Seawind Formula 18 Worlds at Queensland, Australia - Day 1
by Rob Kothe 20 Feb 2007 11:31 GMT
17-25 February 2007
Tough Day on Seawind F18 Worlds Day One
Heavy weather on the first day of the 2007 Seawind F18 Worlds being sailed at Rydges Capricorn Resort off Yeppoon, Queensland. An eighty boat fleet from 12 nations started but sixteen boats capsized with three sailors requiring medical attention.
The forecast for the start of racing on Day 1 of the Seawind Formula 18 World Championship was for south easterly winds 20-25 knots.
A heavy swell from the last three days of southerly winds, made the launch from the beach through the surf break exciting for the large numbers of spectators on the beach.
At the start, the wind was blowing at hardly more than 15 knots, but the swell was such that would normally be associated with around 25 knots.
The French pairing of Mourniac and Citeau (FRA) lead at the mark from triple World Champion Mitch Booth and his crew Pim Nieuwenhis (NED), who came in from the port layline and were close at the top mark.
Besson and Arnaud (FRA) were third, with the Spanish champions Echavarri and Paz (ESP) in fifth place. Australians Bundock and Ashby were fourth at the first mark.
As the wind continued to build so did the seas, to three metres, and as the fleet ran down with the wind and waves at speeds of more than 20 knots, boat after boat capsized.
In all sixteen boats retired from the race, after spectacular capsizes and nose dives. Rescue boats assisted three Queensland sailors, who needed medical attention.
At the second mark, Bundock and Ashby were third but catching the leaders by the top mark for the third time, Bundock and Ashby were clearly leading from Mitch Booth and Pim Nieuwenhis.
The winners of Race 1 were Bundock and Ashby (AUS), ahead of Booth and Nieuwenhis (NED) with Mourniac and Citeau (FRA) in third. Besson and Jarlegan were fourth (FRA) with the Spaniards Echavarri and Paz, fifth.
On the beach Darren Bundock commented, 'We did not have the greatest start but we kept moving up and the top mark for the second time we made gains. Once we sailed into the lead we were able to consolidate and then sail a little conservatively as the conditions strengthened. 'It's good to be in the lead, so the other guys have to chase.'
Mitch Booth was smiling. 'The conditions were exactly what we expected, strong wind, lumpy seas and with the rough seas plenty of wipeouts. 'We started close to the start boat, went almost to layline on left.. left paid.. then on the second beat we went the wrong way and that cost us five places and we had to fight back from there. The lead changed five or six times, there were no dark horses at the top of the fleet.'
Steve Brewin, former World A Class champion finished sixth overall. 'We were going all right until we fell off, we went from fifth to fifteen, at the top mark we managed to keep it upright and we had to fight all the way back. We know we have good boat speed; we've been doing a lot of sail development.'
Robert Greenhalgh with brother Peter, sailed into tenth place and may rise, as protests were still being heard.
He commented; 'We are still learning about boat speed upwind. On the first two beats we had our set up wrong, by the third beat we felt we were on the pace. Downwind it was survival, with plenty of guys spearing it in, all over the place. We are looking forward to the rest of the regatta. Our learning curve will remain steep.'
Results are provisional and subject to protest.
Due to the increasing wind gusting into the high 20's, officials were forced to abandon racing for the day.
One of the Queensland sailors injured was Luke McDonald, who sustained torn ligaments and tendons in his upper leg and groin after ducking a capsized boat. Luke hit the rudder of the capsized boat and ended up washed off the back of his boat with his caught in the foot strap. After medical attention, Luke arrived back in the boat park with his upper thigh strapped, but still able to manage a wry grin.
Leroy Polden sustained badly bruised ribs following a capsize and Gordon Beath sustained a badly bruised ankle and broken fingers, also following a capsize.
Results after Day 1:
1st Darren Bundock & Glenn Ashby, AUS7, 1pt
2nd Mitch Booth & Pim Nieuwenhis, NED8, 2pts
3rd Jean-Christophe Mourniac & Franck Citeau, FRA1, 3pts
4th Billy Besson & Arnaud Jarlegan, FRA658, 4pts
5th Fernando Echavarri & Anton Paz Blanco, ESP2207, 5pts
6th Steve Brewin & Andrew Williams, AUS7, 6pts
7th Carolijn Brouwer & Jeroen Van Leeuwen, BEL7, 7pts
8th Mischa Heemskerk & Cristopher Rasley, NED007, 8pts
9th Gunnar Larsen & Sascha Larsen, NED1111, 9pts
10th Robert Greenhalgh & Peter Greenhalgh, GBR120, 10pts
Greenhalgh brothers end first day in 9th place in stormy seas aboard Basilica at the F18 Worlds in Brisbane
The Basilica sponsored F18 team of Robert and Peter Greenhalgh sailed to an impressive joint ninth place in the first day of the 2007 F18 Worlds at the Rydges Capricorn Resort off Yeppoon in Queensland, Australia. It was the brother’s first time competitively racing their Capricorn Catamaran, and with a heavy swell and winds gusting over 20 knots, the conditions were far from ideal. The Basilica boat was initially placed tenth but an obstruction by the media boat led to a protest by the Greenhalghs and a revised placing of joint ninth.
Robert Greenhalgh commented: “It was a great start for us, especially considering the tough conditions but we are still learning a lot about the boat. On the first two beats we had our set up wrong but by the third beat we felt we were on the pace. We are really looking forward to developing our tactics and finding a bit more speed for the rest of the regatta”.
Racing is scheduled to continue tomorrow.