Cadet World Championships at Fraglia Vela Riva - Day 3
by Peter Collyer 6 Aug 2015 07:58 BST
2-7 August 2015
As Day 3 began for the International Cadet Class World Championships at Riva del Garda, all the talk was still about the outstanding performance made by Jamie and Bettine Harris on Day 2, a hat-trick of race wins having moved them to the top of the overall standings ahead of Australians Sam and Hugh Allison, and fellow GBR team members Tom Collyer and Cara Bland. Once again the air was still and stiflingly hot as the crews prepared their boats in the dinghy park, but the heat together with the colour of the sky suggested that some wind would arrive for the afternoon.
The daily 10.30 prize-giving gave all the competitors a chance to cheer the victors from Day 2 but also allowed time to remember that there are outstanding performances away from the sharp end of the World Championship fleet, with a special presentation to the hero of Day 1, 9 year old crew Will Shepherd. Will's helm Oliver Blackwell had passed out with an asthma attack in their boat out on the water and quick-thinking Will had taken control of the boat and blown his emergency whistle to attract attention, bringing help to Oliver in quick time. Class chairman Jan Martin Wilshut presented Will with a Fraglia Vela Riva cap for 'showing courage and composure under extreme duress' and he was heartily cheered by all.
Back out on the water it was down to business after a short delay to allow the breeze to settle. The competitors prepared for 2 races on the trapezoidal course but this time with an extra loop on the shorter inner windward-leeward for the Promotional Fleet.
Race 7 started without a recall and with the fleet much better-spread along the line than they had been the previous day. Most soon tacked for the cliffs on the starboard side of the course and at the windward mark it was a familiar quartet of boats that hoisted their kites first: GBR9983 Archie Penn and Hazel Whittle, neck and neck with AUS9531 Sam Abel and Hugh Allison with GBR9985 Jamie and Bettine Harris, and GBR8846 Tom Collyer and Cara Bland close behind. However, any suggestions of a procession were soon put to bed by the downwind speed of GBR9877 Daisy and Angus Collingridge, and UKR9855 Yehor Samarin and Maksim Remez who had joined the leading group by the top of the run. By the leeward gate GBRs 9983 and 9985 had pulled away with UKR9855 a solid 3rd and GBRs 9877 and GBR8846 with AUS9531 Sam Abel and Hugh Allison in the battle for 4rd place.
Drama ensued however back at the top of the course. As GBRs 9983 and 9985, AUS9531 and UKR9855 rounded in that order, GBRs 9877 and 8846 missed the lay-line as the wind shifted to the left and both got caught in the melee of chasing boats. GBR9877 was briefly rafted by the mark but took penalty turns and recovered to stay in the top ten. GBR8846 also recovered to finish 8th but was subsequently disqualified for a collision near the mark.
Meanwhile back at the front Penn and Whittle maintained their lead down the run under constant pressure from their pursuers, particularly the Harris siblings in GBR9985 who gained on the final reach. As the front four boats turned for home the Ukrainian made a final, characteristically swashbuckling throw of the dice and tacked early hoping to find a gain on the left of the short final beat. However, Penn and Whittle held firm for a well-deserved win with team-mates Jamie and Bettine Harris following them over for 2nd and Abel and Allison just hanging on to 3rd from the fast finishing Samarin and Remez. Archie Penn and Hazel Whittle's win was the fifth in a row by a GBR boat, a great achievement for the team, and despite Collyer and Bland's disqualification it was already shaping up to be a good day for the British with Lainey and Cally Terkelsen also in the top ten at 6th.
Race 8 began in what appeared to be a building breeze that was moving left all the time. The windward mark was moved to compensate for this but the wind kept swinging during the 5-minute countdown and the subsequent heavy bias to the pin end of the line and the left of the course was only spotted by a small number of boats. Among the deserving beneficiaries were GBRs 1-2 from Race 7, Penn/Whittle and series leaders Harris/Harris together with a third GBR boat, 8514 sailed by Ed Harris and Anna Wootton. At the windward mark it was GBR9985 leading once again and by the end of the beat a front group had formed that included POL9809 Piotr Leymanczyk and Gabriel Jermacz, Belgian champions BEL9854 Sarah Roosen and Lisemarie Van Damme, GBR8514, GBR9983 and GBR8846, Collyer and Bland recovering well from having been 15th at the first mark after being caught on the wrong side of the first beat wind-shift. As this group turned for the second beat it became impossible to tell who was gaining, with some going right and some left, but it was the Polish boat that benefitted the most, turning onto the final run with a clear lead from Roosen and Van Damme with the pursuing British trio led by Jamie and Bettine Harris. Harris/Harris moved up to 2nd on the run with Penn and Whittle following them to take third, while Collyer and Bland also passed the Belgian boat on the final reach to book the fourth spot. At the finish Leymanczyk and Jermacz had pulled away to take an excellent win, Harris and Harris bagged a safe second from Penn and Whittle, and Collyer and Bland won a nail-biting drag race to the line from Roosen and Van Damme by less than half a boat-length. Ed Harris and Anna Wootton completed another excellent GBR performance as next boat home in 6th place.
So going into the lay-day with one discard taken and 8 races completed Jamie and Bettine Harris have now stretched their lead to 10 points from Australians Sam Abel and Hugo Allison, who added a 3rd to their score from Race 7 but discarded an uncharacteristic 18th in Race 8. Archie Penn and Hazel Whittle move up into third after their excellent 1, 3 on the day, Australia's Angus Price and Archer Ibbott continued their solid series with a 5, 7 to move to 4th, and GBR's Tom Collyer and Cara Bland remain in the top 5, counting their hard-fought 4th from Race 8 and discarding their DSQ from Race 7.
In the Promotional Fleet the extra legs added to the course did nothing to spread out this super-competitive fleet, with the spoils fairly evenly spread on the day. In Race 7 Alex and James Colquitt took their third win of the series and followed this up with a 3rd in Race 8 to lie 2nd overall. Aaron Chadwick and Freddie Simpson looked impressive again, taking the second spot in Race 7 with Harry and Faye Chatterton in 3rd. Race 8 was won by some distance by Katie Spark and Connor Line with Megan Ferguson and Yasmin Sfaxi 3rd. Series leaders Ryan Wilkinson and Hamish Taylor discarded a 12th in Race 7 but counted a 5th in Race 8 to maintain a 12 point lead in the overall standings.
After the 'rest' of the lay-day (there wasn't a pedalo to be had in Riva by lunchtime that didn't already have Cadet sailors all over it) the competition resumes on Thursday with four races to complete over two days before the closing ceremony on Friday. Follow the action on the GBRCadets Twitter page, Facebook and the event website.
Results can be found here.
More photos can be found on Google+ here.