The final day of the 45th Youth Sailing World Championships produced some tense finishes as medal places were mixed about on the waters of Langkawi, Malaysia.
Lighter winds awaited the record 425 sailors from 76 nations to end a regatta that has seen a constant 20 knots throughout. With the wind halved, tactics and surprises were in store and that proved to be the case with several shake ups having big bearings on who left with a medal.
The gold medal in the boy’s Laser Radial and 420 were already decided, with some of the sailors in other fleets knowing they had a medal, just not what colour it would be. There were also some who had a medal in their grasp, but just couldn’t quite hold on at the last.
Check out some highlights from the week below:
Laser Highlights
Alistair Young (AUS) and Maria Erdi (HUN) came out on top in the Laser Radial at the Youth Worlds after a hard fought week on Langkawi’s waters.
URL – https://youtu.be/7BISCIOQLXo
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29er Highlights
29er sailors from Finland and Slovenia were full of smiles back at the boat park on the final day of the Youth Worlds. Hear from the winners and catch the best of the boy’s and girl’s skiff action.
URL – https://youtu.be/bRz4_8vl0EU
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420 Highlights
There were two very happy 420 teams from Poland and the USA. Enjoy some of the 420 highlights and reaction from the winners in Langkawi.
URL – https://youtu.be/tnECbCa332E
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RS:X Highlights
Russia’s Stefania Elfutina successfully defended her Youth Worlds RS:X title in Langkawi whilst France’s Titouan Le Bosq picked up the title in the boy’s fleet.
URL – https://youtu.be/SFLHiD84FaM
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SL16 Highlights
France’s Louis Flament and Charles Dorange were nearly perfect in the SL16 as they retained their title in the Youth Worlds multihull. The pair were reflective after racing and are now aiming to take their sailing career forward.
URL – https://youtu.be/O5fNGhzk1b0
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The final day of the 45th Youth Sailing World Championships produced some tense finishes as medal places were mixed about on the waters of Langkawi, Malaysia.
Lighter winds awaited the record 425 sailors from 76 nations to end a regatta that has seen a constant 20 knots throughout. With the wind halved, tactics and surprises were in store and that proved to be the case with several shake ups having big bearings on who left with a medal.
The gold medal in the boy’s Laser Radial and 420 were already decided, with some of the sailors in other fleets knowing they had a medal, just not what colour it would be. There were also some who had a medal in their grasp, but just couldn’t quite hold on at the last.
29er
There were twists and turns in the girl’s 29er as the last race caused a shake-up at the top. However, it was Finland’s Sirre Kronlof and Veera Hokka who were celebrating at the end.
The Finnish team used up their drop in the final race, finishing 15th but it was enough to take home gold. Back ashore it was down to Kronlof to put in to words what the win meant saying, “Awesome. I can’t say anything. I don’t know. The last race was so tight, so tight. There was so much pressure on but we managed it.
“It was light winds today and all week we have been in strong winds. We knew before we started that the Spanish are really good in light winds so we were worried.”
Going in to the final race, just three points separated the top three of Finland, Spain and Denmark with New Zealand waiting to pounce in fourth, eight points further back.
As the opportunity arose, Greta and Kate Stewart (NZL) duly pounced, taking fourth to leave them on 57 points. A nervous wait followed as they watched where their rivals were. A few skiffs crossed the line and the Kiwis chances were suddenly becoming a reality and as soon as the 13th, 14th and 15th placed boats finished the mathematical calculations commenced.
The Finnish team came through in 15th and discarded the score, leaving them on 53 points. Next home were Spain’s Carla and Marta Munte Carrasco who had to carry their score due to a retirement earlier in the regatta. They held 58 points. Denmark’s Laerke Graversen and Iben Nielsby Christensen came through in 15th, which they discarded, and they were forced to count their 12th from the third race to put them on 57 points. This left Kronlof and and Hokka celebrating gold, the Danes in silver and the Stewart sisters in bronze due to countback.
With the Spanish out of the medals, what did Kronlof think caused the drop? “I think the pressure got to them also. They knew they had to beat us by two or three places.”
Switching places after the final race of the boy’s 29er were Slovenia’s Peter Lin Janezic and Anze Podlogar and New Zealand’s Jackson Keon and Nick Egnot Johnson.
The New Zealanders held an overnight lead of three points over Janezic and Podlogar so the Slovenians had to put some daylight between their rivals to get the gold. They managed it.
Explaining the last race, Janezic said, “Our first upwind was not as we planned and we were behind a lot. But then in the upwind we caught them. As we rounded the gate we were in front but we knew we had to be four places ahead and luckily we caught some shifts and we finished in front.”
Gold Medal 29er Men Slovenia 29er Men Crew SLOAP1 Anze Podlogar Slovenia 29er Men Helm SLOPJ1 Peter Janezic Day6, Final Day, 2015 Youth Sailing World Championships, Langkawi, Malaysia
The Slovenians finished in seventh leaving them on 46 points overall. The Kiwi team were five places behind in 12th as they concluded the regatta on 48 points. Janezic and Podlogar had done it. They had won the gold.
So how did it feel to win? “This is our first time that we have won a championship or any big event like this and its amazing. It definitely makes up for the fourth places.”
The fourth places he talks about are the finishes the pair got in both the World and European Championships but at the premier youth sailing regatta they broke their drought.
In in the battle for bronze it was Norway’s Tomas and Mads Mathisen who picked up the medal despite a 20th place finish.
420
The girl’s 420 went down to the wire as Poland’s Julia Szmit and Hannah Dzik and Australia’s Nia Jerwood and Lisa Smith fought it out for the gold medal.
Thanks to day five double bullets, the Polish team had a slender advantage, and it was those results that made the difference in the end. Poland had a 22nd place which they discarded and Australia had a 13th place which they also discarded. That meant Szmit and Dzik finished on 29 points, just one point ahead of Jerwood and Smith.
Even though the Polish girls knew what they had to do, it was only confusion that entered their mind when they took to the water as Szmit explains, “The last race was horrible. We were so stressed. We tried to go with the Australian team but then we started and thought ‘why are they on the other side?’ We totally forgot about them from the start.
“The whole race we were counting the teams before the Australians and there were 12, and we just thanked god no one had a false start.”
“We don’t understand why we are first. It’s unbelievable.”
Winning the bronze was Spain’s Maria Caba and Carla Diaz who rounded their week off with a fifth place finish and 38 points. The final bullet of the girl’s 420 went to France’s Jessie Kampman and Anael Ponthieu.
USA’s Will Logue and Bram Brakman started the day with a guaranteed gold medal, but it wasn’t until late last night that it was confirmed for them.
