Top positions remain unchanged at Radial Worlds

by Courtesy RQYS on 8 Apr 2004 Although the courses for the Men's fleet races at the Laser Radial Worlds from the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron in Brisbane, were not ideal, in 15 knots the cream still came to the top with the joint series leaders, Michael Blackburn and Tom Slingsby from Australia, both winning their races - again.

Slingsby, from the NSW Central Coast led from start to finish. Blackburn, a resident of Sydney said ‘I started in the middle and stayed in the middle which wasn't great for the first left hand shift, but when it came back again, I was well placed and was second behind Mark Orams NZL at the first mark. I caught Mark on the downwind leg and was able to pull out a safety margin on the second windward.’

Out on the Womens course, the talented Victorian Krystal Weir has no peer. She is a full nine points clear of her nearest rival and Aussie compatriot, Christine Bridge and only looks like streaking further away. The third placed Cecilia Carranza Saroli (ARG) is a further eight and a half points behind.

Day 4 of the Laser Radial Open and Women's World Championship surpassed Day 3 in terms of difficulty for both the race committee and competitors.

A 15 knot gradient wind was pulled left and right by as much as 30 degrees as a complex succession of rain showers passed directly through the course area throughout the day. The nightmare for the race committee was whether to chase each shift with course changes or rely on the previous experience when the gradient wind direction always reinstated itself after each squall.

Today was one of those days when experience counted for nothing and the conditions beat the race committee with the locals saying the inevitable ‘we've never seen it like this before’!

Only one race was completed for each of men's fleet and the women's race was abandoned at the half way stage. An attempt to re start the women in lighter winds at the end of the day proved futile as the wind continued to drop and became unstable.

Two more races are scheduled for today.

Overall results (provisional)

Results Male – with one discard

1 AUS 178785 SLINGSBY Tom 6.0

2 AUS 178640 BLACKBURN Michael 6.0

3 CRO 167831 LOLIC Aron 16.0

4 NZL 175277 BLAKEY Matthew 18.0

5 AUS 177729 SKULANDER Nick 23.0

Results Female - with one discuard

1 AUS 180195 WEIR Krystal 7.0

2 AUS 153136 BRIDGE Christine 16.0

3 ARG 179356 CARRANZA SAROLI Cecilia 24.5

4 NZL 178665 MACKY Jane 25.0

5 SUI 179395 MEYER Corinne 25.0

Story amended by Sail-World

Full results, pics, stories: http://www.rqys.com.au/sailing/champ/worlds/LaserRaceReports.html