Nocka notches a third

24th January 2008  

Anthony Nossiter (AUS) on his way to third today

Australian Olympic team member Anthony (Nocka) Nossiter scored a fine come-from-behind third place in race three of the Finn Gold Cup world championship, sailed off Black RockYacht Club on Port Phillip today.

The race was sailed in a light south-westerly which faded to 9-7 knots after blowing up to 14 earlier leaving the single-handers bobbing underpowered through a sloppy seas.

These conditions do not usually suit Nossiter. But he sailed a clever tactical race upwind, though swinging wind shifts and held on downwind, which has been his weaker point of sailing in lighter winds.

The race was delayed by three postponements during the starting sequences while race officials re-laid the course to meet wind shifts of up 20 degrees. The fourth attempt to start the race ended with a general recall, with too many boats in the fleet of 83 over the line early to be identified.

The fourth start began under a black flag, which meant that anyone over the line early was instantly disqualified.

Among the five boats disqualified under the black flag rule was Florian Raudaschl, who led the fleet from start to finish.

So British two-times Olympic gold medallist Ben Ainslie, who closed to within a metre of Ruadaschl on the run to the finish, won the race from Michael Maier (Czech Republic) with Nossiter third, a touch ahead of New Zealander Dan Slater who won the first two races.

Nossiter recovered from a poor start to be seventh at the first rounding mark, by placing himself well on the wind shifts up the first windward beat. He made a big gain on the second beat, while Ainslie was engaged in a covering battle with Slater, to round the last mark fourth, just ahead of Slater.

He managed to just hold off Slater, who is fast offwind, in the run to the finish.
The third placing, after a 10th and 15th in the first two races, consolidates Nossiter’s overall standing as sixth within the top ten in the nine-race series.

He was happy with the result. You put a regatta together to stay in the top ten. It would be nice to win a race this week, but it’s hard to take a risk to win a race, “ he said.

Some of the top sailors, including defending world champion Rafael Trujillo of Spain, have crashed out of contention with poor results in the first two races. Nossiter said: It’s tricky out there, it has not been a normal Melbourne sailing day yet; hopefully we will get one tomorrow.” 
By Bob Ross