Day Four at the 49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 2020 World Championships was definitely all about coming out on top. Epitomising that was brother and sister crew Nathan and Haylee Outteridge, who are the new leaders in the foiling Nacra 17 class with two days of racing to come.

Nathan said once back ashore, “Our goal today was just to continue the form we had earlier in the week. We had some very good results the first two days, and today we knew it was going to be trickier, as the forecast had it being quite variable and shifty. Our aim is to be in the top eight round the first mark, and then work forward from there.”

Nathan and Haylee Outteridge - Beau Outteridge/Australian Sailing Team

“In the first race our coach, Harry Mighell, indicated we had our worst top rounding ever (they turned in the low 30s), which we clawed back to a ninth. In the next race it was a lot better where we were fifth at the top mark but dropped a couple off by the time it closed out.”

Haylee then added, “We had three really different races today, as there was not a lot of consistency in what the wind was doing in each of them. Even though we climbed out of trouble in the first one, we had to reset before the second and then do it all again for the third.”

Silver Medallist from Rio in the Nacra 17, Lisa Darmanin, said of their day’s racing, “The weed was present in about the same amount, but it was in huge clumps. We had one race where we were leading, but we ended up in a field of weed for about three minutes. It was much harder to avoid and also get off, and you could not even fly a hull to help with that. It was definitely a mental challenge today.”

“We finished on high by coming in ninth, which gives us third overall. We did not start in a great position, but did come back, which makes it a pretty consistent day with a 2, 12, and 9. We are pretty good at chipping away, it’s sort of our style, and we have five races left to do plus the medal race. We have confidence. We have done this before.”

Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin - Beau Outteridge/Australian Sailing Team

In the 49erFX fleet, Australian Sailing Squad (ASS) team Amelia Stabback and Caitlin Elks collected a bullet (first place) in the last race of the day to become the second highest placed Australian crew in 11^th place overall. Coach Emmet Lazich said, “Yes it was good, but in the middle of the regatta it is all one race at a time. Their speed skills are what saw them collect that bullet. They were fast and also had good risk management.” 

“It is lovely to have four crews in the Gold Fleet, especially after Auckland where things were not that great overall. They all approached Geelong with real desire. There is a lot of pressure on them, so it is huge relief, but we do have a long way to go.”

Amelia Stabback and Caitlin Elks with Tess Lloyd and Jaime Ryan - Beau Outteridge/Australian Sailing Team

Tess Lloyd and Jaime Ryan continued to sail well and finished the day in fourth place overall. Ryan commented, “I think we thought there might have been a bit more breeze today, but it ended up pretty light with a few good shifts to play with, so it was definitely important to keep an eye on that.”

Tess Lloyd added, “We wanted to keep our consistency with our results going into the Gold Fleet. No big drops so far is also good, as we have two more days of racing to go.”

Will and Sam Phillips - Sailing Energy

Euan McNicol, the 49er Coach said, “To have three of our crews through to Gold Fleet has been nice to see. The Phillips brothers had a very consistent day yesterday, and that shows how you can move up the scoreboard if you put three low numbers together. Now we have 65% of the regatta left, it’s about consistency and racing hard in Gold Fleet.”

The Australian sailors are all set to continue their pursuit of World Championship glory in these exciting classes. The all-important Gold Fleet racing for the top 25 crews in both 49er and 49erFX continues tomorrow, with the medal races (top ten) for the skiffs and the Nacra 17 on February 15.

Australian Sailing Team (AST), Australian Sailing Squad (ASS) and other Australian entries (AUS) at the 2020 49er and Nacra 17 World Championships at Geelong:

Nacra 17 (34 entries – medal race Saturday)

