Laser Radial Youth World Championships at Kingston Yacht Club, Canada - Day 2
by Randolph Bertin 28 Jul 2019 10:46 BST
28 July 2019
The second day of racing was almost a carbon copy of the first, except that the wind filled in with just a bit more strength for the second race, and the right side actually paid off on occasion! It wasn't smooth sailing for everyone, but there was little drama to speak of.
Also, sailors seemed to be taking a few more chances at the start as there were two general recalls under Uniform flag and nine different sailors on the course side when the start signal went off for some of the boys fleets. The girls have had some really good looking starts so far, with very little mid-line sag.
In the boys division, Emilios Monos from Greece had a perfect day, winning both of his races, while Yalcin Citak of Turkey shook off his DSQ from the opening day and finished with two 2nd place finishes. Completing a fourth race in the Championship introduced a discard, so those two sailors now sit atop the standings with Ireland's Tom Higgins just a few points behind. The worst score for the Irish sailor so far is a fourth, so he has been sailing consistently well.
For the girls, Paige Caldecoat had the best day overall, with two 3rd place finishes, moving her up to 5th in the standings. Zeynep Tuncali of Turkey also had a combined score in the single digits with a sixth and a second. The overall leader is Eve McMahon of Ireland, who won the second race of the day. Canada's Hunter Dejean won the first race, and has moved up to third overall, just behind Matilda Nicholls (Great Britain) who has been consistently near the front of the fleet in all four races, her lowest score being a currently discarded 10.
Two more qualifying series races are scheduled tomorrow. The forecast calls for a bit of adrenaline and a dose of stamina as the weather looks to include and wind strength (in knots) in the mid to high teens and gusts in the twenties, with the potential for a thunderstorm. Race committee will likely have their hands full just as much as the sailors.