ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne - Day 6 weather preview

by ISAF SW Cup Media on 7 Dec 2013 Today is the start of the Medal Racing, where the top ten boats in each fleet sail in a double points scoring race. The Gold, Silver and Bronze medals will be awarded immediately after the conclusion of each Medal Race.

Melbourne has turned on a slightly different weather pattern today, with light winds, initially from a westerly direction, being predicted for all areas monitored using weather models.

As competitors arrived in the boat park early this morning, the breeze had already settled into the predicted westerly direction and was hopefully going to build to more than the predicted strength of 2-4kts for the morning.

From late morning the breeze is predicted to slowly swing south, but will not increase significantly in average strength – building to an average of 7kts, meaning that allowing for gusts, the breeze should go to about 10kts. Temperatures are predicted to be in the low twenties, with the southerly wind direction helping to cool the surrounding landmass.

Those conditions are very similar to yesterday, where competitors reported big shifts in direction and variable strength. Possibly making for some big changes in places, where the more experienced sailors are expected to shine.

In the classes continuing with their fleet racing schedule, today will be a day for consistent, rather than brilliant performances.

Medal Races will today be held in five of the Olympic classes. First away is the Laser Radial, the Olympic Women’s single-hander starting at noon, followed by the Laser (Men’s single-hander) at 12.50pm. The Finn class, the Men’s Heavyweight single-hander, hold their Medal Race at 1.40pm, followed by the 470 Women (Women’s two-hander) at 2.30pm and the 470 Men at 3.20pm.

The remaining five classes will continue to compete in the fleet racing section of the regatta today. This will determine which ten boats will make the cut for the Medal races on Sunday, the final day of the regatta.

The Nacra 17 Multihull, sailed by a mixed gender crew, is the first to race starting at 10.00am today and is scheduled to sail three races. The 49er (Men) and 49er FX (Women) start their final session of racing at 3.30pm, sailing four races to catch up on their schedule.

The RS: X Men’s and Women’s Windsurfers will sail at 1.00pm, and have three races scheduled.

All Medal racing is held on the Stadium Course in front of the Sandringham Yacht Club, providing an excellent vantage point for spectators.

For full results and updates see www.sailingworldcupmelbourne.com