470 Junior Worlds – Three races push contenders out front

by Event Media on 29 Aug 2017 The second day of racing at the 2017 470 Junior Worlds in Enoshima was forecast to be breezy and Sagami Bay kept to its promise delivering between 15-25 knots of breeze and waves.

Neck and neck racing in three back to back races saw an escalation in performance as the 470 fleet powered around in strong wind, big wave conditions, which showcased the boat at it's best. Surfing the waves was as thrilling as bouncing upwind - with intensity, aggression and toughness all showing out on the race track.

Two races are scheduled on Wednesday 30 August, starting at 1200 hours with 470 Men, followed by 470 Women.

470 Men
Hippolyte Machetti/Sidoine Dantes (FRA) geared up in the breezy conditions to stake their claim at the top of the leaderboard, as results of 2,1, pushed them into the lead. But their glory was shortlived as Guillaume Pirouelle/Valentin Sipan (FRA) fought back to add a second win to their three race scorecard and reclaim the leader bibs they started the day with. Third to Daichi Takayama/Naoya Kimura (JPN).

Holding firm on the leaderboard are the USA’s Wiley Roger/Jack Parkin, who are racing their first ever 470 junior event, although have racked up plenty of senior fleet experience. This has all been part of their strategy, as Parkin explained, “This is definitely our big event of the year. From the start we really wanted to focus on doing well at this one. Racing in the senior fleets has been a huge experience that has allowed us to perform well in the junior fleet. We just came from the Japanese Nationals, so knowing the conditions and racing against a high fleet with Olympic and World Champions has really helped us coming into the Junior Worlds.”

The pair won the Youth Sailing World Championships in the 420 Class last year, and are now focused on their 470 campaign as part of the US Sailing Team squad.

“It’s great being here. The site is really cool and Tokyo 2020 is so real here, you can feel it,” added Wiley. “Even though it is 2 and a half years away, it feels like it is right around the corner. It’s really inspiring and keeps us in goal and why we do this sport.”

The Olympic magic rubbed off on them today as they racked up three more top ten finishes to end the day in sixth overall.

470 Men - Overall after five races
1. Guillaume PIROUELLE/Valentin SIPAN (FRA 76) - 6 pts
2. Hippolyte MACHETTI/Sidoine DANTÈS (FRA 79) - 7 pts
3. Daichi TAKAYAMA/Naoya KIMURA (JPN 4601) - 13 pts
4. Giacomo FERRARI/Giulio CALABRÒ (ITA 757) - 13 pts
5. Keiju OKADA/Kotarou MATUO (JPN 4562) - 22 pts
6. Wiley ROGERS/Jack PARKIN (USA 7) - 25 pts
7. Thomas PONTHIEU/Quentin PATURLE (FRA 95) - 27 pts
8. Chris CHARLWOOD/Josh DAWSON (AUS 8) - 28 pts
9. Nitai HASSON/Tal HARARI (ISR 15) - 40 pts
10. Maor ABU/Yoav ROOZ (ISR 10) - 42 pt

470 Women
Benedetta di Salle/Alessandra Dubbini (ITA) took out the first race win, before defending Champions Silvia Mas/Paula Barcelo leapt up to the lead, sitting 1 point ahead of di Salle/Dubbini after race 4. By the end of the day, all change as di Salle/Dubbini reclaimed the lead on tieabreak over Illara Paternoster/Bianca Carusso (ITA).

“It was really exciting and very hard to sail today,” commented a dishevelled Barcelo back ashore. “It has been a long day with three races and the Italians sailed faster than us, but I think our decisions were a bit better. They are first overall and we will see tomorrow what happens.

“It was very strong and the waves were so big, like mountains! We would close our eyes and say ‘let’s see if the other is in the boat after the wave’,” laughed Barcelo. “It was funny!

Australia’s Nia Jerwood/Monique De Vries blasted around the track, claiming the only win not owned by di Salle/Dubbini, and shifted up to fifth overall from scores of 5,1,7.

Japan's top performing team are Yuki Hayashi/Chika Nishidai in ninth overall.

470 Women - Overall after five races
1. Benedetta DI SALLE/Alessandra DUBBINI (ITA 74) - 10 pts
2. Ilaria PATERNOSTER/Bianca CARUSO (ITA 33) - 10 pts
3. Silvia MAS DEPARES/Paula BARCELO MARTIN (ESP 18) - 11 pts
4. Jennifer PORET/Camille HAUTEFAYE (FRA 14) - 16 pts
5. Nia JERWOOD/Monique DE VRIES (AUS 5) - 20 pts
6. Beste KAYNAKCI/Simay ASLAN (TUR 99) - 22 pts
7. Olivia BERGSTRÖM/Lovisa KARLSSON (SWE 34) - 27 pts
8. Marina LEFORT/Lara GRANIER (FRA 7) - 32 pts
9. Yuki HAYASHI/Chika NISHIDAI (JPN 4524) - 32 pts
10. Noya BAR-AM/Nina AMIR (ISR 11) - 34 pts