Please select your home edition
Edition
Mackay Boats 728x90 TOP

Nacra 17 World Championship - Medal guaranteed for Great Britain

by Lindsey Bell on 27 Jul 2013
Ben Saxton and Hannah Diamond - 2013 Nacra 17 World Championship Laurens Morel
At the Nacra 17 World Championship, Ben Saxton and Hannah Diamond have guaranteed a medal for Great Britain at the first ever World Championship for the new Olympic sailing Nacra 17 class, after a solid penultimate day of racing in The Hague, Netherlands, on Friday (26 July).

The British pair is poised in silver medal position, assured of a podium finish, and is just three points behind the French series leaders Billy Besson-Marie Riou. With a healthy 20-point cushion over the third placed Swiss duo Mathias Buhler-Nathalie Brugger, they need only to sail a clean race with no disqualifications to avoid slipping to bronze.

Southampton-based Saxton and Diamond, from Warsash, were second heading in to the penultimate day, and opened up their scoring with a third in the first race, before a postponement to proceedings while a thunderstorm passed across Scheveningen.

After the re-start the British pairing, both 23, made the best of another tricky and light wind race to post a sixth, and close in on the French pairing at the top of the overall leaderboard.

'Today felt like two days almost,' Saxton explained.

'The second race was particularly tricky with lots of place changes, but we did well always managing to stay in the top eight regardless of what was going on around us. We finished sixth in that so we’re happy.'

The young duo have a good opportunity to claim silverware at the inaugural World Championships for this new Olympic class, but with the medal order not yet decided, they are remaining focussed on the job ahead.

'We’re in with a good shot of a medal so I’m buzzing about that – we’ll just try and make it the correct colour tomorrow. That’s the important day!' said Saxton, who transferred into the multihull class after previously campaigning 470s.

'It would be amazing to win a medal at our first World Championships,' Diamond agreed.

'We still have the medal race to go so aren’t exactly sure what’s going to happen but hopefully we can do as we’ve been doing all week!'

There was disappointment for Poole Olympian Lucy Macgregor and Lymington’s Olympic gold medallist Pippa Wilson, who narrowly missed the medal race cut, currently in 1th and 12th with their respective crews Tom Phipps and John Gimson.

'We were 11th going into today, so were really trying hard to get into the top ten for the medal race tomorrow,' Macgregor explained.

'We didn’t have a very good first race today but we were doing much better in the second race, coming third most of the way through and then missed a big left shift so slipped back to tenth. That put us 12th overall, but we’ve just won a protest which I puts us up to 11th.

'It was disappointing not to get into the top ten but it’s been a tough week and we’ve got a lot to be pleased with.'

Wilson reflected on her regatta with Gimson: 'It’s been good for us. I’ve been finishing university recently, so things have just been coming together. We really only came together from Sail for Gold Regatta and we had a little bit of training coming into this event. We haven’t really done an awful lot of racing for the last three years – me especially.

'Today was the first day we’ve really started to feel more comfortable in the boat and getting our head into racing. A few things haven’t quite gone our way, but that always happens, and we have got a lot of things to improve on.

'It’s great to have been here at the World Championships, learning lots and getting involved in the racing.'

Podium Potential duo Rupert White and Nikki Boniface are currently 18th heading into the final day, where there will be one final fleet race for those crews outside of the top ten medal race boats to determine the overall World Championship positions.

Elsewhere, at the Finn European Championships in Warnemunde, Germany, Ed Wright is in the silver medal position heading into the final day of another light-wind regatta.

The 35-year-old sailor, silver medallist at the 2012 World Championship, is seven points behind Slovenia’s series leader Vasilij Zbogar and 19 points ahead of his next-nearest European rival, Pieter Jan Postma, in fourth overall. New Zealand’s Andrew Murdoch is third overall.

