Gold finish
Australia’s Jock Calvert finishes Genoa World Cup Series with a Medal Race win.
24 April 2019
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Young Tasmanian sailor Jock Calvert won the Finn Medal Race to finish sixth overall on the final day of the Hempel World Cup Series in Genoa, while a second young Australian, Mara Stransky, finished eighth in the Laser Radial Medal Race to also finish sixth overall.
Racing with the stunning city of Genoa as a backdrop, Calvert told how a few others match raced around the course, giving him the freedom to sail cleanly.
“It was good day. It was a nice way to wrap up a good week. It was a bit of a break-out week for me; a good performance. It’s nice to be at the top,” said the 21 year-old who has sailed two seasons in the Finn now.
Calvert, whose family name is well known in Australian sailing circles, sailed the full European circuit last year and recently competed at Palma and Genoa, the first two events of the European season. “This is 100 percent my best result away from Australia,” he said.
“Even though a lot of the top guys are missing, I raced guys who are often in front of me. Now I’ve beat them, so it is a definite move forward in terms of confidence. Next is the big one; the Europeans in Athens in three weeks. My goal is to get closer and closer to the big names.”
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One of those big names is veteran campaigner, Jorge Zarif (BRA), who finished fourth at the Rio Olympics and won the Finn gold medal at this event.
There is little time for celebrating, as Calvert will be on a ferry to Athens tomorrow, “To start the process of preparing for the Europeans,” he commented. “There are areas where I need to make some improvements, so I’ll meet Rafa (coach Rafa Trujillo) there and get everything set up for a good event,” he ended.
West Australian brothers David and Lachy Gilmour won the 49er gold medal on Day 6 of the Hempel World Cup Series, after finishing fourth in the double points Medal Race.
In a fleet of the world’s elite 49er sailors, the Gilmours held off Rio Olympic gold medallists, Peter Burling/Blair Tuke (NZL), who took Bronze and fourth placed reigning world champions Sime and Mihovil Fantela (CRO). New Zealand’s Isaac McHardie/William McKenzie took the silver medal.
The 49er race started at 11.40am local time and was sailed in a 5 to 6 knot fairly stable breeze. Lachy Gilmour described what unfolded: “We got off the start in poor shape, got rolled and had to tack twice before we got a clear lane.
“From there, we just sailed faster than everyone else. We sailed through the left pack and the right pack.
We were just managing the boats around us. I kept asking Dave ‘are we good on points’? And he kept saying ‘yeah’. We finished fourth which gave us the gold medal.
This is by far the best international result for the brothers who joined forces last September for a shot at the 2020 Olympics. They sailed their new 49er in Genoa and are happy they have it up to speed.
Lachy: “It’s pretty unreal to come away with this result in the sort of fleet we were up against. We went into the day just wanting to do what we’ve been doing all week – just sail clean and fast. We just wanted to manage ourselves and not screw up anyone else’s race.
“It’s a massive confidence booster for us and the Australian squad environment too. I think all the skills are in place. It’s about putting it together when it comes time to race and to be consistent in training and racing,” he ended, saying they were looking forward to competing at the European 49er Championship at Weymouth in May.
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