Laser SB3 World Championships in Cascais, Portugal - Day 2

Day 2 of the Laser SB3 World Championships © Joao Ferrand / JFF

The forecast for Day 2 of the Laser SB3 Worlds in Cascais allowed the Race Officer the option of using either race area. The decision was made to use Race Area B, to the east of the bay. The wind arrived from the north with a steady 8 to 10 knots for the start of the 1st Race and built throughout the day. By the start of Race 3 the wind had swung 20 degrees to the right and increased to 25 knots.

Following an injury to a member of his crew, past Portuguese Olympic sailor Fernando Bello was unable to compete in the 2nd day of the Championships leaving the competition open for the local Portuguese fleet for the coveted spot of 1st Portuguese boat. At the end of Day 2, Filipe Silva and his crew on board Black Bird/Capital Moura lie 8th overall with a 25 point lead over the 2nd Portuguese boat who lies in 10th position. It’s tough and tight at the top of this Championship.

Having lead over night, Craig Burlton suffered a poor 1st leg during the 1st Race, rounding the windward mark at least three quarters of the way down the fleet. Amazingly, Burlton and crew managed to pick off the fleet and finished the race in 7th position. Ian Sullivan and his crew of Cheeky Monkey’s put in a sterling performance in the first race finishing 2nd. This was a great return to the race course for Sullivan having had to return to the dock on Day 1 with a damaged spreader and torn mainsail.

Strong performances in Race 1 also came from Jerry Hill and Chris Jennings, finishing 3rd and 4th respectively. However, the winner of Race 1 was South African, David Hudson and his Race Ahead crew of Neil Malan, Wadnisile Xayimpi and Jamie Waters with a tremendous lead and awesome down wind boat speed. Mike Budd was OCS in Race 1 and although he discards his 55 point penalty score, he drops from 2nd to 4th overall after 6 races.

Robert Gullan, helming Pieter Heyn’s Sun Microsystems lead Race 2 from a strong start and managed to extend an impressive lead to win with approximately 20 boat lengths to spare. At the end of Day 2, Sun Microsystems lies 3rd overall with a score tally of 7, 7, 5, (17), 1, 4. Their boat speed was certainly impressive and crew work appeared impeccable. The wind built throughout the 2nd race and the leeward mark rounding’s were fruity as gusts of 25 plus knots blew across the course. Early genneker drops benefitted many as other boats struggled to loose the genneker and round the mark.

Race 3 got underway on the 2nd attempt following a well judged general recall. Roger Hudson and Taariq Jacobs had an excellent start and after rounding the windward mark in the top spot, they managed to extend their lead and comfortably won the 3rd race of the day. Race 3 was sailed in 20 to 25 knots of wind and was by far the longest race of the day with the leading boats finishing after 1 hour 50 minutes.

3 Sad Old Blokes managed to hook the mark at the end of their first beat. Correctly Hill did his turn and after loosing at least 20 places, he managed to finish the race in 15th position. A fantastic recovery from an ugly mistake.

Credit must be given at the end of Day 2 to Sarah Allan and her 3 person crew; Charlotte Savage, Michael-John Gifford and David Giles. Sarah has posted some really consistent results and should be recognised for her transition in the SB3 class this season. Allan has moved from bow on board Geoff Carveth’s winning team at the 2008 World Championships to owner and helm this year. Currently Allan’s boat, Sailboatspares.com lies 7th overall.

Craig Burlton, Steve ‘AB’ White and Adam Heeley maintain their lead for a 2nd day, but their lead drops from 4 points to 2. The best overall position improvement today has been achieved by Team Solent / Helly Hansen. Having been caught with a black flag in the first race of Day 1 and loosing a crew member overboard, Guy Jackson pulled out all the stops on Day 2, jumping from 28th overall on Day 1 to 13th overall on Day 2. 6 Races have now been completed and a World Championship Series is now in place. Stay tuned for further developments at the Laser SB3 World Championships on Day 3…

Results after Day 2: