VRsport.tv International 14 Worlds at Yacht Club de Carnac - Day 2

VRsport.tv International 14 Worlds at Carnac day 2 © VR Sport Media

VRsport.tv International 14 Worlds at Carnac day 2 © VR Sport Media

It was a day of two halves here at the VRsport.tv International 14 World Championship 2016 in Carnac.

Despite the glassy water this morning, the competitors were down at Carnac Yacht Club bright and early to rig their boats and dry out their kites, turning the boat park into a sea of colour and activity. Outside the harbour walls however, the wind was yet to be roused, and so a series of indefinite postponements went up.

Now was the time to take the opportunity to scale the boat park for the newest developments, and to compare rig set-ups and for some of the younger members of the International 14 family, park up the pram and take a nap under the shade of the sails. During the hustle and bustle of the postponement, the wind began to fill in, and the fleet were able to launch into a fairly steady 5 knots of breeze.

The first start in light winds saw the fleet pushing the line, demanding a general recall, at which point the race officer swiftly exchanged his Blue Peter for a 'U' flag. However, even the wrath of the 'U' flag, combined with substantial port-end bias, couldn't keep the fleet behind the line, and so the second start also ended in a general recall. By this point the wind wasn't playing ball, and had dropped off, becoming patchy and shifty, and so the AP made a swift return.

VRsport.tv International 14 Worlds at Carnac day 2 - photo © VR Sport Media

After an hour of playing cat and mouse with the wind, the breeze filled in from the left, and the race committee were able to set up a course in a promising 12 knots of breeze. The start was conducted under a black flag, and finally the fleet were off. The first windward mark rounding saw Pascoe and Truswell leading, followed by a swarm of Aussie boats including Krstic and Lanati, Devine and Furlong, and Blasse and Gilligan, who had everything to prove following yesterday's unfortunate breakage.

VRsport.tv International 14 Worlds at Carnac day 2 - photo © VR Sport Media

The wind still had a couple of tricks up its sleeve though, and the fleet were subject to a significant right hand shift at the start of the second beat. This allowed for some re-shuffle at the front of the fleet, of which Gilbert and McGrane and Jones and Fitzgerald took full advantage, using the opportunity to propel themselves further up the fleet and into the top five. Jones recounted how "there was a huge right hand shift... which you had to be the right side of" but the duo also made reference to the importance of boat handling around the course due to the fact that "the course was set up for 7 knots".

Even when the boats shot through the finish line, after three intense laps around the relatively short course, there was still no sense of peace, as the crews raced in to shore to find out whether they had been black flagged. Although the majority of the fleet were safe, several boats including Borkenstein and Dietrich, and Alexander and Wildson felt the full power of the BFD, and will now be looking forward to the discard kicking in.

As day two drew to a close, Alisdair Cattanch eloquently summed up the day in stating that although they had to "wait around a wee bit", that ultimately they were rewarded with "great racing conditions".

Results after Day 2: (top 10)

Full results after day 2 can be found here (PDF format).