The pair had to wait for a protest to be withdrawn before they could fully appreciate the win, as Logue explained, “We were so happy. We were celebrating so much and then we found out we had a protest and we were like ‘Wait. What? How did this happen?’ But it all got sorted and we are good friends with the team that protested and when it got sorted it was such a relief. It was good to have that weight off our shoulders today.”
Even though there was a gold medal wrapped up and an easy day could be had, Brakman still had eyes on another prize, “We wanted to enjoy the fun, the race and the pressure release, but we also had the Nations Cup in mind to get some points on the table for our team.”
Unfortunately they couldn’t help the team as they only managed a discarded 16th.
The silver medal went to Brazil’s Leonardo Lombardi and Rodrigo Luz as they had a third in the last race to finish on 37 points.
Ireland’s Douglas Elmes and Colin O’Sullivan held off a late fight back from Australia’s Alec Brodie and Xavier Winston Smith and Argentina’s Felipe Martinez Autin Diniz and Ivan Aranguren to claim the bronze medal on 46 points. The Australian’s scored a ninth and finished on 48 points and the Argentinian’s took a bullet for 49 points. Elmes and O’Sullivan finished 11th in the final race but had some breathing space going into the day.
Louis Flament and Charles Dorange(FRA)
Laser Radial
The top three in the girl’s Laser Radial finished as it started on the final day as Hungary’s Maria Erdi claimed a well-earned gold followed by Germany’s Hannah Anderssohn and Poland’s Magdalena Kwasna.
By finishing fourth ahead of her nearest rivals, Erdi was able to do what was required to stay in front and keep her first place in the regatta, but it wasn’t as easy as it sounds as Erdi explained, “I’m very happy, but it was really tricky today. I was worried because I had a bad race yesterday, but I got a good start and I could control the fleet.
“I was third at the upward mark and then I could keep my place. I think I finished fourth but I don’t even remember, I just knew I was in a good position.”
She was certainly in a good position as Germany’s Anderssohn finished behind her in sixth place to seal silver.
Losing her second spot to Anderssohn the previous day, Poland’s Kwasna fell further behind as she finished the regatta with a ninth place to leave her on 41 points. That ninth was enough to stop her sliding any further down as in second place on the day was Uruguay’s Dolores Moreira Fraschini who finished just three points behind the German.
The last bullet of the regatta went to Spain’s Silvia Morales Gonzalez.
In the boy’s Laser Radial Australia’s Alistair Young knew there was no one that could knock him from the top of tree as he had already wrapped up the title the day before.
So with the weight off his shoulders, Young had the day to enjoy the Langkawi waters. With the night to think about his win, Young still couldn’t believe it saying, “Words can’t describe it still, but it is sinking in. I was pretty relaxed and it was nice because I was so stressed in all the other races and I knew in this one I could just sail around.”
His ‘sail around’ meant a 15th place finish which he discarded to finish the regatta on 32 points.
Julia Szmit and Hanna Dzik(POL)
Meanwhile a race for silver and bronze was on. Great Britain’s Daniel Whiteley and New Zealand’s George Gautrey trailed USA’s Nicholas Baird and Finland’s Oskari Muhonen In fourth and fifth respectively and knew they were in with a shot of the podium spots.
A fourth place moved Gautrey in to silver medal position as others around him were not quite grasping on to a medal tight enough. Gautrey benefitted from some high score finishes by his rivals to end the regatta on 52 points.
Great Britain’s Daniel Whiteley was the big mover of the day as he also took advantage of some high finishes when his bullet jumped him in to bronze medal position at the expense of Baird and Muhonen. Whiteley finished on 58 points, two clear of Baird on 60 points.
Alistair Young(AUS)
RS:X
Russia’s Stefania Elfutina managed to defend her Youth Worlds crown as she held off Great Britain’s Emma Wilson and China’s Xian Ting Huang.
The three have been a step ahead of the field all week and their regular top place finishes meant that the medals would be shared out between them before the last day. The only thing that needed to be decided was the colours.
Elfutina held on to her title with a third place finish and it was only after the day that she could reflect on her time as a youth competitor, “I feel so happy and it’s my second time and it’s always unbelievable. It’s great to finish my youth career in such a good place with such good people around, and to win it is even better.”
Behind Elfutina was Wilson who left it until the last and most important day to move up to second overall and claim silver. With a bullet in the final race and Huang finishing fourth, it meant the two were tied on 28 points. The final race win was decisive for Wilson as she grabbed the silver via count back.
While Elfutina was defending her title, the boy’s RS:X winner, France’s Titouan Le Bosq, was already thinking about how he would hold on to his next time in Oman.
An excited Le Bosq was clearly in love with his board saying, “It’s my first world title and the conditions all week were great. I like the planing. I like this sport. I love windsurfing!”
Stefania Elfutina(RUS)
With a fifth place in the final race, his 45 point total meant that he can return next year as champion of the class, and he already knows that’s his plan, “I like this competition and I definitely want to come back and defend my title in Oman and come back even stronger.”
Argentina’s Francisco Saubidet Birkner took the silver medal following a third leaving him to finish the week on 55 points.
Aruba’s Mack van der Eerenbeemt was looking to take the experience he gained from the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games and apply it to the Youth Worlds, but mast issues slowed down his progress. Even so, he could not finish above Brazil’s Brenno Francioli who will take a well-deserved bronze medal back home for his efforts. Francioli finished on 76 points, six clear of van der Eerenbeemt.
Titouan Le Bosq
SL16
The French domination continued in the SL16 as Louis Flament and Charles Dorange again had a perfect day winning all three races in the gold fleet.
In Flament’s words, “We won a lot of races and we controlled our opponents since the start of competition.”
The French precision ensured they managed everyone in the fleet with the only blot on their copy book a fifth place finish in their ninth race.
Describing what happened in that race, a laughing Flament said, “It’s my fault. I fell in the water and Charles had to come back and pick me up.”
Even with his swim, the continuous bullets meant that they were too strong to catch, but with Flament aged out of the next Youth Worlds, would Dorange come back with a new partner? He put it simply, “I think not. We are going to stay as team and go forward.”
Trying to catch them all week were Australian’s Shaun Connor and Sophie Renouf who before the regatta had never raced an SL16. The pair adapted well to take a silver medal, but their tally of 26 points was no match for the French teams 14 points.
Rounding out the medals with a bronze was New Zealand’s Tamryn Lindsay and William Mckenzie who couldn’t match their neighbours as they fell away with a string of fourth place finishes as the regatta drew towards its conclusion.
