On day four of the 2009 Byte CII World Championship, Jon Emmett started where he left off yesterday by making it five firsts in a row. He also won the 14th race but that still left him a point out of third.
The two firsts were pulled off in the most difficult conditions Kingston has to offer - a north west wind behind a cold front that passed through in the morning. When this happens in Kingston, the offshore wind produces shifts of up to 25 degrees and, yesterday, frequent and sudden oscillations in wind strength between six and 18 knots. Boat speed becomes secondary to 'sailing smart'.
Despite a so-so start, Emmett arrives at the weather mark overlapped with current regatta leader Daren Choy SIN55.
They are closely followed by Nathan Tang SIN1.
Bermudan Owen Siese BER3050 arrives at the weather mark in seventh after a 'smart' leg. He would end up sixth matching his best finish of sixth in the fourth race.
A little further back Marina Maffesanti JAM3105 leads Elizabeth Wauchope CAY3063 and Ruth Ho SIN8.
Playing the shifts better than the rest, Jon Emmett arrives at the weather mark the second time alone in first but with Darren Choy SIN 5 (out of the picture) not far behind.
Starting down the last run, two Bermudans who would finish sixth and seventh - Owen Siese BER3050 and Brian Bulhoes BER 3062. Brian is currently the top Bermudan in 14th place.
Michael Louzada BRA1111 was looking for strong finishes to complement his good day on the water yesterday. Here he is in eighth, just ahead of Najwa Jumali SIN to weather and Denise Chagas BRA2220 to leeward. These two would end up ninth and 10th.
Emmett holds off Choy on the run, rounds the leeward mark just clear ahead and holds his position on the short sprint to the line.
This is Michael's second World Championship but his first win! He had to work for it as the Singapore and Bermudan sailors behind him were marginally faster in the lighter patches.
Another clean start to race 12.
First time up, Louzada BRA1111 is second as they plane away from the weather mark. He would lose a Owen Siese BER on this reach and start the second beat in third.
Second time up, he is in first.
However, there were, left to right, two Singapore and one Bermudan sailor very close behind
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Louzada BRA gets his first WC gun
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Owen Siese BER with third place and his best race of the regatta
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It was getting a bit chilly for Owen Siese of the Bermuda contingent here lunching between starts!
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Race 13 - won by Terrence Choo SIN
This race was all Singapore, all the way, with the only challenge in the top 15 places coming from Brian Bulhoes BER in ninth, Fabio Ramos BRA in 10th and Sarah Douglas CAN in 15th. Darren continued his consistent finishes with another second putting him almost out of reach.
Below at the first mark - nothing but Singapore!
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The rest of the fleet. Emmett GBR, extreme right, was down about 14th.
Second windward mark, Terrence Choo SIN has opened up a small lead and it was enough to hold off Choy SIN in second place.
The only two boats to challenge the top 10 - Fabio Ramos BRA, (Third in the Worlds in Thailand), and Brian Bulhoes BER3062 in ninth and 10th. They would reverse positions on the run to the finish
The last run to the finish. Geneve Teo SIN3, Denise Chagas BRA2220, Marina Maffesanti JAM3105 and Sarah Douglas CAN2683
Race 14 - Won by Jon Emmett GBR
This would be Emmett's sixth win in his last eight races and would bring him within a point of third but still with no hope of catching the current leader Darren Choy SIN and defending his 2008 World Championship
The last start of the day - clean.
Ian Barrows ISV8008 covers Terrence Choo SIN55 going in to the top mark. Emmett GBR3074 is close behind
Emmett GBR in third around the first weather mark behind Ian Barrows ISV8008, who lead, and Terrence Choo SIN10. Emmett would pass both sailors on the last beat when they both overstood the weather mark. Barrows would finish second and Choo third.
Sarah Douglas CAN2683, up with series leader Darren Choy SIN55 after her best windward leg of the series. Chai Xun SIN6 follows