Nathan and Haylee Outteridge (AST) 1^st: 1, 2, 10, (17), 2, 2, 9, 9, 2 – 37 points
Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin (AST) 3^rd: 17, 3, 3, 3, (15), 9, 2, 12, 9 – 56 points
Paul Darmanin and Lucy Copeland (ASS) 27^th: (29), 13, 18, 12, 24, 24, 24, 26, 29 – 170 points
Steven Brewin and Karma Randall (AUS) 29^th: 21, 25, 30, 23, 27, 24, (BFD), 30, 32 – 211 points
Emma Jones and Hugo Hamilton (AUS) 31^st: 26, 29, 27, (30), 28, 29, 29, (33), 19  – 217 points
Jake Liddell and Bec Hancock (AUS) 34^th: DNF, DNF, DNC, 33, 31, 31, BFD, 27, 33 – 259 points

Nacra 17 Fleet - Beau Outteridge/Australian Sailing Team

49er (80 entries – qualifying now complete, then finals and medal race – correct at time of entry and pending any protests)

Will and Sam Phillips (AST) 5^th: (13), 3, 11, 2, 5, 1, 4, 13, 9, 5 – 53 points
Tom Needham and Joel Turner (ASS) 17^th: 7, (20), 7, 5, 12, 11, 8, 20, 11, 6 – 87 points
James Grogan and Simon Hoffman (ASS) 21^st: 6, 11, 3, 19, 11, 9, 23, 21, (25) – 124 points
David Gilmour and Lachy Gilmour (ASS) 32^nd: 19, 6, 11, (20), 3, 14, 6, 19, 6 – 84 points
Jim Colley and Shaun Connor (AUS) 42^nd: 11, 19, (UFD), 21, 16, 5, 1, 9, 13 – 95 points
Oliver Manton and Jack Lloyd (AUS) 48^th: 17, 17, 14, 12, 13, 11, 7, (24), 24 – 115 points
David O'Connor and Fang Warren (AUS) 52^nd: 3, 14, 11, 17, 20, 22, DNC, DNC, DNF – 143 points
Matt Jerwood and Max Paul (AUS) 55^th: (25), 18, 12, 24, 21, 13, 5, 1, 9 – 123 points
John Cooley and Thomas Cunich (AUS) 58^th: 20, 19, 13, (22), 13, 19, 6, 21, 12 – 84 points
Harrison Sly and Thomas Dwyer (AUS) 69^th: 25, 17, 23, 13, 25, (26), 18, 6, 15 – 142 points
Hayden Harding and Casey Bates (AUS) 72nd: (24), 24, 21, 24, 24, 19, 12, 24, 16 – 164 points
Beau Junk and Alexander Marinelli (AUS) 75^th: 18, (26), 25, 26, 23, 25, 17, 17, 18 – 117 points
William Bridge and Joshua Sloman (AUS) 76^th: 25, 21, 21, 25, 25, (26), 24, 17, 19 – 177 points
Hayden Brown and Mackenzie Bird (AUS) 77^th: 23, (26), 21, 26, 23, 24, 23, 23, 23 – 187 points
Dylan Janus and Conor Hay (AUS) 78^th: 22, (DNF), DNC, 26, 26, 24, 25, 22, 24 – 195 points

Tess Lloyd and Jaime Ryan - Beau Outteridge/Australian Sailing Team

49erFX (45 entries – qualifying now complete, then finals and medal race)

Tess Lloyd and Jaime Ryan (ASS) 4^th: 6, 3, 1, (12), 8, 5, 11, 11, 8 – 53 points
Amelia Stabback and Caitlin Elks (ASS) 11^th: 14, (16), 3, 5, 7, 14, (18), 10, 1 – 70 points
Natasha Bryant and Annie Wilmot (ASS) 16^th: 11, 11, 4, 14, 15, 9, 4, 13, (21) – 81 points
Tessa Parkinson and Ella Clark (AUS) 23^rd: 6, 13, 5, 17, 6, 15, 21, (23), 19 – 101 points
Chloe Fisher and Ella Grimshaw (AUS) 40^th: 20, 21, 13, 12, 18, (DNF), 12, 12, 10 – 117 points
Laura Harding and Laura Thomson (AUS) 43^rd: 17, (22), 21, 22, 20, 19, 13, 11, 18 – 140 points

LIVE COVERAGE commences at 1050hrs local on Friday 14 February, 2020.

Tess Lloyd and Jaime Ryan - Beau Outteridge/Australian Sailing Team