Fleet leaders survive Mar Menor light winds on day 3 at Finn World Masters
by Robert Deaves 13 Oct 12:11 PDT
8-15 October 2021
Only one race was scheduled on the third day of the 2021 Finn World Masters on Mar Menor, Murcia, Spain. Anthony Nossiter, from Australia, led from start to finish in the light winds only to find he'd been black flagged for the second race running, handing the race win to Laurent Hay, from France, while Akos Lukats, from Hungary was second, and Mats Johnsson, from Sweden, third.
But overall after the discard comes into play, Valarian Lebrun, from France, maintains his lead, albeit now down to five points, from Filipe Silva, from Portugal, with David Terol, from Spain, in third, another six points back.
Under a searing sun, the wind remained absent for most of the morning, leading to a one-hour postponement ashore and a further wait on the water while the light breeze stabilised. Race 5 was started in 6-7 knots and built to perhaps 8-9 on the final downwind, but again the sides produced widely different conditions and some more surprise results.
Coming off the pin end, Nossiter made a huge jump on the fleet and was soon a country mile ahead. However a check on the board as he crossed the finish line affirmed his worst fears and he now has two consecutive black flags.
In his place as winner, second across the line Hay took the race win to move up to fourth overall after suffering his own black flag yesterday. He also takes the lead in the Grand Master category.
There are also several interviews with the sailors on the Finn World Masters Facebook page as well as some live coverage of the racing.
Super Legend Richard Hart, from Britain, dropped to 78th, but is still the stand out over 80 year old here. Likewise, Greg Wilcox, from New Zealand dropped to 11th, but still leads the Grand Grand Masters, though double Masters World champion John Greenwood, from Britain, has been closing the gap. Dutchman, Henk de Jager's lead in the Legends has also dropped to just three points so there is sill all to play for in many age groups.
Tonight the 108 Masters from 20 countries will be enjoying the traditional Masters Dinner, along with the mid-week prize-giving at a top restaurant in town. A spectacular time is sure to be had by all.
Racing continues Thursday with two more races scheduled. A maximum of three more races are needed to complete the series, which concludes Friday.
Results after Day 3: (top ten, 5 races)
1 FRA 111 Valerian Lebrun MasterM 9pts
2 POR 21 Filipe Silva MasterM 14pts
3 ESP 7 David Terol MasterM 20pts
4 FRA 75 Laurent Hay Grand MasterM 26pts
5 NED 148 Peter Peet Grand MasterM 34pts
6 AUS 22 Paul Mckenzie Grand MasterM 38pts
7 SUI 7 Christoph Burger MasterM 42pts
8 SUI 59 Simon Bovay MasterM 42pts
9 GBR 74 Lawrence Crispin Grand MasterM 43pts
10 NED 29 Bas De Waal Grand MasterM 44pts
Full results available here.