2019 ILCA Laser Standard Men's World Championship at Miho Bay, Japan - Day 2
by Eric Faust 5 Jul 2019 06:47 PDT
4-9 July 2019
Jesper Stalheim leads on day 2 of the ILCA Laser Standard Men's World Championship © Junichi Hirai / Bulkhead Magazine Japan
After four qualifying races, Sweden's Jesper
Stalheim, Jean-Baptiste Bernaz of France and George Gautrey from New
Zealand are tied for first place with seven points each at the Laser
Standard Men's Worlds, putting them a mere 5 points ahead of tenth
place.
The tight standings are testament to the high level of competition at
this Olympic qualifying event where five sailors will qualify their
country for a berth in the Men's One-Person Dinghy Event at the 2020
Tokyo Olympics.
Three fleets completed two qualifying series races in north winds of
15 knots that tested both the sailors' hiking stamina and their wave
riding skills in the open waters of Miho Bay off Japan's west coast.
With the fresher winds today than on day one, a few new faces appeared
at the front of the fleet.
In the day's first race, the Yellow Fleet got away clean on their
first starting attempt. Michael Beckett from Great Britain and Sam
Meech of New Zealand soon worked their way to the front of the fleet
with excellent upwind speed. Jesper Stalheim stayed in the hunt
upwind, but in the 3-5 foot swell, he showed exceptional speed on the
runs to make big gains. At the finish it was Beckett in first, follow
by Meech in second with Stalheim closing the gap into third.
After a number of recalls that resulted in several Black Flag
disqualifications, the Blue Fleet finally got away on a clear start in
its first race of the day. George Gautrey continued his form from
yesterday, leading the fleet to the first mark, with Elliot Hanson
from Great Britain and American Henry Marshall close behind. But
Korean sailor, Jeemin Ha, had a few nice runs to put himself in the
lead at the bottom of the last run followed by Finland's Kaarle Tapper
and Hansen. But Hanson surprisingly capsized at the final mark to
allowing Gautrey to slip by. In the end, Tapper was able to run down
Ha for first, Ha took second and Gautrey enjoyed his third place gift
courtesy of Hanson.
The Red Fleet's first race of the day looked to be an epic battle
among some of the world's best sailors. Downwind skills were on full
display in the surfing/planing conditions. In particular, Germany's
Philipp Buhl showed outstanding speed on the runs, passing several
boats to finish second just behind Tonci Stipanovic from Croatia.
Rounding out the top three was Australian Matthew Wearn, who did good
work to hold off the charge of reigning World Champion, Pavlos
Kontides, who worked his way to fourth by the finish.
In the day's second race, the Yellow Fleet took its turn with a few
general recalls before getting away under a Black Flag. Stalheim and
Meech again found themselves in front of the pack, but this time with
Russia's Sergi Komissarov rounding out the top group. This trio led at
the first mark and essentially managed to sail away from the fleet. At
the finish it was Stalheim in first follow by Meech and Komissarov in
second and third respectively.
The Blue Fleet also saw many of the same sailors at the front in its
second race of the day. Ha again showed nice downwind speed to move
into the lead. This time he was able to hold his position for the win.
Belgium's William De Smet sailed his best race of the series to take
second in front of Brazil's Robert Scheidt in third.
Matthew Wearn found his groove in the day's final race, prevailing in
a close battle with Jean-Baptiste Bernaz of France to take first
place. Bernaz and Wearn were neck and neck down the final run, but in
the end Wearn got the better position at the bottom mark to secure his
victory. In third was Hermann Tomasgaard of Norway, who sailed a
brilliant second weather leg to move into a comfortable third place at
the top mark, a place which he held to the finish.
Qualifying series races continue tomorrow with two races scheduled to
determine the gold, silver and bronze fleets that will sail in six
finals series races to determine the world champion.
Event Website: 2019worlds.laserjapan.org/standard
Top ten results after four races:
1. Jesper Stalheim SWE 7 pts
2. Jean-Baptiste Bernaz FRA 7 pts
3. George Gautrey NZL 7 pts
4. Hermann Tomasgaard NOR 9 pts
5. Tonci Stipanovic CRO 9 pts
6. Tom Burton AUS 10 pts
7. Robert Scheidt BRA 10 pts
8. Matthew Wearn AUS 11 pts
9. Sam Meech NZL 11 pts
10. Sergei Komissarov RUS 12 pts