Sail For Gold Regatta Weymouth
Some 300 of the World’s best sailors have assembled at Weymouth for the Sail for Gold Regatta, which started yesterday and runs through until Sunday.
This is an event for the Olympic Classes and will become an annual event in the build up to 2012.
Naturally enough using the Proposed 2012 Olympic venue means that all the world’s best sailors will attend at least one of these events prior to 2012 to familiarize themselves with the venue.
The RYA has already announced that Sarah Ayton, Sarah Webb and Pippa Wilson (Yngling), Stevie Morrison/Ben Rhodes (49’er) and Paul Goodison (Laser) have already been selected for Beijing.
Subject to achieving some specific individual targets and performances Nick Dempsey (RS:X), Bryony Shaw (RS:X), Nick Rogers/Joe Glanfield (470), Christina Bassadone/Saskia Clark (470) and Leigh McMillan/Will Howden (Tornado) will also be selected.
The selection of the Star and Finn representatives will be deferred until the New Year and the Laser Radial representative will be chosen out of Charlotte Dobson, Penny Clark, Andrea Brewster and Lizzie Vickers again with a decision expected in the Spring.
Sadly that means disappointment for Truro’s Rosie Chapman who I suspect was always targeting the 2012 Olympics as her main goal.
All five girls are competing at Weymouth this weekend and so Rosie will have an opportunity to outperform the 2008 chosen ones.
Equally Restronguet’s Ed Powys/ Will Morgan are competing against Stevie Morrison/Ben Rhodes in the 49’er Class and it a wonderful opportunity for the young pair to test themselves against the current World Champions and World No 1 ranked crew.
Few other sports give you the chance to test yourself against the best.
Similarly Mounts Bay sailor George Cousins is up against Paul Goodison in the Laser fleet and Mylor’s Tom Phipps and Marcus Lynch are competing in the Tornado fleet against Leigh McMillan/Will Howden.
Andy Walsh/Ed Barney are also competing in the Tornado fleet and it must be with some degree of bitterness as they realize the Olympic dream for them in 2008 is now at an end.
The test will be whether they remain together and have a crack at selection for 2012 or they abandon the dream altogether. Whatever they decide I do hope they have a great regatta this weekend and of course embarrass McMillan/Howden.
Full report next week.
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