International 14 World Championships at the Royal Canadian YC - Day 1

After a week in Toronto and an exciting Team Racing world Championships, won by team GBR 1, Friday saw a practice race for the fleet racing world championships sailed in a very cold force 5 northerly (think Grafham in the middle of February) and as usual in a practice race only 6 boats finished. This showed that as expected the Australians were very fast in the breeze, Douglas Pattison and Mark Tait were the only British boat to finish, second to current Australian Champion Brad Devine.

Saturday saw a much brighter day, with a very gentle northerly greeting the sailors on arrival to the Royal Canadian Yacht Club Island, which was being fought by a thermal southerly giving a slow sail out to the start, about 3 miles south of Toronto Islands. The southerly thermal built to 12 knots as the race committee set the course while 65 International 14s waited expectantly. There was significant current setting the fleet over the start, leading to 2 general recalls prompting the race officer to pull the Black Flag out of the bag and another general recall on the third start saw 6 boats sailing home for an early shower and some lunch.

Finally racing got under way at the 4th attempt, and those who went left immediately from the start had better breeze an favourable current and popped out at the front round the first windward mark. British boats dominated the first few places, with Archie Massey and (Australian) Dan Wilsdon sailing into the distance in first with team Partington, Brad Devine, Katie Nurton and Nigel Ash, Douglas Pattison and Mark Tait and Andy Fitzgerald and Rich Dobson chasing hard behind. Katie and Nigel had a disastrous first run with a capsize and Spinnaker trawl while the rest of the fleet sailed on past.

A standard Sausage-Triangle-Sausage-Beat was then sailed with 2 tight spinnaker reaches set on the Triangle with many place changes. Through the rest of the race Sam Pascoe and Alex Knight worked their way back through the fleet and by the end of the second run had pulled up into the top 5. As the breeze dropped up the final beat the left continued to pay with place changes continuing within the top 10. By the finish Archie and Dan had a big lead from Andy and Tom Partington in the first UK built Beiker 6, with Sam and Alex in third.

Full results will be available at www.i14.ca/worlds with photos available at www.facebook.com/I14Worlds2013.

Tomorrow is forecast to be 15-18 knots and maybe more, so teams are having an early night with more updates tomorrow.