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Hi All,
The YNZ Match Racing Squad have recently been clocking up some training hours here in New Zealand.
We thought we'd let you know what we have been doing with our time.......
Kawau Island Camp - early December
The squad was accompanied by Rod Davis, Laurie Jury and Graeme Sutherland for 3 days with the aim to do lots of theory and drills. The weather was miserable but we braved the conditions and did plenty of yachting.
It was a successful camp and time well spent...... lots was learnt.
Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron LION FOUNDATION Youth Training Programme
Over the last few months we have been fortunate to be able to train with Guy Pilkington and his Youth Training Programme during the weekends on Auckland Harbour. We appreciate the oopportunity to race and umpire and this has been of great assistance to our training.
Wellington - mid December
We were greeted to nothing but Wellington weather......plenty of breeze!
The Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club hosted the weekend and we appreciate the time and effort of the local teams coming out to race and all the volunteers who were part of the race committee and umpire team.
The main focus for this weekend was "racing."
All teams trained on Saturday morning and the regatta commenced Saturday afternoon and rolled into semis and finals on Sunday.
Racing was tough as the conditions were shifty and the boats were set up a little different to what we were use to in Auckland.
After lots of tight racing, flags and determination to keep racing in the breezy conditions, we met fellow squad team (Stephanie Hazard, Susannah Pyatt and Miranda Powrie) in the finals. We won the finals 2-0
The new Olympic E6's
As you may be aware the RNZYS E6's have been sold to a club offshore and are due to depart early next year.
The squad has been busy planning and making arrangements to fund and purchase two new Olympic E6's.
As with anything of this size, lots of time has been dedicated and we hope to report some good news soon.
Miami OCR
During the last month or so, the coaching team have been assessing each of the squad teams to select one team to compete at Miami OCR - one of the seven ISAF World Cup Events. Today we received the great news that we will be heading over to Miami in mid January. There is an outstanding line up with 24 teams representing 17 countries. We are extremely excited and will be training hard in the remaining 4 weeks.
Northland Sports Awards
The Northland Sports Awards were held in Whangarei early in December and was a great evening.
Silver Sails Racing won Northland Team of the Year. Samantha hails from Kerikeri High School, Jenna from Kamo High School and Raynor Smeal from Whangarei Girls High School. Squad mate, Stephanie Hazard (ex Mahurangi College) was crowned Northland Female Sailor of the Year.
2010
Funding is tight and we now are looking into sponsorship. We plan to have a full international campaign and attend many of the ISAF World Cup events during 2010. The squad has been a strong tool during 2009 and we continue to support and maximise the outcomes of this special network.
There are so many individuals worthy of recognition who assist with many different aspects of our training, we thank each and every one of you, you have been so helpful. We note the support and assistance of Yachting New Zealand, Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron and SPARC.
Merry Christmas, and we intend to share lots of great stories in the new year.
Happy and safe holidays,
Silver Sails Racing
Samantha Osborne, Jenna Hansen and Raynor Smeal
2010 Rolex Miami OCR - Women's Match Racing Results
January 30, 2010 - Final Day at Miami OCR!
January 28, 2010 - Day 4...INTENSE!
January 27, 2010 - Day 3
January 26, 2010 - Day 2...We Have News!
January 25, 2010 - Day 1...No Racing
January 24, 2010 - The Day Before the Regatta
January 23, 2010 - Kiaora from Miami
January 30, 2010
Final Day at Miami OCR!
Hello to all our supporters,
Today was the end of the Miami OCR.
We lost our quarter final against Souter (AUS), 3-1.
We then lost our 5-6th place race off to Whitty (AUS) - which was sudden death - 1 race only.
So we sailed off for 7th and 8th against Melgaard (DEN). We finally got a race win and took 7th place.
All in all this has been a fantastic regatta for the team.
The conditions have been ideal and the racing has been of a high standard and very close.
This is a great beginning on the World Cup circuit for Silver Sails Racing and we look forward to racing against these girls during the year.
We head back to NZ tomorrow and will share our learning and experiences with the YNZ Match Racing Squad.
The plan is to continue the training out at the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron.
Next on the calendar is the NZ Women's Match Racing Nationals in Auckland in early March. We also look forward to racing at Harken International over in Sydney where we will be able to line up against the Aussies.
Many thanks to Yachting New Zealand, Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, SPARC and SLAM.
See you all in New Zealand soon.
Silver Sails Racing
(Samantha Osborne, Jenna Hansen & Raynor Smeal)
January 28, 2010
Day 4 - INTENSE!
Hi to all,
Today we finished off the gold fleet round robin. It was awesome to race these top girls......
We were the only team in the pool without some sort of title (an Olympic medal, world champion etc) however,
this made the racing even more exciting for us.
We had a great race against Claire Leroy (World #1), the game was tight right the way round the track, we were a penalty up, but Claire was able to clear it to take the race by a whisker. Our race with Nicki Souter (AUS) was also a fight to the end, however
we managed to seal the deal and get the win.
