Australian ILCA 6 squad embraces long waits and light winds at the Worlds in Oman
by Lisa Darmanin 3 Dec 2021 21:13 PST
1-6 December 2021
2021 ILCA 6 World Championships © Sander van der Borch / Lloyd Images / Oman Sail
Patience was tested on the third day of the ILCA 6 World Championships as the Race Committee squeezed in just one race in an unstable 5-7 knots of wind.
It was worth the wait for the Australian Sailing ILCA 6 squad, with five of the six athletes finishing in the top 20 of the 63-strong fleet in the only race of the day.
Tokyo Olympian Mara Stransky moved up the overall rankings after finishing 6th and is now in 10th overall at the halfway point of the regatta. Despite the challenging wind conditions, Stransky is embracing racing on the Gulf of Oman.
"It was a pretty long day for one race, but I think we have just got to get used to it at this venue," Stansky said.
The 22-year-old has her eyes firmly set on Paris 2024 following a very brief time out of the boat after Tokyo.
"It is so exciting to be back racing with everyone, including some of the Tokyo Olympians who took a bit more time off after the Games," Stansky commented. "There's a real mix of old and new faces battling it out there which is great."
Zoe Thomson is impressed with how the squad is coping with the testing conditions despite their hiatus from international fleet racing because of the Covid-enforced travel restrictions.
"It's certainly hard to match the jury activity and start line hustle in Australia by ourselves, so this is giving us a good base to continue building on for next year," said Thomson.
"People that stay fast on the edges (of the racecourse) tend to come away with solid results and we all managed to do that well today."
The WAIS athlete came away with a top ten finish in today's light and unsteady breeze.
Australian Sailing Team coach Rafa Trujillo is pleased with how the squad came away from today's racing but is managing expectations as there is still plenty of racing to come.
Trujillo is predicting "this will be a high scoring Championship."
The committee is playing catch up with three more races planned for day four of the ILCA 6 World Championship at Al-Mussanah Sports City in Oman.
Australian Sailing Team (AST), Australian Sailing Squad (ASS) and other Australian (AUS) entries:
10th Mara Stransky (AST) 12, (33), 11, 6 - 29 pts
12th Elyse Ainsworth (ASS) (22), 3, 19, 12 - 35 pts
18th Zoe Thomson (ASS) (26), 18, 17, 9 - 44 pts
35th Evie Saunders (AUS) (53), 26, 40, 18 - 84 pts
49th Paige Caldecoat (AUS) 48, 34, 35, (BFD) - 118 pts
56th Casey Imeneo (ASS) 39, (56), 43, 41 - 123 pts
View the full results here...