After yesterday’s frustrations on (but mainly off) the water, everyone was anxious to make the most of today as the fleets split for the closing stages of this year’s SEIKO 49er and 49erFX World Championships in Marseille.
Today, the Gold fleets (Top 20 boats in both the 49er and FX fleets) were being tracked, racing simultaneously on two different courses. The conditions today were a lot nicer, with more breeze and a bit more swell to play with. Both fleets managed to get 4 half-hour races in, meaning we’ve got a full set of results to get the winners of the Green and Purple Jerseys for tomorrow.
The Magic Marine Starting Points Competitions
Putting in a solid performance, including a bullet, bringing them only 2 points away from the current leaders (Fletcher & Sign) are the Danish pairing of Warrer and Lang (DEN 30), who consistently showed impressive line judgement and presence early on at the windward mark. Others performing well were the French pairing of d’Ortoli and Noe and the Portuguese pair of Lima & Costa.
In the FX fleet, it was the French pairing of Steyaert & Bossard who had a consistent day on the water, even if they lost the Yellow jersey to the Kiwi pairing of Maloney & Meech. The British team Peters & Groves yet again showed their consistency and starting prowess by clocking a bullet and a second in two of the four races today, securing second place in the starting competition today.
The Seiko King & Queen of Downwind Competition
In the FX fleet, the Danish pairing of Hansen & Iversen performed well downwind, getting a bullet and mainly top 10 scores today in the heavier breeze. Yet again, Peters & Groves showed they are a force to be reckoned with downwind, coming in close second place, followed by Bekkering & Blom.
The French boys in FRA 8, d’Ortoli & Noe proved that they can perform well with more breeze too, being crowned Kings of Downwind again, followed by the Danish partnership of Norregard and Thomsen.
Tomorrow is the last day of full racing for the fleets, where those who can, will try their best to qualify for Sunday’s medal races. Tomorrow and Sunday will be streamed live over the Internet, via our website, so keep an eye on https://dev.49er.org/ and our Facebook & Twitter sites to keep up to date with all the latest from the worlds.
Breeze is looking good for the rest of the event, let’s hope the rain stays away!
You wouldn’t want to be on the jury this evening…. Looks like they might be busy.
