Siese Finishes 6th After 12 Races
@ Thu Aug 26 15:47:00 2010
15 year old Sandys Boat Club sailor, Owen Siese, finished in 6th place overall at the inaugural Youth Olympic Games in Singapore today. Siese and the other 28 participants in the male singlehanded Byte CII dinghy completed their twelfth and final race in typical light and shifty conditions. Today’s race was a “Medal Race” and is similar to the medal race introduced at the Olympic level, in that it is non discardable. This meant that whatever positions the sailors finished in today would be added to their current net scores to determine their final placing overall.
After eleven races the Gold Medal was in reach for the top seven boats. Front-runner and Bermuda training partner, US Virgin Island’s Ian Barrows (ISV) had a 12 point lead between himself and second placed Germany (GER). Finland (FIN) followed 2 points back. Six points behind FIN, Siese went into the last race in 5th place tied with Netherland Antilles (AHO) ace, Just Van Aanholt but AHO held 4th through a tie break count back. The stage was set for a real showdown.
The day started with a dying breeze making it a real challenge with shifty conditions across the race course. The Race Committee postponed the scheduled 12 pm start, hoping for more consistent breeze for the last and only race of the day. About an hour later the race was started on the second attempt after a general recall on the first try. A left side starting line bias saw the leaders choosing the pin end of the line to start. On the first beat AHO, GER and ISV popped out in the front pack with Siese back further in the low teens. FIN had a terrible start and first windward leg which basically pulled him out of medal contention. In the end AHO’s Van Aanholt sailed an excellent race earning himself a Bronze Medal with his “bullet” for the day and his third of the regatta. USVI’s Barrows sailed this race conservatively keeping ahead of Germany to take third place in the final race and the Gold Medal overall. Germany finished in sixth today earning the Silver Medal. Siese ended up thirteenth on the day dropping him to 6th place overall behind Ukraine. His father reported that Owen was disappointed not be in contention for the Bronze Medal today as he carded one his lowest finishes in the regatta but felt good about finishing in 6th place at such a competitive and important regatta.
Youth Olympic Byte coach Pablo Weber was extremely pleased with Owen’s performance noting that his consistency kept him in the medal hunt for the entire event. Weber also stated that Bermuda’s approach to preparing for the games coupled with Siese’s die-hard commitment to training on and off the water led to this excellent performance. He sees great things ahead for Siese on a national and international level. He also sees the potential for Bermuda’s young sailors to do well at future Youth Olympics and other international events with consistent focus, training and support from the national sporting bodies.
Eleven different nations won medals at the inaugural Youth Olympics. The Youth Olympic Games have been widely acclaimed as an outstanding success and Singapore have been wonderful hosts.
Final Overall Standings
1. US Virgin Islands – Ian Barrows – 44pt
2. Germany – Florian Hauffe – 60 pt
3. Netherlands Antilles – Just Van Aanholt – 62 pt
4. Finland – Kaarle Tapper- 66 pt
5. Ukraine – Pavlo Babych – 72 pt
6. Bermuda – Owen Siese – 74 pt
7. Singapore – Darren Choy – 78pt
@ Tue Aug 24 14:52:00 2010
After days of postponements waiting for the wind to fill in, a tantalising 12 knot breeze called out to the sailors in the morning of day six of the Youth Olympic Games regatta in Singapore.
Conditions looked promising for three races in excellent winds, until start time, when the wind died again frustrating the ever positive Race Committee. Nevertheless, they managed to get racing underway on time. Fortunately the wind remained constant between 5 to 10 knots and organisers efficiently pulled off three back to back races.
Boys Byte CII
Tweeters CHAI Xun & Dawn Liu
Racing on the Byte CII boys’ course saw some surprises today as many of the current fleet leaders finished out of top five places in the three races sailed. Shifty winds, strong current decreasing over the day and gusts across the course made for tricky conditions. The strategy for each race varied. In race nine, the left side paid enormous dividends for sailors who made an investment there on the upwind leg.
In races 10 and 11, as the current died off, shifts and gusts took precedence. Among the top performers of the day were Pavlo Babych (UKR) with a 1,8 and 4 and Zili Wang (CHN) with a 2,5 and 6. Both have jumped up the overall rankings from original positions outside of the top 20.
Finishing first in the second race was also a surprise leader, Juan Ignacio Biava (ARG), who overtook initial race leader Ian Barrows (ISV) on the final downwind to nail a win – impressive for Biava, who is currently in 20th position overall.
However, the winner for the day had to be Ian Barrows (ISV), who finished with an 8,2 and 1. This result puts him in first place overall with 41 points after two discards – 12 points clear of second-placed Florian Haufe (GER).
Barrows said of his performance, “I had decent starts, good boat speed, and played the shifts in the oscillating wind. Current wasn’t really a big factor except in the first race, where staying on the left was better.”