Mark Andrews has endured a difficult week with tonsillitis, but will endeavour to improve upon his 13th place on tomorrow’s final day. Andrew Mills is currently 15th, while Peter McCoy remains ahead in the race for the Finn Junior European crown.

Schedule for Nacra 17 World Championship, Saturday 27 July (local time):

1100 – Silver fleet, 1 race
1230 – Gold fleet, 1 race (boats 11-25)
1430 – Medal Race (boats RYA Nacra 17 website
Zhik 2024 DecemberSelden 2020 - FOOTERMarine Products Direct 2023 - Calypso FOOTER

Related Articles

Bulwarks and Bulldust – Show 3 Season 3
Australian Sailing's new CEO, Mal Page OAM, sits in the Captain's Chair to detail his vision... Episode Three - In the Captain's Chair this week is Australian Sailing's new CEO, Mal Page OAM. Watch as we discover his vision for his new role, enduring passion for the sport, desire to still go racing, and the pathways into the sport.
Posted on 9 Oct
2.4mR Worlds at Lake Garda, Italy Day 1
A gentle Ora breeze builds throughout the afternoon for the 56 sailors The Inclusive 2.4mR World Championship 2025 officially began today in the waters of Lake Garda, hosted by Fraglia Vela Malcesine.
Posted on 9 Oct
The RYA Connected Conferences are back
And they're built around what matters most to you Whether you're currently involved in the leadership of your club, class association or organisation - or aspire to be in the future - you can harness the power of our community at the RYA Connected Conferences to gain new insights and inspiration.
Posted on 9 Oct
10,000 Native Oysters to be Reintroduced to Solent
To study their effects on water quality and help repopulate the waters This winter, Hampshire-based charity the Final Straw Foundation (FSF) will be installing 10,000 native oysters in marinas across the Solent to study their effects on water quality and help repopulate the waters with this incredible species.
Posted on 9 Oct
Strong NZ team named for Youth Worlds
13 sailors have been announced as the NZL Sailing Foundation Youth team 2025 Worlds 13 sailors have been announced as the NZL Sailing Foundation Youth team for the 2025 World Sailing Youth World championships, in Vilamoura, Portugal, this December
Posted on 9 Oct
SailMedia Livestream
Taking Sydney Harbour 18ft skiff racing to the world The Australian 18 Footers League's 2025-26 season gets under way next Sunday (12 October) when the League will conduct Race 1 of the 2025 SIXT Spring Championship, for the Major Arthur Frizelle Trophy, on Sydney Harbour.
Posted on 9 Oct
49er & 49erFX and Nacra 17 Worlds Day 2
Sick Performance by Norway in the FX Norway has taken the top spot in the women's skiff at the end of day two of the 49er FX World Championships. Pia Dahl Andersen and Nora Edland have taken a two-point lead from the Spanish team who were on top at the start of the day.
Posted on 9 Oct
Armstrong riders connect with SailGP sailors
Some of the world's best female foilers spent a few unforgettable days together in Tarifa and Cadiz From winging in Tarifa to F50 racing in Cádiz, some of the world's best female foilers came together as Armstrong riders and SailGP sailors spent a few unforgettable days learning from each other and witnessing foiling at its highest level.
Posted on 9 Oct
Introducing Henri-Lloyd's Bergen Range
High performance technical mid-layers, manufactured from Ghost Nets and Recycled Plastic Bottles Henri-Lloyd's new Autumn/Winter 2025 collection features the Bergen Hooded Jacket and Bergen Gilet, the first in their range to be manufactured using performance fabrics alongside fibres and insulation derived from ghost nets and recycled plastic bottles.
Posted on 8 Oct
ILCA LA28 Olympic Format Test Event
Shaping the Future of Olympic Sailing Vilamoura Sailing, in partnership with Marina de Vilamoura and the International ILCA Class Association, will host the ILCA LA28 Olympic Format Test Event from 7 to 12 October 2025 in Vilamoura, Portugal.
Posted on 8 Oct