September 13, 13:49 in Press Release
Great Britain’s 2008 Beijing Paralympic sailing campaign has ended in disappointment in Qingdao today (Saturday 13 September).
Britain’s sailors went in to the final day of the six-day regatta still harbouring slender hopes of medals in all three classes but despite their huge efforts and some outstanding last day performances, the Brits ended in fifth, sixth and seventh overall across the three fleets.
The British Sonar three-person keelboat crew of John Robertson, Stephen Thomas and Hannah ...
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September 12, 12:43 in Press Release
Britain’s Paralympic sailors will be looking for one final massive effort on the closing day of the Beijing 2008 regatta as they bid to upset the odds and clinch last-gasp sailing silverware for ParalympicsGB tomorrow.
The Brits currently sit in fourth, seventh and eighth across the three classes but all three boats still have the mathematical possibility of snatching medals from the clasps of the current leaders going into the final two races.
Helena Lucas in the 2.4mR one-person keelboat is ...
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September 11, 16:00 in Team Blog
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YA
Stevie Wonder was in full force today as it is Alex’s birthday and I was stuck on repeat of the 3 lines I know from that song – which I am sure the whole team appreciated as I have a genuine musical talent!
Today was going to be big Thursday with 3 races scheduled and then the majority of the regatta complete. After keeping focused on yesterday’s lay day with some training on the water- the only team on the water and a complete team support staff as well. The squad was ...
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September 11, 13:28 in Press Release
Alex Rickham had plenty of reasons to smile on her 27th birthday as she and helm Niki Birrell picked up their first race win of the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Regatta in Qingdao today (Thursday 11 September).
With just one of today’s three scheduled races sailed due to a lack of wind, birthday girl Rickham and Birrell, racing in the SKUD-18 two-person keelboat, overcame a poor start when racing did eventually get underway after a three-hour delay to hold their nerve in a tense sprint for the line ...
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September 11, 10:29 in Qingdao Weather
Building high pressure from the west maintains a light NE airflow across the area. Initial upper cloud will gradually thin, with sea breeze conditions expected to dominate.
An initial offshore NNE 02-05 KT is expected that will decrease to calm as a weak sea breeze develops. By 1300-1400 expecting 090-110 04-06 possibly 08 KT
The tide will be flooding (going west) expected to turn at the end of the afternoon at around 1700....
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September 10, 15:54 in Team Blog
Mark Rushall: Sonar coach
The nights are the darkest times for me too. But tonight’s DVD is “Any given Sunday”: so the chat right now is more of “climbing from hell one inch at a time”. Yesterday was a pretty tough day for all on the water: three short hot races in classic light and shifty Qingdao conditions. The Sonar fleet rounded the last leeward gate with the whole fleet overlapped: the difference between hero and zero all too small. After five races, all three team GBR boats are within s...
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September 9, 13:49 in Press Release
Britain’s Paralympic sailors will be looking for an upturn in fortunes in the second part of the week after reaching the midway point of the Beijing 2008 regatta in Qingdao.
With the full scheduled complement of five races completed after two days, tomorrow (Wednesday) will be a rest day for the athletes meaning the six Brits, who currently lie in sixth, seventh and seventh overall in the three classes, will look to regroup ahead of the restart of racing on Thursday in a bid to work their way u...
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September 8, 14:36 in Press Release
Great Britain’s sailors got off to a steady start as the 2008 Beijing Paralympic regatta got underway in Qingdao today (Monday 8 September).
A record 80 sailors, competing across three Paralympic classes, from 25 nations have converged on the Olympic Sailing Centre for the six-day regatta, with all three British boats harbouring hopes of a podium finish.
With almost a two-hour delay for the SKUD-18 and 2.4mR fleets due to a lack of wind, it was the 14 boats of the Sonar three-person keelboat c...
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September 7, 18:09 in Team Blog
Quite a few things have happened since I last wrote the blog. My 16-year-old training boat “The Phoenix” almost had her moment of fame when the Chinese Australian-built 2.4 did not measure. As it turned out they had brand new one sitting in the dinghy park, so my old girl was resigned back to the container to be packed up.
It was practice race day today and it was a good day for the team in all the classes. I took the lead in the 2.4mR class after the fleet got confused as to the number of l...
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September 7, 18:03 in Team Blog
Surely that is an oxymoron?
Ever since the medal ceremony in Athens took place we have been working towards and preparing for this moment: the eve of the first race of the 2008 Paralympic Games.
