Prvi dan svetovnega prvenstva v rokah Britancev

The Brits hold firsts

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Potem, ko se je v petek uspešno zaključilo evropsko prvenstvo, se je danes s prvima dvema regatama začelo svetovno. 78 posadk se je zbralo iz Evrope ter Kanade in po vetrovno šibkih vremenskih razmerah na evropskem prvenstvu se je nekoliko več vetra danes prav prileglo. Jugo moči med 10 in 16 vozli je omogočil zelo lepo jadranje, tudi na trapezu. Kot se je nakazalo že na evropskem prvenstvu, so bili tudi danes močno spredaj Angleži, kar 12 prvouvrščenih ekip prihaja z otoka.
“Naredili smo dve lepi regati, drugo sicer na črno zastavo, saj smo morali start ponoviti zaradi močnega zasuka vetra. Mislim, da so jadralci zaenkrat zadovoljni s potekom prvenstev in upam, da bomo tudi v bodoče deležni dobrih jadralnih pogojev,” je povedal vodja regate, Hrvat Tonko Petešić.
Po prvem dnevu sta z eno zmago in drugim mestom močno v vodstvu štirikratna svetovna prvaka Chips Howarth in Vyv Townend, glede naslednje uvrščenih pa moramo počakati na uradne rezultate, saj protesti še potekajo.
Evropska prvaka Matt Burge in Richard Wagstaff, ki sta po prvem dnevu šesta: “Tudi danes smo imeli zelo težke pogoje, vseeno pa je bilo prijetno nekoliko raztegniti noge v močnejšem vetru. Zelo lahko je bilo pridobiti pozicije, še lažje pa jih je bilo izgubiti. Midva sva med najboljšimi, kar je dobro izhodišče. Smo pa šele na začetku prvenstva.”
Za jutri je napovedanega manj vetra z možnim rahlim dežjem.

Vabljeni k ogledu fotografij v picasa albumu na https://picasaweb.google.com/112549331196089697661/WCDay1

After a very successful Fireball European Championship, which gathered 62 crews from eight countries, Portoroz, Slovenia, is now hosting the Worlds (13th-20th September). 78 crews sailed today in the first two races of the championship. Although the EC didn’t offer much wind and especially sailors from GBR whished for more, it looks like Eol is now on their side. Nice »jugo« JV breeze made racing exciting and because of regular shifts not at all easy. Up to 16 knots of wind in the first race and little less, around 10, in the second, were enough for some nice trapezing. »We had a nice breeze and two good races, second race start on the black flag in the second attempt due to a major wind shift just after the first start. I believe sailors are happy and I really hope the next days will provide good sailing conditions as well,« said Croatian race officer Tonko Petesic.
There’s no doubt about the first ranked crew after the first day, they are four times world champions Chips Howarth and Vyv Townend, who scored a bullet and one second. There’re still some protests pending for the next positions, so we’ll have to wait for the official results.
European champions Matt Burge and Richard Wagstaff, who ranked sixth overall after these two races: »It was extremely difficult again, it was nice to stretch our legs and go a bit faster, so I think everyone enjoyed the sailing. It was easy to gain places, but was even easier to lose them. For us it was a big battle, but eventually got somewhere near the top five, which was good enough for what we need, Chips is looking good, but these are early days.«
It’s lighter forecasted for tomorrow, with some rain showers possible during the day.
Please check for the official results later tonight.
Photos are posted on https://picasaweb.google.com/112549331196089697661/WCDay1

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