Light winds and tight racing on Day 1 of Laser Radial Youth Worlds

by Eric Faust - ILCA on 13 Aug 2017 Two races were completed on day one of the 2017 Laser Radial Youth World Championships. 390 sailors from 46 countries spread across 6 fleets and began racing under sunny skies and light wind on the IJsselmeer, the iconic sailing waters of Medemblik, Netherlands.

The first race of the day on Course B was briefly postponed due to light and shifting winds, but as the breeze slowly filled in, the green fleet took to the race course first. All races got off to a smooth start, with only one General Recall for the yellow fleet on Course A. In today’s light breeze, getting clear air was important and sailors who took an early lead were usually able to extend their position to the finish. Holding a lane upwind in the light breeze and sometimes choppy conditions proved challenging with most fleets being well separated by the end of the race.

Lin Pletikos from Slovenia got it right today and she is currently leading the girls with a total of three points, followed by Germany’s Julia Buesselberg with five points, and Annabelle Westerhof of the Netherlands in third with nine points. Fourth place is claimed by Germany’s Florence Permantier who horizoned the fleet to wind the first purple fleet race.

Racing is tight in the boys division, with a three way tie for first overall. With only four points after two races, Australia’s Caelin Winchcombe, Nicholas Bezy from Hong Kong, and Matias Dietrich of Argentina all mastered today’s conditions. Bezy scored a bullet in the second race by port tacking the entire green fleet off the start, and held onto first place through the finish. Dietrich similarly put on a clinic to win today’s first red fleet race by a sizeable margin.

Racing continues tomorrow with two more races scheduled.

Boys preliminary results after two races:
1. Caelin Winchcombe AUS 4pts
2. Nicholas Bezy HKG 4pts
3. Matias Dietrich ARG 4pts
4. Maor Ben Harosh ISR 5pts
5. Lorenzo Masetti ITA 8pts
6. Yaël Poupon FRA 9pts
7. Norman Struthers CAN 12pts
8. Marko Smolic CRO 13pts
9. Pandelis Kirpoglou GRE 13pts
10. João Emilio Vasconcellos BRA 13pts

Girls preliminary results after two races:
1. Lin Pletikos SLO 3pts
2. Julia Buesselberg GER 5pts
3. Annabelle Westerhof NED 9 pts
4. Florence Permantier GER 10pts
5. Justine Van Tongel BEL 10pts
6. Emma Savelon NED 10pts
7. Ekaterina Bereza RUS 10pts
8. Valeria Lomatchenko RUS 10pts
9. Matilda Nicholls GBR 11pts
10. Lillian Myers USA 12pts