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Spalsh - Final letter to N.Zealand |
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From: "Robert Burn" To: New Zeland Sent: Friday, 14 August, 2009 19:47:34 GMT +00:00 GMT Britain Subject: Final Day, Splash Worlds Declan Burn wins Splash Worlds in Pwllheli, Wales. He, and the other two Queen Charlotte Yacht Club sailors, Scott and  Josh, also did enough to win the Nations Trophy for the highest scoring National Team, and retain the Trophy held from last year's win in Portugal. Declan went into the final day of the regatta with a 32 point lead and only had to sail conservatively to hold his lead. A 21st in race one was enough to secure the Championship without sailing the last race, he did anyway and finished 17th, just behind Josh and Scott. The forecast was for a strong, building breeze throughout the day. By breakfast time it was well and truly up, the sailors launched on time and reached out onto the course very quickly. The swell was building as the wind rose so all knew they were in for a hard day ahead. The first race wasn't so good for most of the Kiwis, Declan had a heartstopping capsize (for his father anyway) downwind but recovered quickly, Scott Fyfe also. The waves were large by then and the downwind was either exhilarating or terrifying ...there wasn't much in between...... Michael Cate, Josh and James Little revelled in the conditions and had strong finishes, the other Kiwis did well too but the Dutch, Dutch Antilles, and GBR sailors were too strong today and handed out a lesson in heavy weather sailing. Some of the Kiwis wished there was another race as they were getting to grips with the conditions but the rest of us were wet and getting cold so were happy to get off the bone jarring wave mashing of support boat jockeys. Two phones wet today, no contact with home now unless the oven fried method works. Declan 1st by 17 points, Holland 2nd, the Welsh lad (GBR) 3rd, Dutch Antilles 4th, Scott Fyfe 5th, Josh Edmonds 7th. James Little 9th, a great 1st Worlds for him. Michael Cate 11th, Hamish Powrie 35th, Bradley Taylor-Swan 38th, Melissa Gibbs 41th. In the Silver Fleet Sebastian Masters suffered a damaged rudder but finished 43rd in the Silver Fleet. The Sailors are having a well earned beer now, those that are old enough anyway, and we have dinner and the prizegiving to look forward to this evening. The Kiwi Team has really enjoyed Pwllheli, the comraderie of the Sailing club and mixing with all the other competitors, parents and supporters. We are all wanting to come back for another Major event here ....first though, we have this evening to survive! A huge Thank You to the Pwllheli Sailing Club, Chairman Bob, Richard and Stephen Tudor, Gareth Roberts the events organiser, Commodore Dave to name but a few, also to Luke and Johan of SCIA, Jonathon Masters for the photos ...and everyone else that made this fabulous regatta possible. We'll all meet again Rob The whole series of e-mail reports to New Zealand are available here.
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Splash - Letter 6 to N.Zealand |
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From: "Robert Burn"  To: New Zeland Sent: Thursday, 13 August, 2009 20:13:37 GMT +00:00 GMT Britain Subject: Report six, Spalsh Worlds, Wales, racing day 4 Declan Burn consolidates lead Splash Worlds, Pwllheli, Wales. Today was a really difficult day on the race for Team Kiwi. Light, shifty conditions that were mentally and physically challenging took a toll on the top Kiwi positions. We had sailors that hadn't been seen towards the front having great races and ones that were leading by 100 metres finish in the teens. It was another great Welsh day on the water, the breeze a little light but very sailable. It wasn't until during the first race we realised just how shifty the conditions had become. Taking the Course another kilometre or so further out from the land may have provided a little stability. Declan was the most consistent of the Kiwis with a 2nd, 3rd and 7th. Scott Fyfe, Josh Edmonds and James Little had some good races but suffered cruelly in others. The Dutch and Dutch Antilles sailors have made their long awaited move on the top positions and dealt most of our sailors a tough lesson in Gold Fleet sailing. All is certainly not lost yet for the Kiwis especially for the Nations Cup, awarded to the top three sailors of each nationality, two races to go tomorrow and strong winds forecast, supposedly 17 knots by start time of 11am. Declan is 32 points clear of the 2nd place-getter, Stan Hart of Holland. Scott Fyfe is in fourth position after the Dutch Antilles sailor but one point separates 2nd from 4th. It is very tight right through to 10 position so at this stage anything can happen. The Welsh favourite, the local lad, Bleddyn is 7th, NZL's Josh Edmonds 8th and James Little 9th. The other NZL Team members placings are Michael Cate 15th, Jordan Mckenzie-Brown 32nd, Melissa Gibbs 41st, Bradley Taylor-Swan 51st, Hamish Powrie 56th in the Gold Fleet, Sebastian Masters 37th Silver Fleet. Declan was going to be on Welsh Television tonight but the Outside Broadcasting unit got called away on a hotter news story .......maybe tomorrow... It is certainly not over yet but 'the fat lady' is warming up ...... Good sailing Rob
