iodai.com Two medals in bronze in Holland ! Update from Thomas Chaix

Two medals in bronze!

final day racing into the finals... Patrick was entering Gold in 6th joined by Sean and Sophie a little further down the fleet. Tadgh and Dara entered silver whilst the rest of the Irish contingent was on course for bronze fleet glory.
The breeze steadily picked up from 7-8 kts to 12-14 kts throughout the day.

In the gold, Patrick struggled off the startline in both races and despite a great fighting spirit could "only" pick up 40 places in each race. Sophie Browne was off a fine first race leading the Irish into 18th before making a good few mistakes pushing her down the fleet (in the gold, mistakes are paid dearly!). Sean Donnelly comfirmed his return in form by scoring a 19th and a 4th. Overall, Paddy took eventually 17th ahead of Sean in 34th and Sophie in 52nd.

In the silver Tadgh and Dara had a tough time and both pushed their luck too far under black flag finishing their event with a BFD.

with 16 sailors in Bronze, we were hoping to have a go at winning it and Craig, Jack Lee and jack Collins were the best placed entering the final day in the top 10... It was however from further back that the fight for a medal came from. Conor Totterdell had a solid day and a 4th and a 5th allowed him to climb right up to 3rd collecting a prize. Amy Lambert finished her event with a brilliant start rewarded by a 3rd on the final race. She managed then to climb from 24th right up to second collecting a prize as well. Andrew levie's consistency on the final day earned him 9th overall. Other good individual races included a 7th for Louise Magowan, and 8th for Craig and a 9th for Scott Levie.

17th, Patrick Crosbie
34th, Sean Donnelly
52nd, Sophie Browne
142nd, tadgh Donnelly
144th, Dara O Shea
148th, Amy Lambert
149th, conor Totterdell
155th, Andrew Levie
163rd, Jack Lee
167th, Scott Levie
168th, Caig Campbell
176th, Jack Collins
183rd, Aisling Keller
184th, Sorcha Ni Shuilleabhain
185th, Cliodhna Ni Shuilleabhain
189th, Peter Moore
192nd, Louise Magowan
193rd, Aaron O Reilly
201st, Donal Collins
205th, Sarah Kelly
218th, Cillian Joyce

Whats happening in Holland?

Racing has now started and we are half way through the championship after 2 days racing in challenging conditions ( for the legs yesterday and for the brains today!)

226 sailors from Ireland, Sweden, Great Britain, France, Belgium, Nederland, the USA, Norway and Germany are entered. until tomorrow we are in flights (3 starts with 75 sailors each) until split into GOLD, SILVER and BRONZE.

What a day! started early (very early) with a flat calm lake. after a relatively short wait, the fleet launched in order to finish race 4 (group 2 and 3). The Irish were surely still asleep as none popped at the front of any of the two races... The wind then shifted 90 degrees and started to slowly pick up to a lovely 8-10 kts for race 5. Sean Donnelly finally delivered a race in relation to his talent crossing the finish line in 3rd. Patrick Crosbie had a poor first beat but kept the fight on to climb to 13th allowing him to discard his 28th collected on the first day, closely followed by Sophie Browne in 16th. The wind kept picking for race 6 and Patrick had a solid initial beat taking an early lead. He had however to give it up to a young German sailor displaying amazing downwind speed. The mano a mano that followed went to the German sailor leaving Paddy to take 2nd once more. Sean Donnelly had a solid race taking 11th on the line. Aisling Keller started the race on fire looking good for a top 15 before dropping a little taking eventually a 25th.... and it was not finished as despite the cold 15-18 kts breeze, the OOD went for one more. Patrick was once more off a fine start fighting within the top 10 even looking good for a third before the final beat. He however missed a few shifts towards the end of the race and settled for 5th. He was followed by Sophie in 20th and Sean in 21st.

So 3 races validated. Race 4 underway with one group finished. Patrick leading the Irish in 19th (with the 3 races). Tomorrow is the final day for the qualifying series before the split into gold, silver and bronze.

Quote of the day : "I cant wait for my Spare Ribs!" Craig on the final run of the 4th race.