Barrows goes into the non-discard medal race with a comfortable lead but silver and bronze medal positions remain close between Haufe (GER), Kaarle Tapper (FIN), Just Van Aanholt (AHO), Siese Owen (BER) and Darren Choy (SIN) with an outside chance.
Siese in 5th - Still in the Medal Hunt!
@ Mon Aug 23 14:36:00 2010
Monday 23rd Aug
3 races were scheduled – but only 2 sailed.
Slight delay in the morning, breeze only began to fill in just before the scheduled start.
But breeze built quite quickly, such that a good 8 kts from SSW by the time the racing started just after 1pm.
Owen had a reasonable start in the middle of the line, but played the left hand side on the first beat, and this was the wrong way to go! Owen rounded first weather mark in approx 20th. Steady sailing from here on in saw Owen chipping away, picking up places on every leg, eventually running out of race course when well placed in 8th place.
The breeze continues to build, and was up to 12-14 kts by the start of second race of the day. Another good start in the middle of the line – but this time followed up with good shifts to be racing in a group challenging for 4th-8th. A steady downwind leg picked Owen up to 5th, but while still in the hunt at the 2nd weather mark – got stuck in traffic just low of layline in current… ended up hitting the mark and having to do penalty turns. Another good downwind leg, and second beat and Owen was back in 6th place. 5th place sailor was a little too far ahead, Owen closed the gap but finished still in 6th.
During the 2nd race the breeze began to drop. 3rd race of the day was started in 8kts, but dropped quite quickly. After one windward and one leeward leg, race was abandoned due to lack of wind, and also due to approach of large thunderhead! A shame, Owen was in 5th/6th Darren Choy(SIN) was about 10th, and Ian Barrows(ISV) was in the 20s!
All in all, a very good day – Owen moves up to 5th place overall and still very involved in the medal hunt!
@ Fri Aug 20 14:35:00 2010
Owen Siese dropped slightly today as the Byte CII sailors completed Race 5 and Race 6 at the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore. Siese dropped from 4th to 7th place overall with finishes of 12 and 8 today. Today’s conditions saw the wind fluctuating between 3 and 12 knots, punctuated with delays caused by rain showers.
Today also saw an incredible amount of movement on the leaderboard as competitors were allowed to drop their worst race after the completion of Race 5. The top three spots have completely shifted with Finland’s Kaarle Tapper taking over the lead after sitting in fifth, Germany’s Florian Haufe moved to second from twelfth and Singapore’s Darren Choy (current World Champion) advanced to third from eigth place. Rounding out the top five, pervious leader Just Van Aanholt fell to fourth after leading the regatta and US Virgin Islands’ Ian Barrows jumped up to fifth place from fourteenth.
Overall Siese has sailed quite consistently compared with the fleet, many whom have at least one terrible race due to the light, shifting breeze and current. Only 11 points separate the top 8 sailors and with 4 more scheduled race days ahead, the event is still wide open. Racing continues tomorrow with another day off scheduled for Sunday. Owen’s father Martin and grandfather Tony Siese arrive in Singapore today to cheer on Bermuda’s athletes.
Owen Siese has moved up to 4th place at the Youth Olympic Games
@ Wed Aug 18 14:29:00 2010
Bermudian sailor Owen Siese has moved up to 4th place at the Youth Olympic Games. This now puts him within three points of the medal podium after completing two more races today.
Siese was able to score another excellent 2nd place finish in race three of the regatta and an 11th place in race four in the twenty nine boat fleet.
Only eight points separate 2nd through 5th place so the regatta is still wide open for a number of countries. Netherlands Antilles’ Just Van Aanholt is the clear leader at this point by a 14 point margin. Completion of the next race will allow the competitors to discard their worst race which will mix up the standings somewhat.
Following an early postponement due to monsoon like conditions, the sailors finally took to the water in 5 – 6 knot southwesterly winds. In race three Siese was 5th around the first windward mark and on the next upwind beat Siese decided to chase the favourable breeze on the starboard side of the course, risking greater adverse current.
This move paid off as he vaulted into 2nd place behind Spain’s Martin Llena as the fleet approached the top mark of the second time. Siese hit the mark as he rounded and was obligated to complete a penalty turn, which he did, losing second to Finland. Siese’s superior downwind speed and lighter physical weight allowed him to take back second place which he maintained to the finish.
There is minimal information on the YOG Twitter feed about Siese in race four since he was not in the top ten but his 11th place finish kept him “in the hunt”. The light breeze and tricky currents have produced varied results for all the sailors so consistency in the top third of the fleet is paramount. Wednesday, August 19th is a day off for the sailors where they can relax and/or take in some other sports. 10 more races are scheduled.
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