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Splash - Letter 5 to N.Zealand |
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REPORT FIVE FROM ROB BURN TO NEW ZELAND  From: Robert Burn To: New Zeland Sent: Thursday, 13 August, 2009 09:57:52 GMT +00:00 GMT Britain Subject: Report Five, racing day three Picton's Queen Charlotte Yacht Club sailors 1, 2 & 4 at Splash Worlds, 3rd place Kiwi too. Declan Burn is now 15 points clear of his team and Club mates, to lead the Splash Worlds in Pwllheli, Wales. Scott Fyfe is 2nd, Michael Cate of Onerahi, Whangarei, 3rd, and Josh Edmonds, 4th. James Little of Kohimarama completes the five Kiwi sailors in the top ten. The heavy rain and wind predicted didn't evenuate, some rain this morning but the winds remained stubbornly light most of the day. Racing was delayed for over an hour, even launching of the beach didn't happen until the breeze came in ...the sailors sailed out and the breeze faded. Our coaches, Charlie and Ed, used the time to fine tune strategy while the rest of us drifted in circles. A breeze line was tantalising visible in the distance and finally got to us , enough to start racing. The more experienced Kiwis had some great races, and the Dutch sailor, Stan Hart, finally showed how good he really is by two wins. Stan was in Declan's flight and they had a tough battle right to the finish, Stan winning by a bowfitting. Stan won the third race helped by Declan sitting on the start line until everyone had sailed off, having to duck the whole fleet ....he did end up 8th, his worst score so far. Conditions were light but very sailable for the first and second races. The first flight of the third race got away but very light and the second flight not much better. The second struggled to the top mark, around and down to the gate. We could see the race wasn't going well and the Race Officer abandoned it. Scott pulled a good 2nd from the restart. The sailors were late again off the water but there was a good BBQ waiting and all the sailors went home tired but happy. The pressure is mounting and we are seeing the less experienced sailors drop back a little now. Tomorrow will be an important day for the Kiwis to consolidate their positions, most of the top sailors have some big drops yet to come after race 10, so positions can change dramatically again. Declan only has a fourth to drop so his Teammates have a chance to close the points gap. All Photos by Jonathon Masters, these are a small selection of the 2200 taken so far, Many thanks Jonathon. Two more days to go.... Happy sailing Rob
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Splash/Flash Event Report 2, 3 & 4 |
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Below is a copy of Robert Burn 's second, third and fourth Report on the Splash Worlds. Rob is from Picton New Zealand
From: Robert Burn Sent: Tuesday, 11 August, 2009 20:01:30 GMT +00:00 GMT Britain, Ireland, Portugal Subject: Report four, Day two, Splash Worlds, Wales Great day at the office for the Kiwis. At the front in all almost every race. The splash worlds have finished 5 races out of the scheduled 13. GBR is leading on 6 points after the 1st drop but Declan Burn is 2nd and Michael Cate 3rd, both on 8 points..... hard on his heels. 4th spot is James little, 6th Josh Edmonds and 9th Scott Fyfe. Declan Burn had two 'Bullets' (firsts) plus a third, Michael Cate the same, James Little 1st, 8th and 2nd, Josh Edmonds 3rd, 2nd and 8th, Scott Fyfe two 2nds and a 4th for the sailors in the top ten. The GBR sailor is Bleddyn Mon, a Welsh local lad, former Topper World Champion and now 29er sailor. The locals are really excited to see him do so we ll ...especially seeing he has only just hopped into the boat....but a great sailor is just that.... Conditions were near perfect today, sunny skies and a warm sea breeze developing mid morning. The sailors were racing by lunch time with a short delay allowing for the wind to settle. A good, steady breeze of around 12 knots held all day and three races each Class and Flight run off without out too much fuss and black Flags as the day before. We would have loved to have held a fourth race as racing had finished soon after mid afternoon and the forecast is not so great tomorrow .....seems to be always the way at any regatta. Our Inflatable went well today, not quite as grand as the visiting MP's and dignitaries from Westminster in William's large motor yacht ....we did wave as we sped by...but we tried to catch each race of the Yellow and Blue groups. It is always great to cheer on the Kiwis as they crossed the Finish Line ...especially when our sailors were up the front in every race. We were so proud of Melissa Gibbs as she shook off the Black Flag bogey from yesterday to get a 5th, and first girl, in the last race. Her proud dad, John, was given the awesome responsibility of skippering the Rib as the writer tried his hand at filming .....we did suppose as a Royal NZ Naval WO he should be reasonably proficient. Bradley Taylor-Swan ended today a credible 