RS-X Worlds - Day 3- Late start, unrig in the dark

by Hugh Sims-Williams on 8 Jul 2007
There was a lot of speculation that the wind would be strong for Saturdays racing.

This was reinforced by reports that local sailors were rigging up 4m wave sails at Guincho, a beach very close to the racing venue. (RSX sailors use 8.5-9.5m sails)

The World Championships is a multiclass regatta, so the race course is shared with the 49er class. Due to delays in the 49er racing, the first RSX race started at 7:30pm, and the last race began at 8:30pm. A tired and frustrated fleet returned to the shore after 10pm as the sun set. Some competitors left their equipment where they landed while others de-rigged in the street lights.

Immediately off the beach, gusts hit the water at 20 knots, but dissipated to 6 knots near the start line. The wind continued to shift in a regular pattern, with wind speed varying from 6-14 knots during the racing. Only one race was held per fleet due to the fading light. The huge variation in speed of the RSX boards when planning continues to explain the large number of sailors failing to finish within the time limit.

Poland’s Piotr Myszka has shown huge consistency in these conditions and has taken the lead in the men’s fleet, closely followed by Brazil’s, Ricardo Santos. The reigning World Champion Casper Bouman has been scored DNF along with the German number one after sailing an extra lap in their race. An unsuccessful protest challenging how the number of laps was displayed on the committee boat resulted in no change to the results.

Local racer, Joao Rodrigues, has continued to post consistent results keeping a medal within his grasp. The women raced after the men in the facing wind and light. Race wins were from light wind specialists Bryony Shaw(GBR) and Jian Yin(CHN). The shifty conditions mean that no one is safe from a disastrous result, and with the only discard coming into play after Sunday’s races, the leader board is likely to change again. Sundays racing will define the Gold, Silver and Bronze fleets in this competitive World Championship.