2022 ILCA 6 Women's & Men's World Championships at Texas Corinthian Yacht Club - Day 3
by Katie Olsen 14 Oct 2022 06:15 BST
9-16 October 2022
2022 ILCA 6 Women's & Men's World Championships at Kemah, Texas, USA day 3 © Helen Galli Photography / 2022ilca6.ilca-worlds.org/photos/
One race was completed today in each of the women's fleets, and two were completed in the men's fleet at the 2022 ILCA 6 Women's & Men's World Championships. A new day brings a new leader, and Norway's Tokyo Olympian Line Flem Høst is winning the event.
It was another long day of AP flags, variable light wind, and testing of the sailors' patience. The D flag went up at 10:45, so the sailors all launched and made their way out onto Galveston Bay. Unfortunately, the breeze had a different plan, and AP/H was displayed to send the sailors back ashore. At 14:25, the race committee was confident enough in the wind to bring the sailors back out and start a race. However, after a 30-degree wind shift, the race was abandoned. Once the breeze settled, the second attempt at racing was more successful, and both women's fleets were able to complete their single races for the day in about 7-13 knots.
Wiktoria Golebiowska of Poland and Høst won today's races in their respective fleets. By winning first place, Høst rose to the top of the leaderboard by one point ahead of Hungarian two-time Olympian Mári Érdi and France's Louise Cervera who each now have 10 points. Belgium's Tokyo Olympian Emma Plasschaert finished second in today's race, propelling her to fourth overall, just one point behind Érdi and Cervera. "We did a week of training [before the event], and we had pretty light sea breezes quite late in the day," says Plasschaert. "It's pretty flat... and deep in the bay, so the waves are more like a big chop, which makes the technique a little different, but nothing we can't handle." With competition this tight, and only two points separating the top four, consistency in this light wind will be the name of the game.
Italy's two-time Olympian Silvia Zennaro was second overall yesterday behind three-time Olympic medallist Marit Bouwmeester of The Netherlands, but dropped to seventh overall after finishing 20th in today's race. Bouwmeester finished seventh today, which dropped her to fifth overall. Zennaro, like Bouwmeester, is recovering from pregnancy and has a seven-month-old at home. Heading into the finals tomorrow, Zennaro says, "The real regatta starts tomorrow. We are all so close that anything is possible, so I have to be focused in the next few days." Denmark's Tokyo gold medallist Anne-Marie Rindom has climbed back into the top 10 with a second-place finish today. Competition is incredibly tight heading into the finals, and Zennaro is correct that anything is possible.
In the men's fleet, American Peter Barnard still holds first overall, after winning another race today, ahead of Americans Hamilton Barclay and Nicholas Mueller in second and third overall.
The two women's fleets will be split into Gold and Silver fleets tonight, since today marks the end of the qualifying series. Three races are scheduled for tomorrow with the first warning signal at 12:00. For more information, follow the event at 2022ilca6.ilca-worlds.org
Results after Day 3:
Women
1. Line Flem Høst (NOR) - 9 pts
2. Mári Érdi (HUN) - 10 pts
3. Louise Cervera (FRA) - 10 pts
4. Emma Plasschaert (BEL) - 11 pts
5. Marit Bouwmeester (NED) - 13 pts
6. Erika Reineke (USA) - 13 pts
7. Silvia Zennaro (ITA) - 13 pts
8. Wiktoria Golebiowska (POL) - 14 pts
9. Maud Jayet (SUI) - 14 pts
10. Anne-Marie Rindom (DEN) - 14 pts
11. Sarah Douglas (CAN) - 14 pts
Men's Results
1. Peter Barnard (USA) - 5 pts
2. Hamilton Barklay (USA) - 10 pts
3. Nicholas Mueller (USA) - 13 pts
4. William Baker (USA) - 14 pts
5. Thomas Kraak (USA) - 18 pts