RS:X Youth World Championship at Limassol, Cyprus - Day 4

RS:X Youth Worlds at Limassol, Cyprus day 4 © Robert Hajduk / www.shuttersail.com

The competitors got to relax on the lay-day, attending a sailing competition rules clinic, and entered the fourth day of the championship, well rested and fully recharged, facing the surprising sailing conditions as the wind kept building throughout the morning with winds from 17 up to 30 knots in some of the gusts. Flying boards, crashes, broken sails, broken masts, smashed boards, a few injuries and several protests defined another intense racing day in front of the Limassol Nautical club.

The surprising conditions even gave the water crew a hard time as the course had to be reset after the first round of racing as the wind shifted to a bit more on the shore's side.

Men's Fleet

No changes for the strong top sailors, except that of yesterday's 2nd finalist Yoav Omer sliping to first position after a strong and steady performance in today's though conditions.

Men's Gold Fleet Results: (top five, 3 final races, full results here)

1. Yoav Omer ISR 24
2. Mack van den Eerenbeemt ARU 11
3. Camille Bouyer FRA 2
4. Tom Reuveny ISR 60
5. Luuc van op Zeealand NED 55

Some words from Riccardo Renna from Italy who came from the Techno293 class and the Slalom discipline. He is here in Cyprus on his first RS:X championship event experience.

"I am usually a slalom competitor and this is my first experience with the RS:X and its going pretty Ok, I am happy with my performance. The wind was very strong and this is all new for me... but I prefer slalom equipment as you can go super fast in these conditions. The level of the kids here is very high and some of the them are really good, especially in the strong conditions. I definitely want to continue in this RS:X discipline and I plan to get into some more training when I return to Italy."

Women's Fleet

Also no major changes as the top sailors continue with their consistent performances.

We caught up with Emma Wilson from Weymouth Great Britain who practice freestyle windsurfing in her spare time.

"It's my first time here in Cyprus and its pretty cool, nice hot weather and windy everyday The races are going well, I try to stay consistent and I am happy about it. I do prefer a bit lighter conditions and hope we get to sail in lighter conditions in the next days.

"This season been a busy one, I attended some of the RS:X senior world cup events and the RS:X Europeans. The next event for me will be the Auckland 2016 Youth Sailing World Championship. Shout out to my Fans: Hey it's all sunny here and nice and warm. (smiles)"

Peru's Maria Belen Bazo with a come-back in today's tough conditions.

"The races went good, so all is good. The conditions today were crazy, I think we were all expecting lighter winds than the previous days, but at the end it was the strongest day, especially the last race, it was sooo strong and waves were big and coming from every direction. It was really fun for me, and no problem if it stays like this until the end. Tomorrow is a key day for me, it's the last day of three races, so I want to do really good and get into the Medal Races with a nice score. It is my opportunity now, to shorten the point difference with the top girls as much as I can and fight for a Medal on Saturday".

Women's Fleet Results: (top five, 9 races, full results here)

1. Noy Drihan ISR 20
2. Katy Spychakov ISR 32
3. Emma Wilson GBR 7
4. Maria Belen Bazo PER 7
5. Mariam Sekhposyan RUS 13

Tough conditions, yet another great racing day packed with action on the water for the young RS:X windsurfers. The next day is indefinite as it is clear now that during this time in Cyprus sailing conditions can be unpredictable.

Follow the event updates on www.facebook.com/RSXOlympicWindsurfing