Yachting: Christchurch brothers keen to regain their 470 lead

By JULIE ASH


Last month yachting was probably the last thing on Stephen Keen's mind as he lay in a hospital bed recovering from appendicitis.

Now it is all he can think about as he and his younger brother Phillip strive for a spot in the Olympics.

The Christchurch brothers are one of seven crews vying for the men's 470 spot in Yachting New Zealand's Olympic trials off Torbay.

After seven of 11 races they trail Andrew Brown and Jamie Hunt by just one point, with Simon Cooke and Andrew Gair a further three points back in third.

The Keens were leading the class going into yesterday's racing but ended the day with a third and a second which saw them slip to second.

They have been bridesmaids to former world champions Cooke and Peter Nicholas in recent years, but the class was opened up when Cooke and Nicholas split just after Christmas. Cooke has teamed up with Gair and Nicholas with Matt Davies.

"Last year we were basically neck-and-neck with Simon and Pete for our nationals and then Olympicsail. With them deciding to part ways before the regatta it really just meant another boat on the water," Stephen Keen said.

"To be honest we are just staying out of it, we are not going to get drawn into anything. We just do our thing."

The Keens say they are happy with their form in the regatta which they partially attribute to the six months or so they spent racing and training in Europe late last year.

And as for sailing together?

"There is something about siblings if they can get it together they can get it going really, really well," Stephen said.

"We used to bicker but we don't so much any more. He is bigger than me now so I have to watch out."

In the hotly contested Laser class, Rod Dawson picked up two wins yesterday to keep himself in contention.

Up-and-comer Michael Bullot was second in the first race and Nik Burfoot third and Andrew Murdoch claimed second ahead of Daniel Slater in the second race.

Murdoch leads the class with 13 points. Hamish Pepper is still in the hunt with 14 and Dawson 16.

Sarah Macky continued her unblemished run in the Europe class with another comfortable win. The race is really on for second, with little separating Sara Winther (14 points), Miranda Powrie (18) and Kate O'Brien (19).

James Well maintained his place at the top of the men's mistral class, winning yesterday's race ahead of David Robertson and Mathew McCormick. Shelley Hesson and Linda Dickson still lead Jan Shearer and Melinda Henshaw in the women's 470 class.

New Zealand has qualified in seven of a possible 11 Olympic classes.

Only Barbara Kendall has an individual Olympic nomination after finishing within the top five at the 2003 world championships.

The trials will determine New Zealand's representatives in five classes.

The Finn representative will be decided after a series of overseas regattas.

The race committee is considering whether to resume racing on Thursday, a day earlier than scheduled, to avoid racing in the stronger winds forecast for the weekend.