Day one complete: NZL 3rd in Boy's Laser and 29er
Racing is underway at the 40th Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championships with at least two races sailed in each of the eighth classes being contested in Istanbul, Turkey.
'The opening days racing provided a light breeze of 5 – 7 knots from the north-west and warm dry conditions once the early clouds had dispersed,’ describes the official report.
After day one the NZL Yachting Trust Youth Team’s best placed sailors are Thomas Saunders in the Boy’s Laser Radial and Alexandra Maloney and Sam Bullock in the Open 29er. They are both lying third in their respective fleets.
Saunders, who is up against 49 other Laser Radial sailors, placed 3rd and 7th in race one and race two of the series giving him a total of ten points. Out in front at this early stage Italian sailors Coccoluto and local boy Ahiskali are tied up on three points apiece after a win and a second each.
Saunders is 17 years of age and represents the Tauranga Yacht and Powerboat Club.
In the Open 29er class Maloney and Bullock sailed three races overnight in Turkey opening the regatta with a win in race one. In race two they placed 11th, then went on to record a 4th in race three giving them 16 points and third place in the standings.
Teams from Great Britain and France are in front of the kiwis, ten points ahead and four points ahead respectively. There are 18 in the fleet.
Alexandra Maloney from the Murrays Bay Sailing Club, represented New Zealand in the 420 at this event in 2009, but this year competes in the Open 29er with Sam Bullock as crew. The pair has just returned a fifth place at the 2010Open 29er World Championships.
Also in the top five of their fleet is multihull sailors Naomi Mannering and Josh Porebski, lying fifth at the end of day one. They were 6th and 4th in racing overnight.
Georgia Schofield represents New Zealand in the Girl’s RS:X and has eighth place in her fleet, while her counterpart in the Boy’s RS:X Oliver Gunman is 26th.
In the double-handed 420 NZL Yachting Trust Youth Team’s Erica Dawson and Vicki Francis are in 21st place, and James Turner and Logan Dunning-Beck are in 25th in the Boy’s event. Molly Meech is sailing in the Girl’s Laser Radial and lies 36th after the first two races.
Racing continues tomorrow with the medals set to be decided on Friday 16th July in Istanbul. Full results, images and more are available in the first instance from the official regatta website.
2010 Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship
New Zealand’s standings after day one
3rd - Thomas Saunders (Boy’s Laser Radial) 3, 7
36th – Molly Meech (Girl’s Laser Radial) 39, 24
26th - Oliver Gunman (Boy’s RS:X) 27, 23
8th – Georgia Schofield (Girl’s RS:X) 10, 7
25th - James Turner and Logan Dunning-Beck (Boy’s 420) 21, 25
21st – Erica Dawson and Vicky Francis (Girl’s 420) 16, 25
3rd – Alexandra Maloney and Sam Bullock (Open 29er) 1, 11, 4
5th – Naomi Mannering and Josh Porebski (Open Multihull) 6, 4
In behind the NZL Yachting Trust Youth Team are long-time principal sponsor the NZL Yachting Trust. Yachting New Zealand is delighted to welcome Oceanbridge Shipping as a key sponsor and team is wearing SLAM Advanced Technology Sportswear.
About the Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championships
The ISAF Youth Worlds was first held in Sweden in 1971. The 2010 Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship in Istanbul, Turkey is the 40th championship. 344 sailors from 63 nations around the globe are entered.
Past notable winners include American’s Cup skippers, Chris Dickson (NZL), Russell Coutts (NZL), Dean Barker (NZL); Olympic medallists, Robert Scheidt (BRA), Amelie Lux (GER), Ben Ainslie (GBR), Nick Rogers (GBR) and Siren Sundby (NOR); Volvo Ocean Race sailors like Stuart Bannatyne (NZL) and Richard Clarke (CAN).