Dave Kneale / Volvo Ocean Race
We sailed one regatta and had to stop because the wind swung around to much, the gusts were coming from left and right...
Thursday 15 July 2010, 23:00 GMT
Shifty conditions again dominated on the penultimate day of the Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championships in Istanbul. For the third day in a row the sun burned down on the Marmara Sea and competitors were held ashore until the sea breeze filled in.
It created a difficult scenario for race officials but by midday the postponement flag was lowered for the Blue course, followed shortly afterwards by the Yellow and Orange courses. By 15:00 hrs local time all classes were out on the water, but there was a difference of approximately 6-8 knots in wind strength between the courses.
RS:X
The RS:X boards completed two races before returning ashore for a deserved bowl of pasta but the wind had already started to shut down for the evening so both the boys' and girls' fleets were told to relax and get an early night before the final race day.
In the girls' fleet, Kamila Smektala (POL) has been battling with Ofir Halevy of Israel all week and finally ended the day with a smile on her face with her two point lead.
Smeltka, who comes from Warsaw and has to travel 350 km to the sea to sail, confessed, "It was hard today because it was very shifty. I don't like no wind and I don't like 25 knots but on days like today, it's good."
In the RS:X boys' fleet, Korean Wonwoo Cho still maintains his lead despite dropping to eighth place in the last race today. He is very hard on himself when he explains, "It's ok today, but I am unhappy! The Israeli and the Polish guys are very fast in the light winds, they get planing easily and I can't get planing." Wonwoo still has a three point advantage over his Spanish rival, Mateo Sanz.
420
The 420 girls and boys spent nearly eight hours out on the water trying to get two good races today in what became a marathon test. In the boys' division the Spaniards Jordi Xammar and Joan Herp, from the Barcelona Olympic training centre, have now opened up a huge lead of 16 points over their nearest opposition. Second-placed Angus Galloway and Alexander Gough from Australia have been steadily rising up the leader board all week.
Jordi and Joan were cautious about their commanding position but described the conditions as very testing. "We sailed one regatta and had to stop because the wind swung around too much - the gusts were coming from left and right."
In the 420 girls, Austrians Lara Vadlau and Hannah Hanke just held onto their overall lead despite recording an 18th in the second race of the day. They are now on equal points with the Swiss girls Linda Fahrni and Maja Siegenthaler.
The big movers of the day have been Joanna Freeman and Hannah Mitchel (GBR) who have jumped up into third place with a bullet in the final race of the day. The local Istanbul girls, Ipeknaz Ozden and Deniz Gokmeral have steadily advanced up the rankings to finish the day in sixth overall.
29er
The 29ers managed to fit in three quick races on the inner course today in very unstable conditions. "It was massively shifty; we were tacking every 30 seconds," explained the British pair Henry Lloyd Williams and Sam Batten. "Wind strength difference around the course was up 10 knots; at times we were even overpowered."
Gael Jaffrezic and Julien Bloyet (FRA) are still leading the fleet by three points after nine races. "You can lose a lot of places with one mistake, we have to focus a lot," Gael said.
The kiwi pair Alex Maloney and Sam Bullock remain tied in second place with the British crew going into the final day.
Laser Radial
The Lasers also spent around seven hours on the water and after a number of recalled starts the girls' division produced a new leader. Amelie Riou of France scored two bullets to leap up the leader board into the top spot which boosts the chances of France retaining the coveted Volvo Trophy (awarded to the best overall team performance in the championship). Viktoria Andrulyte (LTU) and Erika Reineke of the USA have both taken the remaining podium spots from the earlier leaders.
The Laser boys' division completed seven races and a new leader has emerged in the form of Tomas Saunders of New Zealand. His strong results today leave him with a commanding lead of 15 points over the Italian Giovani Coccoluto. The Kiwi team is also challenging for supremacy in the Volvo Trophy for top nation overall.
SL16
Australians Chase Lurati and Paul Darmanin have now sailed themselves into a very strong position after eight races completed in the SL16 Sirena open multihull class. They lead the Danish pair Daniel and Nicolaj Bjornholt by nine clear points.
The final day of the championship will decide the medals and which sailors become the best in the world in the eight different events. Depending on the weather conditions the race committee will endeavour to start racing as early as possible.
Race tracking is used for a different fleet each day and can be viewed at: www.onlineracetrack.net.
For results and more details on the 2010 Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship visit: www.isafyouthworlds.com and follow us on Facebook and YouTube.
Dave Kneale/Volvo Ocean Race