Day 1 of the World Championships started with a 10am briefing and a postponement to allow the breeze to build and settle.
Whilst the postponement was in place the fleet took advantage of the International Jury as Chris Watts and his team held a Q&A session to review and discuss the key rules and situations that are often seen on the race course with MUSTO Skiffs. It was great to see the IJ interacting with the fleet outside of the committee room and the sailors were keen to understand better how the IJ would interpret various situations.
At 11am the postponement was dropped and the fleet set out to begin racing.
The fleet got away first time at midday in 11 knots of breeze with Richard Stenhouse (GBR) making a prefect pin end start on starboard and leading the fleet out towards the left. However, the right paid and at the first mark Richard Pelley (GBR) lead from Alex Knight (GBR) and Andi Lachenschmid (GER).
These positions were maintained at the end of the first lap with the race team altering the course to extend the leg.
After a further lap Richard Pelley (GBR) continued to hold off the chasing pack; with Alex Knight (GBR) holding onto second and Dave Poston (GBR) sneaking past Andi Lachenschmid (GER) for third.
After a quick turn around the second race got away in 12 knots of breeze with Andy Rice (GBR) starting ahead of the pack in the middle of the line with great faith in his transit. This time more of the fleet were working the right of the course. At the windward mark George Hand (GBR) had pulled through to take the lead with Andy Rice (GBR) second and Tom Wright (GBR) third. The leading pair extended to hold their positions to the finish with Jamie Hilton (GBR) taking third.
The final race of the day started in 10 knots; with the first attempt being called back as a general recall and the second getting away under the black flag. The breeze was holding out at 10 knots and the sun was still shining …
At the first mark Dave Poston (GBR) was leading from George Hand (GBR) and Alistair Conn (GBR) … these positions were held until the finish but Dave Poston (GBR) crossed the line to the dreaded silence that goes with the black flag. The beneficiary of Poston’s misfortune was George Hand (GBR) who took the win followed by Alistair Conn (GBR) and Jamie Hilton (GBR).
After 3 races it is already clear that this will be a high scoring regatta with only 2 sailors achieving 3 top 10 score.
Overnight Jamie Hilton (GBR) tops the leader board from Alex Knight (GBR) and George Hand (GBR).
The top 10 is tight and has representation from GBR, RSA, GER & ESP.
On arrival ashore the sailors worked as a team with the great help of family supporters and soon had the boats parked up so they could enjoy a complimentary beer and pasta.
On review everyone agreed that Jerome Nutte’s race team did a great job of running 3 excellent races spot on the target times of 45 minutes with quick turn arounds.
Tonight will see the official opening ceremony for the regatta.
