Toyota Optimist Nationals - Australia dominates on Day 2

by Sail-World.com on 26 Mar 2016 Australian sailors have taken four of the top five spots on the leaderboard at the conclusion of Day 2 of the 2016 Toyota NZIODA Optimist Championship.

Four races were sailed today, with the regatta in catch-up mode after light winds precluded racing on Day 1.

The decision was made at 9 am to delay the first warning signal for a minimum of three hours to allow for the possibility of the breeze to fill in. The SW breeze began to fill in around midday, peaking to 15kts at the end of racing.

In the Open fleet, RO Gerald Martin pushed the three flights to four races to minimise the loss of the first day with the sailors coming ashore at 6 pm.

Topping the leaderboard In the Open fleet are four sailors from Sydney's Woollarah Sailing Club. Lachie Brewer and Ryan Littlechild sit at the top of the field tied on seven points with Archie Cropley one point behind in third. Just two points cover the first four boats overall.

The first New Zealand sailors are Gavin Ninnes (French Bay/Kohimarama) in fourth and Henry Wilson (Murrays Bay) in sixth.

First girl Ashleigh Swadling from the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron is currently 18th overall. Ella Gladwell (Wakatere) is the second girl in 23rd overall.

The Geen fleet managed to get three races away in under three hours with the course positioned right off the beach, with the Open fleet managing one more on their course positioned further offshore and closer to Rangitoto Island.

Lucas Day from Murrays Bay leads the Green fleet after day scoring a 1, 3, 1 with fellow club member Lucy Leith sitting in second place with 2, 2, 2!

Local sailor Oscar van Druten (KYC) finished the day third 12 points behind the second placed yacht.

Light to moderate winds from a SW direction are expected for the rest of the regatta, which ends on Tuesday. The regatta has attracted a total of 258 entries from four countries.

For results after four races in the Open Fleet click here

For the results after three races in the Green fleet click here