Final Day at the Worlds

We woke up to alot of wind and alot of rain. Everyone at the club wasn't very optimistic about the race committee sending us out to sail. Me and Marcus both really wanted to go out and try to move further up the ranking after our breakage on day 1 put us so far back. Unfortunately it never happened. So we finished the event in 31st place. I am really disappointed with it, we had really good speed but got let down by gear failure. Marcus and I are travelling back to the UK on Tuesday, and we are now trying to plan the rest of our year. We have heard that as long as there is no Tornado in the Olympics we will receive no funding to sail one. So its looking like we will have to have a change in class to stay Olympic. We are still not sure what we want to do but we are already chatting to some people about ideas. I will let you know what we are up to next soon.

Day 5 at the Worlds

Champagne Sailing! 14-18kts, good sea running and beautiful sunshine. In race 1 Marcus and i had a great start, we were right at the committee boat end of the line and perfectly punched off the line. On the first upwind we wanted to be Conservative because there was a big spit either side of the beat. Unfortunately it was the sides of the beat that were paying and we were back in the pack, still we were fighting it it out with the Danish Olympic team all the way round and eventually finished in 26th. The second race we had a similar start but this time we had not accounted for bundy the fastest man on the course to be right above us, we held him for a while but eventually he rolled us. We were forced to tack out and had to sail to the wrong side of the course. We rounded the windward mark deep but fought back through the fleet to finish in 28th.

Day 4 at the Worlds

After a Day of no wind yesterday we had to race today which should have been our lay day. We left the beach in a light northerly breeze, and tuned up with John and Stu on the way out to the start where we set up the boat. In race 1 after a horrible start we managed to pull back up to 28th, it was very tricky conditions not so much in terms of wind shifts but more to do with pressure and tide effects. In race 2 we had a much better start but we struggled to find a lane over to the side of the course we wanted, and that was the paying side. When we eventually got there a lot of boats had already made the gains and we rounded the first make in about 25th, alongside Mitch Booth. We had a great battle around the rest of the course with Mitch but eventually he just beat us at the finish line putting us in 23rd by the end. Tomorrow there is a lot more breeze forecast so we will see what happens.

Day 2 at the Worlds

We were really focused on making a big improvement today because of yesterdays disappointment. I had a few of my Tornado firsts today, In Race 1 after a fantastic start and first beat me and Marcus were first at the windward mark, and then i had my first capsize while we were leading!!!! not the best time to experience my my first Tornado capsize but we managed to make that race a counter finishing in 22nd by the end, which is too bad at all seeing as we capsized! The second race was alot more controlled although we didn't lead around the the top mark we sailed a very clean race and finished in 19th . So a much better day in the end, even though we capsized!

Day 1 at the Worlds

Not a good day, I'm afraid to say. After hour of preparation and training leading up to the event it was a very disappointing start. Race 1 started well we round the first windward mark in not to bad shape, early 20's and managed to sustain this through until the final windward mark when the stainless steal pin that hold the main sail hook in place and is supposed to be built into the mast, slipped down and pulled out, and we limped across the line in 43rd place! there was no way we could repair the damage on the water so we had to retire from the next race of the day. We have fixed it now so we will just have to pull out all the stops in the rest of the regatta.

Last Day Before the Worlds Start

After a few days off since Sail Auckland and our few days training we are now in the final run up to the worlds. We went through measurement yesterday which was strict as ever because it is an Olympic year. All went well through there, our boat was slightly over weight but it is quite old now so that was to be expected. Today the plan is to rig the boats back up after measuring and go out for a quick sail to make sure they are all still operational. And we might try to start the practice race also just to get a fell for how the racing will run tomorrow. The first start is at 1:30 tomorrow and we have 2 races.

Good Day out Training

Really good day out on the water today, Beautiful weather, perfect breeze from a consistent direction and we were on the pace. We planned a 3 hour session which was basically made up of one long sail upwind, tuning and tacking on the whistle and then one long run down wind, trying out different modes of sailing and gybing on the whistle. We definitely felt really quick up wind, and down wind we were not really faster but definitely not slower. Our gybing was on top for and we were gaining on the other boat every gybe. So all in all a good day out. We plan to do the same again tomorrow and we are going to use our brand new Jib and Spinnaker, which should give us a bit of a speed boost too!!

