Magic Marine RS500 Worlds at Fraglia Vela Riva, Lake Garda - Day 3

RS500 Worlds at Lake Garda day 3 © Elena Giolai

RS500 Worlds at Lake Garda day 3 © Elena Giolai

An early southerly wind (also known as the Ora) on day three of the Magic Marine RS500 World Championships seemed a promising start for the sailors, all anticipating a well deserved strong breeze to really stretch the legs of the RS500, which performs at its best in high winds.

Race one got away in around 10 knots - lighter than expected (and hoped for), but it was enough to get three laps of a course completed. First to the mark were GBR Tim Wilkins and Heather Martin just in front of Swedes Johan Rook and Malin Broberg on the lay line. Next were Italian team Luca Carlini and Rudolfo Rubino in close third. During the race a big shift in the wind direction skewed the course to the left so the beat turned into a one-tack leg up to the windward mark, which was unfortunate for those hoping to gain some places over the next two laps of the race. Tim and Heather finished in first, in close pursuit by Luca and Rudolfo, with GBR team Paul and Greg Bartlett finishing in third place. Johan and Malin stayed in the top five, finishing fourth overall, just ahead of Italians Luca Abergo and Stefano Costini in fifth.

The second race started in a promising breeze, with every crew on the trapeze wire both up and downwind - an undoubtedly welcome relief for all the sailors. It was a close beat up the first leg with lots of teams arriving at the windward mark at the same time, but it was GBR Greg and Paul who made it there first. The majority of the fleet gybed off to find pressure on the left hand side of the course, but nearly everyone overstood the leeward mark due to an unfortunate wind shift, struggling to make it there with the spinnakers up. Magic Marine USA team Carrie Howe and Mishcha Heemskerk soaked down the right hand side of the course and reached the leeward mark well ahead of the rest of the pack, with Paul and Greg close behind them.

Numerous position changes over the next two laps took place both upwind and downwind. It was during the final downwind leg that the wind really started to get light and the skill came in soaking as low as possible with the spinnaker up and the crew sitting right in the front of the boat. Greg and Paul gave a masterclass in this, along with playing the right shifts in the course to claim their first bullet of the competition - a very well deserved first place for the young helm and his crew. At the final leeward mark rounding Tim and Heather were able to sneak in ahead of Carrie and Mischa, who found themselves in a luffing match. Dutch team Michiel Geerling and Hilde van Susante also crossed the line just in front of Carrie and Mischa in order to secure their best result so far (third) - it was practically a photo finish between the two teams. In fifth were GBR Paul Childs and Andrew Douglas who had their best race so far.

At the end of day three and with five races completed so far, the top five positions have moved around with Carrie and Mischa moving up the leader board into second position, behind the yellow jersey wearers Tim and Heather. Greg and Paul have jumped up to the podium and are currently sitting in third postion, with Johan and Malin in fourth and the Bad Boys moving into fifth. The top five teams still have everything to sail for with five more races to complete - positions 2, 3 and 4 are all within three points of each other, and so the top five is unlikely to remain the same for long!

After an exciting night fuelled by the Swedish party on Tuesday everyone is likely to be taking it easy in preparation for the sailing and the Dutch party tomorrow. So, it's off the water and into the bar for the free pasta party to get everyone fuelled up after several hours on the water. Everyone needs to pray a bit harder to the wind gods tonight for the Ora make a proper appearance in the final two days of racing!

Results after Day 3: (five races)