They are our ‘Dynamic Duo’ in the Men’s 470, Mat Belcher and Will Ryan, and today a win and third place has launched them from fourth place overall to out in front by two points at the Hempel World Cup Series event in Miami.

Belcher commented once back ashore, “It was a good day, but tricky with the wind out of the North. Still, it is nice when you get it right. If anything it was even stronger than yesterday, albeit from a similar direction, so that meant we had more of a handle on the conditions and where to go. Certainly is good to have two consistent results.”

“We almost fell out of the boat at one stage when a hole blew in, with the average winds over 20 knots, but like yesterday, it was still very much up and down range, and really gusty too. All in all we are backing ourselves in, and following our strategy. When it pays off it is a relief, as you have been watching the fleet sail off in the other direction.”

“To get the same elapsed race times as we do with the normal courses, the Windward/Leewards they are running here have really long beats, much more so than so than usual, and this means the separation amongst the fleet comes into play. You are either right or wrong, and this makes the snakes massive should you have been incorrect, and the ladders, due to those long beats, are simply huge.”

“So yes, it is a different type of racing for us. We have not been racing for a while - since Tokyo in August - so being back at it is great to implement the stuff we’ve been working on at home in the intervening time. Being an Olympic year is important, and so the wagons have circled somewhat around what we are doing exactly, but we are certainly happy with our efforts.”

Belcher added, “This is a different type of campaign for us, as I have a family and young kids which makes it more challenging. As a result we are not travelling as much, yet it seems to be OK so long as we stay smart about the time we have on the water and what we do – it provides good focus for us. All in all we are proud of where we are at and what we have done, still remaining totally aware of the rest of the journey. So far it has been a happy and an enjoyable quadrennial.”

As for having a target on their back, Belcher says, “The reality of us being in the position we have for quite while means that yes there is a lot of pressure on the start line, and it also makes it challenging all the way around the track. Somehow though, it all makes you a better sailor. The level of racing amongst the fleet is super high, so ultimately it just makes it even more enjoyable.”

“We now have four days in lightish weather to come (6-8 knots tomorrow), so we’ll see how that all pans out”, said Belcher in closing.

The 470 Women’s team of Nia Jerwood and Monique de Vries are currently in 11^th position. After racing, Skipper Nia Jerwood said, “It has been a rough event in terms of results, but we are learning. In the first race today, when we were coming down into the final mark in about sixth place, we uncleated the kite, but it did not come down. So we gybed, and immediately thereafter had a swim. We got the boat back up and the kite down eventually. It all occurred 50m from the finish, and we watched the fleet go past us.”

“We did not have the speed in the final race either. We are not racing on our new equipment, and this boat is just not set up quite the same. We are also used to the waves off Fremantle and even the Gold Coast, and are getting used to the flat water here, which is different way of steering. Our uphill pace is improving as we go,” she added.

“Yesterday we had big shifts of 35 degrees, and it was similar again today. Tomorrow we will have a whole new bunch of settings for the light weather. We came here thinking it would be light, and we are very much looking forward to practicing, given we don’t get a lot of it at home. This is very much a training event for us, and we’re trying out a few things. It is also great to have Ruslana back, and training with her in Sydney before we came here was good lead-in.”

Australian Sailing Team results at the Sailing World Cup, Miami:

Men’s 470 (30 boats)
1^st: Mat Belcher and Will Ryan (15), 8, 6, 1, 1, 3 - 19 points

Women’s 470 (16 boats)
11^th: Nia Jerwood and Monique de Vries 11, 12, 3, 10, (15), 8 – 44 points