Dorset Orthopaedic

Britain’s resolute Sonar team ended a tricky day two of their London 2012 Paralympic Sailing Regatta on a high and looking forward to building on their solid start to the event at Weymouth and Portland (Sunday 2 September).

For the second evening running the trio of John Robertson, Hannah Stodel and Steve Thomas found themselves in the protest room at the end of racing, this time alleging a right of way infringement by the Australian boat in the opening race of today – race three overall – had impeded their progress.

The Brits had originally finished that race in fifth, while the Australians, who had led overnight, were third. But the jury found in favour of the Brits’ protest, moving Robertson’s team up a place in that race while the Aussies were disqualified.

A gritty fifth in their second race of the day – during which they moved up from ninth at mark one to fifth on the final run to the line – means that the Brits lay fifth overall heading into day three but tied on level points with American boat in fourth.

Stodel explains: “We felt the Australians tacked and didn’t keep clear of us so we protested them and as such they have been disqualified from that race. Every point counts at this stage so we will keep fighting until the end.

“We had a bit of bad luck in the second race, we think we had a plastic bag caught around our rudder or something ridiculous because we were so slow up the first beat. But we fought to the bitter end and came back with a fifth so we can’t argue with that and there is all to play for now.

“This is certainly going to shake the points up a little bit overnight so we will just see what happens tomorrow. We will be trying to keep it consistent, keep it cool and we’re ready.”

The Sonar fleet is living up to its reputation as being one of the fiercely competitive of all the Olympic and Paralympic classes, with the all top teams posting a mixed bag of results so far and just seconds separating the main contenders at the marks.

The disqualification of the Aussies from race three saw them drop to sixth at close of play while only 10 points separates the top five boats. After the next race – race five overall – the sailors can eliminate their worst score of the regatta, which is guaranteed to once again have big implications for the leading pack.

Robertson admits that while his team aren’t unhappy with their start to the regatta they are ready to up the ante for the second half.

Robertson said: “To be fifth is ok but obviously we can do a lot better tomorrow so we look forward to that. There are certain areas we are just not quite firing on all cylinders on for whatever reason so if we can get those things sorted tomorrow it will be all glamour. The competition is really fierce so it is just who can make the least mistakes and get round the course the cleanest.

“The wind is swinging all the time, and the pressure is up and down so you have got to keep on top of it all the time and maximise every little advantage, which is what we did in the last race.

“It is only day two, we’ve got a long way to go really and the fleet’s still spread out. There are a couple of guys who have got a few less points but by the end of the week it could be all upside down again. There is nothing to retrieve for us yet, it is just a regatta and like always you keep fighting to the end. It is simple as that.”

The London 2012 Paralympic Sailing Regatta runs from Saturday 1 September and Thursday 6 September.

Keep up to date with the action on the RYA News channel

The British Paraylmpic sailing team of Steve Thomas, Hannah Stodel and John Robertson are preparing for the 2012 games in Weymouth and Portland this summer. For this team, it is a case of 3rd time lucky, as they have already competed at Athens and beijing, but unfortunately came away from both events in 6th position.

Watch their reflections on the journey so far.

Click here to read more on The British Sonar Team

John Robertson, Hannah Stodel and Steve Thomas claimed gold in the Sonar class on a wind-affected final day of action at the French World Cup regatta in Hyeres.

The Sonar class, was the only one of the three Paralympic classes to leave the dock, but the 22 knot conditions, coupled with big waves were deemed unsuitable for racing, allowing Robertson, Stodel and Thomas, who went into the day with a three point lead, to keep hold of their gold medal position.

“We’ve won, and had an awesome week but sadly no sailing today,” said helm Robertson. “It was a bit disappointing not to get sailing and surf around out there for a bit, but that’s the way it goes unfortunately. It was getting a bit too fruity and the waves were huge!

“It’s a good result for us for the week – not that it was so important for us to win here. It was more of a process thing for us to get everything ticked off for [the Paralympics in] September.

“We’re quite pleased with how everything is going– it’s all good.”

Their next step in preparation for the Paralympics is the Delta Lloyd Regatat in Medemblik from May 22^nd till May 26^th

Dorset Orthopaedic provides Steve Thomas, a bi-lateral amputee, with his sailing prosthetics. Steve collaborated with Bob Watts, Managing Director of Dorset Orthopaedic, to design the best prosthetics for his Paralympic sailing role. Key features include the use of non-corosive materials, keeping the moving parts to a minimum and establishing the ideal centre of gravity.

Click here to read more on The British Sonar Team

The Sonar trio held on to the lead position on a windy penultimate day in Hyeres.

John Robertson, Hannah Stodel and Steve Thomas came through a ‘pretty full on’ race in the Paralympic Sonar class to finish second and maintain their spot at the top of the results table with one day to go.

“It was pretty epic,” said helm Robertson. “It was pretty much near my limit I think really just for the wave conditions – it was a pretty short steep sea and wind driven.

“We sent it at the start, managed to get around the windward mark second, and just held on all the way round. The bear away was pretty epic but we managed to keep hold of it and then just surfed down the waves at 15 knots.”

“It’s a great place to be,” commented Robertson on his team’s overall first place, with one day of the regatta left to go.

“Unfortunately the Norwegians pulled out of that race with some boat damage so I don’t know if they’re going to sail tomorrow, but the French are also pretty close so it’ll be good to get another race in tomorrow and see if we can finish it off.”

Click here to read more on The British Sonar Team