Gold Medal 420 Men United States 420 Men Crew USABB142 Bram Brakman United States 420 Men Helm USAWL30 Will Logue Day6, Final Day, 2015 Youth Sailing World Championships, Langkawi, Malaysia
Nations Trophy
The Nations Trophy was won by Australia with boy’s Laser Radial sailor Alistair Young leading the charge for the team from Down Under.
With a total of 303 points, the Australian team beat New Zealand in to second on 279 and France in third on 245.
This is Australia’s fourth Nations Trophy and it ties them in second place historically with Great Britain. France are still out in front on 11 wins.
Last year’s winners Spain dropped down to seventh.
The 45th Youth World Championships closes with the prize giving and closing ceremony to be held at the Dewan Mahsuri International Exhibition Centre.
There were early gold’s cemented on day five of the 45th Youth Sailing World Championships in Langkawi, Malaysia as some moved to an insurmountable lead ahead of the final day.
As the sailors returned to shore, there were a couple that stepped back on to solid ground safe in the knowledge that they will be on top of the podium come the prize giving.
By stretching out to leads that can not be passed, the Australian and USA teams already know they will be returning home with at least one gold each.
Laser Radial
The first gold medal of the Youth Worlds has gone to Australia as Alistair Young has won the boy’s Laser Radial.
With an uncatchable 21 points total, Young can go in to the final race safe in the knowledge that his work is done despite a bad day by his standards.
Young finished the day with a seventh and 11th place but thanks to his consistently high places earlier in the regatta he could discard the 11th while his opponents had to carry their low places from the day.
Sitting on his winning Laser Radial, Young said, “It wasn’t my best day as it was crazy shifty out there, but luckily my nearest competitors didn’t have a good day either so it ended up that I managed to win the World Championships.”
The competitors he was talking about were USA’s Nicholas Baird who had a 19th place and Finland’s Oskari Muhonen who had a retirement in the final race of the day.
The Australian Young is a returnee to the Youth Worlds arena and he credits the experience gained from Tavira in 2014 in helping him win, “After finishing fifth last year I really wanted to improve on that and get to the top, so I’m stoked, couldn’t be happier.
“The Youth Worlds is a totally different regatta to anything else that you can do and having one under the belt, the experience has helped me heaps.”
Baird sits in second on 41 points with Muhonen third on 43 points, but they will have to watch their backs as Russia’s Kirill Evfimyevskiy is close behind on 47 and New Zealand’s George Gautrey has 48 points thanks to a bullet in the first race of the day.
Asri Azman gave the Malaysian team a boost when he crossed the finish line in the final race of the day in first place. Azman started the regatta well but had a dip in form in the last few race days. His bullet is a definite high point for the home nation sailor.
In the girl’s Laser Radial, Hungary’s Maria Erdi started the Youth Worlds with the aim of getting top fives in all the races, so she will be disappointed when she finished 23rd in the first race of the day. Despite the set back, Erdi turn things around to take a bullet in the next and maintains her top position on 19 points.
Germany’s Hannah Anderssohn moves up in to second place overall with a second and a discarded 8th. Her rise was helped by Poland’s Magdalena Kwasna who could only manage a tenth and discarded 11th. Anderssohn has 26 points while Kwasna has 32 points.
The other bullet of the day went to Australia’s Jacinta Ainsworth who also had a sixth place. She is eighth in the standings on 63 points.
United States 420 Men Crew USABB142 Bram Brakman United States 420 Men Helm USAWL30 Will Logue Day2, 2015 Youth Sailing World Championships, Langkawi, Malaysia
420
Another gold medal that was decided was in the boy’s 420. USA’s Will Logue and Bram Brakman secured the gold with consistent racing and a better day on the Langkawi water than their rivals.
The USA pair took a fourth in the first race of the day and then broke their duck with a bullet in the next race. Their high finishes throughout the regatta means that their score of 16 points can not be bettered by Australia, Brazil or Ireland. Instead the three have to fight it out for silver and bronze.
Australia’s Alec Brodie and Xavier Winston Smith currently hold second place on 31 points when they finished the day with a sixth and a discarded 14th.
Both Leonardo Lombardi and Rodrigo Luz (BRA) and Douglas Elmes and Colin O’Sullivan (IRE) are on 35 points. The Brazilians had a seventh and a discarded 11th on the day and the Irish pair had a fourth and seventh.
Italy’s Edoardo Ferraro and Francesco Orlando took the other bullet of the day and are eighth overall on 61 points.
Two bullets lifted Poland’s Julia Szmit and Hanna Dzik above Australia’s Nia Jerwood and Lisa Smith in the girl’s 420. With the two unable to be caught by the rest of the field, they will fight it out for gold in the final race.
The Polish pair sit on 16 points while second placed Australia are on 18 points after Jerwood and Smith could only manage a third and fifth behind the double win day from the Polish team.
While they race for gold, bronze will be contested between Spain’s Maria Caba and Carla Diaz and Austria’s Angelika Kohlendorfer and Viktoria Puxkandl. The Spanish pair ended the day on 33 points following a second and fourth. Austria’s chances weren’t helped by a 10th place finish after a good second in the first race of the day.
SL16
Right from the outset, France’s Louis Flament and Charles Dorange threw down the gauntlet with a host of bullets in the SL16 class. The pair took a giant step toward the gold medal on day five, but proved that they are human after all with a fifth place in the first race of the day.
After their fifth it was business as usual in the yellow fleet as the French duo then picked up another three bullets to add to their impressive collection.
Picking up the bullet that the French boy’s dropped was Italy’s Gianlugi Ugolini and Maria Gubilei who now stand in fifth place overall on 35 points.
Racing in the blue fleet, Australia’s Shaun Connor and Sophie Renouf and New Zealand’s Tamryn Lindsay and William Mckenzie had a bullet apiece and are second and third respectively overall. Connor and Renouf have 20 points, Lindsay and Mckenzie have 27 points.
Despite being down in tenth position, Brazil’s Diogo Zabeu and Otavia Cardoso will be pleased as they can now boast two bullets from the blue fleet on day five.
The final day will see the fleet split in to gold and silver, with each fleet having three races.
RS:X
France’s Titouan Le Bosq has guaranteed himself a medal in the boy’s RS:X despite a 15th place in the final race of the day. Time will only tell what colour his medal will be, but he is in the driving seat for gold thanks to a bullet and second.
Le Bosq has 40 points on top with Argentina’s Francisco Saubidet Birkner in second on 52 points. In third place is Brazil’s Benno Francioli which by his accounts is a bit of a surprise, “I didn’t really expect to be near the top as I’ve been training on my own for a long time, but I’m really happy and that my training has all been worth it.”
