2013 Laser Standard World Championships at Mussanah, Oman - Day 6
by Oman Sail 22 Nov 2013 16:18 GMT
16-23 November 2013
A day of mistakes and mixed fortunes among the main contenders for the 2013 Laser Standard World Championship title has paved the way for a thrilling finale in Oman with the last two races on Saturday set to determine medals and futures.
Leader Robert Scheidt's nine point lead over Pavlos Kontides from Cyprus shrank to a single point advantage after he made a poor start to the last race, prompted by frequent changes in both wind speed and direction, which he was unable to turn round despite climbing almost 20 places in the downwind leg.
Having won the first race, he finished 26th and while it is one of two results to be discarded, he will be under considerable pressure on the final day to avoid making any mistakes if he is to land his ninth World Championship title.
"I had a bad second race and kept seeing men from Cyprus being inspired. I could have had a better race but I didn't blow it because I won the first race so my chances of winning the championships are still alive," he said.
Kontides posted a third followed by a sixth to claw back eight points on Scheidt and already he was looking ahead to the last day.
"My aim was to have my 16th from yesterday as a discard and I achieved that," he said.
"It was a very difficult last race because the wind dropped and the current was strong. The last downwind leg was nerve-racking because they came in from all sides but at the end of the day, I am second and lying just one point behind Robert.
"Tomorrow, I will have to be ready for all conditions and it is best not to think too much about it. The best sailors in the world are here and one moment of not being on top of your game could end up being very costly."
Both Phillip Buhl of Germany and Nick Thompson fell foul of the rules, which in Thompson's case has ended his campaign for a podium place. He once again proved he was one of the fastest in the fleet when he took second in the first race but then picked up his second yellow flag of the week, this time for a Rule 42 infringement.
"I am gutted because after my result in the first race, I was back up to 4th place overall which meant I was in with a chance of a medal," he said afterwards.
"I was really shocked when they raised the flag – I haven't had an infringement for years but at this event, I've had two and picked up an OCS as well.
"I just have to put it behind me and look ahead to my next event."
Buhl was disqualified for being OCS on a black flag start in race 11 but is still in 5th place, 30 points behind Scheidt.
Another British sailor Alex Mills-Barton overcame the challenging conditions posed late afternoon to record his first win of the competition, crossing the finish line of a course shortened due to the growing darkness ahead of Jesper Stalheim of Sweden in second and Tonci Stipanovic of Croatia in third. He heads into the final day in 23rd place.
In the silver fleet, following a succession of general recalls and disqualifications, there were wins for Giovanni Cocculuto of Italy, who was then BFD in the next race and Tom Ramshaw of Canada.
The first race of the final day of the Laser Worlds will start at 11.00am GST with 15.00 set as the cut off time for the last start.
To follow racing, go to www.omanlaserworlds2013.com for live blogging from the race course.
Video update
It was business as usual despite a 70 knot storm which raged through the Al Mussanah marina. The video shows dramatic storm footage including the moment when the giant Oman tent blew over whilst people were trying to hold it down. There were no casualties and the Championships were able to continue as normal.
Meech into 9th with one day remaining (by Jodie Bakewell-White, Yachting New Zealand)
It was a day of incremental improvements for all three New Zealand sailors racing in the gold fleet. With one day remaining Sam Meech has moved up one position into 9th, Andy Maloney up two places to 14th while Thomas Saunders has climbed one place into 19th.
Across the board sailors recorded mixed results on what was another very shifty, challenging day for all 126 competing for the open world title in Oman, and the kiwis deserve credit for making gains on a day where many suffered harshly.
Two races were sailed on what was day six of the seven day regatta. Meech, from the Tauranga Yacht & Powerboat Club, opened the day with a solid 10th but then went on to place 39th and discard that race from his points total. Meech has 86 points with a nine point gap to close to better his position while two sailors are in hot pursuit both on 87 points.
Andy Maloney (Murrays Bay Sailing Club) was the most consistent kiwi sailor today placing 18th and 10th in his two races seeing him climb from 16th up to 14th overall with a total of 101 points.
Thomas Saunders (Tauranga Yacht & Powerboat Club) is now lying 19th with 128 points after placing 47th and then 8th in today’s racing.