So we ended up seeded 6th going into the quarter finals where we met our fellow Aussie friend Nicki Souter (AUS).
It is a best of 5 series and we have had two races and are currently sitting with one win each.
The racing continues tomorrow and the semi finals are also planned for the afternoon.
We are loving this experience, being a part of the World Cup, racing in the Olympic E6m boats and fighting it out against some highly credible teams. Looking forward to getting back out on the water tomorrow!
Thank you to Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, Yachting New Zealand, SPARC and SLAM.
Cheers,
Silver Sails Racing
(Samantha Osborne, Jenna Hansen & Raynor Smeal)
Hi everyone.
Not such a good day for the team today. Breeze was a bit up and down, 5-10 knots, nothing to strenuous.
We had three races of the "gold fleet" round robin to determine our seeding for the quarter finals.
Unfortunately we lost all three races.
What happend? Well we raced well but not good enough. Looking for a better day tomorrow.
We finish the gold fleet round robin tomorrow morning (2 races) and the schedule is to start the quarter finals in the afternoon.
Off to bed for a good sleep and ready for a big day tomorrow!
We appreciate the support from Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, Yachting New Zealand, SPARC and SLAM.
Cheers,
Silver Sails Racing
(Samantha Osborne, Jenna Hansen & Raynor Smeal)
Hello from Miami,
This morning we were greeted to cooler temperatures and a bit of breeze.
The day cleared up and we had 7-15 knots with lots of chop out in the bay.
Pool C (us) raced all morning and into the early afternoon to finish the round robin.
We had an awesome start, with three clean wins.
Then came the race with Archer (GBR), where we started over and slow and we could just never catch up.
Next was Souter (AUS), it was a close tight race, we both had our opportunities and she took hers to win the race.
In Silver Sails Racing style, the team fought hard, and finished off with two wins. So we ended up with 5 wins, 2 losses and 2nd in the round robin.
This result guarantees us a place in the quarter finals (top 8) on Friday.
Pool B also finished their round robin today with Lucy McGregor (GBR) and Sally Barkow (USA) qualifying for the quarters also.
The highlight of the day was literally making it through....... we are stoked and looking forward to the next round.
In the mean time, Pool A will finish up tomorrow along with the repecharge for the final 2 places for the quarter finals.
Then the top 6 (top 2 from each pool) will have a round robin which will determine our seeds for the quarters.
We are really looking forward to racing these girls - at this stage we have three races scheduled for tomorrow.
An update with the coach boat situation, all is fine, Rod has been out on the water. We appreciate his support and assistance.....it has been oh so helpful.
In other news, we went for an outing to the light house and a swim at the beach.
It was nice to just chill and switch off for a few hours.
We will sleep well tonight and will start clean again tomorrow.
We appreciate the support from Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, Yachting New Zealand, SPARC and SLAM.
Thank you for the emails, texts and support.......
Silver Sails Racing
(Samantha Osborne, Jenna Hansen & Raynor Smeal)
January 25, 2010
Day 1...No Racing
Hello everyone,
We had 4 races scheduled for today, however due to an afternoon storm, racing for pool c was postponed.
Pool A had 3 races and Pool B had 4 races.
We went out to watch the racing in Pool B with the american coach.....
The plan for tomorrow is to get all of pool c's round robin complete - a total of seven races.
For a live update of results, please refer to the regatta website -> http://rmocr.ussailing.org/
Our team website is -> www.silversailsracing.com
Cheers,
Silver Sails Racing
(Samantha Osborne, Jenna Hansen & Raynor Smeal)
Hello to all,
WOW; we are here, in Miami and ready for racing......
Registration, weigh in and all the admin was pretty smooth and was over and done with early this morning.
This afternoon we were treated to some Miami breeze, a solid 20 knots.
We refined the boat handling and finished the day with a line up with the Russians.
Lessons from the last 4 days of training have been learnt and stored for racing which commences tomorrow.
We've had a bit of drama, our coach boat sprung a leak and we are down a boat for Rod.
However, Rod enlightened us with his unusal but beneficial skills of walking on water.
That aside, the Aussies helped us out and let us use their boat during training today...... (we were in different sessions)... thanks mate!
We've got a few plans of attack for tomorrow, so all will be fine. However whether Rod will be hanging out in the elements or enjoying some marine luxury will all be determined tomorrow.
The official format of the regatta is:
24 teams are being split into 3 pools of 8 sailors. (allocation dependent on ISAF MR ranking)
Each pool will have a round robin. (total of 7 races)
The top 2 from each pool advance to gold fleet
3rd and 4th go to the repe-charge (top two go through to gold fleet)
4th – 8th go to silver fleet.
Once the gold fleet has been determined quarters/semis and then finals will continue.