Smiling as he collected his board he evaluated his day, “Today it was a light wind day so I didn’t do my best, but I’m really glad with my results in the rest of the Championship and I’m glad I’m fighting for the top.”
His ‘not the best’ day included a tenth, 12th and discarded 17th, but it still keeps him ahead of Youth Olympian Aruba’s Mack van der Eerenbeemt. Francioli has 67 points with van der Eerenbeemt nine points back on 76.
Defending champion in the RS:X girl’s, Russia’s Stefania Elfutina currently holds top spot after two bullets and a discarded fifth place. She has 21 points.
Always hovering around Elfutina is China’s Xian Ting Huang who, with a bullet, a third and discarded seventh is second overall on 24 points.
Challenging both is Great Britain’s Emma Wilson who is third on 27 points with a 2-2-4 for the day.
Looking up at the top three is Netherland’s Isis Hoekstra. Sitting in fourth on 43 points, Hoekstra is happy with her performance saying, “I’ve been very consistent, all the time top three or four. I’m in top four overall and the girls in front of me are really good. They are sailing really well and I’m happy I can compete with them this regatta.”
But what is it that makes the three stand above her in this Championships, Hoekstra thinks she knows, “They are being consistent also. They are really good surfers and they have done a few more contests than I have. They are all just really good.”
The final race day will see who is the best in this regatta out of the ‘really good surfers’ – Elfutina, Huang and Wilson – as the gold goes down to the wire.
Spain 29er Women Crew ESPMM76 Marta Munté Carrasco Spain 29er Women Helm ESPCM47 Carla Munté Carrasco Day1, 2015 Youth Sailing World Championships, Langkawi, Malaysia
29er
Three points separate the top three positions in the 29er girl’s fleet heading into the final day. There is a little bit of light creeping in back to fourth position but it is by no means certain who will leave with a medal as the discards come in to play.
Top of the pile at the moment are Finland’s Sirre Kronlof and Veera Hokka on 42 points as they finish the day with a bullet, third and a discarded 11th.
Currently sitting two points back in second are Spain’s Munte Carrasco sisters, Carla and Marta, and the discard and the retirement they had on day two has been playing on their minds as Carla explains, “In race five the top part of the mast broke. My sister fell in the water. We had to capsize and repair it. Every day now we double check the mast and it worries us. In that race we were in second and if we had finished there we would be about five points clear in first place and in a better position than we are now.”
But such is sport and sailing, not everything goes perfectly all the time. As Carla said, the Spanish siblings are a little worried and it may be affecting their performances as their day had its ups and downs as Carla reflects, “The first race we did well because we were controlling all the girls and we were happy. But the second race we had a bad one. We had to get penalized so we were not really happy. The third we got second place which leaves us in second overall very close to first and third though.”
They ended the day with a second, sixth and eighth. So what do they need to do to win gold? “Win. Just win. That’s all we can do,” said a laughing Carla.
That is all the pair can do, just win and hope the rest falls in to place behind them.
The other team hoping for a win will be Denmark’s Laerke Graversen and Iben Nielsby Christensen as they occupy the third spot overall on 45 points following a 2-4-8 day.
Unlike the top three, New Zealand’s Greta and Kate Stewart haven’t had a result outside the top 10 all regatta and can not be counted out of the competition for medals. They are in fourth on 53 points.
In the boy’s 29er, New Zealand’s Jackson Keon and Nick Egnot Johnson and Slovenia’s Peter Lin Janezic and Anze Podlogar are in the driving seat for a gold medal as they have a small gap in the points back to third.
Keon and Johnson are currently top on 36 while Janezic and Podlogar are second on 39 points, and for the latter a medal can’t come soon enough as Janezic reveals the pairs aims coming in to the Championship, “We aimed to give our best obviously, but behind that we want a medal. We came fourth in the Worlds, fourth in the Europeans and I think it’s about time.”
While they have lived up to their targets with a guaranteed medal in the bag ahead of the final race, the day didn’t start well for them as Janezic explains, “It was very shifty and gusty and the first race we didn’t do to well because we just couldn’t get the shifts right. Our downwinds weren’t that good either and we finished eighth. But in the second and third race we managed to tack a lot better on the shifts and finished first and second.”
That eighth is the boy’s lowest position of the week and therefore their discard, and Janezic is happy with the consistency they have been showing, “It is important that you are constant and you don’t go up and down as that makes a good sailor, if you are always on the top.”
More consistent sailing tomorrow and they could well finish on top if the results go their way, but they have to hope that they can beat the consistent Kiwis. Keon and Johnson didn’t have a good first race of the day and they finished way down the order in 20th which they discard. They followed it up with a second and third to keep them at the top of the class.
Norway’s Tomas and Mads Mathisen scored a 6-7-9 to round out the top three on 51 points ahead of Australia’s Kurt Hansen and James Colley in fourth on 70 points.
In the hunt for the Nations Cup, Australia hold on to top spot but France have moved ahead of New Zealand in to second place. The final day of racing is scheduled for tomorrow at 10:00 local time where the Nations Cup and more gold medals will be decided.
In a break from the norm, winds and storms dropped in and out on day three of the 45th Youth Sailing World Championships in Langkawi, Malaysia.
On a day when the winds were predicted to drop below the 20 knots the record 425 sailors had come accustomed to, it was the varying winds that kept everyone on there toes as the storms that threatened never fully materialized.
There were changes at the top of the leaderboards as more perfect days, and some not so perfect, were scored by the ever adapting youth sailors in a topsy turvy day.
Day3, 2015 Youth Sailing World Championships, Langkawi, Malaysia
SL16
As the yellow SL16 fleet hit the water, it was Australia first out of the blocks in more ways than one. They beat all the other boats to launch and then on the racing area.
Shaun Connor and Sophie Renouf (AUS) took the first two bullets of the class schedule, but it was more of a shock as today was the first time the team had been on an SL16.
A bubbly Renouf said, “Coming into the regatta we had never sailed the boat before, so we had been training on a few different boats to get used to not having a feel for the boat and knowing rig tensions etc, and it worked out for us. The boats are fixed settings so it lets us transfer on to it pretty quickly.”
It did indeed work for them. As the class is split and sharing boats with other countries, some of the SL16 settings have been fixed so all competitors are under the same restraints, ensuring fair racing. The Australians took a novel approach to the competition by essentially training to adapt and not know exactly what the boat will do. But not only was it the first time they sailed it, what makes their start even more remarkable was that while others where training on day two, they couldn’t. So it was quite literally the first time they had ever sailed an SL16.
