NZL Sailing: Gains for on day ISAF Sailing World Cup Palma

NZL Sailing Team Update: Massive gains for on day ISAF Sailing World Cup Palma

NZL Sailing Team crews made massive gains on day two of the ISAF Sailing World Cup Palma in now Mallorca, Spain. Conditions were light again today and racing continued into the evening.

Plenty of single-figure race results for the kiwi team, including some race wins, has resulted in improved standings with five crews edging into the top ten of their fleet. Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie are now in 3rd; Peter Burling and Blair Tuke are in 4th.

470: World and Olympic Champions Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie (pictured above in action today) have made up significant ground on their rivals on day two of the six day regatta leaping into the top three. In today’s two races for the Women’s 470 class Team Jolly were 4th and 5th and now discard their 17thfrom day one to climb the standings and sit two points adrift of the Brazilians in 2nd place.

Over in the Men’s division Paul Snow-Hansen and Daniel Willcox have improved to 13th overall aided by a 2nd place in the second race of the day, their best finish in the regatta so far.

49er and 49erFX: Peter Burling and BlairTuke, also reigning world champs in their class, went 2, 2, 2 in their three races today and are up into 4th place on the leader board as a result. Points are tight at the top with just three separating the kiwis from the leaders as the qualification round concludes.

Alexandra Maloney and Molly Meech are now in 20th in the Women’s skiff event, placing 23rd and 8th in their two races today, and Marcus Hansen and Josh Porebski are in 43rd in the Men’s.

Laser: All three NZL Sailing Team Laser campaigners had an excellent day on the water in Palma with two New Zealand sailors edging into the top ten of the 144-strong fleet.

Thomas Saunders (Tauranga Yacht & Powerboat Club) is now in 6th after two top three finishes today – a 3rd and a 2nd. Sam Meech, also from Tauranga, is two places back in 8th overall returning a 10th and a win on day two. Meanwhile Andy Maloney sailed home with a gun and a 2nd which sees the Murrays Bay Sailing Club representative lift his overall position an astonishing 34 places to sit 17th.

Finn: After a solid day with three single digit results (8, 4, 5) Josh Junior, from the Worser Bay Boating Club, has improved his overall standing from lying 19th at the start of the day up to 7th overall in the 56-strong Finn fleet. Team-mate Andrew Murdoch, from the Kerikeri Cruising Club, has also climbed the ranks after day two and now lies 13th on the leader board.

Nacra 17: Gemma Jones and Jason Saunders took a race win today in the mixed multihull class and have improved their position to 27th.

Women’s RS:X: On the water until late into the evening the female windsurfers sailed two races today, Natalia Kosinska dropping from 8th to 12th in the ranks.

Racing continues tomorrow and runs over the next five days with titles and medals set to be decided in Palma on April 5th.

The schedule for ISAF Sailing World Cup Palma…

31st March – Practice Race
31st March – 5th April – Racing Days

ISAF Sailing World Cup Palma; New Zealand’s standings after day two
Full results here

Women’s RS:X (56 boards)
12th Natalia Kosinska – NZL Sailing Team, RS:X Women (11, 1, 21, 27)
Women’s 470 (47 boats)
3rd Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie - NZL Sailing Team (9, 17, 4, 5)
Men’s 470 (78 boats)
12th Paul Snow-Hansen and Daniel Willcox – NZL Sailing Team (9, 9, 11, 12, 2)
49er (79 boats)
4th Peter Burling and Blair Tuke – NZL Sailing Team (16, 1, 29, 2, 2, 2)
43rd Marcus Hansen and Josh Porebski – NZL Sailing Team (13, 23, 1, 28, 27, UFD)
58th Ben Goodwin and Sam Bullock (15, 25, 28, UFD, 28, 21)
49erFX (49 boats)
20th Alexandra Maloney and Molly Meech – NZL Sailing Team, 49erFX (15, 5, 8, 23, 8)
Finn (56 boats)
7th Josh Junior – NZL Sailing Team, Finn (26, 6, 8, 4, 5)
13th Andrew Murdoch – NZL Sailing Team, Finn (7, 14, 28, 22, 6)
Laser (144 boats)
6th Thomas Saunders – NZL Sailing Team (7, 11, 6, 3, 2)
8th Sam Meech – NZL Sailing Team (14, 2, 7, 10, 1)
17thAndy Maloney – NZL Sailing Team (15, 13, 14, 1, 2)
68th Andrew McKenzie (32, 23, 12, 25, 18)
Nacra 17 (73 boats)
27th Gemma Jones and Jason Saunders – NZL Sailing Team (27, 26, 8, 1, 13)

Coaches and support: Jez Fanstone, Nathan Handley, John Cutler, Hamish Willcox, Steve Erickson, Peter Evans and Will Howden

About the NZL Sailing Team
The NZL Sailing Team includes New Zealand’s top Olympic campaigners who have made the top 20% in their most recent (respective) class World Championships or pinnacle event and have shown consistency of performance over the year including other significant Championships.

Yachting New Zealand’s High Performance Programme is focussed on winning medals at the Olympics in Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.

NZL Sailing Team sailors all started out at grass roots yacht clubs around the country and with commitment, dedication and drive have risen to be world class athletes; they work hard in the gym, train long hours on the water and are supported by great coaches.

ENDS

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