ACO Musto Skiff World Championship at Blairgowrie Yacht Squadron - Day 4
by Andy Rice 12 Jan 2018 21:21 GMT
9-14 January 2018
Weather forecasts suggest the final two days of the ACO Musto Skiff World Championship could be windy in Blairgowrie, Australia. What effect that has on the outcome of the regatta, we'll have to wait and see.
At the moment the local sailors are in control of the top of the leaderboard, with the fight for the world title shaping up to be a duel between 2014 World Champion Jon Newman and 49er supremo Will Phillips who has won two heats and is only two points off Newman's lead.
Any more breeze won't concern these two supreme boat handlers, who will relish the chance to show what they can do with these challenging boats even in the most challenging of conditions.
Today was a layday, although some of the British sailors went for a sail in 14 to 17 knot breeze. It was great sailing, flat out downwind at warp speed in flat water. Others went wine tasting or penguin spotting around the Mornington Peninsula to the south of Melbourne.
With the regatta behind schedule, the earliest possible start for Saturday has been pulled forward two hours to midday, to make the most of the opportunity to hold four back-to-back races. It will be a gruelling schedule, but with only six races complete, the international fleet is keen to hold as many races as possible.
Below is an interview with class "Ever Present" Tim Chapman (GBR) who has participated in every World and GBR Championships ever held... an impressive record.
Full results can be found here.