Brits remain in Youth Sailing Worlds medal contention on day 3
by British Sailing Team 19 Jul 2018 13:10 BST
14-21 July 2018
Vita Heathcote and Milly Boyle - Youth Sailing World Championships day 3 © James Tomlinson / World Sailing
Day three of the 2018 Youth Sailing World Championships saw the race for medals hot up for some of the fourteen young Great British representatives in Corpus Christi, USA.
Another solid day's racing for Lymington's Vita Heathcote and Milly Boyle has strengthened their chances of a 2018 Youth Worlds medal in the girls' 420.
The pair have held second position at the end of every day so far and continue that run with a third and fourth place finish.
For helm Heathcote it's down to one thing.
"Consistency is definitely the key in events like this," said the 17-year-old. "It's five days and it's tight racing because of the small fleets. We've had a nice consistent event so far and we still hold on to second place."
For crew Boyle, 17, there could be more to come from the pair in the final days as familiarity increases.
"Trying to get used to the conditions has been fun," she added. "It's a different style of racing and I feel we are getting the hang of it a bit now."
Familiarity could be key as current leaders, home nation sailors and reigning youth worlds champions Carmen and Emma Cowles hold a nine-point advantage over the second placed Brits.
For now though Boyle is looking at making the most of the experience.
"It's nice having all the classes and the best of the best youth sailors. It's tight racing with the small fleets which means every point counts. It's fun and makes it for really good sailing."
The boys' 420 team of Drew Wright and Rhys Lewis currently sit in 15th overall in the 23-boat fleet after day three results of 16th and 19th.
Islay Watson excelled on day three with two second-place finishes and a third to solidify her spot in the podium places in the girls' RS:X fleet. The Aviemore windsurfer sits in third place overall with a 22-point cushion back to fourth place and just three points separating the top three.
Watson's male counterpart Isaac Lines, from Dunoon, sits in 12th with a 10,15,18 day.
The British 29er teams both move up one place on the leaderboard from tenth to ninth. A string of 8,8,9 for Fife's Ewan Wilson and crew Fin Armstrong from Totnes was enough to advance, as was a 5,8,15 for Cranbrook's Freya Black and Poole's Millie Aldridge.
Also taking two results in the top ten, Matilda Nicholls from Durley remains in seventh position in the girls' Laser Radial. Nicholls had two eighth place finishes from her two races.
In the boys' Laser Radial Jake Bowhay's 20th and 25th place finishes were enough to move the Bishops Waltham sailor in to the top third of the 58-boat fleet in 22nd position.
William Smith and Abigail Clarke also improved their overall position in the 24-boat Nacra 15 fleet moving up a place to 18th.
Full results can be found here
The British Youth Sailing Team for the 2018 Youth Sailing World Championships:
420
Girls: Vita Heathcote (16) and Milly Boyle (17) – Royal Lymington Yacht Club
Boys: Rhys Lewis (16) and Drew Wright (16) – Cardiff Bay Yacht Club
29er
Girls: Freya Black (16) and Millie Aldridge (17) – Parkstone Sailing Club
Boys: Ewan Wilson (14 – Wormit Boating Club) and Finley Armstrong (16 – Royal Torbay Yacht Club)
Laser Radial
Girls: Matilda Nicholls (16) – Royal Lymington Yacht Club
Boys: Jake Bowhay (17) – Stokes Bay Sailing Club
RS:X
Girls: Islay Watson (17) – Loch Insh
Boys: Isaac Lines (18) – Toward Sailing Club
Nacra 15
William Smith (16) and Abigail Clarke (17) - Grafham Water Sailing Club