Mathew Belcher happy with first day proceedings in 2012 Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta
First day proceedings of the 2012 Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta did not go according to the hopes of Australian 470 Men’s pair, Mathew Belcher and Malcolm Page but still they managed to make it on top of the fleet standings at the conclusion of the day with
four points.
The winds over the race course of the Portland Harbour and Weymouth Bay were lighter than expected which means that the fleet was not able to start the racing on time and they had to stay ashore and wait for the breeze to allow them to race.
The breeze filled in a bit late and the 470 Men fleet began the races. The first two races went in favour of Belcher and Page as expected because after winning the 2012 Delta Lloyd Regatta title, the Australian team is looking very confident and they proved
their class in the 2012 Skandia Sail for Regatta too.
A second finish in the second race brought them on top of the 470 fleet standings followed by Germany’s Jasper Wagner and Dustin Baldewein on second podium place with 12 points. Belcher is quite happy with the way they raced on the first day.
Speaking to the media, Belcher said, “Good to be out on the water in Weymouth, despite the tricky conditions we were happy with the results. We know that expectations are high, but we have plenty of experience behind us now in winning the last three worlds.”
He added, “Currently we are working really hard and focusing on ourselves, we aren’t too worried about the others; however we do keep an eye on what is happening.”
Overall standings at the conclusion of Day 1:
1. AUS 11 Mathew BELCHER AUSMB11 Malcolm PAGE AUSMP3 1, 1, 2 = 4 Points
2. GER 55 Jasper WAGNER GERJW6 Dustin BALDEWEIN GERBB9 3, 4, 5 = 12 Points
3. USA 1713 Stuart MCNAY USASM24 Graham BIEHL USAGB6 8, 1, 4 = 13 Points
4. NZL 212 Paul SNOW-HANSEN NZLPS3 Jason SAUNDERS NZLJS2 9, 4, 1 = 14 Points
5. CRO 83 Sime FANTELA CROSF1 Igor MARENIC CROIM1 3, 8, 3 = 14 Points
6. SWE 349 Anton DAHLBERG SWEAD5 Sebastian OSTLING SWESO2 6, 10, 6 = 22 Points
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