Improving Goodbody confident break will come

WHILE Britain’s dominant Olympic sailors marched to lead two of the three classes which have started racing on Fushan Bay off Qingdao, Ireland’s Finn sailor Tim Goodbody lies in 18th place overall after four races.

Goodbody opened with a nervous 22nd place in Saturday’s very light, difficult conditions when the sea breeze and gradient wind were in conflict to produce big wind shifts and a big drop in wind strength, if such a description can be used when the breeze is no more than five knots to start with.

Goodbody has posted a 13th and two 15th places. In the second race he was up in sixth place after a good opening, but he struggled to emerge unscathed when the fleet converged to form virtually one single line, spread laterally across the course, funnelling across the finish line 25 metres behind Britain’s Olympic champion Ben Ainslie, whose second victory this was, and who is second overall, five points behind America’s Zach Railey.