Qingdao round two

We take a look at the form as the Paralmpic Games are set to begin

This weekend the Paralympic Games will get underway in Beijing. Included in the event are three Paralympic sailing classes including one entirely new boat, the Skud 18. The sailing regatta is due to get underway on Monday 8 September, following measurement over the weekend.

Sailing was first introduced to the Paralympic Games at Sydney in 2000. At the time only two classes were used, the Sonar and the 2.4mR and this set-up remained for the following Games in Athens. Recently the Skud 18 has been introduced as a new class while the Sonar and the 2.4mR remain in the Games.

Broadly speaking there is still little funding for Paralympic teams and few countries are able to offer their Paralympic athletes any thing like the funding available to Olympians. As such many of those sailing at the Paralympics will lead a much less professional life than their Olympic peers – and as a result is much more in the orginal Cornithian spirit of the Olympic movement.

As with the Olympic sailing competition last month the Paralympic sailing will take place in Qingdao, several hundred miles from Beijing. As we have covered extensively, Qingdao is often a very light wind venue and proved as much during the Olympic competition (with a few strong blustery days randomly thrown in for good measure). However, even though it is only a month later than the Olympics the average wind speed is much better during September in Fushan Bay and as such competitors are expecting significantly better conditions than those in the Olympics! The tide is also expected to be a little slacker which, combined with the better wind should make for much better racing for the Paralympians.

One of the main differences between Olympic competition and the Paralympics is while ISAF and the IOC actively discourage mixed competition at the Games it is something that is encouraged at Paralympic level. In part this is due to the smaller number of classes and competitors at the Paralympics and in part it is due to the aim of the Paralympics being much more about inclusion. As such all classes have both men and women sailing either together as a team of against one another.



Skud 18

The newest class at the Paralympics, the Skud 18 is the high performance boat of the event. The Skud 18, is a keelboat but one that is clearly heavily influenced by current skiff design and promises to sex up the sport on the Paralympic level in much the same way the 49er has for the Olympics.

Back in November 2005 the Skud 18 – Skiff Universal Design - was introduced as the new two person sailing keelboat. The design – originally the UD 18 - was intended to be a modern, exciting boat for disabled sailors. It was designed by Chris Mitchell, of Access Dinghy Sailing Systems in Melbourne, Australia. Shortly into the project Mitchell employed the services of Martin Billoch, a naval architect from Argentina along with Julian Bethwaite, the designer of the Olympic 49er and International 29er, in the development of the rig design and hull lines. The result was a Lead Assisted Skiff (LAS) which had chairs in the centre able to tilt to windward or leeward, a joystick control for steering and two rudders. In the rig it is easy to see the influence of Bethwaite as the Skud clearly shares much of its mast and sail set-up with the 29er, though with a larger spinnaker.

The class rules stipulate that one person in the boat is required to a category 1 – heavily disabled – and the second crew member can be much more able bodied. The class also stipulates one of the crew must be a female. This means although the boat is high performance it is able to show such a class can be sailed by a wide variety of sailors.

Contenders:

Nick Scandone and Maureen Tucker (USA):

There were two very strong teams in the US, which is something lacking in most other countries in the Skud 18 fleet. Scandone and Tucker convincingly won the US Paralympic Trials, securing victory with one race in hand over their nearest rivals, Scott Whitman and Julia Dorsett. The team has won events, such as the Miami OCR earlier this year and should be a strong pairing in Qingdao.

Niki Birrell and Alexandra Rickham (GBR):

A very new team, Birrell and Rickman have been sailing the Skud 18 together for only a short time. However, they have quickly gone to the top of the table in terms of results. Perhaps most importantly they finished at the front of the fleet at the IFDS Qingdao International Regatta – effectively the Pre-Paralympics - back in May. However, arguably their biggest rivals were not at the event as, Scandone and Tucker (USA) were not able to attend. Additionally, they have not exhibited great results from the outset, scoring a fifth at the Rolex Miami OCR, just beating the next placed Brit in sixth.

John McRoberts and Stacie Louttit (CAN):

McRoberts and Louttit are another team hailing from a country with a relatively strong Skud 18 fleet and have some decent results behind them. They were fourth at the recent IFDS Qingdao International Regatta and were third at the Rolex Miami OCR. A sixth at the 2007 IFDS World Championships may seem like a bad result but with only one of the three American teams in front of them able to attend the Paralympics it is actually relatively decent.



2.4mR:

The 2.4mR is in effect a very scaled down 12 meter keelboat. It is a single person class which was first designed and built in Stockholm in 1983. The sailor sits in the cockpit of the boat, with only their head and the tops of their shoulders showing and faces forward operating a series of controls within arms reach inside the boat.

