There were two attempts at getting the Men’s Skiff Medal Race completed today. In the first race Diego Botin and Florian Trittel found a good lane out to the right hand side of the course and were higher and faster than their rivals. Already sitting in gold medal position, the Spanish team rounded the first mark with a good lead. However the breeze started to collapse and the Spanish looked vulnerable as the Uruguayans carried a small zephyr to dribble past Team ESP and into a slender lead. By the bottom of the course, however, the breeze had all but collapsed and the race was abandoned.
The restart of the race later in the afternoon saw a perfect start from the Dutch. Bart Lambriex and Floris van de Werken booked their place next to the committee boat, started on starboard and immediately flopped on to port tack to race out to the right-hand side of the course. The further up the course they went, the more they were able to stretch their legs as the breeze built. It looked like a healthy lead for the Dutch at the first turning mark and with a big right-hand wind shift there were no tactical decisions to be made other than gybe-set and make a beeline for the leeward gate marks.
Going around in third, the Croatian brothers Sime and Mihovil Fantela were knocking on the door of the podium. But then Sime fell off the back of the boat. Fortunately brother Mihovil ran to the leeward wing to stop the boat capsizing. Sime hauled himself back on board, and the brothers picked up where they left off, still in third, still within reach of a medal.
Meanwhile the points were looking very close between Spain and the Kiwis, Isaac McHardie and Will McKenzie, with the Irish still very much in the hunt. It would have been a nailbiter of a final lap, but yet again the breeze collapsed, the national flags on the asymmetric spinnakers started to flop and the race was abandoned again. A psychologically taxing day for all concerned. The Skiff racers – male and female – are hoping the forecast for better breeze on Friday actually comes to pass on the Bay of Marseille.
The Olympic regatta is scheduled with two reserve days for each Event, so racing will continue on August 1.
This is the plan at time of writing – Skiffs medal race:
- 2:10 for FX
- 13:10 for 49er
written by Andy Rice
