Laser Radial Youth World Championships Day 1 - Challenging conditions
by Alaine Neilson on 28 Jun 2012
Day 1 - Laser Radial Youth World Championships 2012 Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron
Laser Radial Youth World Championships 2012 first day, held at the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron, was unfortunately blown off the water with 25-35 knot gusts and persistent rain. This made challenging conditions for sailors and the race committee, and sailing was abandoned for the day. Despite the blustery weather the intrepid young sailors were undaunted in their enthusiasm for the event.
Andrew McKenzie from Auckland, New Zealand has been sailing lasers for 18 months. This is his first Worlds. He described the day as challenging, windy, shifty and choppy. ‘But it was still good’, he said. ‘If it stopped raining and the sun came out it would be even better.’
Cassandra from Canberra was pretty proud of her impressive ‘Moreton Bay choc-top’. She capsized just after the start, dipping her mast into the sludgy chocolate coloured mud. ‘I went to jibe and I just slipped’, she said. This is Cassandra’s second regatta. She sails with the New South Wales Youth Sailing Team and she is training under the same coach as Krystal Weir (Krystal was chosen to compete this year at the London Olympics in the Laser Radial single handed women’s class). Cassandra said, ‘I’ve been working on my fitness and my stamina, now I just have to get my weight up.’
About the conditions, Cassandra said, ‘20 knots I can handle but anything more is hard. Chop and waves are hard. In Canberra we sail on a lake!’ Cassandra is looking forward to tomorrow to start the racing properly. She said this regatta was good training for her. ‘More than anything I want to have fun with this regatta’, she RQYS website
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