28th, Jordan Mackenzie-Brown 31st, Hamish Powrie 45th, Melissa Gibbs 50th and Sebastian Masters 95. All of our sailors had some great races and the experience and enthusiasm is building. We have heard the Race Committee will run three races tomorrow to catch up with the schedule as we are one race behind. Heavy rain is due overnight but clearing by mid day, and more wind. All our sailors say ..."Bring it on!" Signing off from a lovely Pwllheli evening, probably too many social lubricants, you can't fault the hospitality here. This is the first time being bought a drink by a British MP from the local Welsh Constituency ...and probably the last.... but there is a meeting scheduled for Friday with the Pwllheli Mayor to talk about a relationship with Picton, NZ. This town's issues are so similar to ours with Visitors and Marina development ...to listen to the locals talks .....I may as well be in Picton! Jenny, you had better give Alistair, our Mayor a call.... Happy sailing Rob
From: Robert Burn Sent: Tuesday, August 11, 2009 10:04 AM To: New Zeland Subject: REport Three, Day one racing Kiwis second and third after first days racing at the Splash Worlds, Pwllheli, Wales. Declan Burn equal on points with the Dutch leader, but second on countback, James Little of Kohimarama Yacht Club, in third place. The mornings rain and wind were forecast to drop and clear and for once the forecast was accurate. The start time was delayed with safety issues with visibility but the sailors were on the water by 11.30am. The breeze was very shifty, some real howlers of 70 to 90 degrees. For some sailors it was a really tough day at the office, a day where some Welsh luck went along way to achieving a good result. A thankless task at the best of times, and even more with such huge shifts, the Race Officer had his work cut out to get a fair course for the Flash and Splash fleet. The first away were the Flashes (longer boom, bigger sail and older sailors) and they had and interesting finish as the Finish line hadn't been set as the first ones arrived ...not helped by some official boats carrying blue flags as well, although a slightly different colour. This was observed up close as our large inflatable support boat drifted thought the course powerless due to a fuel contamination problem. The first flight of the first race saw 25 Black flags, Melissa Gibbs and Bradley Taylor Swan, NZL included. The Race Officer only managed two races for each flight and class and the sailors were very late off the water due to the shifty conditions. Three races were scheduled for today but hopefully we can make up the schedule over the next couple of days. It is forecast to be light for most of the week but building towards the end. The second race was the worst for shifts, the ones stalled at the start got to the Top mark first, Scott and Josh went from leading positions to back in the pack. Declan and James fought their way back thru to top ten finishes, but most of the NZL sailors made back lots of places so showed plenty of promise for the days to come. Declan , James, Michael Cate and Josh Edmonds all had finishes in the top 5 or 10, the others in the teens or above. Two races is too early to decide a regatta result, there is alot of sailing to go in the next four days and as always, it becomes a mental and physical challenge to stay the distance. It will be even more so if the shifty conditions remain for any length of time. The provisional results have just come out and at this very early stage we have Declan Burn 2nd, James Little 3rd, Michael Cate 9th, Josh Edmonds 24th, Scott Fyfe 31st, Jordan Mackenzie-Brown 45th, Hamish Powrie 51st, Sebastian Masters 63rd, Bradley Taylor-Swan 83rd and Melissa Gibbs 89th......those Black Flags really hurt! Jonathon Masters managed a place on the Committee boat and got off 700 photos, there should be some good ones coming on the official website soon. Happy sailing Rob
Sent: Tuesday, August 11, 2009 10:01 AM
To: New Zealand
Subject: Report two, Practice Race The Day dawned very windy and a little cooler than the last few days, the NZ sailors were keen as they organised their boats for the Practice race as the start of the Splash Worlds. The practice Race is always important as it helps shake down the regatta nerves for the sailors and helps determine the length of the 'race course'.After setting up all the boats, the sailors were finally allowed to leave the big, gated compound and take the track down to the beach. The Beach Marshall was improvising as he gave the sailors 10 minutes to sign on and get to the beach or no sailing! We were definitely not used to that and some hackles were raised.
Our sailors planned to do a start then pull out and start again for the practice. That worked for some but the others like Declan and Scott ...they both had cracker starts and kept going .......just to stop at the top mark and sit and watch.
Our Auckland boys and girl did most of the last race and performed very well. The three Queen Charlotte sailors of Declan, Josh and Scott go into the regatta well favoured but the rest of the Team, especially the newcomers served notice that they were here to compete and compete well.
