The Olympic showdown has begun. Fourteen of Australia’s finest sailors in eight classes today commenced the battle for domination of the waterways in Enoshima, Japan, on the site of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Already they are showing confidence and calmness, savouring the opportunity and garnering solid performances mostly within the top ten today, and many inside the top four.

The Ready Steady Tokyo regatta is the ultimate form guide, as previous champions have taken out similar events 12 months ahead of the Olympic Games proper. There are over 30 of Rio’s Olympic sailing medallists, and an additional 11 from London amongst the 363 competitors over all. 

The Olympic waterways are humbling as everyone, including the Olympic medal-winning superstars of Rio, Tom Burton (gold), Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin (silver) and Mat Belcher and Will Ryan (silver) all have to set and forget. The past is meaningless. It is all about the waterway today.

In this Olympic dress rehearsal, every athlete is keen to establish themselves and their credentials in readiness for the big show. The Director of High Performance for the Australian Sailing Team, Iain Murray, is there to not only guide the team and their coaches, but also impart some of his plethora of knowledge of everything from fine-tuning individual boats to sophisticated analysis of weather data from a lifetime of competition at the highest level. 

Thankfully, yesterday’s residual conditions from the typhoon with strong winds and huge seas have abated. The athletes were rested and ready to go. Murray said, “It will end up being quite light by the end of the week, as the weather literally falls in the hole left behind the typhoon that is now out in the Pacific. The hot weather that followed is heating up the land, and so the 12 knots from the Sou’west this morning should make 16 or so by day’s end. The sea state has also flattened off considerably.” 

The effervescent Nacra 17 champion Lisa Darmanin was excited about the three weeks three weeks of training on the local waters in a variety of conditions with her Olympic partner - and cousin - Jason Waterhouse. “Jason and I have not raced since April, but we won the last couple of events before that, so are very keen to keep the momentum going,” she said before heading out.

In speaking to John Curnow, Waterhouse added “Yes we do feel like everyone is after us, but we are just going out there to enjoy it. Enjoyment was probably dissipated somewhat in the drama of a small bingle, an occurrence even at this level in close-quarters of competitive sail racing.”

“We holed the boat, and it steadily filled up with water,” said the cool customer Waterhouse, adding that it was not ideal in a foiling boat, or any boat. 

“We made a repair out there, but it was not satisfactory. It was a simple error, probably because we have not been racing that much of late. We were ducking under another boat and came up behind them just as they slowed on a wave and clipped their rudder. Thankfully we did no damage to them, so performed our penalty turns and moved on. It certainly has put the pressure on us to perform from here.”

Such is the quality of its Laser sailors on the world stage; Australia has been awarded an unprecedented two slots for Laser sailors at this regatta. Remember, in the end, only one gets to go to the Olympics in the green and gold. Matt Wearn stated, “It would mean the world to me to be able to represent Australia in 2020, and it’s something I have been working on now for over six years. It was a solid day on the water, even if tricky due to the changes in pressure of the wind. What made it even worse was if you found a hole when going downwind it made even harder to make it up. My body has no niggles and I am happy to be racing. When you’re in second place and you slide to third and fourth, as I did, it can be annoying, but for now I’ll take it.”

Burton would be excused for thinking he has a target on his back. The reigning gold medallist states, “The goal is to win. Being on the podium is a big thing. I am getting used to the smaller fleets of regattas like this, and results achieved so far have come from accepting it as a good challenge. Consistency is critical, especially across a range of conditions like we are expecting this week, and I enjoy that.”

“Today it was pretty glamorous out there, nice waves, but a little cooler would have been great. It was kind of tough in the heat. Two top ten places is a good start, so we have things to work on tomorrow and just buckle down for the week.

If Burton is using eyes in the back of his head, 20 year-old Laser Radial sailor, Mara Stransky has awe to deal with. A stratospheric rise for the baby of the team has landed this wonderful young sailing star on the Olympic trail and the special qualities that got her here are laudable.

Sailing with her grandmother’s cherished compass around her neck, Stransky reflects, “Four years ago I had just finished my first ever dinghy regatta, so I am really pleased to be here now.  I am liking it, even though it is a pretty different atmosphere. It’s hard being the only Australian (in my class) at the boat park, as everyone is super serious. This will get easier, and I simply focus on myself.”

Stransky took a start on the wrong side of the start line with admirable cool, “It was a tough day, so I am taking it on the chin, as there’s not a lot else you can do. I thought I would be able to get by with speed, but it is just not the case. I was struggling downwind, so the big lessons are rather than stressing about it, I just need to get on with it, and pay attention to start the line.”

Other sailors, such as Sam Phillips from our 49er that is in third place overall say they are simply stoked to sail the wilder side of the historic course, giving them the chance to test their mettle. “There were some big waves left over, which are not ideal for a skiff, but it was a good challenge. It was really nice to stretch the legs by utilising some of the strong breeze which meant we could really send it.”

“Very handy to get three races in, and then come back ashore to escape the heat. A fourth, fifth, and second reflects on having no major errors out there, and there is always room to improve. We aim to keep it clean, which you have to, as the top ten is tight, speed wise.”

Jake Lilley, in the mighty Finn said, “A classic Enoshima day with 14-16 knots of breeze, above 30 degree ambient temperature and a significant 90% humidity. There were big swells and waves, but I had good starts and decent upwind legs. I made one mistake each race, got stuck in places, and went about clawing back. It is not clicking for a whole race, yet, but to get through cleanly, without a deep one (low placing) is all right for day one.”

The popular champion Lilley displays the kind of mental attitude that reveals so much about sailors as a breed. The talk is inspirational; the kind of approach one could apply to winning at daily life. Discipline, practise and vigilance towards learning new lessons are a formula for success, plus a fantastic coach.

“My coach Rafael Trujillo and I have been training a lot in the light airs, which will come in handy as the week pans out. We are building every week,” says Lilley. “We have to do it to be where we want to next year. It is all about getting the most out of ourselves. Struggle makes you strong.”

Racing will conclude on August 22.

Day One Results

Men’s 470 (22 boats)
2nd: Mat Belcher and Will Ryan 2, 3 – 5pts

Women’s 470 (20 boats)
7th: Nia Jerwood and Monique de Vries 7, 7 – 14pts

49er (21 boats)
3rd: Sam and Will Phillips 4, 5, 2 – 11pts

49erFX (23 boats)
10th: Tess Lloyd and Jaime Ryan 4, 13, 8 – 25pts

Finn (22 boats)
10th: Jake Lilley 9, 11 – 20pts

Laser (35 boats)
2nd: Matt Wearn 2, 4 – 6pts
6th: Tom Burton 4, 8 – 12pts

Laser Radial (41 boats)
35th: Mara Stransky 29, 42 – 71pts

Nacra 17 (21 boats)
9th: Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin 4, 20, 13 – 35pts 

Ready Steady Tokyo Olympic Test Event
Enoshima Yacht Harbour, Fujisawa Japan

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Photos: Beau Outteridge and Sailing Energy/World Sailing