51st World Optimist Championships at Fraglia Vela Riva - Day 1
by Elena Giolai 17 Jul 2013 21:37 BST
15-26 July 2013
A fantastic start to the 51st World Optimist Championships: Italian Dimitri Peroni leads after two races with sunshine and winds of 15-18 knots, neck and neck with the formidable helmsmen from Singapore Loh and Koh.
The first day of the World Optimist Championships, organised by Fraglia Vela Riva, got off to a perfect start. 58 countries are taking part with 259 helmsmen who each surpassed the technically challenging qualifications in their home country. Despite the grey skies early this morning, a good wind of 14/18 knots picked up just at the time of the start of the first race, the sun then broke through and all of a sudden the day was transformed into one of perfection for this the 51st World Optimist Championships which ends on the 25th July after 12 total regattas, as well as the team regattas scheduled for the 20th and 21st July.
Two races were held today: the first results confirm that Singapore is one of the strongest teams with Italy, who in this opening day of the Championships, confirmed with their ability their knowledge of the regatta course. In this the first phase there are many ties since the participants have been divided into 4 heats according to the regulations.
Today the strongest were well focused as they achieved their first important points. Three different heats gave 2 clear wins for Dimitri Peroni of Malcesine, Italy and Singapore's Loh Jia Yi and Ko Yi Kun. They were followed by Houtman of The Netherlands (2-3) and Liado Duran of Spain (4-2). Singapore dominates also in the girls: 13th overall for Han Bertha, with a third and sixth partial (the girls rankings will be extracted from the overall one).
Sailing and Technology
All the boats have on board a GSM-GPS locater which allows the regattas to be followed live, thanks to the collaboration with Trac Trac and Wind; in addition Fraglia Vela Riva's facebook page will have live coverage as the buoys are passed with videos and photos in real time.
"We couldn't have got off to a better start" commented Mauro Stanga, President of the organising club Fraglia Vela Riva, "sun, wind, up to regulation regattas with helmsmen who are extremely prepared and comply with the rules both on water and land, giving us the best possible start to this event, inspiring all the organising staff who have been working round the clock these past few days, to offer the very best to our guests. We hope things continue in this way and that Lake Garda, Trentino maintains its classic wind conditions that have made it famous throughout the world".
Another two races are scheduled tomorrow.
Useful links: