Krystal Weir

Europe Tour Update 2010

// July 27th, 2010 // No Comments » // News

I am now back in Australia after three months in Europe. Overall it was a pretty successful tour, with a 4^th in Scheveningen Week, 5^th Holland Regatta, 6^th Kiel Regatta.

My last event was the World Championships in Largs, Scotland where I finished in the back of the Gold fleet. It was a tough event and probably one of those regattas you look back on and learn a lot from. The event was running over 6 days but we only got proper racing in on the first 3 days. This teaches you how important the first few races of a regatta can be.

Worlds 2010
Largs, Scotland was a very frontal venue that either had loads of wind or none at all. Race One I retired from the race after I had an unfortunate incident with a Swedish girl and race two I was coming 6^th and lost 6 boats on the beat to the finish…tough start.

Day two proved to be better where I posted an 8^th in very tricky light air conditions, race two was a 25^th after coming back from a 45^th top mark rounding.

Day Three I was coming 6^th and heading out to the left hand side where a big persistent right hander put me back into 28^th position…another tough break.

Day Four “Gold Fleet Day” I started badly and found myself rounding well back in the fleet, the wind switched 180* with a big cloud overcoming the course. I just could find the right path back through the fleet and finished 55^th. This last result had to count which put me right down the leader board.

I am now reviewing my program before I head back to the UK for the “Sail For Gold Regatta” which is in the Olympic Venue for 2012. It will be a great opportunity to find out as much info as possible.

Thankyou to Renske DeHass, Kampen Family, Evans Family at http://www.ayrshirecountryholiday.co.uk/, AIS crew in Varese Italy, Julian & Hamilton, YA and Fletch my coach for all your support this trip.

Looking forward to fighting my way back to the top.

Cheers
Krystal

Day Two Laser Radial Worlds Largs, Scotland

// July 11th, 2010 // No Comments » // News

Today was a day for keeping your eyes out of the boat to see whats coming.

I am reasonably happy with today’s progress as it was very tricky. The wind was shifting anyway between 20-30degree, up & down pressure in pockets all over the course around 5-10knots. I was in the first yellow fleet of the day which was great as I was able to get a few more practice starts in as the race committee were starting then relaying the course. The breeze was funneling off the land through the hills and we also had a few rain clouds just to keep us on our toes.

In the first race I was right up there playing with 3rd or 4th at times, the result didn’t really reflect how i was sailing as I ended up on the wrong side of a shift and finished 8th in the race. In race two, I headed out to the right hand side of the course only to find a massive left shift with pressure. I tacked over and the whole entire fleet rounded ahead of me, this put me in 45th. After a second beat recovery I finished around 26th so not a bad come back.

Tomorrow is a new day, cant wait to get out there and try a few new ideas on the race course.

Results and updates http://www.sailracer.co.uk/laserworlds/  & www.australiansailingteam.com.au/

Happy Hiking
Krystal

Krystal Weir prepares for her return to top level Laser Radial competition

// July 8th, 2010 // No Comments » // Regattas

Weir had two years away from the class as she represented Australia in the Yngling class at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and then tried her hand in the RS:X class throughout 2009 and has so far had a strong return to the Laser Radial class.

In her return to the Laser Radial in Holland in May Weir finished fifth in a highly competitive fleet and backed the result up with a sixth place finish in Kiel, Germany in June.

“My preparations have been going well, my coach Mike Fletcher and I have just been fine tuning what we have been working on over the past couple of months,” said Weir. “We are just keeping it simple and ticking all the boxes.”

“I’m happy with how the 2010 season has been going so far,” she said. “I haven’t been back in the class for very long so it was just a matter of finding my feet again which I believe I’ve done.”

“The two recent regattas in Holland and Germany both had a mixture of conditions which helped highlight the areas to move forward with in preparation for London,” said Weir.
Weir is looking forward to racing beginning in Scotland to see how far she’s progressed in the last few months when compared to the top Laser Radial sailors in the world.

“My last Laser Radial World Championship was in 2007 in Portugal so yes it’s been a while,” said Weir. “I’m definitely looking forward to competing at such a high level again and the time off has definitely helped fuel the fire for the next week of racing.”

“The Worlds in Scotland is ideal preparation for London and a great dress rehearsal for getting all the processes in place, my plan is to avoid expectation and to just let the results happen,” she said.

Weir will be joined in the 118 boat fleet by three other Australian’s with Ashley Stoddart, Laura Baldwin and Megan de Lange all making the journey to Scotland with racing taking place from July 9 to 14.

Craig Heydon, Wednesday, 7 July 2010