Light winds and delays – but racing for all

Day two of the 2010 Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championships saw light winds cause delays to the start of racing for the NZL Yachting Trust Youth Team in Istanbul.

All 344 sailors at the world’s premier youth regatta had a long wait for wind and were kept ashore until well into the afternoon. The Laser Radial, 420 and multihull fleets all managed one race each, while the Boy’s and Girl’s RS:X and the Open 29er classes each sailed two races.

It was a tough day for all the sailors racing in very light air, and while this was challenging for the kiwi team, many of them managed to climb up the standings in their respective fleets.

Alexandra Maloney and Sam Bullock slipped from third place to fourth in the 29er standings despite opening the day with a 2nd. In the second race of the day the young kiwi duo were 9th across the line. They are on 16 points behind teams from USA, France and Great Britain.

Also slipping in the standings was Thomas Saunders who finished 30th in the only race of the day for the Boy’s Laser Radial. If Saunders can return to his form from day one this score will be dropped from his overall points total as the regatta unfolds, so the sailor from Tauranga will be aiming for consistent results from here on in. He is currently in eighth place in the fleet of 40 boats.

Oliver Gunman managed a giant leap ten places up the Boy’s RS:X leader board after last night’s racing in Turkey, climbing from 26th place up to 16th. His scored a 15th and a 12th in the two races sailed. Georgia Schofield retains eighth place in the 19-strong Girl’s RS:X fleet after placing 13th and then 7th in racing on day two.

Josh Porebski and Naomi Mannering sailed one race in the Open multihull event placing tenth which sees them slip from fifth to sixth overall after day two.

Erica Dawson and Vicky Francis had their best race yet in the Girl’s 420 placing 8th and moving up the board to 17th place in the standings. Likewise for New Zealand’s 420 Boy’s sailors James Turner and Logan Dunning-Beck a climb up the standings from 25th to 20th comes after a better result in last night’s one race.

Racing continues tomorrow with the medals set to be decided on Friday 16th July in Istanbul. 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 two
8th - Thomas Saunders (Boy’s Laser Radial) 3, 7, 30
36th – Molly Meech (Girl’s Laser Radial) 39, 24 (Today’s result not yet available)
16th - Oliver Gunman (Boy’s RS:X) 27, 23, 15, 12
8th – Georgia Schofield (Girl’s RS:X) 10, 7, 13, 7
20th - James Turner and Logan Dunning-Beck (Boy’s 420) 21, 25, 10
17th – Erica Dawson and Vicky Francis (Girl’s 420) 16, 25, 8
4th – Alexandra Maloney and Sam Bullock (Open 29er) 1, 11, 4, 2, 9
6th – Josh Porebski and Naomi Mannering (Open Multihull) 6, 4, 10

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).