Strong female line up for Harken Invitational Regatta
by Nathalie van Dort on 29 Dec 2011
Female skippers performed well in the Opening day of the Harken Invitational Richard Gladwell
www.photosport.co.nz
It was a challenging first day for many international sailors competing in the Harken Invitational Regatta for Optimist sailors.
After a slight delayed start due the last minute sign up from a large number of sailors, the weather was perfect for a good day sailing, between 8 - 10 knots sea breeze. After race 2 the wind picked up to 15 - 18 knots, as predicted, and made some rough sailing.
214 sailors from 33 different countries headed out to sea this morning, all keen to get into it.
Provisional results show that the only male in Team Singapore won the first race. The second race was won by Chilean girl Franasco Ducasse and the third race was won by American sailor Marshall William who finished first in the last race with Chilean girl Franasco Ducasse the overall leader after four races.
The sailor holding the second position overall is another female, Justina Pacheco from the Dominican Republic.
Tomorrow promises some interesting races with strong winds predicted again around 1300 (1.00 pm) when the first race will start. It is also expected that racing will be tight amongst the competitors as they become familiar with the local conditions.
www.optiworldsnz.com
Opti Worlds Vital Stats:
30 December 2011 - 10 January 2012
The boat: a safe and simple dinghy that is one of the world's most popular designs
The racing: 9 days of Championship racing
The competitors: around 210 sailors aged between 11 and 15 years
The countries: teams from 48 nations including reigning Champs Thailand
The host club: Napier Sailing Club, Napier, New Zealand
Famous sailors that have started out in Optis include: Ben Ainslie
The website: www.optiworldsnz.com
The Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/optiworldsnz2011
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