Light winds challenge sailors at ILCA 6 World Championships
by Lisa Darmanin 2 Dec 2021 22:23 PST
1-6 December 2021
Mara Stransky - ILCA 6 World Championships © Sander van der Borch
The ILCA 6 World Championships finally got under way in the Al-Mussanah Sports City, Oman overnight, with three races completed in a light sea breeze.
There was no racing on day one of the event due to lack of wind, so after several months on the road the anticipation was at an all-time high on day two for the Australian Sailing Team ILCA 6 squad.
Western Australian Elyse Ainsworth came away from the day's racing with a consistent scorecard, she is sitting in 8th overall after three solid races.
"It's good to finally start the Worlds," Ainsworth said. "It feels like we have been waiting around for ages, the preparation has been long but valuable."
The sailor from Royal Perth Yacht Club is ready for what could be a very long week in fickle and challenging sailing conditions.
"It's definitely going to be a long regatta and those who can stay in it mentally the longest, will certainly have more consistent and better race scores. I'm just happy to finally be out racing, however by the time I return to Australia anything over 6 knots will seem very windy."
Tokyo 2020 Olympian Mara Stransky was blessed by an extra day of recovery as she bounces back from illness.
The tough young Queenslander shared, "I am so grateful we didn't race yesterday although I was looking forward to the challenge of pushing through."
Starting was key today in Stransky's eyes. "Sixty-three boats on one start line in light wind puts so much emphasis on starts and you needed to lock your position in so early, if you picked the wrong side it could be tricky to recover."
The light winds are expected to persist throughout the week on the Gulf of Oman with the Race Committee planning for another three races for the third day of the championship.
Australian Sailing Team (AST), Australian Sailing Squad (ASS) and other Australian (AUS) entries:
8th Elyse Ainsworth (ASS) - 22, 3, 19
13th Mara Stransky (AST) - 12, 33, 11
18th Zoe Thomson (ASS) - 26, 18, 17
43rd Paige Caldecoat (AUS) - 48, 34, 35
44th Evie Saunders (AUS) - 53, 26, 40
53rd Casey Imeneo (ASS) - 39, 56, 43
View the full results here.