9:04 PM Fri 5 Aug 2011 GMT
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'Tom Slingsy racing in the Laser class - Weymouth and Portland International Regatta 2011'
Thom Touw &copy
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Weymouth and Portland International Regatta has witnessed Australian sailor Tom Slingsby pick up where he left off in Weymouth by leading the way in the Laser class in the test event for the London 2012 Olympic Games, after the opening two races.
Slingsby, a three-time Laser World Champion, has had great success in Weymouth, winning all three regattas that he has competed in at the Olympic venue, the most recent in June this year. Slingsby opened his regatta with a fifth place finish in the shifty conditions on Weymouth bay, backing the result up with a solid victory in race two.
The results have given the Australian a three point lead at the top of the table but Slingsby knows that there's plenty of racing left in the event.
'Today was a good way to start the regatta but it's going to be a long week and we'll see what happens as we go through the races,' said Slingsby. 'I learnt how not to do it at the Games in 2008 I guess, there's a saying that you learn more from losing than winning, I don't know if it's true but I've definitely got a lot more experience now so I think I'll take that into this campaign.
'It was quite tricky today, especially in that first race,' he said. 'I haven't been doing too well in training, hadn't won any of the training races so it was good to come away with the results from today.'
Fellow Australian Krystal Weir had a solid day in the Laser Radial class with a fourth and an 11th leaving her fourth overall, just one point behind third and three off second.
'My first race today was solid with a fourth, it's a long regatta and only day one so a fourth and an 11th are keepers cause it's incredibly tight racing out there,' said Weir. This is Weir's second Olympic campaign after competing in the three person Yngling class at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. 'I really liked having the girls with me in China, it was nice to be able to experience the nerves of race one together, having someone to talk to out there,' she said. 'Now it's all on me, I've been doing single handed sailing for a long time and am getting use to being by myself again.'
Mathew Belcher and Malcolm Page had a tough opening day by their high standards with a 12th and an 11th leaving them ninth overall in the 470 men's fleet.
'We struggled a little bit today,' said Belcher. 'Six of our 10 races are inside the harbour which we haven't really raced on before, it's almost dead flat water and very shifty, we didn't quite find the right way to go and ended up with two mid-fleet results which isn't ideal but tomorrow is another day.
'Inside the harbour it's very tight and everything is extremely close, you have to take any opportunity that you can and guys are fighting for inches the whole way through the race,' he said.
Tessa Parkinson and Belinda Stowell ended day one of the 470 women's regatta in 22nd position, following a 23rd and an 18th on Friday.
'We're continuing to learn a lot and are up there playing the game,' said Parkinson. 'We've improved since Kiel and are racing with the pack, I'm still learning the ropes as skipper and we're working on our communication in the boat but the signs are good.'
In the RS:X women's class Jessica Crisp has worked her way up to 10th with a 10th and a sixth on her second day of racing, while Tim Gourlay is 22nd in the RS:X men's after a pair of 22nds.
Racing continues at the Weymouth and Portland International Regatta on Saturday with the 49er, Finn and Star classes commencing racing.
Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen will contest the 49er class, while Brendan Casey is racing in the Finn and Paul McKenzie and Philip Toth are in the Star.
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by Craig Heydon
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