Sail Auckland Final Day

We arrived at the club and looked out to absolutely no wind and drizzle! With the medal race scheduled for the afternoon the fleet racing had to over by 11 o’clock, and unfortunately it never happened we did go onto the water but it was just to light for the committee to start a race. So we finished the event in 22nd place. Comparing that to our performance at the last worlds, it is a lot better. We are focused on the World Championships which are up and coming, and our goal it to finish in the top 20. We are training for the next few days then a day off before we start racing the worlds on the 25th. Will update you soon.

Sail Auckland Day 3

As we sailed a long downwind to the line, it was clear that it was alot more consistent than previous days, but there was definitely some fairly large shifts coming through. After a great start on the first race we rounded the first mark in 8th place and over the rest of the race which became more and more shifty and up and down, we dropped one place to 9th. The second race was going nearly as well round the first mark in 12th, but then the spin lock cleat that holds the spinnaker up failed on the first down wind. I had to hold the spinnaker up with one hand and steer with other for the remainder of the race, which lost us alot of places, and put us in 23rd by the finish. We managed to change Spin locks on the water in between races, and started the final race of the day. By this time the conditions were very tricky and there were big shifts all over the course. We eventually finished 19th. So a much better day on the whole, 1 more race tomorrow so keep a check.

Sail Auckland Day 2

So not only is it going to be really shifty but today was to be very up and down pressure as well. After navagating our way through a canoe fleet that was racing just of the beach we sailed down to the comittee boat and we knew it was going to be a tricky one, there was patches of wind every where and patches of no wind everywhere! The first 2 races didn't go very well and we had a 29 and 27th. The third race was going amazingly untill about 200 metres from the top mark on the last lap where 10 boats just sailed past us as we sat in one of the patches of no wind! and we ended up in 17th instead of 7th. The last race was again very trick and we couln'd get our heads around it eventually finishing in 25th. We are definitly on the pace though, just seem to be a bit out of time with the shifts at the moment, we are learning all thetime and tomorrow will be better!!!

Sail Auckland Day 1

Very shifty condition were the order of the day, the ff shore breeze was all over the place and made for some... Interesting racing! We are now racing against who will be at our world championships in a few weeks, and there is alot of good people. Its pretty much the same as the last world championships where we finished 34th but this time there aren’t as many people here who don’t race professionally there are at least 30 professional team here. The day started really well we came up with two great results, 15th and 15th. Then unfortunately in the third race the shifts got the better of us and we ended up with a 28th.

Hopefully tomorrow won’t be a shifty!

Day 2 in Sail Melbourne

A 2 o’clock start was meant to be the order of the day but due to light fluky winds, the Fins who were using our course before us were delayed and therefore delaying us! We didn’t launch in the end until 3:45 and the first race didn’t start until 5:00. It was very variable and Shifty and after a bad start we had a lot to make up on the first beat. After taking a few right shifts we were sort of back in the game. We made some more good calls around the course and eventually finished in17th.
The second race we got a much better start and managed to go to right side of the beat and rounded to first mark in 12th. A solid down wind consolidated that position, but unfortunately on the second beat the group just behind us managed to get on the inside of the shit and over take us. Our really fast downwind speed meant that we overtook a few of them on the last run to finish in 14th.

Big breeze forecasted for tomorrow so we will se what happens

Day 1 in Sail Melbourne

We arrived here in Sandringham with 2 day before the regatta to get some pre event training, but that all went to pot when on our first sail out of the harbour, one of the bolts holding our jib track on pulled through and lead to the track snapping. Anyone who has had to replace a jib track before knows that it is by far the worst job on a tornado! Trying to line a nut and washer taped to the end of a battern to a bolt that you can’t see inside the front beam is very time consuming! But we eventually managed to sort it, but this unfortunately meant we were unable to train prior to the event. The Sail Melbourne event is going to be really hard because its only really good guys who are racing here, there are 1 or 2 club sailor but every one else is really good and potential Olympic racers.

