Aon Youth Worlds - Strong, shifty conditions for Kiwi's on Day 1

by Yachting New Zealand on 17 Dec 2016 'A game of snakes and ladders' was how NZL Laser Radial sailor George Gautrey described the first day of racing in the Aon Youth Sailing World Championship held off Torbay in Auckland on Friday.

A shifty offshore breeze of 17-24 knots combined with a choppy sea state made for tactically challenging, physically demanding conditions.

“It was extremely tricky out there with shifts of 30-40 degrees, and you couldn’t really predict what was coming down the course. So there were a few shifts I definitely got wrong,” he explains.

His results reflected a strong start to the regatta however, following up a sixth in the first race with a second which leaves him in third overall after day one. Happy with his results, George says having a calm approach was key to doing well.

“You just had to sail to what you could see, and not get freaked out if it all went wrong as there were definitely lanes to come back in to get back up the race course. It was a good start to a long regatta, and I’ve got a few keepers from today,” he says.

Over in the 29er boys fleet New Zealand’s Francesco Kayrouz and Oscar Gunn are taking the positives out of their first day’s racing.

“It was pretty tough out there but we had good speed even though we didn’t quite convert it today. Our starting was good – we just kept it simple,” commented Oscar.

They are currently sitting in 11th after three races where they placed 12, 12, 11, and are feeling positive about tomorrow.

“We’ll treat it as a new day and try to capitalise on our strengths,” he added.

Agreeing with the tricky conditions, 420 Kiwi twins Brianna and Courtney Reynolds-Smith say you “had to keep your wits about you.'

“The wind was really unstable, with huge puffs and big lulls during our racing. It would go from 5 to 20 knots really quickly, which made it hard to read,” says Brianna.

All in all, she says it was a “solid start” to a long regatta, and has a positive outlook for the next four days.

Today’s racing followed a spectacular opening ceremony last night in downtown Auckland, which featured a sailor’s parade, Powhiri, and traditional Youth Worlds ‘mixing of the waters’ ceremony at the ANZ Viaduct Events Centre.

With Day 1 on the water wrapped up, the breeze is forecast to ease over the weekend with the first start time for tomorrow's racing scheduled at 0955.

Race days are 16-20 December.

NZL Yachting Trust Youth Team provisional results following the first day of the Aon Youth Sailing World Championship:

420 Boys
15th Josh Berry and Henry Haslett (13,13)

420 Girls
5th Courtney Reynolds-Smith and Brianna Reynolds-Smith (6,4)

29er Boys
11th Francesco Kayrouz and Oscar Gunn (12,12,11)

29er Girls
7th Greta Stewart and Kate Stewart (13,4,7)

Nacra 15
2nd Jackson Keon and Tom Fyfe (3,4,2)

Laser Radial Boys
3rd George Gautrey (6,2)

Laser Radial Girls
13th Olivia Christie (7,18)

RS:X Boys:
6th Patrick Haybittle (5,6,10)

As racing progresses over the next four days’ results can be viewed by clicking here

For details on how to follow the regatta click here