regatta in Hyeres, France where New Zealand came away with two medals, gold for Peter Burling and Blair Tuke in the 49er and silver for Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie in the Women's 470.
Each class is set at forty entries, every crew having qualified for an invitation to compete through their ISAF ranking or at last week's Delta Lloyd Regatta.
"This is the second opportunity for NZL Sailing Team to race in the new ISAF Sailing World Cup format," says Fanstone. "It's also a good opportunity to do final preparations before heading into the other major Championships coming up in 2015."
ISAF Sailing World Cup Weymouth New Zealand entries:
- Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie, Women's 470
- Paul Snow-Hansen and Daniel Willcox, Men's 470
- Peter Burling and Blair Tuke, 49er
- Marcus Hansen and Josh Porebski, 49er
- Alexandra Maloney and Molly Meech, 49erFX
- Josh Junior, Finn
- Andrew Murdoch, Finn
- Andy Maloney, Laser
- Sam Meech, Laser
- Michael Bullot, Laser
- Thomas Saunders, Laser
- Sara Winther, Laser Radial
- Susannah Pyatt, Laser Radial
- Gemma Jones and Jason Saunders, Nacra 17
- Olivia Mackay and Micah Wilkinson, Nacra 17
Racing at ISAF Sailing World Cup Weymouth and Portland commences on Wednesday 10 June. Medal Races on Sunday 14 June will bring the regatta to a close.