Battle of the breezes delays racing in Kiel

Sailors fireworks in front of Olympic marina Schilksee at the end of part 1 Kiel Week 2022 © ChristianBeeck.de / Kieler Woche

Conditions were looking good for the Australian Sailing Team (AST) and Australian Sailing Squad (ASS) athletes ready to compete on day one of Kiel Week overnight, but a battle of land and sea breezes thwarted any possible racing with all Olympic classes postponed.

The Australians are set to continue their European schedule of events, and with day one cancelled it means there will be a packed racing schedule ahead in Germany.

It was a frustrating day for athletes and coaches alike, as the Australian Nacra 17 Coach Darren Bundock explained.

"Today the forecast was for a gradient breeze with the sea breeze filling in during the afternoon. However, it seems like the land didn't heat up enough with some cloud cover here, which gave us a gradient wind of just 4 knots which held the sea breeze in check all day. This meant that race committee had to make a decision about the light gradient westerly breeze, and would that allow for fair racing in such shifty conditions. A tough call, but they decided to keep the six Olympic classes ashore."

Bundock is hoping for better conditions tomorrow.

"What we are seeing in the forecast for tomorrow are conditions a lot more conducive for a solid sea breeze, and that should give us an opportunity to make up some of the missed races from today."

Racing it set to now commence on Thursday 23rd 2022 from 11 a.m. local time, with the Mixed 470, ILCA 6 and ILCA 7 classes scheduling three races and the 49er, 49er FX and Nacra 17 fleets scheduled to compete in four races.

Visit the event website at kieler-woche.de/en

Follow the results of Kiel Week 2022 at kieler-woche.de/en/sailing/results.php

Australian Sailing Team (AST), Australian Sailing Squad (ASS) and Australian Sailing Futures (ASF) entries at Kiel Week 2022:

470 Mixed (40 entries)
Chris Charlwood and Amelia Catt (ASS)
Nia Jerwood and Conor Nicholas (ASS)
Sophie Jackson and Angus Higgins (ASF)

49er (96 entries)
Tom Needham and Joel Turner (ASS)
Jack Ferguson and Max Paul (ASS)
Tom Burton and Simon Hoffmann (ASS)
Jim Colley and Shaun O'Connor (ASS)
Ryan Littlechild and Jack Hildebrand (ASF)
Otto Henry and Flynn Twomey (ASF)
Thomas Cunich and Miles Davey (ASF)

49erFX (71 entries)
Laura Harding and Annie Wilmot (ASS)
Olivia Price and Evie Haseldine (ASS)
Tess Lloyd and Dervia Duggan (ASS)
Lilly Richardson and Matilda Richardson (ASF)
Mina Ferguson and Madeleine McLeay (ASF)
Chloe Fisher and Laura Thomson (ASF)

ILCA 7 (105 entries)
Luke Elliott (AST)

ILCA 6 (47 entries)
Mara Stransky (AST)
Zoe Thomson (ASS)
Casey Imeneo (ASS)
Elyse Ainsworth (ASS)
Evie Saunders (ASF)

Nacra 17 (34 entries)
Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin (AST)
Jake Liddell and Lucy Copeland (ASS)
Archie Garrett and Sarah Hoffman (ASF)
Brin Liddell and Rhiannan Brown (ASF)