Princess Sofia Regatta: Kiwi sailors battle for gold, silver in winner take all racing

Isaac McHardie and William McKenzie lead the 49er fleet heading into the medal race. Photo / Sailing Energy

It’s ‘winner takes all’ as Kiwi teammates battle it out for 49er gold at the Princess Sofia Regatta in Spain.

New Zealand’s top two ILCA 7 sailors will also be keeping a close eye on each other in the race for silver tomorrow.

Isaac McHardie and William McKenzie head into the finale of the year’s first top-level event for Olympic classes in Palma de Mallorca at the top of the 49er fleet, having displaced teammates Logan Dunning Beck and Oscar Gunn on the last day of finals racing.

McHardie and McKenzie were the only crew in the gold fleet of 25 to manage top-10 finishes in each of their three races overnight.

They lead Dunning Beck and Gunn by two, ahead of the double-points medal race featuring the top 10 crews in the fleet. Australian duo Tom Burton and Max Paul are in third, a further point back.

“It’s exciting with the top three all sitting on very similar points,” McHardie said.

“The winner of the race will most likely win the regatta, so it’ll be hammers down and all go for us.”

McHardie and McKenzie spent much of the summer working with Dunning Beck and Gunn on boat speed and sail testing. The team-first approach – introduced by Kiwi Finn sailors Josh Junior and Andy Maloney during previous Olympic cycles – seems to be paying off.

“It’s cool to have the Kiwi boats one-two. It’s something we’ve both been working hard toward – to get the Kiwis at the top of more fleets – and it’s great to see the results of that coming through now,” McHardie said.

Meanwhile, Tom Saunders admits there will be a bit of number crunching before – and plenty of scouring the fleet during – the ILCA 7 medal race.

With Britain’s Michael Beckett guaranteed gold after dominating the first five days, Saunders and compatriot George Gautrey line up with their sights set on silver.

Former world champion Saunders sits second overall on 58 points, three ahead of Cypriot Pavlos Kontides, 11 clear of Croatia’s Tonci Stipanovic and 12 ahead of Gautrey in fifth.

“The approach does change ever so slightly for the medal race. We’ll be working through the points to see where we’re at and who’s in contention but it’s all pretty close,” Saunders said.

“I’ll still be looking to win the race while also keeping an eye on Pavlos and where he is in relation to me. We also have Tonci, George and Elliot [Hanson, sixth] not too far behind either and they will be looking to win the race to get into medal contention. As long as I’m within reach of the others, it should keep me in good shape.”

Gautrey is looking forward to the pressure of an international medal race – somewhat unfamiliar territory for the 25-year-old.

“It’s all to play for tomorrow. It’s super tight between the top six,” Gautrey said.

“I haven’t done a whole lot of medal races, so it’s a pretty good chance to put the pressure on myself and see what can happen.”

Also in a good position to get on the podium is Veerle ten Have – she finished second in her two final races in the women’s iQFOIL (windfoiling) today and is hoping to go one better in a slightly different finals format to the other classes.

“I am second overall, which means I go straight into the semi-final and battle it out there to get a spot into the [three-board] final,” ten Have explained.

“It feels like a 50-50 [medal] chance and I’m just hoping for some good breeze. I am excited to race - it’s another chance to win.”

Josh Armit finished gold-fleet racing in the men’s iQFOIL in sixth place which means he will line up against six other riders in the quarterfinal.