DEMPSEY MAINTAINS LEAD IN PALMA

British sailors continue to top the results tables in three classes after the second day of racing at the Princess Sofia Trophy in Palma on Monday (17 March), with triple Olympic medallist Ben Ainslie extending his lead at the top of the Finn fleet.

Nick Dempsey maintains his lead in the RS:X windsurfing fleet, but has Nimrod Mashiah and Shahar Zubari of Israel snapping at his heels in second and third places.  Development squad sailor Elliot Carney enjoyed a fantastic day on the water, beating Dempsey in the first race with a 2^nd place followed by 10^th in the second race, while Bryony Shaw retains her third place in the women’s RS:X fleet. 

Elsewhere, Ben Ainslie, who’ll defend his Olympic crown in the heavyweight dinghy class in Beijing this summer, posted back to back wins in his two races in Palma Bay today, and now sits 13 points ahead of nearest rival, American Zach Railey, with four races under his belt.

Said a modest Ainslie of his day’s efforts: “It was a little trickier out there yesterday – I think I just generally sailed better today.

“All the testing we did out here last week looks to be working out well, and we had some good 8-12 knot conditions out there today.

“It seems I quite enjoy racing here in Palma!” concluded the 31-year-old, who last competed at the Princess Sofia Trophy – and won – in 2004, the year of his second Olympic triumph.

Skandia Team GBR has two sailors leading the pack in the men’s single-handed Laser fleet – three-times European Champion and Beijing nominee Paul Goodison tops the table with 7,1 from his two races today, while Nick Thompson is four points behind with 3,1 to show for Monday’s outing.

Racing in the Yngling class remains tight, with the double World Championship-winning British crew of Sarah Ayton, Sarah Webb and Pippa Wilson in fourth place, just six points off the leading Russian boat, and a point away from the podium places after four races, and a point away from the podium positions.

Paul Campbell-James and Mark Asquith are currently the top Skandia Team GBR crew in the 49er fleet – after picking the less favourable side of the course in the first race to finish 12th, they picked up the pace in the second and third races with results of 2,9. 

In the 470 men’s fleet, development squad sailors Matt Burge and Dan Schieber are the top British boat in 21^st, while Hannah Mills and Katrina Hughes are currently the leading Skandia Team GBR pairing in the 470 women’s fleet, in 9^th while Beijing nominees Christina Bassadone and Saskia Clark are in 11^th.

Racing at the Princess Sofia Trophy-Mapfre continues through until Friday 21 March.  For more information, visit http://www.skandiateamgbr.com/events/princsoftrop/princsoftrop.htm