Formula 16 Worlds at Knokke, Belgium - Day 3
by Jasper van Staveren 21 Jul 2016 11:55 BST
16-22 July 2016
Demesmaeker & Bagué extend lead after carnage
On Wednesday July 20th 2016 it was showtime for the Formula 16 catsailors in Belgium. After a day of relaxing on Tuesday without a stable breeze, there were contrary conditions on Wednesday with guts of 35 knots. Henri Demesmaeker & Alec Bagué know their home waters very well: with 4 first positions out of 5 races they extended their lead. In second position are frenchmen Emmanuel Le Chapelier/Eric Le Bouedec who are in a battle with Louis Flament/Charles Dorange with only 2 points difference.
Sailors went on the water in perfect conditions: sun, 30 degrees celcius and a nice 4 beaufort wind. The race committee did everything to catch up the lost races from Tuesday where no race could be completed. A total of 5 different races were held on Wednesday. The second race was a real carnage: the breeze increased from 5 to 7 beaufort in less than 2 minutes when the fleet was going downwind with spinnaker. 15 boats pitch-poled in seconds and forced even the jury to act as rescue boat to prevent boats to clash. This unique race will be remembered for a long time.
The fourth race was the opposite of the carnage. The wind suddenly died and the strong 3 knots current made it almost impossible not to sail backwards. Out of the blue there was breeze again and the race could be finished. On Thursday 4 races are scheduled to complete the full series of 12 races in 14-16 knots of breeze.
Results after Day 3: (top five)
1. Henri Demesmaeker/Alec Bagué (BEL) 9 pts
2. Emmanuel Le Chapelier/Eric Le Bouedec (FRA) 24 pts
3. Louis Flament/Charles Dorange (FRA) 26 pts
4. Philip Hendrickx/Filip Olyslager (BEL) 42 pts
5. Arnoud Victor/Klaas Victor (BEL) 54 pts
Full results at 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.