Hansa and Para World Championships 2025 at Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club - Day 5
by Di Pearson / Hansa Worlds 29 Mar 10:08 GMT
23-30 March 2025
Calm at the Alfreds this morning before the bad weather - Hansa and Para World Championships day 5 © Alex Dare / Hansa Worlds
Grey, buckets of rain, cold, no breeze, swirling light air - the penultimate day of the 2025 Hansa and Para World Championships on Pittwater gave competitors everything except a steady breeze and sun - which meant one race each in two classes only and four new world champions declared.
In a sliding doors moments, Rory McKinna (GBR) and Jess Wong won the Hansa 303 Two-Person Worlds from Chris Symonds and Maunela Klinger (AUS) and Piotr Cichocki and Olga Górnas-Grudzien (POL), who despite winning the final race, dropped to third overall after taking a penalty in Race 5 yesterday, which cost them the World crown and second place.
McKinna, from Ayrshire, then explained, "This is my first time in the Southern Hemisphere. I was originally only going to sail in the 303 One Person event and decided late that I would also sail in the Two Person event. So, I asked Chris Symonds if he knew anyone...
"Through him, Jess (an Australian) came to sail with me and she is new to sailing Hansas. We'd not met, let alone sailed together before. You know within five minutes of being in the boat whether it will work out or not - and I knew it would."
Wong added, "It wasn't particularly hard getting together. I knew I was in good hands. I felt comfortable with him straight away."
McKinna went on to say, "We've had a very interesting week to say the least. We got off to a very good start with the Practice Race, but then we took a backward step in the first race. From there, though, we went up and up, so consistency was the name of the game.
"I wasn't expecting to win. I never even envisaged winning the Two Person, I've always been a singles sailor. We're not entirely sure how to feel at this stage. I don't want to get excited just yet, because I'm hoping to get out tomorrow in the singles if the weather lets us. I've dropped to eighth, but I want to do my best. You never know what can happen."
McKinna knows he can't win or place second, as the top two have hardly strayed outside winning races, but third is achievable - and so far fate has been on his side.
No matter, the Scotsman is going home with a world championship trophy, just not the one he envisioned!
The only other class to race was the SKUD18. Daniel Fitzgibbon and Chris Somers (AUS) won all seven races to win these Worlds. Fitzgibbon owns two gold and one silver medal from three Paralympic Games. Although he had not sailed the boat since the 2016 Rio Games, it all fell into place with some practice.
Fitzgibbons' team mate, Somers, is an old friend he sailed in the 420 class with back in the day, so the combination was a natural one.
Second and third places overall also remain unchanged, going to Australian teams Neil Rowsthorn and Jack Wallace and Naomi Ohue and Joe Thompson respectively.
"Rainy, light and shifty. Very unusual conditions - a south-wester. It was about sailing in pressure and you couldn't always find it. It was like finding your way in the dark," Fitzgibbon said.
"We didn't have it all our own way today. We had to fight our way back to the front," he admitted.
"Chris and I had to work out our communication. It took us a couple of days, but we managed that - and to stay friends! He loved it so much here and loved being involved with all the different people from around the world. He embraced it all.
"It's been enjoyable sailing here. I'm just so happy to come back into sailing and see old friends. And the regatta was run very well by the RPAYC. The Commodore (Rob McClelland) was running the crane and craned us all out of the water this afternoon. Where else do you get that? Rob's a great guy, he genuinely enjoys helping people," Fitzgibbon concluded.
Because of the tricky conditions, the Liberty and Hansa 2.3 did not get to race, so their World Championships were decided on six races each.
Lou Hutton, Race Officer on Bravo course explained: "We had 5-7 knots, it dropped out to 2-3 knots and like the rest of the week, it was very shifty. It was south-west, pretty much, but there was a fair bit of movement in that.
"We sat for a while and could see it wasn't going to get any better, so we came home. We had to consider the competitors in the cold and rain and decided they should come in."
Yui Fujimoto (JPN) is the new World Champion in the Hansa 2.3. Counting four wins, a second and a third, she deserved to win. Daisuke Zenju and Koji Harada filled out the podium. The Japanese trio started top three from Day 1 and were never headed, they were just too good.
It was a different story in the Liberty class where the top places fluctuated between four sailors and then three.
Yuen Wai Foo (HKG) won the Championship, but on countback to Charles Weatherly (AUS). The two found themselves in this position twice. Vera Voorbach (NED) took the final podium place and was just one point behind the top two. She spent the week moving up the leaderboard. She and Weatherly were looking forward to more races, but it was not to be.
The Hansa 303 One Person is the only class scheduled to race tomorrow, but it depends on conditions. As Hutton explained: "A small problem is the current gale warning. It will be looked at. We are intending to start racing at 11am - if it is safe to go out there," she said.
The Worlds include the Hansa World and International Championships, Australian and NSW Hansa Class Championships plus the Para World Championships. All winners will be announced at the Presentation, followed by the Closing Ceremony at Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club (RPAYC) tomorrow, once the Hansa 303 One Person top three are established.
Sixteen nations have been competing at the Championships hosted by RPAYC on Pittwater in NSW: Australia, Chile, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, South Korea, Spain and USA.
For all information on the event, including entries, please visit: hansaworlds.org
For all information on RPAYC and its facilities, please visit: rpayc.com.au