Racing began in cool and gusty southerly 15-20 knot winds on Port Phillip Bay and similar to Saturday''s first round of Medal Races dialled back to light and patchy by the time the first Medal Race contenders took their starting positions.But, unlike Saturday the breeze cranked back up again to a consistent 17 knot and the Medal Race sequence carried on without delay through to a perfect regatta close.

Men's 470
It was game on between brothers Alexander and Patrick Conway (AUS) and the Portuguese team of Antonio and Joao Rosa in the Medal Race. The wind was up to 15 knots from the SW by the time the men's and women's fleet lined up for the final battle.

The Rosas had the advantage at the start, but the Conways went tack-for-tack with them to gain the advantage by the top mark the second time around. From there they blasted down the last run and across the finish line, leaving the rest of the fleet well clear.

Their Medal Race victory assured them of the first Men's 470 qualifying slot for the 2015 ISAF Sailing World Cup Final in Abu Dhabi in 2015.

"It's been a very good battle all week; we have been very close to each other every race. It's been exciting, and interesting," Patrick said. "We are excited and relieved. It's really exciting for us to have qualified. It's another regatta where it's going to be the top 15 or 20 boats in the world, it's going to be a Medal Race every single race."

The Rosa brothers held onto second place overall and Angus Galloway and Joshua Dawson (AUS) finished third.

Women's 470
It might have been a two-boat race, but Sasha Ryan and Amelia Catt (AUS) still pushed their hardest racing in among the men's fleet. They won the Medal Race while two-time Australian Olympian Jeni Lidgett-Danks and her crew Jaime Ryan (AUS) finished with a U flag penalty.

Both Ryan and Catt were surprised by the news that their result secured them the first Women's 470 qualifying spot for the 2015 ISAF Sailing World Cup Final in Abu Dhabi.

"We've only just teamed up earlier in the year so it has all been about processes and building the team at this regatta," Ryan said. "We feel like a lot of things have come together this week and it's been good to race with the boys. I think they're a little bit more aggressive than the women usually. It's been a real challenge for us, but really good fun too," Ryan added.

"It's awesome to qualify for the World Cup final and we're really excited. It's a big bonus for us and something to work towards over the next year."

How does Sailing World Cup Final qualification work?
Event winners from each ISAF Sailing World Cup (SWC) Regatta will qualify to the 2015 SWC Final whilst the best placed 'home continent' sailor in each round will also qualify. The top three finishers at the 2015 Class World Championships (if already held) will qualify to the 2015 SWC Final. The remaining SWC Final places will be awarded via the ISAF World Sailing Rankings.

Up to twenty 2015 ISAF Sailing World Cup Final spots are available in Melbourne, the first stop of the 2015 series.

Video
Rights free news feeds containing interviews and b-roll of sailing action will be available from Wednesday 10 December through to Sunday 14 December on the ISAF FTP. A log Sheet will be attached.
 
In addition, fully-produced highlight packages will be available from 10-14 December. These will contain interviews, action and results, including event graphics.
 
For FTP login details, specific requests and native language interviews please contact ISAF TV using the following address – isaf.tv@isaf.com

Images
High resolution, free for editorial use images will be available to download here. To download low resolution images for web use, please use the password - SWCMelb2014. For the high resolution password please contact the ISAF Communications Department below.

Results
Results are available here - www.sailing.org/worldcup/results/index.php

Live Tracking
The racing will be available to watch in 2D and 3D via the live tracking.

Click here to view live tracking.
 
Live Tracking via the Sailviewer-3D Tablet App will be available for devices with 7" or greater screens.

Click here to download the iOS Application.

Click here to download the Android Application

Follow
ISAF Sailing World Cup website: http://www.sailing.org/worldcup/home.php
ISAF Sailing World Cup Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/ISAFSailingWorldCup

Source: Lisa Ratcliff / ISAF