The Opening Ceremony was blissfully short and sweet. The Teams formed up and marched into the huge marquee to take their seats. Scott Fyfe led the NZ Team bearing the flag. We were treated to a very stirring rendition of the Welsh National Anthem, 'Land of our Fathers' accompanied by a harpist .....Great stuff ...almost like at a rugby match! Speeches by Pwllheli's mayor and the other dignitaries were short but good, we had a well stocked BBQ then home to bed. It is easy to socialise around such a friendly bar in the Club but the sailors have the real thing tomorrow.
Happy sailing
Rob
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Below is a copy of Robert Burn 's Report on the Splsh Worlds. Rob is from Picton New Zealand - a town similar in size to Pwllheli.
From: Robert Burn Sent: 08 August 2009 17:33
Subject: Report one, Splash Worlds, Pwllheli, Wales Greetings from sunny WalesI would write some Welsh but I haven't got the hang of it yet. The Welsh language is a real mystery to most of us but a huge source of pride to the locals, the children don't learn English until they go to school ......we definitely feel foreign when the locals are speaking together. Anyway, a huge hello and thank you to all our friends, family and sponsors who have helped get the Team to Wales. Most of these reports will be focused on the Queen Charlotte sailors of Picton, plus the two imports of Melissa Gibbs of Auckland and Michael Cate of Whangarei. Declan, Josh and Scott have welcomed them in as part of the South Island based Team, the first arrivals of the complete NZ Team of ten. The second half of the Team, Jordan, Bradley, Hamish, James and Sebastian arrived late the day before yesterday and are still pretty tired after such a long trip ...it is always a big ask to rip into some tough training straight away. Conditions today are great for all and the boys enjoyed a couple of hours with our five. We had a fabulous flight over on Singapore Airlines, great service and food, in fact we felt so good, Declan and I immediately hit the City of London and walked our socks off. Declan has pronounced the city as the 'coolest place ever' and can't wait to get back there. Being cool is helped immensely by being given a beautiful little black convertible Mini Cooper S to drive around by my friend and former employer, Steve Hedley. A huge thank you for that! And Thank you to my other friends, Leo and Alison, I worked with years ago, giving us a cool place to stay, complete with Harley Bikes and Italian rockers.....Declan can't believe his luck.... We have been here in Pwllheli almost a week after a quick trip to see the family in Yorkshire. The sailors have been able to train with two boats from the UK Splash Association Chair, Gavin Johnston. Charlie, our coach, collected them on the way up here and our lads...and Mel, have put them to good use as they all took turns and acclimatised to the conditions here. We have had a little of everything from high winds, a little rain, ....to horror of horrors....lovely sunshine, warm water and fair winds. I made the mistake of taking a boat out to drop Josh out training and got quite sunburnt.The Pwllheli Sailing Club is great and the people here are very hospitable, we are mixing with them very well and they have helped us greatly with organising boats, repairs, spare gear etc. It has been great to have a drink with some of the Club officers each night. The organisation here gives us plenty of confidence for a great World Championship. Pwllheli is a very cute Welsh holiday town, about the size of Picton with 4000 people, very narrow streets ...the market on Wednesday and Sunday has been going for 600 years so goodness knows how old the town itself is. Full of holiday makers and you know when the weather is bad...no one is at the beaches, they are all shopping and the traffic is banked up for miles.Most of us are in cottages around the edge of town, a few minutes drive out. I have been out for a run through the narrow country lanes each morning ....just beautiful before the traffic starts up. It seems every farmers paddock has campers in it, tucked away everywhere. The Charter boats arrived yesterday, they are very good, a higher standard than last year with much better fittings, by tomorrow they should be tuned and ready to race.There are two practice races tomorrow as the official start of the Regatta. Our sailors will probably do a start, then pull out to get the next start in ...then sail home ...no point in giving too much away although all eyes are on us. The Welsh sailors remarked today that watching our sailors train 'was just scary!'. We are all talking to the other national sailors about the upcoming 2010 Worlds in Takapuna, Auckland, next January. We obviously want to get the numbers coming up and make sure they know how great an event us Kiwis can make it. We know that things have been tough everywhere but the counter to that is their money is worth so much when they get to NZ .......any excuse to have a glass of wine or a beer and spread the word ........ Enough for one day, I hope I have set the scene for the regatta and for more info please go onto the official worlds site up above.Post a message of support for our sailors would be much appreciated by them too. For those that need more sailing, Taylor is competing in the Optimist Worlds in Rio. He is there with Carolyn and is part of an NZ Team of 5 and had a great day yesterday with two 6ths. You can follow Taylor and the NZ team ....and post more messages ... on the NZ Opti site and follow through to the official site for results. That's all folksHappy sailing Rob Burn
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