Explaining their first try was Connor who said, “We were the first boat out on the water today to do a few warm up laps as we missed the training day. But we dominated the starts today.??”When we started racing we were really stoked to get off the line quickly and we carried it through. The first two races were really good, we finished first. The next two were alright…yeah?” As he checks with his crew. Renouf confirms and Connor continues, “But we made a few errors. We capsized once. Had an issue with the kite sheet. But it was a good day all round.”
After a blistering start, their later errors were USA’s gain. Mark and Anderson Brunsvold came back with their own pair of bullets in races three and four. Errors and the USA brothers late charge means that they shared the spoils of the first day with 4 points and the exact same place finishes (1-1-2-4).
If there were good starts in the morning’s yellow fleet, they were overshadowed by the afternoon’s blue fleet competitors, France’s Louis Flament and Charles Dorange.
Looking relaxed, as he should, Flament said, “The wind was strong and we have good skills in these conditions so we were very happy to go out on the water this afternoon. We won all the races so it was perfect.”
The returning Youth World Champions were indeed perfect. With four bullets they dominated the day and rightfully stand top of the leaderboard on three points.
Also in the blue fleet, New Zealand’s Tamryn Lindsay and William Mckenzie had a good day with a 2-4-2-3 score card. Those scores put them on 11 points and in fourth overall with the combined fleets scores.
The French duo sit top of the combined table with their perfect day. USA in second. Australia third.
Yellow and Blue fleets will be assigned this evening based on the days results. Each fleet will sail four races on 1 January in order to catch up on the schedule.
Seychelles Laser Radial Men Helm SEYMS1 Martin Servina Day1, 2015 Youth Sailing World Championships, Langkawi, Malaysia
Laser Radial
In the boy’s Laser Radial, Australia’s Alistair Young was coming off the back of a perfect day yesterday when he took two for two. He began day three with a discarded fifth place, but came back with a second to maintain his lead at the top.
With the Australian on nine points, his closest rival is Finland’s Oskari Muhonen who took a bullet and a fifth place and sits on 18 points. Muhonen moves up the rankings as he can know discard a 13th place from day two.
USA’s Nicholas Baird in third discarded a 23rd place in the final race with fourth overall Russia’s Kirill Evfimyevskiy discarding a DNF. Both will need to make sure they stay at the top in the final races to keep a medal hope alive. Puerto Rico’s Pedro Luis Fernandez took the bullet in that race.
While not at the top, someone learning a lot in Langkawi is Seychelles’ Martin Servina. Coming off the water early, a subdued Martin said, “I came back in because I had an injury to my side from the first race. I thought I could do the second race but I just couldn’t it was too bad. I sprayed some pain relief but it was impossible so I’m going to put some compress on it.”
Despite the immediate pain, Martin was still upbeat about his sailing. New to the Laser Radial class, which he learned at the Emerging Nations Program (ENP) clinic in Mozambique, Martin is using the Youth Worlds to develop his own skills and has a very down to earth outlook on the whole experience, “I personally think that if the wind was lighter, say around 15 knots rather than the 20 plus, it would be better for me. But it’s a new boat for me and I’m learning a lot from the other more experienced sailors. So it’s all good.”
Another ENP participant at the other end of the scale is Hungary’s Maria Erdi. She leads the girl’s Laser Radial following a bullet and second place for the day. With an aim of consistent races, the Hungarian is on track to achieve that goal as her lowest finish of a sixth place is discarded to leave her on 12 points.
Also on 12 points, Poland’s Magdalena Kwasna will be disappointed with a second and a tenth place in the final race of the day. The tenth place will be discarded, but with the Hungarian Erdi sailing well, Kwasna will not want to drop down the fleet in another race.
Third place overall is held by Germany’s Hannah Anderssohn who had a fifth and discarded sixth and has 18 points for the regatta.
Croatia’s Sandra Lulic gets the award for most diverse race results of the day. In the first race she had a DNC, which she then followed up with a bullet.
Finland 29er Women Crew FINVH7 Veera Hokka Finland 29er Women Helm FINSK11 Sirre Kronlöf Day1, 2015 Youth Sailing World Championships, Langkawi, Malaysia
RS:X
Aruba’s Youth Olympian Mack van den Eerenbeemt started day three with a second in the boy’s RS:X, but then slipped down the order with a frustrating day.
Taking the experiences he gained from Nanjing 2014, van den Eerenbeemt still came ashore with a smile on his face and an obvious love for a dog fight. For his second place, he described a tight and close fight for the finish line as ‘really fun’.
What wasn’t fun for van den Eerenbeemt was the next two races of the day, especially the final race. Despite a ninth place finish, and in total contradiction with his words, a beaming van den Eerenbeemt said, “The last race was horrible. I had a good start but I went to the wrong place again. On the first tack I got no wind and I was just standing still. The people going to the left had wind and kept planing, so when I rounded the last mark I was around last place, but I fought back to ninth.”
With a retirement on day one, was it something that was playing on his mind? “The first day was tough. My mast broke and it was mentally tough. I knew I couldn’t get a redress for it. As I rounded the last mark today I knew I needed to fight as that retirement was in my mind.”
As van den Eerenbeemt sits in third place on 35 points, he is just behind Argentina’s Francisco Saubidet Birkner who could only manage a fifth, ninth and a discarded 11th to finish the day on 30 points overall.
Still leading is France’s Titouan Le Bosq on 22 points. He ended the day with a bullet, fourth and a discarded 15th.
Four points divide the top three in the girl’s RS:X with Russia’s Stefania Elfutina in first on 15 points, China’s Xian Ting Huang in second on 16 points and Great Britain’s Emma Wilson in third on 19 points.
Before heading to Malaysia, Emma Wilson (GBR) decided that from the reputation of the Langkawi winds, she needed time to adjust, but it turned out she was in the right place all along, “I expected like 5-8 knots here. We even went to Spain to do a camp to try and get lighter winds as in Weymouth where I train it’s like 25 knots every single day, but that is really helping here now. I train in it all the time so I like the windy stuff. It’s more fun.”
Elfutina and Huang both took a bullet today, while Netherland’s Isis Hoekstra took the other. Hoekstra, along with the other three are pulling away from the rest of the field who have been taken by surprise with the wind Langkawi has to offer.
Hoekstra sits in fourth place with 25 points and a gap of 20 points has opened up to the rest of the competitors.
Day2, 2015 Youth Sailing World Championships, Langkawi, Malaysia
420
Still on top of the boy’s 420 is USA’s Will Logue and Bram Brakman despite a discarded sixth and a second place which gives them 11 points to date.