We went into the first day fully focused and in good spirits after our last event. It was really shifty conditions and we were able to pretty well out of them on the first beat and rounded the top mark in 10th. A solid downwind kept us in 10th, but unfortunately on the second beat 4 boats got the right side of a shift compared to us and got through, leaving us to finish in 14th. The second race was very similar, but this time our first beat wasn’t as good so we were always fighting from the back, we managed to take a few boats some times around the course but as much as we tried to cover and consolidate the conditions were such that this was impossible. After fighting it out with the back of the really good guy we finished 20th.

Asian Pacific Regatta

Friday 23rd
Marcus and I are now pretty much fully settled in down here, in Melbourne Australia. We are based in a small town called Somers for a regatta called the Asian Pacific’s. This event is a warm up event leading into Sail Melbourne and then on to the Tornado Worlds. We arrived 5 days ago and have managed to get a couple of days sailing in up to now but getting over jet lag and unloading containers has made it hard to do as much as we wanted. You can see us in the photos moulding our centre boards to the hull profile which was a job we wanted to do before the regatta. The Sailing we have done has been great, we seem to be pretty well on the pace. The racing starts tomorrow on Saturday but there is a practice race today which we will be competing in. And we are both looking forward to seeing how we stand amongst the Worlds best.

The Practice Race, We started really well in the practice race, but after following our first beat strategy, we weren’t in the best shape at the windward mark. We definitely had really good boat speed around the course, and took places on each leg after that. Eventually we finished up in 13th position.

Day 1 of the Regatta
We launched in very light off shore breeze, with the forecast of the wind to go round to on shore. After eventually getting to the start boat, the wind decided to drop to nothing! We waited for 2 hours while the wind decided what it wanted to. We started in a light to moderate easterly wind. The first race went really well and we found our selves battling with the very front guys and eventually end up in 5th position. After another long wait in between the next two races, I really started to fell the heat and sun! The next race I had a massive head ache and definitely wasn’t on top form. We eventually finished 16th which I was really disappointed with as we had done so well in the race before.

Day 2 of the Regatta
We woke up to a lot of breeze! But racing was to go ahead as usual. We launched and spend a while setting up, or more specifically de-powering the boat. The first race got underway and we were definitely very quick on the down wind legs, and were very fast at times upwind, but struggled to stay in the grove, with the large chop. Finishing in 14th. The second race was much the same and we ended up in 16th.

Day 3 of the Regatta
This was the first classic day of conditions we had raced in, at 18 knot sea breeze. I was an amazing day of racing warm sunny and a lot of wind. We pretty much found our place in the fleet. With a finish of 17 and 18. This is defiantly a big improvement on our position at the worlds back in the summer, where we finished 35th!

Day 4 of the Regatta
After 4 days on racing by now Marcus and I were finally getting back into our racing mentality. Although our results weren’t drastically improved we were communicating much better between ourselves and we were getting much more in tune with each other. After another 2 racing we ended up scoring a 19 and 14

The final day of the Regatta
Day 5 really just confirmed to us that we were definitely on the right path. With another set of score of 16 and 15 we had for sure found our general position in the fleet, which we are both pleased to say is a lot better than where we were previously. Saying that the day was sailing in again fairly strong winds, and we seem to have a small advantage when it is lighter and more tactical.

Now we are focused on sail Melbourne which starts in a few days. We now have to get the boats moved from one side of the peninsular to the other, which will be a bit of a logistical nightmare, but we will sort it. Keep checking for updates because hopefully I will be able to access the net daily from now on.

