Flying Fifteen Worlds at Hayling Island Sailing Club - Day 3
by Gerald New 25 Jul 2011 09:02 BST
17-20 & 22-28 July 2011
Grant Alderson and Dean Mcaullay from Australia are in 2nd place after day 3 of the World Championships © Gerald New
Three more races in a good breeze got the Flying 15 Worlds back on schedule Sunday. Mike and Gemma McIntyre headed the list of winners with a 1, 5, 1 score line. Series leader Graham Vials and Chris Turner keep their overall lead, winning their first flight race but suffering a black flag DSQ in the final race. Other race winners were Andy McKee and Richard Jones, Russell Peters and Tim Hall, and Mike Hart and Richard Rigg.
Winners in the Classic/Silver fleet were Bobby Salmond and Robert Till in Classic GBR627 from the Holy Loch SC. Malcolm and Alex Hall, keep the overall lead and first Silver boat. First Classic overall are Gavin Cassidy and Lucy Clough.
Three more races in a good breeze for each of the flights allowed PRO Roger Palmer to get the Flying 15 Worlds back on Schedule Sunday and complete the qualifiers. The westerly breeze stayed around the 15 knots mark, providing the best day of the competition so far.
Championship leaders Graham Vials and Chris Turner keep their overall lead, winning their first yellow flight race but suffering a black flag DSQ in the final race. The day produced some dramatic place changing. The defending champions, Grant Alderson and Dean Mcaullay from Australia, resurrected their challenge with a steady 5, 5, 3, to move from 16th to second place, five points off the leaders.
The Aussie pair were surprised at their overall position, Alderson describing it as a steady day, holding their position off the line and maintaining it round the course, with no big gains or losses. The elevation of Alderson and Mcaullay was balanced by their compatriots, Ron Packer and Peter Mudford, who dropped from second to finish the day in 14th.
Greg Wells and Mark Darling finished the day as they started, an 8, 6, 2 score keeping them in third place overall, six points off the lead.
It was Mike and Gemma McIntyre who made the most of the day, rocketing from 27th to fourth with two race victories and a fifth. In their first blue flight race they came out the line at the committee boat end to go right. At the first mark, Mike Hart and Richard Rigg led, the McIntyres second and Jeremy Davy and Simon Childs third. McIntyre passed Hart and Rigg on the run and then held off Davy and Childs. On the next beat they went on port to the right corner and were 50 meters ahead on the reach and run and into the finish, Davy and Childs taking second and Hart and Rigg third.
In Race 2 the Irish pair, Peter Lawson and Barry Bridges port tacked the fleet and the McIntyres, who had over stood the windward mark, rounded in 12th. On the run they stayed on the right-hand side took the right-hand mark, tacked onto port and pulled themselves through to a fifth place finish.
In race 3 they were pin end boat, but boats doing turns after a collision and then a cruiser crossing, forced them almost head to wind before they were able to clear away to the left-hand corner. They rounded the windward mark in third behind John Lavery and David O'Brian, and Wells and Darling. After a gybing duel with Wells and Darling to the bottom mark they closed-up. Wells and Darling covered while McIntyre tacked again onto their transom, and as Wells and Darling tacked they were slowed by a wave, allowing McIntyre to lee bow them until they were able to tack for the line and complete a great day with a second win, climbing 24 places.
From Monday the fleet will split into Gold and Blue fleets, with the cut-off at 60th place, for the final four races. Outside of the top four, there are still some serious challengers. Andy McKee and Richard Jones added a 3, 1, 2 to place sixth, Russell Peters and Tim Hall scored a second race win and are in seventh. And despite ruining what was looking to be a good day after a 2, 9, with a DSQ, Steve Goacher and Phil Evans are still eighth overall.
Further down the fleet the better breeze also changed some fortunes. Hart and Rigg won the blue flight second race to move up 24 places. Adam Hawkins and Ben Jones from Australia had a 7, 7, 7, to lift themselves from 38th to 15th, while the French pair, Amaud Biet and Fabien Constant, finished the day in 29th after starting it in 42nd.
Racing continues with one race per day for the Gold and Blue fleets, finishing on Thursday.
Top 10 after 6 races (96 entries)
1st GBR 3972 Graham VIALS / Chris TURNER 3 1 1 1 7 (49.0 BFD) 62 13 pts
2nd AUS 3933 Grant ALDERSON / Dean MCAULLAY 4 3 -32 5 3 3 50 18 pts
3rd GBR 3920 Greg WELLS / Mark DARLING 2 1 -17 8 6 2 36 19 pts
4th GBR 3928 Mike and Gemma MCINTYRE 11 -34 5 1 5 1 57 23 pts
5th GBR 3922 Jeremy DAVY / Simon CHILDS 5 4 -16 2 2 10 39 23 pts
6th GBR 3902 Andy MCKEE / Richard JONES 12 -18 11 3 1 2 47 29 pts
7th GBR 3911 Russell PETERS / Tim HALL -18 13 1 12 5 1 50 32 pts
8th GBR 3821 Steve GOACHER / Phil EVANS 9 11 2 2 9 (49.0 BFD) 82 33 pts
9th GBR 3941 Alan BAX / Bill MASTERMAN -29 2 3 14 6 9 63 34 pts
10th IRL 3892 MCKEE Brian SMYTH Ian 1 -17 3 12 11 8 52 35 pts