Challenging the Americans is Australia’s Alec Brodie and Xavier Winston Smith. They mimicked their rivals scores of a sixth and second, but with a ninth place finish on day two they carry their sixth place. Brodie and Smith have 16 points.
Climbing up to third with a perfect day was Leonardo Lombardi and Rodrigo Luz (BRA) who took two bullets and finished the day on 19 points. With their closes rivals having consistently higher finishes so far, the Brazilians needed the bullets to stay in touch at the top.
Australian’s Nia Jerwood and Lisa Smith still lead the way in the girl’s 420 as they took a bullet in the first race of the day. They could only follow that up with a 12th place though, but lucky for the duo they can discard the lower placement.
Jerwood and Smith’s Trans-Tasman neighbours, New Zealand’s Kerensa Jennings and Chelsea Rees took the other bullet of the day, but 15th place followed and they sit sixth overall on 35 points.
Second on the leaderboard is Poland’s Julia Szmit and Hanna Dzik who scored a second and third to put them on 14 points. Third place is held by Austria’s Angelika Kohlendorfer and Viktoria Puxkandl on 26 points.
29er
New Zealand’s Jackson Keon and Nick Egnot Johnson had a perfect three from three on day two of the boy’s 29er, and followed it up with another two bullets on day three.
They lead the fleet on 22 points and were helped by second placed Norwegian brothers Tomas and Mads Mathisen having an OCS in the final race of the day. The siblings can discard that result but with a fourth and ninth in the other races they now sit on 29 points with Slovakia’s Peter Lin Janezic and Anze Podlagar. The Slovak’s finished the day with a 2-3-4.
Picking up the bullet that Keon and Johnson (NZL) left behind was Australia’s Kurt Hansen and James Colley. They are in fourth overall on 45 points.
In the girl’s 29er, Spain’s Carla and Marta Munte Carrasco moved to the top of the leaderboard with a first, second and third to sit on 28 points. They will be looking over their shoulder as they have a retirement that is discarded from day two which could come in to play with another bad race.
Just one point behind in second, Finland’s Sirre Kronlof and Veera Hokka had a second, eighth and a discarded ninth which drops them down from first and puts them on 29 points.
Denmark’s Laerke Graversen and Iben Nielsby Christensen make up the top three with 31 points.
With the majority of classes having a lay day, the SL16 class are the only class to continue the racing on New Year’s Day to make up for the missed races earlier in the regatta. The yellow fleet begin at 10:00 local time and the blue fleet at 14:00 local time.
Day two of the 45th Youth Sailing World Championships saw some perfect sailing for a chosen few as the big breeze was back in Langkawi, Malaysia.
The record numbers of 425 sailors from 76 nations had winds to mimic day one with 20 knots blowing which eased off later in the day which again tested the young sailors with tricky shifts. With the discard now coming in to play, there were changes in the rankings and those that put the hammer down to move up in the overalls.
There were some that handled it perfectly and just couldn’t lose on day two.
Day2, 2015 Youth Sailing World Championships, Langkawi, Malaysia
420
The girl’s 420 was the first of the perfect days. Austria’s Angelika Kohlendorfer and Viktoria Puxkandl took two bullets to make up for the ‘middle of the road’ first day. With the discard now in play the duo can count their bullets along with a 13th place whilst discarding a 17th from the first race of the regatta. It pushes them to fifth in the rankings, but they know they haven’t got the room for manoveure that their rivals have.
One of those rivals is Australia’s Nia Jerwood and Lisa Smith. Just behind in both races with two second places, the pair top the leaderboard on five points. So what did Jerwood think of the day? “We had a really good one. The wind picked up towards the end which we like to get in to our speed groove. We got two seconds, but the Austrians were planing too fast on the upwinds and got by us both races, but it was a good day for us.”
It was a good day as they maintained their high finishes, and with the weather forecast looking similar all week, Smith was certainly happy for what is to come, “We definitely like the windier weather. It’s what we prefer and its good because we weren’t expecting it here in Langkawi. Its definitely kicked up for us and it’s more like home when it’s like this so we are more comfortable in this and we know we can go fast.”
While both the Austrian’s and Australian’s were in their groove today, Poland’s Julia Szmit and Hanna Dzik didn’t have quite the same luck. They still sit in second overall on nine points after a fourth and a discarded 13th but from hereon in they will be looking to get back to the standard they set on day one after posting two top three finishes.
Creeping up on the Polish pair and rounding out the top three are USA’s Christine Klinger and Victoria Thompson who have 10 points after a discarded seventh and third today.
Always up and around the top of the boy’s 420 are USA’s Will Logue and Bram Brakman. With three second places and a discarded third, they can’t seem to find that elusive bullet, but lead overall on six points.
The first bullet of the day went to Ireland’s Douglas Elmes and Colin O’Sullivan who sit in third on 14 points with last year’s Youth Worlds gold medallist Singapore’s Jia Yi Loh, now sailing with Matthew Lau, in fourth. Loh and Lau had an average day by gold medal standards with a discarded 12th and a sixth place.
So is the weight of a gold weighing on his shoulders? From his demeanour and words, I think not, “I’m sailing with a different crew and we know this place is tricky and the fastest sailor may not necessarily win. It’s all about how you play the shifts and anyone here could win, and that’s why I think it’s taken off some stress.”
Singaporean sailors generally have a reputation for excelling in lighter winds due to their build, but Loh isn’t letting the strong winds that Langkawi is throwing at them hinder his chances, “We are fine with any winds. In Singapore we get light winds, but then we are on the heavy side so we are fine in strong winds as well.”
Picking up the other bullet of the day were Finland’s Eklund brothers, Jacob and Anton. With middle order finishes in all their other races, the brothers will hope that the bullet will bring a change in fortunes and is a sign of things to come.
Day2, 2015 Youth Sailing World Championships, Langkawi, Malaysia
29er
The perfect day continued in the boy’s 29er as New Zealand’s Jackson Keon and Nick Egnot Johnson took three bullets. Reminiscent of their compatriots and current Rolex World Sailor of the Year winners, Peter Burling and Blair Tuke, they dominated the day in their class. But is it right to make that comparison, Nick doesn’t think so as he says with a wry smile, “Not really. Those guys have won every single regatta. We wish we could do that. But those guys are role models for sure.”
So back to the days racing. The duo must have felt something was clicking today. Surely they would be happy with the results, but with a calm demeanour helm Jackson simply said, “We had a good consistent day. The breeze was up and it helped us a bit to get some bullets. We would be happy with anything but we seem to be doing well in the strong breeze so we can’t complain.”