Thanks
Tom and Marcus

Christmas Update

Seasons greetings to all friends and supporters of Team Phipps & Lynch

We are 6 days away from Christmas day, however we have started are Advent calendar 3 days late because we are flying to Melbourne Australia on the 28th December and are looking forward to the four Olympic Class Regattas we will be competing at during January February & March.
We will be competing at the following events.
Tornado Asian Pacifics held by Sommers Yacht Club, Melbourne. 2nd - 11th January.
Sail Melbourne held by Sandringham Yacht Club, Melbourne. 14th - 19th January.
Sail Auckland held by Kohimarama Yacht Club, Auckland. 15th - 19th February.
Tornado World Championships (Last Olympic Qualification Event for 2008 Beijing Games)
22nd February - 2nd March.
We are both really excited and driven to do well at these events.
You may or may not be aware, that the chances of the ISAF decision to delete the Multihull (Tornado) from the 2012 Olympics, will be reversed due to the feedback of the sailing fraternity.We are positive that this will happen at the ISAF Mid year meeting in May 2008.
Our plan is to compete in a full racing calendar next year comprising of National & International/Olympic Tornado & F18 events, your continued support really does make a difference to our Olympic Campaign, without you it simply would not be possible.
We would like to show our appreciation to all of you by running a Land Yachting Day at the end of March beginning of April 2008, during the day you will have the opportunity to catch up with both of us, meet other supporters of the team, but most importantly zip around the airfield at 25mph in a Land Yacht!!!!
We will keep you posted on the Land Yachting, but if you are interested please send us an email, with the number of people you have interested and we can put together a plan.
We hope you all have a fantastic Christmas & New Year.
Best wishes
Tom & Marcus

Sorry for the Delay!

Firstly I am very sorry it has taken so long to update the website but as you probably know we have had a lot on recently! I'm sure is not new news to you but at present there is no catamaran in the 2012 Olympic games. This was decided at the ISAF Conference in November. Both Marcus and I are completely gutted over it all and even now cant believe what a massive error ISAF have made. There is a lot of movement to get the decision revoked and that is what we are both backing and hoping for at the moment. We are still fully committed to our current Olympic sailing, and we are focused on getting the best result we can in the up and coming World Championships in NZL. This coming week we are Training down here in Cornwall with another Olympic team in preparation for our trip down under.

Keep checking in for updates!

Day 1 at the ISAF Conference

Marcus and I are back down in Portugal where we sail the world championships this year but we aren't here for sailing this time. We are attending as observers the ISAF Annual Conference, invited by the International Tornado Association but representing Multihull sailors as a whole. The day went really well we meet an amazing amount of people who are really high up in ISAF and all the federations around the world. We were warmly welcomed by all that we spoke to, and we even had the chance to offer our own opinions in front of the council at times. It is a great experience to be hear and we are both learning all the time.

Late Notice ISAF Trip

Yesterday me and Marcus were contacted by Michael Grandfield, he is the President of the Tornado association and he was very keen for Marcus and I to attend the forthcoming ISAF meeting, to represent the tornado class in the Olympic classes selection. Its a real honour to be given the chance to do this and we are both really looking forward to doing the best we can to support the Olympic catamaran. So we are now off down to Portugal on Friday for 5 days to attend and present at the ISAF Conference.
Check the next update to see how its all going!

Loading the Container

All the team had to arrive at the compound at 9 in the morning to start to load to container. The only problem was there was no container to load at 9 in the morning. So Marcus and I just went through everything again to check it was all there. Eventually the container turned up at 11:00 and loading could get under way. We had to fit 6 Tornadoes in and all there spares and tools. It all went relatively smoothly actually and using a specifically designed racking system all the boats were stowed tightly in no time. The next time we will see this boat now will be when we get to Melbourne in Australia. In the mean time we have agreed to borrow a boat off one of the other Olympic teams while we wait for a build slot for our new boat. Next up is another ODS Camp in Hayling Island so expect an Update soon!

Last National Ranker of the Year

Marcus and I went into the last national ranker with alot on our minds. And unfortunately we sort of let it effect us on the race course. We struggled to focus with all the pressure of trying to find another boat to use after we sent our on the Monday. We ended the day with a 6th, 3rd and a 5th. Leaving us in 5th overall and second ODS Boat. After a serious re think over night, we decided that we were going to make a real effort the next day. We arrived down at the boat park early in order to make sure everything was ready and prepared. On the water things went alot better. We finished the day with a 5th, 2nd, and 4th which although doesn't seem much better on paper, Marcus and i were alot more switched on and made some better call all over the race course. Next up is to load the container for Australia and New Zealand, so keep check to see how that goes.