Sail-World.com : Snakes and ladders for Australians at the Laser Radial Worlds

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Sail-World.com : Snakes and ladders for Australians at the Laser Radial Worlds

Snakes and ladders for Australians at the Laser Radial Worlds

'Laser Radial World Championships 2010 - Largs, Scotland. Fleet Start' Marc Turner /RYA - copyright

Australia's Krystal Weir has begun working her way up the leader board on day two of the Laser Radial World Championship in Scotland, jumping 13 positions to be 36th after four races but at the same time Laura Baldwin dropped down the ladder.

Weir put a tough opening day behind her and finished with an eighth and 25th on day two and with four points covering positions 25 through to 35 a solid day three will see her move further forward.

'I’m reasonably happy with today’s progress as it was very tricky,' said Weir. 'The wind was shifting anywhere between 20 and 30 degrees and the pressure was up and down in pockets all over the course around five to 10knots.'

'I was in the first yellow fleet of the day which was great as I was able to get a few more practice starts in as the race committee were starting then relaying the course. The breeze was funneling off the land through the hills and we also had a few rain clouds just to keep us on our toes.'

'In the first race I was right up there playing with third or fourth at times, she said. 'Unfortunately the result didn’t really reflect how I was sailing as I ended up on the wrong side of a shift and finished eighth in the race.'

'In race two I headed out to the right hand side of the course only to find a massive left shift with pressure. I tacked over and the whole entire fleet rounded ahead of me putting me in 45th. After a second beat recovery I finished around 25th which wasn’t too bad considering where I was halfway through.'

'Tomorrow is a new day and I can’t wait to get out there and try a few new ideas on the race course,' she said.

Fellow Australian Laura Baldwin had a tough day on the water after sitting in 17th position after two races on day one.
Baldwin had a 25th and a 51st in the light and patchy conditions and finds herself in 41st after two days of racing.

Baldwin commented ‘ The forecast was for tending right from 040 to 130. .

'It was definitely very shifty but didn't clock right, it stayed around 060 and the left paid big a number of times. Needless to say, I was protecting the right!

'I over did the clothing today to compensate for yesterday! I was toasty and warm which made being out on the water a lot more pleasant. Despite not getting the desired results, I enjoyed sailing today.

'I knew the game was exceptionally challenging and that anything could happen. I got off the line in good shape and screamed to the boats to windward to tack as the wind had swung hard left but the two boats blocking me where too slow to realise what was going on by which time all the boats closer towards the pin had tacked and I was forced to sail under them.

'I was not in good shape at the top mark but over took a lot of boats around the course to finish 25th.

'In race two, I felt sure that the wind should clock right as forecast. It did and I was looking good, until a big pressure band blew down the left hand side and so race 4 became my discard and I have fallen down the overall ranks but it’s all still pretty close on points and we’re only a third of the way through. '

(Anna Tunnicliffe had a 37, 49 today, which shows the kind of day it was!)

Ashley Stoddart also slipped back on the leader board with her 40th and 50th placed finishes seeing her end the day in 55th overall.

Megan de Lange is currently in 74th position after finishing in 34th and 41st today.

Stronger winds are expected on day three of the 2010 Laser Radial World Championship with racing scheduled until July 14.

by Craig Heydon with additional Sail-World content

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10:02 AM Sun 11 Jul 2010 GMT

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