Three Kiwi crews in top ten in ISAF Youth Worlds

by Sail-World & RYA on 15 Jul 2006 Today saw the start of the Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship at the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy, UK.

New Zealand had a rather uninspiring opening day, with the best effort coming in the Boys 420, with Jason Saunders and Bruce Kennedy lying sixth overall and scoring a second place in the third race of the day.

Only the Boys 420 and the Boys and Girls RS:X Boards are in the top ten overall at the end of the first day, with Scott Davies lying in eighth place overall and Justina Sellers in ninth overall, in the Boards.

The top kiwi performance on day one was from Boy’s 420 pair Jason Saunders and Bruce Kennedy. The Tauranga pair is in 6th place after recording a 14th, 7th and 2nd in racing overnight.

'Jason and Bruce won the practice race fair and square,' says Marty Watson, Yachting New Zealand’s High Performance and Youth Director who is in Weymouth. 'They were in striking distance of a win in race three and I think we’re yet to see the best from these two.'

Also starting well was Kohimarama board sailor Scott Davies who holds 8th place after solid results from the first day. 17 year old Davies, who is sailing in a 28 strong fleet in the Boy’s RS:X, placed 9th, 5th and 7th.

Similarly, Justina Sellers competing in the Girl's RS:X had a solid start with a 7th, a 6th and a 15th to put her in 9th place overall at the conclusion of the first day.

In bright sunshine and moderate breezes for all classes, the 281 competitors from 63 nations battled it out in Weymouth Bay. After the inspirational Official Opening Ceremony last night all the young sailors were set up for a big first day of competition.

All fleets had three races today, which started promptly at midday. First up were the windsurfers on their RSX’s inside the breakwater, where winds were lighter and shifty. In the male class Lukasz Grodzicki from Poland and FrenchmanPierre Le Coq dominated the fleet, both with only top three positions.

Sixth placed Nimrod Mashiah from Israel had a promising start to the day with a third in the first race but unfortunately for the 18 year old, in the second two races he placed in eighth. 'This is my third and last time at the Youth Worlds and I really want to do well. I’m a bit disappointed with my results today but it can only get better. The wind wasn’t really with me today as I am the heaviest guy in the fleet and it was better for the lighter people. I like Weymouth a lot but of course I have too because I must get here in 2012 for the Olympics!'

The top three ladies on the RSX boards are also fighting it out hard, with Italian Laura Linares, pipping Malgorzata Bialecka of Poland and Maayan Davidovich of Israel to the post with a first, second and third. It is the 16 year old’s third ISAF Youth World Championships and she sees this event as a fantastic opportunity to practise in Weymouth before 2012. 'I was confident today as I prefer this weather. I like eight to ten knots and flat seas. I come from Marsala in Sicily so I am used to training in these conditions.'

The doubled handed 420 fleet saw Argentina run away with an early lead. Sebastian Peri Brusa and Santiago Masseroni scored eight, giving them a six point gap between them and the Puerto Rican boys.

The Singapore 420 girls surprised even themselves, when they gained pole position after two seconds and a third. This is Sarah Tan and Ting Tze’s first Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championships, so they were on a high. Tan explained how the best friends have been sailing since they were small in the Optimist fleet and decided a year ago to move onto the 420. 'It’s such a great feeling being first today at our first Youth Worlds. We have so much fun on the boat and we love it here. We are very satisfied with all our hard work.'

The whole Laser fleet had mixed results today, but in the men’s fleet, Swedish Emil Cedergard came in first followed by Luke Ramsey of Canada and Pavlos Kontides of Cyprus. In the ladies Laser Radial races, Danish, Maiken Foght Schutt just sneaked ahead of Tina Mihelic of Croatia. Mihelic was happy with her performance, 'The first race was a bit light for me and shifty but I loved the second because it was stronger breeze and I’m good in that. I hope I get a medal this year as I missed out last year when I came fourth!'

British medal hopefuls, Tom Phipps and Richard Glover had a great day in the Hobie 16 fleet with a first, second and fourth but have Singapore’s Melcolm Huang and Pei Quan Chung nipping at their heels. Glover was very pleased with the result, 'It’s a great result for us and a good stepping stone for the rest of the week. Let’s see if we can keep it up.'

Apart from the record-breaking number of nations this week, it is also the first time Barbados and Pakistan have competed in the event, thanks to the ISAF’s support with the APP programme (Athlete Participation Programme). It is also APP sailor Kai Chaplin of the Bahamas first Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championships competing in the Laser Class. The young sailor cannot believe he is here in Weymouth, 'It’s really exciting to be here. I didn’t have a very good day but I’m used to bigger breeze than this to perform well. I would really love to be here in 2012 and if I work hard maybe I can do it.'

At the end of day one of the Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship 2006 every competitor knows this week will be a long one but only time will tell who will come out on top and receive gold and the glory of being the Youth World Champion.

2006 ISAF Volvo Youth Worlds, Weymouth, England.
 NZL Yachting Trust YNZ Youth Team Placings

Event	Skipper	Crew	Race 1	Race 2	Race 3	Race 4	Race 5	Race 6	Race 7	Race 8	Race 9	Race 10	Points	Place	Leader
Boys Laser	Matt Coutts	-	24	17	4								45	13	SWE
Girls Laser Radial	Cushla Hume-Merry	-	8	30	22								60	20	DEN
Boys RS:X	Scott Davies	-	9	5	7								21	8	POL
Girls RS:X	Justina Sellers	-	7	6	15								28	9	ITA
Boys 420	Jason Saunders	Bruce Kennedy	14	7	2								23	6	ARG
Girls 420	Sarah Berry	Emma Berry	OCS	16	OCS								66	24	SIN
Hobie 16	Rory Godman	Kelly Godman	10	11	12								33	12	GBR

Full results at: www.youthworlds.org