2009 Snipe World Championship - Day One

by Craig Leweck on 8 Sep 2009 For the 49 teams competing at the Snipe World Championship, maintaining consistency proved to be the biggest challenge for the first day of the event.

Three races were held in 8-12 knots, with enough shifts, chop, and kelp islands to challenge both medium range speed and large course tactics. Leading the scoreboard as the only team to maintain all top ten scores is Gustavo del Castillo Palop and Felipe Llinares Pascual (ESP).

While it is hard to win a regatta on the first day, it is possible to lose one, and after three starting attempts for the first race, 12 teams began their regattas with starting penalties. Getting clean starts proved to be a challenge all day, as was the task of keeping blades clear of the kelp that breaks free from the beds off Point Loma. Even for the teams that won the first and second races, their success was short-lived, as scores in the 30s and 20s followed.

The Notice of Race for Monday called for two races, but with sufficient wind and daylight, the race committee fit in an extra race to get a jump on the 11 race schedule. Three races are scheduled for Tuesday, with racing continuing each day through to Friday, September 11th. Eighteen countries from four continents are vying for the title.

Preliminary scores (Top 5 of 49)
1. 34 29718 Gustavo del Castillo Palop/ Felipe Llinares Pascual (ESP) 5-5-3, 13
2. 14 30546 Bruno Amorim /Dante Bianchi (BRA) 4-3-13, 20
3. 06 30714 Manu Hens/ Enrico Michel (BEL) 15-9 2, 26
4. 47 30288 Augie Diaz/ Kathleen Tocke (USA) 14-13-1, 28
5. 38 30805 Rayco Tabares Alvarez/ Gonzalo Morales Quintana (ESP) 8-1-22, 31

Regatta Website: http://www.snipeworlds2009.com