Action from the Paralympic Games Beijing 2008 - 9th September 2008 - Day Two - Races 3, 4 & 5.

The second day of racing at the 2008 Paralympic Games in Qingdao kicked off early with the sailors leaving the dock at 10:45am. Three races were sailed in 6 - 8 knots of breeze.

The Head Coach, Greg Omay said 'I'm delighted with the whole team's performance today. It was a good day for the Aussies out on the water.'

Weather:
Wind - SE 6 - 8 knots
Temp - 27'C
Humidity - 58%
Vissability - Clear sunny skies

2.4mR - One Person Keelboat - AUS Team: Aaron Hill (VIC)

Aaron Hill scored a 10th, 8th, 10th today and sits in 12th place after the second day of the regatta with racing being really tight Aaron told us, 'It was tough racing again today, I'm not really sure where I finished in race 4 because the majority of the fleet crossed the line within seconds of one another.'

Leader Board:
1st - CAN - 9 points
2nd - USA -10 points
3rd - GER - 15 points

12th - AUS - 38 points

Full Results click here

SKUD 18 - Two Person Keelboat - AUS Team: Dan Fitzgibbon & Rachael Cox (QLD)

The best day for the Australian Team was had by the SKUD 18 crew of Dan Fitzgibbon and Rachael Cox who finished 2nd in all three races today. These results moved them from third to second place on the leader board overnight.

'We're in the yacht race, that's for sure' said Dan Fitzgibbon

'It was really important to keep boatspeed going in the light conditions and we managed to do that. Key tactical manouvers came off, which kept us in the top of the fleet' said Rachael Cox

Coach, Adrian Finglas said, 'They didn't get away great at the starts today but they chipped away at the fleet to get into second place by the finish in every race. They did a great job of being conservative and keeping their cool when they had crews breathing down their neck.'

Leader Board:
1st - USA - 5 points
2nd - AUS - 8 points
3rd - CAN - 10 points

Full Results click here

Sonar - Three Person Keelboat - AUS Team: Colin Harrison, Graeme Martin & Russell Boaden (WA)

The Australian Sonar Team of Colin Harrison, Graeme Martin & Russell Boaden moved from 7th to 2nd overall and just 4 points off first place after scoring a 2nd, 3rd, 3rd today. Having three good, clean starts lead them to be the most constant performers on the water today in their fleet.

Helmsman, Colin Harrison said, 'Our strategy was to work the shifts and stay upcurrent of the mark. We were confident in our boat speed, setup, strategy, and tactical decisions'

'There were lead changes on just about every leg of every race and a decisive moment was in race 4, we worked two boats to get up into 3rd in the last 100m of the downward leg' Colin continued.

Mid-crew and Sydney 2000 Paralympic Gold Medallist, Graeme Martin took a blow to the head yesterday when his team mate bought the spinnaker pole back inboard the boat with a little too much enthusiasm. 'My head hurt all the way around the course today but I put it out of my mind and thought of Australia' said Graeme.

Leader Board:
1st - FRA - 8 points
2nd - AUS - 12 points
3rd - GER - 13 points

NB// Protest pending between IRL & AUS at time of publication. Results therefore unofficial.

Full Results click here

* Send Good Luck Messages - click here

Tomorrow's Schedule: 10th Sept: Rest Day.

by Laura Baldwin - Yachting Australia

Newsfeed supplied by