RS Feva World Championships 2019 in Follonica, Tuscany - Day 3
by Vikki Payne 24 Jul 2019 18:40 BST
20-26 July 2019
Day 3 - RS Feva World Championships 2019 in Follonica, Tuscany © DigitalSailing
There was an excitable atmosphere in the boat park as the sailors attached their gold, silver or bronze ribbons to their sails before heading out to the first day of the final series at the RS Feva World Championships 2019.
The sea breeze took a little longer to settle than it had in previous days. The first race took place in light and fickle wind and the committee decided to postpone the racing to allow the breeze to become more consistent. The waves and wind built to a steady 10-12 knots, glam conditions for RS Feva racing!
In the gold fleet Quinn Edmonds and Finn Oliver qualified in 20th place and after an incredible day (1, 2, 11) they shot up to second place. The New Zealand pair of Simon Cooke and Oskar Masfen continued their consistent score line with a 2, 1, 2. Alice Davies and Abby Hire, GBR, started climbing the ladder and are now four points ahead of Millie Irish and Tasmyn Green. Joe Slipper and Katherine Burgess are currently leading the mixed teams in sixth position after finding their groove and posting a 17, 5, 12.
Silver fleet racing was extremely competitive with top five results being posted by sailors currently in 18th place overall. Georg Boeckl and Tobias Grasmann rocketed up the leader board after a 5, 4, 9 to lead after day one of the final series. First ladies in silver fleet are Beth Miller and Eilish Graham 13, 1, 6. Local sailors, Emilia Salvator and Annalisa Vicentini had an amazing start to the day with a first and a second but lost their footing in the final race and finished in 40th. They will be looking forward to the discard to kick in after one more race.
It was a similar story for Francesco Esposito and Lorenzo Grimaldi in the bronze fleet who struggled to cope with the light winds in the first race of the day, finishing 28th but as the breeze built, so did their speed. They finished off the day with two bullets which put them on joint points with the British family team of Clare Bailey and Jaques Scully. David Sznaragowskr and Sara Svobodova, Czech sailors, extended their lead with a 3, 6, 2.
Swiss sailors, Jacopo and Camilla Meneghetti, had an issue with their boat after the first race of the day. After rushing onto shore to the RS van, Ben Wallis worked in the mid-day sun to get them back out for the final race of the day!
The club is hosting a gorgeous dinner tonight for all sailors, followed by live music on the RS events stage. A great way to celebrate the mid-point of the event!
See the provisional results for each fleet.