147 men and 59 women ready for Laser Radial and Standard U-21 Worlds

by segler-zeitung.de on 10 Aug 2016 It is the second week of the Laser Youth World Championships in Kiel. After the Laser 4.7 with the small sail were on the race course in the previous days, it is now time for the Laser women with the medium sized Radial sail and the men with the Laser Standard rigg.

147 men and 59 women from 39 countries are registered for the U-21 Worlds. After the Opening Ceremony on Wednesday evening - with a flag parade - the first races are scheduled for Thursday (August 11th, starting at 11am).

Race officer Robert Niemczewski had invited the participants for a practice race on the race course Juliett in front of the Buelk lighthouse on Wednesday evening. 'The wind, 15 knots in average, was swinging back and forth a bit. The wind only picked up to 30 knots during the rain showers', Niemczewski describes the conditions on the Baltic. Despite the heavy gusts, no sailor did capsize. 'They are in control of the boats', said Niemczewski after the training race.

The fleet of the men in the Laser Standard consists of 147 participants, with sailors from 38 nations and 21 Germans among them. During the Kiel Week, Jonatan Vadnai (Hungary) finished on rank four and Joel Rodriguez (Spain) on rank five and are thus among the favourites. The hopes among the German sailors are pinned on Nik Aaron Willim (Schlei Sailing Club/seventh at Kiel Week) from the Sailing Team Germany. Five of the 59 registered sailors from 29 countries in the fleet of the women in the Laser Radial are from the top ten of the U-21 Worlds 2015 (Medemblik), with Monika Mikkola from Finland in the lead, who already finished on rank two at the Kiel Week.

Kelly Cole from the USA is sailing in Kiel for the first time. She travelled to Germany for ten days together with her Dad just for the Worlds. 'I love strong winds just as much as light winds. You just have to look forward and see what's coming up', she stated. There are many other young sailors starting for the first time in Kiel. 'Strong wind and cold', is the first impression of Khouloud Mansy from Alexandria (Egypt). Coralie Vittecoq from Montreal (Canada) has already been in Kiel for a week. 'Lots of shifty winds, lots of different conditions. It will be a very interesting competition', explains the 18-year old, who finished in the top 20 at the ISAF Youth Worlds in Malaysia. 'It is amazing to sail here, but a little bit more sun would be nice.“

'It is a bit cold here and it rains a lot', comments Justin Busuttil about the conditions in Kiel. The sailor from Malta has been training on the Baltic since three days. 'It is very windy. Gusts are coming fast the wind is shifting a lot“, he already learned. 'I would like to achieve a few good results and get into the gold fleet.' Last year, he did finish the U-21 Worlds in Medemblik in the silver fleet.

The Laser dealer Ziegelmayer has chartered out two dozens of boats to the participants from overseas this week. Christoph Moeller is prepared and ready with his repair station for the second part of the Laser Worlds to provide 'first aid' for boats and rigg. 'This week's participants are already more professional than the 'small ones' and have many spare parts with them. For the moment there are only minor repairs', states Moeller.

The wheather remains autumn-like for the time being: It will be a mixture of clouds and sun. For the first races on Thursday, the wind is supposed to be between 12 and 20 knots from West to Southwest, with gusts of up to 25 knots. Despite short rain showers, three to six hours of sunshine are expected, the temperatures shall not raise again before the next days.

The Kiel Yacht Club is the host of the Laser U-21 Worlds. The event is being supported by the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein and Helly Hansen. Live broadcasting and tracking will take place on the last three days of the championships (Sunday until Tuesday).