Australian sailors at 2020 ILCA Laser Standard World Championship - Day 1
by Clare Ridgway / Australian Sailing 11 Feb 2020 03:03 PST
9-16 February 2020
Finn Alexander gets a good start - 2020 ILCA Laser Standard World Championship, day 1 © Jon West Photography
Australian Sailing Squad (ASS) member Finn Alexander leads the 2020 ILCA Laser Standard Men's World Championship after the first day of racing. Alexander had a strong start to the regatta placing first and second in Yellow Fleet.
"It was nice to just get through the first day," Finn Said after racing. "I wasn't looking for anything really special but to get away from the first day unscathed is sort of the key for these long series. Consistency through the regatta was really all I was aiming for and to come away with a good result means I can sleep a happy man tonight."
Competitors were held ashore for over an hour while the race committee waited for wind to fill in on the course. Wind arrived just before three pm from the South with ten to 15 knots shifting throughout racing.
"It was pretty patchy and puffy with some reasonably big shifts," said Australia's representative for the Tokyo 2020 Games Matt Wearn. Matt is sitting in tenth overall after placing sixth and fourth. "It was a nice day sailing and the waves were starting to pick up towards the end so it was good fun."
Luke Elliott (ASS) is placed seventh overall after placing third and sixth in the Red Fleet. "Melbourne is one of the hardest places to prepare for because it throws up anything and everything," said Luke. "We've had a long summer in Melbourne prepping for this event. It's my first worlds on Australian waters so I'm very excited."
Mitchell Kennedy (ASS) sits in 28th overall after what he called a tricky day. "It wasn't a straight forward day but I'm happy with how I started the event."
Defending World Champion Tom Burton finished the first day in 28th overall. "There have been a few speed bumps along the way," Tom said of his event preparation. "I got food poisoning and I've got a few injuries so I'm getting sticky taped back together most days and we'll see what these six days bring."
For more information on the 2020 ILCA Laser Standard Men's World Championship and full results visit: sailing.laserinternational.org/public/site/event-site/109
Results after Day 1: (124 entries - three fleets of 40+, three days qualifying six races, then finals and medal race)
1st: Finn Alexander 2, 1 - 3pts
7th: Luke Elliott 3, 6 - 9pts
10th: Matt Wearn 6, 4 - 10pts
28th: Mitchell Kennedy 13, 7 - 20pts
29th: Tom Burton 7, 13 - 20pts
Other Australians in the top 40
37th: Ethan McAullay 9, 17 - 36pts