Laser Worlds 2009 Halifax Canada - Day 2/3 Hurricane Ahead

by Event Media/Sail-World.com on 23 Aug 2009 Day two of the Laser world championships proved more exercise for volunteers hauling race marks than for the athletes. Fog hanging over the outer reaches of St. Margaret’s Bay had the race committee making numerous course changes in an effort to find clear water.

Only one race was completed, on a day the Race Committee hoped to get three races in. Two fleets managed to get in a quick race, but the third fleet proved anxious.

There were numerous general recalls for sailors crossing the line early, more than 20 sailors black flagged (which took them out of the race), including 2007 and 2008 World Champion Australia's Tom Slingsby and still it took an hour and a half to get the fleet off, which prevented further starts. (This Blue fleet race has been resailed - results soon)

After three race, Tonci Stipanovic of Croatia remains in the lead, American Clayton Johnson in second, Nick Thompson of Great Britain in third, Pavlos Kontikes of Cyprus has moved to fourth and Olympic gold medalist Paul Goodison of Great Britain in fifth.

Bernard Luttmer of Canada is in 18th spot after three races. Team mate David Wright is in 20th and Christopher Dold in 25th.

While the 169 athletes competing in the 2009 Nautel Laser World Championships were having a rough day on the water, on land, organizers were preparing a contingency plan for Hurricane Bill.

The Canadian Hurricane Centre in Dartmouth, N.S., issued its first tropical storm warning about Bill Saturday for areas across Nova Scotia including Halifax.

The warning says that residents should expect 'sustained gales' of 100 kilometres an hour to blow through these areas within 24 hours. With the strong winds will also come heavy rainfall which may lead to local flooding, the centre said.

Hurricane Bill, the first of the season, was downgraded to a Category 2 storm as it lingered southeast of the United States in the Atlantic Ocean Saturday, when its winds reached a maximum velocity of 160 kilometres an hour.

Bill was expected to carve a path to Atlantic Canada by Sunday, with officials issuing stern warnings to residents to get ready for fallen trees, broken power lines, torrential rain and ocean storms.

The hurricane was expected to sweep past Nova Scotia Sunday and make its first Canadian landfall in southeast Newfoundland on Monday.

All provincial beaches and parks have been closed to the public in anticipation of Hurricane Bill. Crews will re-evaluate the safety risks and damage cause by the storm Monday and announce when the areas will be reopened.

Bill is the first major hurricane forecast to strike the East Coast since Hurricane Juan wreaked havoc across Nova Scotia and P.E.I. in 2003.

The Laser World Championship racing will continue as planned on Saturday, but if the hurricane continues on its current track, races will be cancelled on Sunday. 'After racing on Saturday, the athletes will help volunteers move the Laser hulls into the main clubhouse and race management centre,' says event co-chair Rod Millar.

'Masts and rigging will be lashed down and secured in protected areas, as will the dollies used to wheel the boats around.'

'The athletes will bring their sails and foils [centerboards and rudders] to their residences so they don’t need to be stored on site.'

Other equipment and tents used for the championship will be broken down and stored. 'The current plan is to get back on the water Monday,' says Millar. 'It’s definitely a disruption to the Laser Worlds, but we’re sailors, this happens.'

Day Three - Update 1400h

It was deja vu for sailors in the blue fleet this morning. They resailed their one and only race from yesterday. The decision was made after a volley of protests following yesterday's racing in which 20 boats were black flagged.

Other sailors waited impatiently on land for the signal to launch. They checked e-mails, chatted, and listened to the Nautel Laser World Radio station established specifically for the event.

Within minutes of the signal to launch, they were on the water heading to the race course set up near Queensland beach on the Bay's western shore. Under sunny skies and winds roughly 18 knots, organizers are hoping to get at least two races in today.

Day Three - Update 1600

There is a significant shift in standings after three races at the 2009 Laser World Championships.

Today's rerun of yesterday's race by the blue fleet has put Nick Thompson of Great Britain in first, dropped Tonci Stipanovic of Croatia to second and moved Olympic gold medalist Paul Goodison of Great Britain into third. Austria's Andreas Geritzer is in fourth and Karol Porozynski is in fifth.

As racing continues on the third day of the 2009 Nautel Laser World Championships in Nova Scotia, conditions on St. Margaret's Bay are near perfect for the 169 athletes from 51 countries. Under sunny skies winds are blowing 16 to 18 knots (31 to 35 kilometres per hour).

Here are Day 2 results, before the resail of the Blue fleet race, which will dramatically changes the scores.

