Formula 16 Worlds at Knokke, Belgium - Day 1
by Jasper van Staveren 19 Jul 2016 17:34 BST
16-22 July 2016
Monday July 18th the Formula 16 Worlds 2016 in Knokke (Belgium) officially started with a new record having 45 catamarans from 8 different countries at the start. Belgium youth team Henri Demesmeaker/Alec Bagué are leading after the first day. In second position only 1 point behind are the Frenchmen Emmanuel Le Chapelier/Eric Le Bouedec followed by another Belgium team Morgan Good/Morgan Wirtz.
The first day of the F16 Worlds started with minimal breeze. The race committee tried to do a start in the morning, but the strong current combined with almost no breeze forced the sailors to go back tot he beach. In the afternoon a sea breeze filled in and all three sheduled races could be sailed, some even trapezing.
No risk on day 1
"The first race wasn't easy. When we can sail in the trapeze we can really push it, but that was impossible in the first race. We had a good fight with Good/Wirtz and hoped to pass them downwind and choose a different course. Unfortunately this didn't work out as expected and finished in second position. We took no risks at the start, 2 out of 3 races were started under 'black flag' and because of the strong current you can be pushed over the line in no time', Henri Demesmaeker tells.
The French team Le Chapelier/Le Bouedec didn't manage to win any of the races yet, but sailed two second places. Le Chapelier explains: "When we have a litte bit more wind we think we can beat them. We're a little bit heavier compared tot he Demesmaeker/Bagué so with less wind we loose to much speed. Also the strong and unpredictable current is difficult for us because we are not used to that at all. Hopefully we'll get more wind the next days and make a difference."
Morgan Good and Morgan Wirtz were very pleased with the result of their first race: "We had a good start at the pin-end. We know we are not the fastest team, but our tactics payed of with less breeze." Currently they're in third position, but the others are close.
Results after Day 1: (top five)
1. Henri Demesmaeker/Alec Bagué (BEL) 6pts
2. Emmanuel Le Chapelier/Eric Le Bouedec (FRA) 7pts
3. Morgan Good/Morgan Wirtz (BEL) 12pts
4. Guillaume Rol/Alexis Megevand (SUI) 14pts
5. Louis Flament/Charles Dorange (FRA) 16pts
Full results are available at http://www.f16worlds2016.com/results
The Formula 16 Worlds cannot be held without our sponsors. We thank Knokke-Heist, Catacare, Goodall, Mymainsail.com, Land Rover Belgium, DUO, Mc Donalds Belgium, BMC, Delen Private Banking and Flamand & Partners for their support.
The Formula 16 catamaran is produced by eight different builders in accordance with the box rule. This box rule is secured by ISAF.