Saturday, September 04, 2010

Saturday September 4th

Well its all over but the ....crying for some and celebration for others. The Medal race and final fleet races were held today in tricky but fair conditions. Weed was a factor, yes the floating kind found in bodies of water... it was thick and played a big part in the medal races, and equally a factor in the gold fleet final race. Conditions were tricky but fair with the breeze clocking through 15 degrees and the velocity being somewhat tempermental but all within quality racing mode.

The before mentioned weed struck big time in the men's medal race when the race leader was tangled in a pod thant strangled his chances of stealing the gold, losing 4 places in a matter of less than a minute and relegating himself to the bronze medal. With no Canadians in the medal hunt the attention turned to the Gold fleet race where the Canadian men were staging a personal duel for supremecy, unfortunately the supremecy was not in the top 20 and thus a point to strive towards in 2011. The final outcomes saw Kevin Stittle put up his best performance of the event, finishing 9th in the Gold fleet race and moving up to 47th overall, David Hayes lead the tightly bunched Canadians finishing 40th overall, having shown moments of brilliance and likewise identifying deficiencies to be addressed during winter training. Zac Plavsic rounded out the Canadian trio finishing a somewhat disappointing 42nd after having shown world class form in Wyemouth. All is for not as the real tests begin in Perth next December when the first of the Olympic qualifier are staged at the 2011 ISAF World Championships. On the women's side Nikola Girke slid a little further back after todays finale wrapping up her event in 28th and somewhat below expectations. Again lessons learned and preparation already underway to raise the game for 2011.

Over and out from the sleepy town of Kerteminde, Denmark.

Friday September 3rd

The day began fairly promising with 7-9 knots of breeze however quickly diminished to a disappointing 5-6 knots. The men were sent out first, completing a very challenging race in 40 degree range and 4-7 knots of light wind. The course was shortened to 3 legs due to poor wind conditions. The women also completed a race in the same difficult conditions. After the first race, the gold fleet were sent ashore and were grounded until 4:00pm. They were eventually sent back out for a 'practice start' before returning back ashore again for the day. The canucks did win the race back to the beach which was the only moment of excitement and fun had during their very long day of waiting. 

The day did not end there with several protests launched challenging the validity of the one race that was held. Unfortunately for some, the protest was dismissed and the results for the day stand. Thus, going into the final day and final race of the event, Nikola Girke sits in 25th, 9 points out of 21st, Dave Hayes is leading the Canadian men in 38th, and Zac Plavsic sits one point behind Hayes in 40th. 

Tomorrow marks the end of the event with only one race scheduled with the top ten medal race and others racing in their respective fleets.

 

Thursday, September 2
Kerteminde delivered another exceptional day of racing. Although the day started off grey and cold, the clouds quickly gave way to pleasant sunshine and a building NNE breeze, which promptly filled in at 1030 allowing for an on time start to the first of two final races sailed today.
David Hayes executed a solid race in the first final of the day, starting at the boat on port tack in the building breeze. Putting the hammer down David lead a group of competitors to the right side of the track and eventually rounded the top mark 6th. Sailing a consistent race Hayes wound up 11th and one of his best ever gold fleet races at the World Championships, demonstrating his potential to be among the big hitters of the fleet.
Race 2 on the day was sailed in a steadily increasing breeze which topped out in the mid teens during the second race. The course provided opportunities both to the left and right as the leaders came out of the left but the 6-12 place athletes came from the right side. It was Zac Plavsic’s turn to carry the Canadian Flag at the front of the fleet, rounding the top mark 9th. Unfortunately weeds became an issue for Zac on the 2nd lap of the 3 lap race and he struggled to stay in touch with the leaders, finally succumbing to the weeds and wrapping up the race in 20th overall.
In the overall standings the fleet is tightly bunched at the top with a nominal number of points separating the leaders with 2 final fleet races and the medal race still remaining to be completed. Zac Plavsic is the top Canuck sitting 33rd overall of the 112 men’s competitors, David Hayes is hot on his heels in 35th and charging up the leader-board.
In the women’s racing similar conditions were presented although slightly less velocity as the women had the first start on the day for both finals races. Nikola Girke the lone Canadian in the gold fleet battled gamely in both races putting up a 25th to go along with a 9th to sit 22nd overall. Still in touch with the lead group and very much in the championships with 3 (potential 4) races remaining. The women are one race behind the men on the schedule but with champagne conditions today it looks doubtful that the organisers will try to make up that race.
Racing continues Friday and Saturday with two races scheduled for Friday and the Medal race and final fleet race scheduled for Saturday. The outlook for the next two days is for diminished wind strength but who knows what will in fact present itself as to date the local forecasts have underestimated the velocity on a daily basis.
 Full results and event details can be found here.