British Teams at 49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 World Championships - Day 3
by British Sailing Team 12 Feb 2020 05:02 EST
10-15 February 2020
Charlotte Dobson and Saskia Tidey - 2020 49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 World Championships, day 3 © Pedro Martinez / Sailing Energy
Headlines:
- Final day of qualifying racing for 49er and 49erFX before splitting in to gold, silver and bronze fleets
- Nacra 17 continue fleet racing
- Wind range around 12-15 knots all day
- All fleets complete three races each
- Charlotte Dobson and Saskia Tidey move top of the 49erFX with a consistent 2,2,3 for the day
- Two wins help keep John Gimson and Anna Burnet top of the Nacra 17 fleet
- Dylan Fletcher and Stu Bithell down to eighth in the 49er with a late protest and DSQ in final race of the day. They are however only Brits to make gold fleet
- Jack Hawkins and Chris Thomas (31st) and Chris Taylor and Rhos Hawes (33rd) just miss out on gold fleet and will sail in silver fleet.
- Racing streamed LIVE tomorrow on the British Sailing Team social media accounts
What they said:
Charlotte Dobson (33, Rhu, Scotland), 49erFX
"Today was a great day. It was a little bit windier and we felt like we had some good pace. It was about being as consistent as possible, went super low risk and let our pace do the talking.
"The real racing is starting tomorrow though with gold fleet racing. So it's now rest, recover and go again. There will be less space now and mistakes will be punished so we need to avoid them."
John Gimson (36, Congleton, Cheshire), Nacra 17
"It was a good start to the day. Two wins. Chuffed with that. But then last race we made a stupid mistake. We made a slighty late decision to tack and we went swimming. But we are sailing well and we need to keep this form. We say it's all about the averages and it's not done until the final race."
Stu Bithell (33, Rochdale, Greater Manchester), 49er
"We had a great day yesterday and today was about getting in some counters to take forward. Not a great first race, around the early teens, but then finished it off with a second so we are in the mix and have a good platform to move on for the rest of the week.
"Tomorrow is the start of gold fleet and to be honest this is where the real racing starts for us. The fleet is strong and it's tougher to get back up through the fleet if you drop back. Only one person gets a first instead of three. It's important to go out and perform but we are happy with our boat speed and where we are right now."
Results can be found here.
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