Allen RS Feva Worlds at Compagnia della Vela Grosseto - Day 3
by Tatiana Gammacurta 24 Jul 2013 23:04 BST
21-26 July 2013
British on a roll in changeable winds
Wells & Todd snatch back the lead but Italians aren't giving in
Light changeable winds dominated the race course off the Compagnia della vela Grosseto today and the famous Grosseto thermals never arrived at all. In fact, the breeze only got up to 10 knots at most in the afternoon. This made things complicated for the race committee which was forced to cancel the third heat, but still was able to give the off to two races for the Gold fleet (and just one for the Silver and Bronze).
However, the English teams had plenty to smile about on this the first day of the finals with Wells/Todd (GBR 4332) clocking up two second-place finishes to take back leadership of the overall standings (6 points) having lost it yesterday to the Italians Porro/Dall'Ora (ITA 2592), who today slipped down into fourth position after only managing a fourth and a 21st-place finish. On 7 points behind the new leaders were Bristow/Hewitt (GBR 4610), courtesy of a third place and a win today.
The third step on the podium went to reigning world champions Stocchero/Virgenti of Italy. They finished seventh and ninth today, a good recovery that brought them up from fifth (21 points) and put them ahead of fellow Italians Porro/Dall'Ora, who started the day topping the standings but are now fourth after a fourth and a 21st-place finish. From the fourth heat onwards, however, the discard system comes into effect for all three fleets so it's still very much an open competition.
In the Silver fleet, Italy is leading thanks to Tognoni/Quilici (11 points), ahead of Dutch duo Stroom/Dutilh (13 points). In the Bronze, Brits Kirkby/Blunden (8 points) are first overall.
The day ended with a party for the competitors in the RS Feva World Championships and the traditional barbecue organised in the Compagnia della vela Grosseto's garden.
With the celebrations over, things get serious again tomorrow as the race committee attempts to stage four races for each fleet. The first start is planned as always for 11:55 in the waters directly in front of the Compagnia della vela Grosseto.
Gold Fleet Standings: (top five, after 2 finals races)
1. GBR 4332 - Elliot Wells / Jake Todd - Hayling Island Sailing Club - 2, 2, 2 - 6pts
2. GBR 4610 - Hannah Bristow / Bobby Hewitt - Leigh and Lowton - 2, 3, 1 - 7pts
3. ITA 4698 - Leonardo Stocchero / Gianluca Virgenti - C.V. Toscolano Maderno - 5, 7, 9 - 21pts
4. ITA 2592 - Margherita Porro / Francesca Andrea Dall'Ora - A.N. Sebina - 1, 4, 21 - 25pts
5. GBR 4768 - Arthur Brown / Niamh Davies - Royal Burnham YC - 9, 1, 17 - 27pts
Complete provisional standings can be found here.
Quotes:
Giorgio Battinelli, president of the Race Committee: "Despite the terrible forecasts, we managed to stage two races for the Gold fleet. We didn't get a single thermal so we decided to cancel when the wind began to turn and drop under the minimum."
Leonardo Stocchero, helmsman ITA 4698: "We've got very strong rivals that started with better points than us. Today a race was cancelled and we went up in the standings. It's a good result and will help us take on tomorrow's racing more calmly."
Gianluca Virgenti, bowman ITA 4698: "The most important thing for us is that we have two more days ahead of us. Anything could happen."
Marco Borioni, president Compagnia della vela Grosseto: "A great day today too. It's a pity we didn't get to finish the last heat but the committee took the best decision as always. We'll start again tomorrow. I'm very happy for our team in the Gold fleet as Arianna and Federica really sailed well and showed their mettle."
Photo gallery of day available from this evening at communications.sailingandtravel.it/gallery/
rsfevaworlds.org