And by 7pm all were finally back ashore, Exausted but proud to have survived the 9 hours afloat in challenging conditions.

Tomorrow we moove into Gold, silver and bronze. The results were still not up by 8pm so we will have to wait for tomorrow before knowing who make which fleet, and we expect a few tight calls!

DAY 2 :
What started as a 10-15 kts cold (very cold) day ended up as a torture for the sailors nerves... Black flags, shifts, hail, wind dying complety and Craig's singing on the run...
The first race went off under black flag for all groups and there was a lot of damage within the Irish team! The first smile came from Jack Lee. the Galway sailors is surely looking for a place on the green Dragon as tactician delivering a superb first beat taking the lead at the first mark. It was surely tough upthere and he did well to finish in 11th. Patrick, after an average start (I am being nice actually!), showed speed and finding clear lanes came back to second and only an agressive cover from the leader prevented a first Irish win. Sophie browne recovered well after a slow first half of the race to take 21st. Another smile of the day came from Kinsale Cliodhna Ni Sullivan taking 25th.
The second race started for the first fleet under another black flag and became a nerve wrecking challenge for the sailors with the breeze dying down to nothing half way through. Patrick once more found his way through the fleet after a very average start ( I am being way to nice here again!) and managed to score another top ten (8th) placing him well overall as points are starting to add up for everyone at the top of the fleet. The race was hard fought and several sailors did not manage to reach the finish line before closure (not easy to moove towards it when there is not a ripple on the water... apart from RIB wakes maybe!). the other flights did not manage to start ( for the better I think) but some damage were already done on the second flight as tomorrow thety will re-start with about 25 boats watching from shore ( or in bed as the start in pretty early!)with a BFD.

DAY 1 :
Windy start to our championship and the fleet was surpringly fairly asleep on the start line with plenty room and gaps available. Tadgh Donnelly was the sharpest to spot the opportunities to score two solid races and lead the Irish by the end of the day in 18th (5th and 14th). Patrick Crosbie took a race to find the right pace but scored an excellent 5th on the second race. Craig Campbell and Sean Donnelly were both in the top 20 in the first race fading a little in the second one. We had a few sad faces by the end of the day but a solid debrief and a good night sleep got everyone fired up by this morning... and surely we needed patience outhere!

Wind has abated and believe it or nt all six starts got away under Blue Peter. Paddy Crosbie and Tagdh Donnelly were the stars of the day. Early days yet, and we are waiting for the results to see how everyone else did. Wind is easing gradually over the next day or so, so expect to see results and fortunes change.

21 sailors and their 3 coaches made their way to the 25th B'Meer and were greeted with unkind wintery conditions.

We had a quick session afloat on Tuesday stretching the legs and checking the boats... Yesterday was a blow and we took the chance to clean the boats and check if all was running fine changing various ropes and bungees on a few oppies.

If the wind seems still strong this morning, it looks manageable and we intend to go for a good training session as tomorrow, we have to be ready for the first racing day.
the sailors are in good form, well behaved and simply cant wait to be racing!

Tom

Invitations to attend this year’s Braassemermeer Easter International Regatta - Tuesday 30^th March - Monday 5^th April 2010 have been sent out to the top 10 Junior sailors from the 2009 rankings and the top 20 Senior sailors from the January 2010 rankings.

A number of other sailors outside the invitation criteria have applied to attend. (No further applications can be considered at this time)

Seniors

Juniors

Seafra Guilfoyle
Patrick Crosbie
John Durcan
Ruairi Finnegan
Conor Murphy
Tadgh Donnelly
Orlagh Thompson
Dara O'Shea
Jack Collins
Craig Campbell
Peter Quelly
Daniel O'Beirne
Philip Brownlow
Sorcha Ni Shuilleabhain
Sarah Kelly
Amy Lambert
Sam McGinley
Cillian Joyce
Conor Totterdell
Lizzy McDowell

Peter McCann
Cian Byrne
Sophie Browne
Cliodhna O'Regan
Daire Cournane
Adam Hyland
Robert Dickson
Sean Gambier-Ross
Sean Donnelly
Erica Ruigrok

If your name appears above and you have not received an invitation via SailRacer, Please contact Michael McCann on mccann@canndoit.ie

The above sailors have priority to take up their invitation until 22^nd January 2010. However, a number of sailors outside the above mentioned criteria have applied to attend and if, by 22^nd January 2010, we are not over-subscribed these sailors will also be invited to attend.