Three bullets can be considered some pretty consistent racing, and Jackson knows that consistency is the key going forward, “We need to just keep chipping away at it and making sure we get top fives in each race and not doing anything too stupid. Today was definitely a confidence boost for us but every day is different so we have to hope for some consistent racing.”
With the New Zealanders in second overall on 15 points, they lay just behind Norway’s Tomas and Mads Mathison. On 12 points, the brothers have been quite consistent themselves. On day one they were top three in all of the races. Moving on to day two, they had their lowest finish of the regatta with a fourth which they can discard. If consistency is the key for this one, then Norway are certainly leading that category.
With a 5-6-3 for the day, Slovenia’s Peter Lin Janezic and Anze Podlagar sit in third on the leaderboard with 20 points.
It may have been an up and down day for Finland’s Sirre Kronlof and Veera Hokka in the 29er girl’s, but they still hold first in the rankings.
It seemed to be a rollercoaster ride all day for the girls. They started the first race well, but couldn’t capitalise on it with a seventh place. They followed it with a bullet in the second and then slipped back to fourth in a much closer third race.
Much like the team that they are, Sirre began explaining their day, “We didn’t have a good start…”, Veera took over, “Well we did have a good first start, but we took the wrong shifts so we weren’t doing to well at the first mark.”
Back to Sirre, “The second race was great though. We won that with a good lead so it was nice. The third race we came fourth but it was super close. All four boats came in within about 30 seconds of each other so it was tight.”
The 29er boy’s talked about consistency, but Sirre and Veera couldn’t quite manage it today as Sirre reflected, “Obviously we would like pretty stable results, like top three all the time. Not so much up and down. But that’s just the competition we have here. We try and do our best and with only one drop you have to try for stable results.”
For now they lead, but closing in are New Zealand’s Greta and Kate Stewart who did what the Finnish girl’s couldn’t with a stable bullet and two second place finishes. Those results leaves them in second place overall on 15 points, just three behind the leaders.
Not to be outdone by the New Zealand siblings, Spain’s very own sisters took the other bullet of the day. Carla and Marta Munte Carrasco took the final race of the day, which made up for a DNF in the previous race. Those results coupled with a sixth place finish mean that they stand on 22 points and fifth overall.
Poland’s Aleksandra Melzacka and Maja Micinska are in third on 18 points with a fourth, fifth and discarded ninth on day two.
Day2, 2015 Youth Sailing World Championships, Langkawi, Malaysia
Laser Radial
Anything Austria and New Zealand can do, Australia can do as well as. Alistair Young (AUS) is the third person of the day to save all the bullets for himself. A two from two today, added to another bullet picked up in race one means he can discard a fourth place finish and sit top of the class on three points.
His nearest rival is USA’s Nicholas Baird who can only seem to finish in either third or fifth. With 11 points the American needs to break out of the trend and aim to knock Young off the bullet train.
Finland’s Oskari Muhonen and New Zealand’s George Gautrey are level on 12 points with very similar days. Finishing in the top three, both teams discard results in the teens for the last race of the day.
In the girl’s Laser Radial, Poland’s Magdalena Kwasna took a bullet and a third place to discard her fifth place from day one and sit in first overall on five points.
The ever calm Maria Erdi discarded a sixth place finish and moved up to second place with a bullet in the final race of the day. The Hungarian shares nine points with Germany’s Hannah Anderssohn who posted a second and third.
RS:X
Russia’s Stefania Elfutina began the day with a fourth place in the girl’s RS:X. Not content with that result, she took a bullet and second place that enables her to discard that fourth and lead the class on eight points.
Again just behind and nipping at the Russian’s heels is China’s Xian Ting Huang. With two second places and a third, the consistent high places means she sits second overall on ten points.
With an alternating trend of fourths and firsts (4-1-4-1-4-1), Great Britain’s Emma Wilson is in third on 11 points. The Briton will be hoping for more bullets than fourths to move up into the medal places.
Joint on points, France’s Titquan Le Bosq and Argentina’s Francisco Saubidet Birkner have 12 apiece with the Frenchman taking a bullet in the second race.
Brazil’s Brenno Francioli took the second win of the day. He also had a sixth, a fifth and he sits in fourth (overall) with 20 points. Third bullet and third place overall goes to Aruba’s Mack van Den Eerenbeemt.
Finland 29er Women Crew FINVH7 Veera Hokka Finland 29er Women Helm FINSK11 Sirre Kronlöf Day1, 2015 Youth Sailing World Championships, Langkawi, Malaysia
SL16
The SL16 were out on the water today after the final pieces of equipment arrived following a shipping delay. With a fantastic job by the sailors who helped to complete the set up, they were out on the water by the afternoon.
A session of checks and training followed and the Race Committee confirmed, in agreement with the sailors that racing will commence on 31 December. They will sail four races on Thursday and will use 1 January, the rest day, to catch up on some races missed
Racing continues at 10:00 local time on 31 December.
Day one of the 45th Youth Sailing World Championships was full on with big breeze and plenty of waves greeting the sailors for the first races.
Langkawi, Malaysia offered the record numbers of 425 sailors from 76 nations up to 20 knots of wind which eased off throughout the long day. There were nerves on shore as the afternoon session was delayed, but were put aside as the young sailors did what they came to do, sail.
With everyone trying to get off to a flyer to set up their tilt at a gold medal, it would seem that today was reserved for the few who liked the stronger winds that Langkawi had to offer for its first racing day.
Laser Radial
Returning to the Youth Worlds after finishing fifth in Tavira, Portugal last year, Australia’s Alistair Young got off to a great start with a bullet in the first race and a fourth in the second to sit on top of the leaderboard after the first day of racing.
Obviously wanting to push in to the medal places, the Aussie was happy to have strong wind to start of the regatta, conditions which the youngster enjoys, “It started off pretty windy, about 20 knots in the first race and pretty choppy. I managed to do alright though. I picked the shifts and sailed fast and won the race which was great to calm the nerves first race in.”
Calm the nerves it has as he looks at the days to follow and the possible drop in knots that could come, “We may get some lighter winds so it will be shiftier so we will all get some bigger scores, so the drops will be needed later on. I prefer the stronger winds but I don’t mind to be honest. What you get is what you get so you just have to go out there and do what you can in the conditions that are there.”
The second winner of the day was Finland’s Oskari Muhonen, who was also at Tavira with Young, so experience in the regatta came to the fore. The Finnish sailor’s bullet followed a ninth and leaves him laying in fourth overall.