Due to the helm sitting in the middle of the boat and not requiring a great deal of movement the class is perfectly suited to disabled sailing. In addition to this due to the short length of the boat and accessibility of the controls the class is easily adapted to a variety of different disabilities by setting up the systems differently. Finally with the helm sitting directly over the keel, unable to move their body weight significantly and with such a relatively slow boat a variety of weights are competitive on the class. This all means the single hander is often seen as a very technical class both in terms of on the water tactics and sail and hull development but also a great leveler for a variety of ages, weights and disabilities.

Although the class is not very quick it can be extremely exciting to sail. Sitting so close to the water makes the inevitable rolling downwind feel much more dramatic. Also in windy weather the boats are known to be a very wet ride as water regularly pours into the large cockpit area. Due to these factors the 2.4mR can be a very hairy ride when the wind is up and is not a boat for the faint hearted.

Contenders:

Damien Seguin (FRA) :

Seguin is the current Gold Medalist having won in the class in Athens 2004. The Frenchman also won the IFDS Disabled Sailing World Championships in 2007 and the Miami OCR this year. Clearly Seguin is the man to beat in the 2.4mR at the moment and looks set to take a medal this year in Qingdao, the only question really seems to be what colour will it be?

Helena Lucas (GBR):

Lucas is something of an on/off performer in the 2.4mR; however, she has always been up near the front since she joined the class. Clearly Lucas has the skills at the helm to pull off a win this year and also has a proven record in Qingdao. Back in 2006, Lucas was asked to helm Shirley Robertson’s Yngling at the Olympic Test Event. Although she had never sailed the boat before she managed an impressive second position at the event. In the 2.4 Lucas was fifth this year and was second at the 2006 IFDS World Championships. In addition Britain has a strong training pairing in Lucas and Megan Pascoe, meaning technical work and straight-line boat speed will be sorted before the event.

Paul Tingley (CAN):

Tingley was a Paralympic representative in 2004 and took home a bronze medal from the 2000 Paralympics in Sydney. Both of these events he sailed as part of the Candian Sonar team. This Olympic cycle represents Tingley’s first foray into single handed racing. Recently the Canadian has shown impressive form in the 2.4, coming fifth at the 2007 IFDS World Championships. Canada also has good strength in depth in the 2.4 class with Bruce Millar also being up in the top results.



Sonar:

The Sonar was designed in the early 90’s by prolific designer and Laser co-designer, Bruce Kirby. The boat has since become a very popular choice for disabled sailors due to its very user friendly layout. Until the introduction of the Skud 18, the three person Sonar was the only team boat in the Paralympics and the emphasis in the class is still very much on teamwork. Along with the 2.4mR the Sonar has been in the Paralympics from the very start of sailings involvement and as such has built up a strong following over the last three Olympic cycles.

Due to the boat boasting a traditional layout and a traditional three sail set-up, it often feels less like a boat for the disabled and more like a regular racing boat. This has its positives and negatives. While the teams race against able bodied crews regularly there can be some difficulties in adapting the boats to their disabled crews.

Contenders:

John Robertson, Stephen Thomas and Hannah Stodel (GBR):

A disappointing eighth position in Athens 2004 has seen this team come back into the Paralympic circuit determined to improve on their previous performance. This year the team won the IFDS Qingdao International Regatta, proving they have what it takes when it matters. However, they also have a number of other significant victories to their name. In 2006 Robertson became the first helm in history to take his crew to back to back IFDS World Championship wins. Disappointment also loomed large though as the team followed this up the next year with a seventh position in the USA. They still look set to be medal contenders but will they blow up under the big pressure of the Paralympic Games?

Dror Cohen, Benny Vexter and Arnon Efrati (ISR):

This team won the Gold Medal at the last Olympic Games in 2004 and have remained in or around the medals at major events ever since. In 2007 they were fourth at the IFDS World Championships and went one better earlier this year at the IFDS Qingdao International Regatta when they were third overall. Helmsman, Dror is an extremely driven character and this is clearly a team who will not relinquish their grip on the Paralympic Gold medal easily.

Jens Kroker, Siegmund Mainka and Tobias Schuetz (GER):

Back in 2000 Kroker won the Silver medal at the Paralympics in the Sonar class. This time around the German finds himself back in the Sonar, though with a different crew. Success has been up and down over the course of the last couple of years. Most recently the team won the Miami OCR by an impressive margin, only counting one result outside of the top three. They also came an impressive third at the 2007 IFDS World Championships. However, on the waters of Qingdao earlier this year the German team could only manage a very disappointing seventh position, not the dry run of the Paralympics they might have hoped for. Kroker obviously has the ability to get a Medal in China but do he and his new team has what it takes in the tricky conditions of the Yellow Sea?

2.4mR

Australia
Canada
Denmark
Finland
France
Germany
Great Britain
Greece
Hungary
Italy
Netherlands
Norway
PR China
Puerto Rico
Spain
USA

SKUD18

Australia
Canada
Great Britain
Ireland
Malaysia
Philippines
Portugal
PR China
Singapore
Sweden
USA

Sonar

Australia
Austria
Brazil
Canada
France
Germany
Great Britain
Greece
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Norway
PR China
USA