The leader board in the Open 470 European Championship Men/Mixed and Women being sailed at Lake Traunsee in Austria, remain unchanged after another day without racing.
Australia's Mathew Belcher and Malcolm Page are in a strong position to challenge for the medals heading into the final day of the 2009 470 Class European Championships in Austria.
Sailed in tricky conditions on Lake Traunsee Belcher and Page sit on 46 points after seven races, just six behind the third placed German crew of Lucas Zellmer and Heiko Seelig with three races left to run.
Belcher and Page have consistently been at the pointy end of the 82 boat fleet with a first placing in race two and a second in race five.
'The racing here is crazy,' said Page. 'The wind shifts are huge and the pressure differences even bigger.'
'I suppose this is expected when you are surrounded by 1000 metre high mountains, and I do mean plural mountains,' he said. 'Lake Traunsee is incredibly beautiful but a very difficult sailing venue.
The pair is progressing well in just their second European regatta together since pairing up earlier this year.
'We are enjoying any moment that we are not we are not postponed on shore and are making sure we use the time together to sail and race against the strong competition,' said Page.
The Australian crew is still well within striking distance of first place, just nine points behind Croatian's Sime Fantela and Igor Marenic and the Japanese pair of Harada Ryunosuke and Yoshida Yugo who are tied on 37 points.
'Tomorrow we head into the final, wind dependent, three races and the opportunities are there in front, and the challengers are waiting behind,' said Page.
'Nothing is guaranteed in this place, we just hope to get in as many races as possible tomorrow and throw the dice with the other competitors,' he said.
The two are joined in the men's fleet by fellow Australians Sam Kivell and Will Ryan who sit in 36th, ahead of Shane Hughes and Felix Patterson in 54th and Alexander and Patrick Conway in 75th.
In the women's fleet Australian Sailing Development Squad members Stacey Omay and Chelsea Hall sit in 26th place after five races.
According to the race schedule, today should have ended with the top 10 selected for the final medal race, to take place tomorrow.
There were hopes to have three races in both the men's and women's events, as predictions for a steady thermal wind were made. Unfortunately the wind didn't come and pressure on both Championships rise.
One starting attempt was made in the men's gold fleet and was abandoned on the first leg. Shifty winds made it impossible to continue racing and boats were sent back ashore. They were asked to be prepared to get back onto the water late yesterday afternoon, but nothing happened.
The sailors have not completed the required number of races for a valid Championship as yet.
One more race is required in each event, men/mixed and women, to reach the requirements for a valid European Championship. This race cannot be the medal race.
US Coach Kevin Burnham, who's successful sailing career in 470's goes back a long way, including a silver medal at the Olympic Sailing Regatta of Barcelona 1992 and a gold medal in Athens 2004, is on location coaching the US 470 team, and he is just as amazed by the conditions as the sailors are.
'I never had this situation in my over 30 year professional sailing career. The 470 class has always been very careful selecting the venues for its Championships, including this one. The fact that this is the first time that I've been involved in such a situation in 30 years, says that this is very rare situation. A 470 can be sailed in almost every wind condition, from very light, to heavy winds.
'Bearing in mind that we have a last chance tomorrow to have a valid race, I am happy that it is this race committee responsible for the race management tomorrow, because if there will be any condition at all that makes sailing somehow possible, they will be able to finish the job and make sure that the winners return home with their deserved medals' Burnham said.
To provide the best possible chance of completing a valid regatta, the first starting signal for tomorrow's racing is scheduled at sunrise, at 7:00am. This will allow officials to benefit from any possible south-west breeze and to get that one important race completed. Two races are scheduled in the afternoon, when a north-east thermal breeze is expected.
Top Ten 470 Men's Results:
1. CRO 83 - Fantela Sime/Marenic Igor 2 JPN 4340 - Ryunosuke Harada/Yugo Yoshida 3 GER 49 - Zellmer Lucas/Seelig Heiko 4 AUS 11 - Belcher Mathew/Page Malcolm 5 NED 1 - Coster Sven/Coster Kalle
* Australians Mathew Belcher and Malcolm Page - 4th Sam Kivell and Will Ryan - 36th Shane Hughes and Felix Paterson - 54th Alexander Conway and Patrick Conway - 75th
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