Pre-Olympic update Star class Palfrey and Murray

by Andrew 'Dog' Palfrey on 12 Jul 2008 Andrew 'Dog'Palfrey and Iain Murray are the Australian Star class representatives in Qingdao, Andrew Palfrey provides their latest update.

'Iain, Euan (McNichol) and I are sitting in the airport at Hong Kong, on our way back from Qingdao to Sydney. We are returning from our last training camp prior to the Olympic Games.

The last three weeks have been very hectic. First there were shipping delays that saw all three of our boats held up in fog and customs clearance.

Then there was the boat repair to deal with, where we needed to do some fairly big alterations and subsequent repair work to our Olympic vessel. It was discovered some weeks ago (with the boat en-route from Miami to Qingdao) that there were illegalities with the boats supplied by Lillia boat yard.

The vast majority of the work was carried out by Mark Rowed and Chris Capel from Azurra Marine in Nowra. Whilst the boys were here, they also fully faired the hull and helped with some changes to the deck layout to cater for the light wind conditions we generally get in Qingdao.

For the second phase of the trip, we were joined by our training partners from the USA, George Szabo and Brian Fatih. George is a very successful Star class skipper of many years standing. He works for Quantum Sails of San Diego, who dominate the Star class market. He is super-enthusiastic guy (once he has had the caffeine infusion of a morning) and is always bubbling with ideas for what makes a Star boat go faster.

He is renowned in the class for his light air skills, so we are lucky to have him in our corner.

His crew, Brian, has been sailing Stars at a high level for many years. He hails from Miami, which is Star sailing mecca. Brian is one of life’s good guys. Perfect for this project. Hard working, enthusiastic, doesn’t say too much, but what he says is worth listening to. Also a very good sailor.

Having a second boat to spar with allows you to control testing far more than if you are sparring with a team who will ultimately be your opposition.

Olympic campaigning is largely about time management. Having a second boat to help you test gear and techniques is very effective training.

The days were long, as there was plenty to work on, both on and off the water.

On top of the sailing and toiling schedule, Iain was slugging it out in the gym, as he sheds a final few kg’s for the Olympics. It is important in choppy waters for the crew weight to be more centralised over the keel, so Iain has been working towards us being the same weight (just under 100kg’s).

He has lost over 30kg since we started sailing together some seven years ago, but has dipped a solid 15kg or so in the past year. He has now broken through the 100kg barrier. Bloody impressive for a 50 year old bloke!

We had a good run with the conditions. Well, as good a run as you can hope to expect in Qingdao. Of the 17 or so days we were there, we got out sailing at least 13 days.

Most days there are two or three things that you need to 'deal with'. Be it intense fog, algae outbreaks, no wind, big waves, thunderstorms, rain. But, you just get on with it and make the best of what you have. Come the first race of the Olympics, we will need to deal with the same issues. So, bring it on, I say.

I hope the above comments about the conditions in Qingdao don’t come across as too negative. The people there are bending over backwards to help us and the city of Qingdao and its inhabitants are extremely proud to be hosting the Sailing Olympics.

The algal outbreak has been dealt with in amazing fashion by the military and the authorities. There is now 30 miles of netting erected around the 'field of play' and the local fishing vessels are still out there all day-everyday scooping up the remnants.

There were tours of the Olympic village organised, but our schedule did not allow us to attend. Those on our team that did go for a look report that the venue is awesome and the level of accommodation etc is 5 star.

I just wanted to also say that I really appreciate the messages of support I have been receiving. it means a lot. Apologies for not replying to all, but it is great to receive them.

I have updated my little photo site. Click here for a look. click here

Finally, if you get a minute, have a look at the Australian Sailing Team website. Heaps of stuff there on all of the team. Click on STAR and there is some additional info there and a blog page and photos etc etc…

So, home for two precious weeks and then we are into it. Finally!'