Open 420 Worlds- Good and bad day for Kiwis in Travemunde

by Rob Burn on 30 Jul 2014 Rob Burn reports on the second day of racing for the New Zealand team competing at the 420 World Championships in Travemunde, Germany.

A Bullet, another Yellow Flag and things that fall off coachboats.....

A good day and a bad day for the Kiwi 420 Team, Sam Barnett and Zak Merton score a bullet on the second and final race of the day, Sophie von Waldow and Annabel Cave get a second Yellow Flag for 'sculling' and have to retire, disqualified. Other NZL sailors still slow to get firing.

Today's forecast was for breeze around 9 knots , possibly gusting 12knots but soft. Plenty of wind first thing and we were all hopeful but it wasn't as windy out past the river mouth and harbour.

On the Girls course, after the daily reseeding, three of the crews started together in one flight, Ava Mannering and Rosa Bella Hill sailing alone in the other but showing some improvement as they grapple with the large fleet size. Brittany Wornall and Emma Stenhouse had a solid first race and an ok second. Eliza Wilkinson and Kate Stewart got into a penalty situation, got their turns in quickly but didn't finish as they wanted. They made up for it in the second race with a 15th, they need a good day tomorrow to cement their place in the Ladies Gold Fleet. Sophie von Waldow and Annabel Cave didn't start so well, and things went downhill from there with a Rule 42, Yellow Flag penalty on the second race. The girls got one yesterday so with the second, they had to retire. Tobias Koeb took them to the Jury to help them understand and improve their technique, they are determined to pick themselves up and enjoy their regatta.

Further West on the Open Course, the two boys crews were in separate flights, Sam Barnett and Zak Merton off first flight, Taylor Burn and Taylor Balogh in the second. Nothing remarkable, both got reasonable starts but stayed in the 20's in a much tighter race, not much between the first 30 boats.

The second race had Sam Barnett and Zak Merton start first, we waited for the Taylor Burn and Taylor Balogh to start then went around the outside of the course towards Sam and Zak's flight....they were out in front and stayed there all race, great to be at the Finish to see.

Taylor Burn and Taylor Balogh had a good start and we thought we would see them them come out towards the front of the pack at the Top mark but how wrong we were.

We counted five boats behind them out of a flight of 56....something heartbreaking for us parents on the support boat. They were working hard and we knew they had gas down wind. By the time the last downwind was over and the Finish
line in sight, they had climbed back to 20th, again in a tightly bunched fleet, they had passed 30 boats.

Back on the beach the Protesters were lining up, filling out their forms and polishing their stories. Taylor Burn and Taylor Balogh had an incident with the Spanish current World Champs who had barged them off a mark and caused them to lose places in the first race. They weighed up their options and decided to let it go, rather than spend hours waiting for possibly an uncertain ending. The results as recorded may have changed again by the time we get back to the beach.

Sam Barnett and Zak Merton (22, 1), Taylor Burn and Taylor Balogh 41 (20, 20), Brittany Wornall and Emma Stenhouse 37 (15, 20), Eliza Wilkinson and Kate Stewart 48 (29, 15), Annabel Cave and Sophie von Waldowl 74 (36, 43DNS) Ava Mannering and Rosa Bella Hill 78 (38, 33)

Tobias Koeb dropped his video camera off the coachboat while unloading at the marina. The water is deep and very dark. Our intrepid Class President, Richard Cave, spotted the fire brigade, organised them to do an 'exercise' and the diver found the camera in 4.5 metres in just a minute, the camera still working. A happy coach.

The city fathers organised a night on the huge ship the 'Passat' for the evening. The ship is a former square rigger like a Clipper ship, built as a Naval training ship, but no longer sails. It used for functions, a museum and accommodation, many of the Officials are staying on it as well. Good food, good company, short speeches, everyone had a pleasant social night then on to the soccer/football field in the bush near the beach. Our crews couldn't believe how serious everyone took their games, Argentina vs Brasil etc, 5 a side, with all the passion and acting skills of the real thing.

Last day of Qualifiers tomorrow. For those Teams on the cut off cusp for the Gold Fleet, a good day is needed.

The forecasts varies, we are looking to Predict Wind which forecasts 13-16 knots with rain until 11am. According to Coach James Turner, this has been accurate everyday...we shall see...

Auf Wiedersehen

Kiwi Teams are Sam Barnett and Zak Merton, Tauranga, Taylor Burn and Taylor Balogh, Picton and Christchurch, Brittany Wornall and Emma Stenhouse, Christchurch, Eliza Wilkinson and Kate Stewart, Auckland, Annabel Cave and Sophie von Waldow, Auckland (and via Berlin), Ava Mannering and Rosa Bella Hill, Napier and Christchurch.

Coaches are James Turner YNZ, and Tobias Koeb of Austria, formerly Queen Charlotte Yacht Club head coach. James on the boys course, Tobias on the Girls.This writer (Rob Burn) is the Team Manager.