Ecuador’s Matias Dyck must have been feeling happy and confident going in to the second race after finishing just behind Young in race one. That was short lived though when he was one of nine sailors to be black flagged out of race two. The Ecuadorian will be looking to drop that from his scorecard with some good sailing for the rest of the regatta.
USA’s Nicholas Baird and New Zealand’s George Gautrey finished near the top of the order in both races to sit in second and third respectively.
In the girl’s section, the top five is held by Europe with Poland’s Magdalena Kwasna currently in pole position on six points thanks to a bullet and fifth place. With a ninth place finish in Tavira, Portugal, it would seem that just like the boy’s fleet, experience in this event is paying off on the first day.
Sitting just behind in second is Hungary’s Maria Erdi who somehow seems to defy her age with an attitude and outlook of a seasoned competitor. Despite making mistakes throughout both races, Erdi never let it get to her as she says with her ever present smile, “I’m happy with my results but I did make some mistakes. I was leading in the first race quite a lot in the first upwind and then I capsized twice in the first downwind so I dropped back to fifth. But I managed to come back to finish third.
“In the second race it was quite tricky, I think I was about tenth around the first mark but managed to move up and finished fifth.”
So how does a sailor at the Youth Worlds handle the mistakes? Simply it would seem for the young Hungarian, “I tried to forget about the first race at the second start and I had a clear head. But it’s only the first day so anything can happen.”
Even with self-confessed mistakes, Erdi sits in second, joint on eight points with Germany’s Hannah Anderssohn who had a steady day with two fourth place finishes.
Taking the first bullet of the day was New Zealand’s Alexandra Nightingale who couldn’t carry the form through to the second race where she finished 19th. Nightingale currently sits in tenth place overall with those two results.
Hungary Laser Radial Women Helm HUNME1 Mriardi, Day1, 2015 Youth Sailing World Championships, Langkawi, Malaysia
29er
For the all girl’s 29er fleet, it was Poland’s Aleksandra Melzacka and Maja Micinska who took the first bullet, although they didn’t think it was going to happen sitting on shore waiting to go out.
After a two hour postponement ashore the fleet headed out onto the water and Melzacka, obviously pleased from the smile on her face, described the first win in 29er girl’s from her perspective, “I was very stressed waiting on shore. The wind was very strong and we are quite a light crew. But as the wind got lower it was better for us. We work well in about 15 knots, and the first race when we went out was 15 knots so it was perfect in the end.
“We were very happy to win. On the first mark we were about fifth, but we managed to comeback and win. We were really excited about it.”
The Polish girls followed up with a discarded seventh and second place to sit top overall on three points.
Finland’s Sirre Kronlof and Veera Hokka occupied the top three in one way or another with a second and two third place finishes which leaves them in second spot.
An eighteenth place for Great Britain’s Courtney Bilbrough and Harriet Ward in the first race didn’t dent their confidence as they came back to take a bullet in the second race. The third bullet of the day went to Netherlands’ Odile Van Aanholt and Ismene Usman.
With consistent results, Norway’s Mathisen brothers, Tomas and Mads lead the way in the boy’s 29er. A bullet followed two third place finishes which leaves them above USA’s Romain Screve and Quinn Wilson who had a discarded 12th place sandwiched between two second places.
First bullet of the day went to current third placed pair from Slovenia, Peter Lin Janezic and Anze Podlogar. The other team to take a bullet on day one was Netherland’s Cas Van Dongen and Robin Becker who will be disappointed they couldn’t break the top 10 in their other races. They sit in sixth overall.
RS:X
There is always some one that is happy with the start that they make, and in Langkawi it was Argentina’s Francisco Saubidet Birkner who described his as ‘perfect’.
If you are being picky, it wasn’t a perfect scorecard of three bullets, but in terms of the rest of the field, it was as good as it gets with everyone else having a mixed bag of results. Standing confidently next to his board, job done for the day, Birkner said, “It was perfect. The first race I finished first, second race third and then the last I finished second. The wind was very shifty and difficult but I was fast. I always went to the right side and always had wind so it was a good choice for me.”
At the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games, Birkner took gold, and he has taken that knowledge and compared it to the Youth Worlds saying, “It is similar to the Youth Olympics. Nearly the same guys with the same level. We all know each other and everyone is together. I like it.”
Birkner certainly does like it as he has taken the knowledge and used it the best in the fleet. His closest rivals are France’s Titquan Le Bosq who lies in second and Brazil’s Brenno Francioli in third.
Australia’s Jock Calvert and Russia’s Maxim Tokarev took the other bullets of the day but neither could break the top ten in any of their other races which sees them lay in 12th and eighth respectively.
Determined to hold on to her gold medal from the 2014 Youth Worlds, Russia’s Stefania Elfutina finished the day with a bullet and two second places. The competitor may be different, but the country is the same as Elfutina’s closest rival is again from China in the form of Xian Ting Huang.
Huang took the first bullet of the day and followed it up with a discarded third and a second to sit jointly on top with Elfutina on three points.
Great Britain’s Emma Wilson is on five points in third thanks to a bullet in the second race to go along with her two fourth place finishes.
Australia Laser Radial Men Helm AUSAY3 Alistair Young, Day1, 2015 Youth Sailing World Championships, Langkawi, Malaysia
420
If the regatta can be judged on the first day then Australia and USA will be tussling it out all week in the boy’s 420. As we know this isn’t the case, but Australia’s Alec Brodie and Xavier Winston Smith have the upper hand on day one with two bullets.
Following behind in both races with two second places was USA’s Will Logue and Bram Brakman who then let the rest of the fleet fight it out behind them.
Rounding out the top three is Singapore’s Jia Yi Loh and Matthew Lau who end the day with a fifth and third place in the bag. Finishing third in race one was Ireland’s Douglas Elmes and Colin O’Sullivan, but an unlucky 13th in the next drops them down to seventh on the leaderboard.
Australia’s Nia Jerwood and Lisa Smith and Poland’s Julia Szmit and Hanna Dzik share top spot in the girl’s 420 on five points.
Jerwood and Smith took a bullet in the second race to follow their fourth while Szmit and Dzik had a second and third.
Rounding out the top three is New Zealand’s Kerensa Jennings and Chelsea Rees who have seven points.
SL16
The SL16 fleet were unable to race on Tuesday due to a shipping delay in advance of competition.
The full quota of equipment is due to arrive in the next 12 hours with racing scheduled to start at the earliest possible opportunity. The fleet will look to catch up on the races missed, utilising the championships reserve day of Friday 1 January.
Racing continues tomorrow with an earlier start for the sailors to ensure they are on the water before the low tide can take effect and delay the launching.
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