1. If you do not wish to accept your invitation to Braassemermeer it would be greatly appreciated if you could e-mail president@iodai.com and let Fred Campbell know so that we can assess numbers for logistics purposes.

(It will greatly assist the organisation of airport transfers if you can stick to the recommended flights)

4. Book the Hotel: Contact the Hotel AviFauna direct, either by telephone Tel. 0172 487575 or e-mail through their website www.avifauna.nl

We have a Booking Option valid until 1^st February 2010. Quote the following Reference:

Group name: Irish Sailing Team
Reference: AVI-GF15718
Should you have any difficulty, ask for Front office manager, Joke Griffioen (Pronounced “Yoke”) J.Griffioen@avifauna.valk.nl

Sailors and parents wishing to take up these invitations should be aware that Braassemermeer is a very tough regatta, with long races in often challenging conditions. A look at 2008’s event report and pictures may assist in deciding whether this event is for you or not. http://www.iodai.com/live/487.html and http://www.iodai.com/gallery/Brass-weather-in-Holland . 2009’s event was somewhat milder and took place in generally cool sunshine.

For 2010 the sailors in the ISA National Optimist Squad have been “encouraged” to attend Braassemermeer. IODAI and the ISA would like to see as many of these sailors as possible attending the event. As our top sailors, who have enjoyed the benefits of the ISA Squad training, they are among our best chances for securing “cards” and associated Irish Sport Council funding for the class.

Based on last year’s finances, the cost of attending Braassemermeer in 2010 is likely to be in the region of €900 PER SAILOR.

· Transport of boats to event or charter if necessary (includes free use of trailer)

· All coaching fees - 2½/3 days pre-event coaching and coaching during event (includes coaches accommodation etc)

· All lunches, drinks, bars, water, coffee etc for sailors and parents while on board the cruiser

· Hire cars / mini buses for all airport transfers and road transport during event

· The above costings are per sailor. There are no additional costs for parents attending.

· These costs are based on last year’s attendance of 16 sailors and may change e.g. if more sailors attend which would spread fixed costs and in particular the hire of the cruiser.

· Although welcome, it is not necessary for parents to attend but currently the trip does not operate a “team mum” facility and relies on mutual agreement between parents for specific sailor responsibility.

· The costings include all transport requirements which is dependent on all sailors and parents staying at the designated hotel and as far as possible getting the recommended flights.

· Some research is currently ongoing to reduce some of the costs however this is not expected to be significant.

· Hotel accommodation for sailors and parents - 6 nights (€40 - €55 B&B dependent on room sharing). We have a deal and instructions are given as to how to make a booking.

· Use of recommended flights minimises transfer journeys by hire cars / minibuses and maximises coaching time.

· Dependent on the number of sailors attending, a number of 9 seater minibuses will be hired (two in 2009). Volunteer parents will be needed to drive these during the trip (two drivers per vehicle is best).

· Boats are unpacked from the trailer and the first coaching session should get under way after lunch.

· Food for lunches is bought locally and prepared by parents to sailors requirements.

· The cruiser is used to travel to and from the hotel each day (except the last two days when the bridges are closed due to the Easter holidays. Hire cars and minibuses are used)

· The hotel is attached to a bird park which is a great place for the sailors to “chill” should they have any free time.

· Regatta; Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. 2^nd - 5^th April. Regatta usually finishes in the early afternoon. Packing of boats unto trailer and sailors and parents travel to airport for flights home.

· Boats will be brought directly to Trials venue; Lough Derg on Thursday 8^th April

· More information as necessary will be issued to attending sailors and parents before the event.

· Should you require further information, please contact Fred Campbell on president@iodai.com