Aussies Nia Jerwood and Conor Nicholas have climbed two places after finding patches of form on the fourth day of the 470 World Championships on the Mediterranean Sea. 

The team from WAIS completed two races in standard sea breeze conditions, as sailors tackled the lighter winds and got some reprieve from the puffy conditions seen over the past two days at Sdot-Yam Sailing Club in Israel. 

In the 6 to 10-knot north-westerly, Jerwood and Nicholas went out to prove that their results from the first day do not define them.  

Jerwood and Nicholas preparing for the start CREDIT Amit Shisel / Int. 470 Class

“Today’s conditions were a bit more similar to day one of the event,” Jerwood said. “Conor and I thought we could go out there and maybe have a bit of a do-over and give it another go in those conditions.” 

They are now aiming to steal top spot in the Silver fleet which remains just 10 points ahead with two races left.  

The 24-year-old Tokyo Olympian shared, “I think what went well today is that we decided to keep it a bit more simple, not overcomplicate it as we did on day one. Just get in the front row of the fleet and then just play the shifts. 

“We brought the intensity and the pumping back into the downwinds to find our speed there.” 

Olympic 470 gold medallist tuned national coach Malcolm Page is living the highs and lows with the young team.  

Page examined, “In the first race Nia and Conor had some opportunities that they didn’t capitalise on, but on the second downwind they did find a little bit of that mojo which had waivered for a few days and came back for a good result. 

“The second race of the day really impressed me,” said Page. “They had a lot of fighting character. Their start didn’t go to plan but they realised it quick and adapted. Then fought hard all race.  

“It’s the first race of the week where they climbed the ladder from the start and crawled every inch back on boats in front of them, and that turned into a great result.” 

Malcolm Page helping prepare the boat CREDIT Amit Shisel / Int. 470 Class

Despite a positive eighth and fifth in today’s racing, the team have made it clear that they would prefer to be fighting hard in the Gold fleet. Instead, they go into tomorrow with a clear objective to lead the fleet they are in and take home 31st.  

Australian Sailing Futures athletes Sophie Jackson and Angus Higgins found things a bit tougher going and will head into tomorrow’s racing in 50^th position. 

In Gold fleet, things remain tight ahead of the penultimate day of racing. The German team of Luise Wanser and Philipp Autenreith retain their lead by just 7 points. Two French teams are battling out in second and third ahead of the Spanish pair of Jordi Xammar and Nora Brugman, who trail in fourth one point further back.  

Two races are scheduled tomorrow to round out the Final series ahead of that all-important Medal Race.  

Full results and a live stream of the racing can be found on the event website. 

Australian Sailing Squad (ASS), and Australian Sailing Futures (ASF) entries at the 2022 470 World Championships: 

470 Mixed (60 boats) 

Silver Fleet (30 boats)  
33^rd - Nia Jerwood and Conor Nicholas (ASS) – (24), 24, 18, 7, 9, 4, 13, 8, 5 (88 points)  
50^th - Sophie Jackson and Angus Higgins (ASF) – 28, 29, 20, (UFD), 23, 14, 9, 22, 23 (168 points)  

Words by Lisa Darmanin