We are in Pool C and have 4 races scheduled for Monday (NZ time = tues)
Thank you to everyone that has helped us prepare for Miami:
our fellow NZ Squad members, our coaches Rod, Graeme & Laurie, RNZYS Lion Foundation Youth Training Programme and all the guys that given up their time to come racing against us during our build up in NZ.
Thank you to RNZYS, Yachting NZ and SPARC for helping us get here and assisting us whilst in Miami! We appreciate all of your support, cheers!
The sailors are ready, the fridge is full and bring on tomorrow!
Silver Sails Racing
(Samantha Osborne, Jenna Hansen & Raynor Smeal)
January 23, 2010
Kiaora from Miami!
Hello again to you all,
We are in MIAMI, fit and healthy!
We’ve been here for a week of training and racing starts Monday (Tuesday NZ time).
This week we will be representing the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron and the YNZ Women's Match Racing Squad.
Miami is the host of the first 2010 World Cup event, the “Miami Olympic Class Regatta.”
We will be racing in the new Elliott 6m yachts, which were the same boats we raced in Sheboygan and won the Buddy Melges Regatta late last year.
Here is how the week has unfolded....
Our journey to Miami was relatively long; however we were grateful to have an overnight stay with Sam’s dad in Los Angeles. We continued our international regatta ritual by dining at the Buddha’s Belly (fresh pan Asian) followed by squad ritual of frozen yoghurt. Many thanks to Richard and Monica for all the effort and making our stay so comfortable and enjoyable!
After what seemed like hours of flying, we landed in Miami in the late evening where the minor misadventures begun. Firstly Jenna and Raynor’s bags didn’t make it from LA, but Sam’s did…bugger? Secondly our hire car was going to cost a lot more with Jenna or Sam driving it (under 25), so we had to muck around changing it to Raynor’s name (just a little bit older than 25). After quite a few calls back to NZ we had a car..... so the outcome was positive. By the time we had possession of some wheels, Jenna and Raynor’s bags had arrived in LA on the following flight, so we were able to pick them up and continue on our way some 3 hours later.
Our journey to our house in Key Biscayne wasn’t as eventful as Raynor had her bearings from her last 4 trips...... you could just about call her a local!
For those who don’t know Miami – other than from CSI – it’s just how it’s like in the movies.....but real! We are staying in Key Biscayne, which is a small island just off the city. It is an exclusive place to live and is covered in lovely BIG mansions and beach condos (the American way for saying apartments). Our place is one of the 7 original style cottages left on the Island. It is quite out of place, but suits us well. It has all the essentials, plenty of space and smells pretty homely.
We are enjoying running around the island and goggling at the flash mansions around the next corner, while we dodge the casual vehicles that scoot on by (the Hummers, Bentleys, Porsche, 4 wheel drives etc).
It is quite a self sufficient community, with local supermarket, community gym, pharmacies, shops all just a 5-10min walk from our house.
We have 4 scheduled days of training in the E6 to familiarise ourselves with the boats and the race area. The first 2 days of training were in light air, 0-7 knots, with breeze filling in during the afternoon. These conditions were similar to the conditions we had sailed the boats in already in Sheboygan, so it was good to practice again and brush up on a few tricks. We also got the chance to line up against some other teams, did some pre-starts with the Finnish Team and also had some races against the American and English teams.
Today we teamed up with the Aussies and Germans and utilized our time by doing some more racing, mainly focusing on the pre-starts. The breeze was shifty and we finally got three of us hiking out on the rail!
We have had 2 days off the water this week, when the event management of the Elliott 6m tuned the boats for racing. So we collected our coach from the airport, Rod Davis and did some light shopping. We treated ourselves to Dolphin Mall, a huge complex with all our favourite stores! We’ve also been down to “South Beach”.... however no clubbing was involved and browsed the shops in Coconut Grove.
On the social side of things, we are all enjoying meeting up with girls we have raced against in the past, between Sam and Jenna’s match racing acquaintances and Raynor’s yngling ones, we seem to know a few girls in the fleet. We’ve started talking about training with other countries when our squad comes to Europe this year. All is looking in good shape.
We had dinner with Greg and Susan Han. A couple which Raynor stayed with last time she was in Miami. They helped us on our search for accommodation here in Key Biscayne. It was great to catch up and for Jenna and Sam to meet them. Thank you very much for your kindness and help!
We also shared a meal with Liz Baylis, a special woman who devotes her life to ensuring the Olympic and Open Match racing International Circuit runs smooth.
An awesome night of stories.......
So where to from here?
Tomorrow is registration, final practice and opening ceremony and we’ll start the daily emails......
Thank you to Yachting NZ, Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron and SPARC for helping us get here and assisting us whilst in Miami! Thank you to everyone for all of your support, it is much appreciated!
Fingers crossed for some solid breeze tomorrow.
Ciao, we’ll be in touch soon!
Silver Sails Racing
Samantha Osborne, Jenna Hansen and Raynor Smeal