Olympic Sailing Regatta Day 7: Railey Match Races France to Nearly Guarantee Medal

Qingdao, China (August 15, 2008) â€" Winds did not cooperate with today’s aggressive catch-up schedule for the Olympic Sailing Regatta and all racing was postponed for four hours due to light and shifty winds. Boats were held in delays on the water, and some classes were brought in around 2:00 p.m. to wait onshore. Boats were re-launched after a brief wait and the Finns had started racing by 3:45 p.m. As they were in a delayed start that could not be rescheduled in time to make the day, 49ers were canceled for the day at 4:00 p.m. From noon to 4:00 p.m., hourly wind directions were reported in degrees as follows: 86; 69; 117; 79; 23. Though winds steadied out, sailors from different courses and different countries agreed today’s racing was dicey. In the words of one sailor, the sailing today was “marginal at best.” All classes sailed one race today, except the 470 Women who were able to sneak in two races.