B14 World Championship at Woollahra Sailing Club - Day 3
by Alastair Moppett (aged 38½) 8 Jan 10:27 GMT
6-10 January 2025
Conditions on Sydney Harbour for day three were much the same as day two. A strong, gusty Southerly breeze brought with it relatively low temperatures and driving rain, leaving some European boats wistfully dreaming of home waters.
A productive Worlds AGM was held in the morning, with plans outlined for the next northern hemisphere worlds in Torbados in 2026, the first worlds held in the UK since 2007. Shortly after the AGM the race committee announced that there would be no racing for the day.
Fleet tactics after this were mixed: some sailors walked through the driving rain to a chandlery and bought wetsuits that they didn't need. Some sailors went to the aquarium. Some sailors went to the bar. Day four will show which strategy paid off.
The fleet enjoyed the legendary Buggar the Bone in the evening, with a series of inuendo-fuelled and inappropriate games organised by Callum, featuring special guest appearances from legends of B14s past, Matt Searle, JB, Nick Richardson, Bangers, Fun Megan, Marty Johnson, to name a few. Tobytastic put many to shame and proved himself the northern hemisphere's most flexible man, winning the cornflake box game. The games were followed by a fantastic barbecue kindly provided by Andy Harper from V&C Foods (one of our fantastic sponsors), and cooked expertly by the UK fleet's premier grill man, Amir.
Day four looks likely to be 10-15 knots (hopefully not like Tuesday's 10 knots...).
Results can be found at www.woollahrasailingclub.org.au/series/10555
Find out more at www.b14worlds.com