Qualifying Series
Results Std_Senior

No Sailno Name Scores 1 2 3
1 GBR 196082 Thompson Nick 5.0 2 2 1
2 CRO 196102 Stipanovic Tonci 6.0 3 1 2
3 GBR 196043 Goodison Paul 10.5 5 2 5
4 AUT 196105 Geritzer Andreas 11.0 2 6 3
5 POL 196072 Porozynski Karol 14.0 6 5 3
6 BRA 196096 Fontes Bruno 15.0 1 5 9
7 CRO 196157 Vujasinovic Milan 19.0 4 13 2
8 FRA 196075 Pruvot Felix 19.0 8 6 5
9 GER 196134 Buhl Philipp 21.0 3 3 15
10 NZL 196066 Maloney Andrew 21.0 14 3 4
11 SWE 196117 Wigforss Johan 21.0 8 7 6
12 CRO 196152 Taritas Ivan 22.0 12 9 1
13 NZL 196032 Junior Joshua 22.0 4 14 4
14 CAN 196008 Leigh Michael 22.0 8 7 7
15 GRE 196166 Bougiouris Adonis 24.0 12 8 4
16 SUI 196133 Bottoni Christoph 29.0 9 12 8
17 HUN 196107 Berecz Zsombor 30.0 20 8 2
18 CAN 196124 Luttmer Bernard 30.0 15 4 11
19 AUS 196132 Brunning Ashley 30.0 6 17 7
20 CAN 196099 Wright David 31.0 4 17 10
21 ESP 196025 Hernandez Javier 31.0 11 4 16
22 SWE 196026 Claeson Arvid 31.0 5 19 7
23 NZL 196003 Weaver David 31.0 10 16 5
24 SWE 196147 Cedergardh Emil 32.0 15 1 16
25 NED 196012 Van Vianen Eduardo 34.0 10 16 8
26 GBR 196068 Godwin Robert 37.0 21 13 3
27 NOR 196087 Ruth Kristian 37.0 10 14 13
28 SUI 196037 Steiger Christian 38.0 6 4 28
29 CRO 196168 Lolic Aron 40.0 22 12 6
30 NED 196044 Pelt Gijs 40.0 16 10 14
31 FRA 196149 Cabaz Rodrigue 41.0 3 26 12
32 EST 196019 Rammo Karl-martin 41.0 23 10 8
33 USA 196067 Buckingham Charlie 44.0 18 16 10
34 NZL 196130 Mclay Blair 45.0 11 20 14
35 USA 196060 Funk Brad 49.0 21 17 11
36 NED 196073 de Haas Marc 50.0 30 7 13
37 ISV 196009 Barrows Thomas 50.5 19 54 15
38 DEN 196057 Kjaergaard Kristian 51.0 12 28 11
39 EST 196126 Vooremaa Argo 54.0 21 21 12
40 NED 196070 Schaardenburg Rutger 55.0 17 9 29
41 SWE 196042 Stalheim Jesper 55.0 22 18 15
42 MON 196030 Sanchez Emmanuel 56.0 25 12 19
43 NZL 196007 Bullot Michael 59.0 1 ocs 1
44 CRO 196077 Mihelic Daniel 60.0 33 13 14
45 CAN 196120 Parkhill Lee 61.5 15 20 26
46 USA 196034 Johnson Clayton 62.0 2 3 bfd
47 GBR 196150 Reynolds Phillip 64.0 19 22 23
48 AUS 196064 Slingsby Tom 65.0 7 1 bfd
49 NZL 196100 Meech Sam 65.0 34 21 10
50 GBR 196151 Evans Martin 65.0 26 26 13
51 CYP 196020 Kontides Pavlos 66.0 1 8 bfd
52 GER 196089 Schadewaldt Tobias 66.0 7 2 bfd
53 KOR 196084 Ha Jeemin 66.0 31 10 25
54 NZL 196048 Andrews Max 67.0 26 25 16
55 GBR 196029 Holloway Max 69.0 16 20 33
56 USA 196035 Rogachenko Kyle 70.0 38 23 9
57 AUS 196053 Burman James 70.0 37 11 22
58 DOM 196097 Aguayo Raul 71.0 17 34 20
59 RUS 196002 Semerkhanov Maxim 71.0 20 24 27
60 CAN 196001 Dold Christopher 72.0 9 6 bfd
61 LTU 196109 Milevicius Rokas 72.0 27 25 20
62 ARG 196083 Alsogaray Julio 73.0 7 9 bfd
63 AUS 196063 Burton Tom 73.0 23 29 21
64 USA 196033 Crane Rob 75.0 14 2