I have got to say that I have never been in a more professional, friendly relaxed environment running into a championship. The team spirit in the camp is immense. I think this will be every Team GB’s sailor’s strength tomorrow. The six British sailors on the start line will know they have put everyt...
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September 7, 17:52 in Qingdao Weather
The Paralympic sailing event looks set to start in fantastic conditions.
In the build-up we have had great weather - no days lost due to lack of wind and plenty of sunshine!
We can expect racing to start on time with a moderate ENE airflow.
With two races planned initially, conditions will be 080-100 05-07 building and veering 110-120 07-10, With racing taking place in a building EBB tide....
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September 5, 18:18 in Press Release
Great Britain’s Paralympic team sailors will be on a mission to replicate the success of the country’s history-making sailors at last month’s Olympics when the curtain is officially raised at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games on Saturday (6 September).
Six sailors representing ParalympicsGB in three classes get their 2008 Paralympic campaigns underway in Qingdao on Monday (8 September) with the memory of Britain’s all-time best Olympic sailing six-medal haul still fresh in their minds.
A rec...
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September 5, 17:53 in Team Blog
Racing in 2 days…
Another day training before the regatta inside our ‘bubble’ that is the Paralympic village. Feeling the pressure here today. Not due to upcoming event, as I think we’ve got everything in hand, but it is my turn to write the blog, and with some clever scribes in our team it is no easy task. I was concerned there wouldn’t be much to talk about but there is always an entertaining story to be heard amongst the team over dinner or breakfast.
Firstly though, operating in the foot...
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September 5, 17:31 in Team Blog
Well we are now on the final count down to the games. The team are getting very excited about the prospect of competing in the games.
On the SKUD front we had are last bit of boat work to do in the morning and were very upset to see the back of the super organised and efficient Stuart Bithel. Thanks Stu for the hard work and good luck at the sail for gold regatta!
In the afternoon we did some races which went the way we planned. The plan was for Harvey to sail the tuning boat but as usual h...
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September 5, 10:40 in Team Blog
Well, what a stressful few days it has been here in our run up to the Paralympic Games....
Finally today, all boats made it through measurement and the team can breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that we have done everything, we are all clear and its just a question of putting boat to water and writing the rest of the story!
All in all, the team have been getting on really well, hoping to repeat the atmosphere that served us so well at the Test Event in May. As ever, Niki has provided daily ins...
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September 3, 17:33 in Team Blog
As I write this I have decided to relax in my room and watch Ratatouille after a very long day. Today was Measurement. This is where our boat, masts etc get weighed and measured to make sure they are within the rules. We got through with no problems which was a huge relief. It was great to see our names stuck on our mainsail just below the Union Jack. It all seems crazy that a year ago Niki and I didn’t even know each other and now we’re here representing the country on the other side of the ea...
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September 3, 17:28 in Team Blog
Measurement Day:
As I sit at the window of my hotel room I can’t help but feel a little uneasy. We now have 4 days until the 1st race of the 2008 Paralympics and all I see from my 5th floor window is a collection of unprepared sailing teams. One side of me is filled with a huge amount of confidence as I know that each of our teams (2.4, Sonar and Skud) have prepared to a level that has set new standards in Paralympic Sailing. Another part of me feels a weight of expectation as I look out ove...
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September 3, 10:09 in Team Blog
Had a slight delay to launching today as some 'candle' or 'flame' or whatever was being shown to 3 Billion people outside of our bedroom window.
No seriously... the Paralympic flame was being paraded through Qingdao before going onto Beijing for the opening on Sunday. The crowd was massive, all waving flags, with the Segway police cruising back and forth!!
We all eventually got down to the boats after the fireworks and parade of yachts had sailed from the marina to pose along the Qingdao seaf...
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September 2, 09:44 in Team Blog
Having spent a week training out of Yin Hai marina and staying in the Team house and Sea View Garden Hotel, the Team are now all happily reunited in the 5 star luxury hotel which is acting as the Paralympic village at the venue. Obviously we all missed each other desperately...
All the training has gone really well, we have had a fantastic bunch of training partners, everyone has got over their jet lag and are putting their routines into place. I’ll let Helena tell you about the sailing as oth...
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September 2, 09:31 in Team Blog
It seems like an age since we stepped off the plane at Qingdao airport to our phones beeping with Kristy’s text that the Star boys had won gold!
We timed our arrival on the 21 August to perfection, just in time for the big Team GBR Party. It seemed to do the trick with getting over the jet lag and we spent the next couple of days catching up with everyone and congratulating them on such a great performance.
But it was soon down to business when they disappeared off to Beijing for the closing ...
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