Sail Auckland - Battle of the sexes as finish draws near

1:17 PM Sat 7 Feb 2009 GMT

'Olympian Jo Aleh and her crew of Olivia Powrie (in the foreground) move to second place overall in the 470 class. Sail Auckland' Terry Fong Click Here to view large photo

Less than a nautical mile from the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series Racecourse, some of the best sailors in the country battled it out for top honours in the third and penultimate day of racing in Singapore Airlines Sail Auckland.

With just one race remaining to complete the series for the 29er class, the two Dunedin combinations are now locked together in first place at the end of day three. The all female crew of Chelsea Whitburn and Gabrielle Cross started the day well with two firsts in the lighter airs, versus the male crew of Dan Meehan and Deryck Edie who started with a fifth, but prefer heavier winds and won the final race, which took place in a building breeze.

Young Dunedin girls Chelsea Whitburn and her crew of Gabrielle Cross take the lead over the lads in the 29er class. Sail Auckland - Terry Fong

A win looks almost certain for Logan Dunning-Beck and Ben Goodwin, who have stretched their lead in the 420 division. The all female crew of Alexandra Maloney & Bianca Barbarich-Bacher are in second, ahead of Luke Stevenson & Sam Bullock.

Geoffrey Woolley and Mark Overington extended their lead over the 470 fleet, but the big movers are Olympic Repesentative Jo Aleh and Olivia Powrie, who after a fantastic day on the water with two seconds and a first in the final race, are now tied in second place with Paul Snow-Hanson and Jason Saunders. The 470 class have two more races to complete tomorrow and with just four points between second and fourth place, will be closely watched.

Olympic Representative Andrew Murdoch continues his form in the Laser Class but with a mixed day on the water with a ninth and tenth place overall in the tough shifty conditions.

In the Laser Radial fleet, top Malaysian International Mohd Romzi Mohamad holds onto his lead, but his team mate Harithammy Nassution is forced all the way down to into fifth position to make room for Josh Porebski and Nichola Croft, youth sailors who sailed impressively on day three, and who are closely followed by Belgium International Carolijn Brouwer.

Malaysian International, Mohd Romzi leads round the top mark and keeps his overall lead in the Laser Radial fleet. Sail Auckland - Terry Fong Click Here to view large photo

No changes in the Starling fleet with Chris Steele, a former Optimist World Champion, still leading overall with a total of eight wins and one second, which is almost certain to become his drop race. Still in second overall is Scott Barnes from the Murrays Bay Sailing Club and Grant Hamilton from the Sandspit Yacht Club retains his fourth position. The Starling class just have one final race to complete tomorrow.

Michael Cate representing the Onerahi Yacht Club moved into the lead of the Splash class, after coming first in the final two races today, bumping Noumea International Etienne Le Pen into second overall. James Little holds his third place spot and first female Laura Hemingway retains fourth place overall. Again the Splash class have just one final race to complete tomorrow.

No changes in the RS:X mens division as Olympic Gold Medalist Tom Ashley, and fellow New Zealanders JP Tobin and Antionio Cozzolino hold the top three positions.

Noumea International Thomas Goyard continues his already impressive score and is a clear leader in the RS:X youth division.

The gap tightens between the top three females in the RS:X board class. Kiwi Kate Ellingham leads with Finnish sailor Tuuli Petaja the big mover of the day taking second overall infront of Canadian Nikola Girke.

The annual ISAF Grade One event is held over four racedays and concludes tomorrow (Sunday). The event has attracted 11 divisions in seven different Olympic and dinghy classes.

Racing is scheduled to begin tomorrow (Sunday) at 10am.

Full results for all divisions are online at www.sailauckland.org.nz

Olympian Andrew Murdoch leads (just) around the top mark, but holds his impressive lead over the Laser full rig fleet. Sail Auckland - Terry Fong Click Here to view large photo

by Sara Roberts

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