Rude awakening for NZ world champion

By Suzanne McFadden

World boardsailing champion Aaron McIntosh discovered he is not invincible after finishing second in a regatta on the site of the 2000 Olympics.

McIntosh came runner-up to top Australian Lars Kleppich in the Sydney International Regatta on Sydney Harbour. But he is not in the least disappointed.

"I'm not as invincible as I thought I was," he said. "It's exposed a real weak-ness - which is what I wanted to find.

"I found out that in the light, sloppy conditions here I'm weaker than I should be. I wasn't comfortable all day when the wind blew between five and eight knots."

McIntosh had spent two weeks in Sydney before the regatta, learning the nuances of the harbour in preparation for the 2000 Olympics.

It was the only sailing the Aucklander has done since winning the world cham-pionship in France in October.

World women's champion Barbara Kendall has had even less time on the water, and finished third in Sydney, behind Frenchwomen Merret Faustine and Maud Herbert.

The regatta gave the Kiwis an insight into what dangers may lie ahead on the inner harbour course during the Olympics.

A Frenchwoman had her board destroyed when she was hit by an 18ft skiff, while New Zealander Shayne Bright, Kendall's husband, tangled with a ferry, but escaped injury.

A Kiwi youth crew picked up silver in the double-handed 420 class. Matt Davies, the world Laser II champion, and Kevin Borrows led for the first two days before slipping behind an Australian pair.

Davies and Borrows leave for the world youth championships in South Africa on Christmas Day.

Sara Winther was fifth in the Laser Radial fleet, while Michelle Vinsen was ninth. Former world champion Nik Burfoot finished eighth in the Laser class.