The Answering Pennant may have hoisted this morning at Enoshima Harbour on Day One of the first Sailing World Cup to a bare flutter, but capricious conditions ultimately proved no barrier to the Australian Sailing Team (AST) with strong performances across the board.

In the Nacra 17 foiling catamaran class, Jason Waterhouse and birthday girl Lisa Darmanin climbed into third place overall. Fellow foilers Haylee Outteridge and brother Nathan, the Olympic Gold Medallist and skipper of Team Japan in the SailGP, did one better.

Ecstatic coach Darren Bundock was impressed with the result in immensely difficult conditions for foiling and said, “To get through that sort of day with that result, by managing the shifts shows that they are class acts,” he said.

Seven of the AST finished within the top five - 470’s Mat Belcher and Will Ryan blazed the way along Laser sailor Mitch Kennedy set the bar high even with a fourth. “I had no real expectation and am stoked to come with what we did,” he said. “In the training in the lead up we knew we had to sail into the pressure as it is slow moving. I had my compass numbers dialled in before the race, and then just locked in the pressure around the track.”

Nia Jerwood and Monique de Vries placed 10^th in the 470’s, Tom Burton was 15^th, with Matt Wearn in 16^th, which is also where Finn sailor Jake Lilley finished. Unperturbed, Lilley’s approach to sailing the heavy Finn in light conditions was pleasingly philosophical. “It doesn’t take much to affect speed when it is light and shifty. The level is so high that you just have to be on it for the entire race, and after a good first lap I was just on the wrong side of the course for the second.”

The AST is the second largest at Enoshima, and the results place them in the top half of the fleet, with everything to play for in the coming days.

Tristan Brown is overseeing one of the largest Australian women’s Laser squad ever to attend a World Cup, expanded to include Zoe Thompson and Elyse Ainsworth, as well as Mara Stansky who finished so well in Ready Steady Tokyo event.

“Our sailors are all set, and ready for action to make it happen,” says supremo Laser coach, Olympian Michael Blackburn. “Matt Wearn is pretty focused after the missed opportunity to return to the dais when the medal race was not run last week. He is keen to make amends, and is very strong in the head.”

The lower temperatures heading towards Autumn over warm water may test the Team over the coming days and push early outcomes. Predicting extreme variability from light to 25 knots, he has advised the team to be ready for anything.

“The theme would be to hit them hard from the outset, and not throw away points early on, in case we do not get a full schedule of races in. Ideally, we do have to make every mark (buoy) a winner.”

Recalling the pressure, “It is difficult to go hard early, especially at the Olympics. The first race can be the hardest. I remember my legs shaking as I worked up the first beat. Mind games can play havoc on you. Messages from family and friends play important role, and we work with each individual sailor to tailor just how much or how little they want each day.”

The AST is aware of what is at stake in the overall lead up to 2020, but perhaps no more so than in the Laser class. Only one sailor will to represent Australia and individual performances over the coming days are part of the ultimate selection. All eyes will be on the entire team as they display the awesome ability we have come to expect from superlative sailors.

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

Men’s 470 (34 boats)
5^th: Mat Belcher and Will Ryan 5, - 5 points

28^th: Chris Charlwood and Josh Dawson 28, - 28 points

Women’s 470 (22 boats)
10^th: Nia Jerwood and Monique de Vries 10, - 10 points

49er (37 boats)
31st: Sam and Will Phillips (36), 13, 34 – 47 points

11^th: Thomas Needham and Joel Turner 4, 16, (28) – 20 points

22nd: Lachy Gilmour and David Gilmour 14, (30), 16 – 30 points

49erFX (36 boats)
13^th: Tess Lloyd and Jaime Ryan 19, 15 – 34 points

16^th: Natasha Bryant and Annie Wilmot 17, 18 – 35 points

29^th: Amelia Stabback and Caitlin Elks 35, 17 – 52 points

Finn (25 boats)
16^th: Jake Lilley 16 – 16 points

Laser (51 boats)
15^th: Tom Burton 20, 14 – 34 points

16^th: Matt Wearn 18, 19 – 37 points

30^th: Luke Elliott
34, 25 – 59 points

4^th: Mitch Kennedy 4, 10 – 14 points

28^th: Finn Alexander 19, 28 – 57 points

Laser Radial (49 boats)
36^th Mara Stransky 23, 42 – 65 points

31^st: Elyse Ainsworth 31, 26 – 57 points

39^th: Zoe Thompson 41, 27 – 68 points

Nacra 17 (32 boats)
3^rd: Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin 7, 2 – 9 points

2^nd: Nathan Outteridge and Haylee Outteridge 5, 3 – 8 points

29^th: Paul Darmanin and
Lucy Copeland 23, 25 – 48 points

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