RS Venture report from Para World Championships at Sheboygan - Overall
by RS Sailing 24 Sep 2018 20:01 BST
16-22 September 2018
Will Street and Jonathan Currell (GBR) win the RS Venture Gold Medal at the Para Sailing World Championship © RS Sailing
Will Street and Jon Curell claim World Championship glory on the final day of the 2018 Para World Championships.
Sailing was cancelled on the fourth scheduled day of racing, so first up on the final day of racing was the final knock out round. The knock out series had been reduced to a single race, where the winner would claim the last place in the final.
In light shifty conditions the Italian team - Gian Bachisio Pira/Gianluca Raggi lead the knock out race around most of the course. At the final windward gate the Italians had a healthy lead ahead of ESP1 - Enrique Vives/Gabriel Barroso de Maria. The Spanish split with the Italian team and the wind shifted to the right, resulting in the Spanish team being on the right side of the course. This gave them the lead at the final mark and then on to the finish which qualified them for the winner takes all final.
The final started in the same light and tricky conditions as John McRoberts/Scott Lutes – CAN led the fleet across the reaching start line. At the first mark John/Scott had a good lead which improved further when GBR2 Will Street/Jonny Currell hit a mark. As they did their turn it was clear to everyone watching that they were out of the final. GBR1 Alexandra Rickham/Hannah Stodel had closed the gap to CAN1 at the leeward gate and they rounded a couple of boat lengths behind. The two leading boats had clearly switched into match racing mode up the beat.
By the time the two boats were half way up the beat the breeze had dropped on the centre of the course. ESP1 and GBR2 stayed out on the right-hand side of the course where there was more pressure. Unbelievably within a few minutes CAN1 and GBR1 saw their lead vanish as ESP1 and GBR2 rounded the windward mark in first and second.
GBR2 managed to split away from the Spanish team on the final run and when the two boats came together at the last mark GBR2 Will/Jonny had mark room. Rounding on top of the Spanish boat, GBR2 Will/Jonny simply had to cruise to World Championship glory. Leaving ESP1 Enrique/Gabriel with a Silver medal and CAN1 John/Scott claiming the Bronze. A very disappointed GBR1 Alex/Hannah finished in forth.
The sailors, the boats and the racing format have made their mark on the Para World Championships and they will hopefully become a permanent feature. The 2019 season will soon be upon us and over the next few weeks the 2019 RS Venture events will be reviled.
Para Sailing maybe be out of the 2024 Para Olympics but Para Sailing still has a very bright future and the RS Venture class is very excited about being a part of it.
Check out the final results here
Watch World Sailing's video about the RS Venture Connect here