Broken tiller brings Brendan Casey’s day to an early end at Finn Gold Cup
Released: Friday, May 18, 2012
Brendan Casey has narrowly missed out on a place in the medal race at the 2012 Finn Gold Cup following a mixed day on the water in Falmouth, England.
After light winds ruined any chance of racing on Wednesday three races were held in tough conditions on Thursday, with 25 knots of breeze and two to three metre seas making it almost survival conditions.
Casey went into the day 14th overall knowing that he would need three good races to crack the top 10 and secure himself a position in the medal race.
The Gold Coast sailor started his day heading in the right direction with an eighth in race one.
As the breeze and sea continued to build Casey crossed the line fourth in race two, moving him into ninth overall with just one race remaining.
Unfortunately things didn’t go to plan in race three and just after the start Casey’s tiller broke, forcing him to retire from the race, dropping to 13th overall.
The tiller broke during a tack, with the boom ripping the tiller straight off the rudder and putting him out of the race straight away.
One race remains on Friday to finish off the 2012 Finn Gold Cup.
Fellow Australian Oliver Tweddell is 53rd overall after sitting out the day’s three races due to an injury sustained on Wednesday.
Dirk Seret is 71st and Rob McMillan is 78th.
Testing conditions for day three of Finn Gold Cup
Released: Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Cold conditions and strong winds have dominated day three of the 2012 Finn Gold Cup in Falmouth, England.
A further two races were completed with Brendan Casey the highest ranked Australian sailor in 14th overall.
Casey had a mixed day with a pair of 18th place finishes dropping him slightly down the leader board.
With four races left before the final medal race Casey is just 11 points outside the all-important top 10.
“Today was a very challenging day on the water with 15 to 20 knot winds blowing directly offshore,” said Casey. “The winds were very unpredictable which made racing challenging.
“To be honest I was disappointed with my performance in the two races today but am looking forward to getting back out tomorrow for races seven and eight of the Finn Gold Cup,” he said.
Fellow Australian Oliver Tweddell had a tough day on the water with gear breakages and an injury keeping him to a 64th and a 62nd from the Tuesday’s two races.
“Unfortunately I had a disappointing day on the water today,” said Tweddell. “I had some kit failure in race one and then picked up an injury in race two, which meant I was very deep in both races.
“I’m working on recovery now so fingers crossed the injury won't keep me from completing the rest of the Gold Cup,” he said.
Rob McMillan is currently 68th after staying on shore on day three, with Dirk Seret 79th.
Brendan Casey moves up the leader board on day two of Finn Gold Cup
Australian sailor Brendan Casey has worked his way up the leader board on the second day of racing at the 2012 Finn Gold Cup in Falmouth, England.
Casey started the day 17th overall in the 94 boat fleet, with a seventh and a ninth from Monday’s races moving him up to 10th overall.
“I’m feeling pretty good today after two consistent top 10 finishes,” said Casey. “The day could have been better as I didn’t take advantage of a wind shift that would have moved me further up in race one but I learnt from that in the second race.
“We’ve got a really high level of competition here and today was dominated by changing weather conditions,” he said. “I picked it right in the second race after coming into the middle of the course too early in race one.
“Overall I’m happy with how the day went, things are going in the right direction and I’m continuing to improve with each day,” said Casey.
Fellow Australian Oliver Tweddell ended the day 23rd overall following 23rd and 24th place finishes in the two races.
“I had a fun day on the water today, with a nice bit of breeze but very cold conditions,” said Tweddell. “I sailed quite consistently today in such tricky conditions and am learning a lot off the top guys and from coach John.
“I’m looking forward to getting back out there tomorrow and racing in a lot more breeze,” he said.
Rob McMillan is currently 55th and Dirt Seret is 82nd.
Another two races are scheduled for Tuesday with the 2012 Finn Gold Cup scheduled to finish on Friday.
Tricky conditions have challenged sailors at the 2012 Finn Gold Cup in Falmouth, England, with a number picking up high scores on the opening day of racing.
A lack of breeze kept the 95 sailors on shore on Sunday morning with two races eventually completed in a shifty offshore breeze.
The shifty conditions resulted in a number of high scores amongst the leading crews with British pair Ed Wright and Ben Ainslie currently first and second respectively.
Casey, from the Gold Coast, recently won the ISAF Sailing World Cup round in Hyeres, France, a performance that will see him nominated to represent Australia at the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Racing continues in Falmouth on Monday with the Finn Gold Cup to be presented on Friday 18 May.
