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Sailing - 07. August 2011.

Fun and frustration for GBR on day six ofOlympic test regatta

Weymouth and Portland served up some breezy conditions on the sixth day of the Olympic test regatta on Sunday (7 August), with Skandia Team GBR's contenders enjoying mixed fortunes at the 2012 venue.

A steady day for the 470 women's crew of Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark sees them hold on to the overall lead after six races, while Ben Ainslie is level on points with Frenchman Jonathan Lobert at the top of the Finn fleet after a testing day.

Wind conditions in the region of 22 knots made for a physical day's racing, with many crews across the fleets capsizing in the gusts.

Mills and Clark maintained another steady day to keep the overall lead in the 470 women's event at the halfway stage of their regatta and heading into their rest day on Monday.

They picked up an eighth and second from their two races, which gives them a ten point margin over the second-placed Japanese crew of Ai Kondo and Wakako Tabata.

"We're really pleased with our day on the water today," said the 31-year-old Clark.

"When me and Hannah teamed up in February, one of our areas of concern was how we'd perform in the big breeze so we're definitely pleased to have come off the water with a second and an eighth.

"A few people have got a better day than us, but not many, so we're pleased.

"I feel pretty knackered!" she continued.  "We're doing shorter courses with lots of laps so It does change the game a bit.  I'm a bit more exhausted with those extra few hoists and drops that we do and I think Hannah's feeling pretty battered as well, but luckily we're scheduled for a day off tomorrow so time to recover."

After a difficult day on Saturday, the 470 men's team of Nick Rogers and Chris Grube bounced back with 3,6 from their two races to move them into fifth place overall after six races.

"It was physical [today] because the chop was so on and off, especially down by the [harbour] wall it was a real mess," said helmsman Rogers, who won 470 class silver with Joe Glanfield at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics.

"I feel like I've had a fire hose in my eyes all day!  But it was a really good, fun day and I'm glad to have got some good results out of it."

The RS:X windsurfers will return to action on Monday (8 August) with Nick Dempsey poised in first and Bryony Shaw in fourth, while both 470 classes, the Lasers and Laser Radials will resume racing on Tuesday (9 August).
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