Mixed results for NZL Yachting Trust Youth Team on day 3 in Croatia

It was a day of mixed results for the NZL Yachting Trust Youth Team sailors on day three of the 41st Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship 2011 in Zadar, Croatia.

The regatta now hits the mid way mark and after three days of racing, in predominantly light winds, most sailors will now enjoy a rest day before competition resumes on Wednesday. Both the boy’s and girl’s windsurfers will be back on the water Tuesday in an attempt to make up on races lost due to the conditions.

Tomer Simhony and Ellie Copeland remain the best placed the NZL Yachting Trust Youth Team holding onto second place in the SL16 multihull class, however the points gap to the Brazilians in the lead has widened and their margin over the chasing pack has diminished.

An eighth and a seventh came from the kiwis overnight and the Danish representatives have now caught them after returning two good races tying them up on 26 points each. There is now a massive 20 point gap to the leaders who again dominated with a couple of race wins.

Belgium and Spain are close behind in fourth and fifth on the SL16 leader-board on 27 and 28 points respectively, ensuring that the second half of the series will require consistently good race results from the kiwis to secure a podium finish.

Jack Simpson and Logan Dunning-Beck in the 29er class are the next best placed of the New Zealanders however after last night they slipped one spot from third overall back to fourth position. Overnight they sailed two races finishing tenth and then fifth.

Similar to the multihull event the points are tight for those in the hunt for the medals and the kiwis are just one point off the Americans in third place, while the Aussies are chasing hard just two points behind.

With just one race possible for the windsurfers in Zadar Georgia Schofield finished seventh and retains her sixth place overall in the girl’s fleet after day three and will now front up to another day on the water with race organisers planning up to three races for both the girl’s and boy’s RS:X while everyone else has the day off.

If stronger winds appear as forecast, this could really mix things up for the windsurfers who have sailed just four races to date.

New Zealand’s sailors in the boy’s 420 double-hander, Alex Munro and Brad Moss, couldn’t repeat their top ten form from day two finishing 14th and 29th on the water overnight which sees them slip to 11th place in the standings.

This prestigious youth regatta has attracted a total of 349 sailors from 52 countries to the city of Zadar, in Croatia on the Adriatic Sea. The regatta schedule includes six race days and one reserve day (Tuesday 12th July) with a total of twelve races possible in each of the ten classes if conditions are favourable. Medals will be decided on the final day of competition, Friday 15th July, in Zadar.

Yachting New Zealand will issue daily reports focussing on the NZL Yachting Trust Youth Team during the regatta, and you can follow the NZL Yachting Trust Youth Team via their Facebook page.

2011 Youth Sailing ISAF World Championships, Zadar, Croatia
NZL Yachting Trust Youth Team standings after day three

2nd Tomer Simhony and Ellie Copeland (Open Multihull – 14 entries)
6th Georgia Schofield (Female RS:X Wind surfing – 20 entries)
14th Sven Pedersen (Male RS:X Wind surfing – 34 entries)
24th Verity Judge and Gemma Jones (Female 420 – 31 entries)
11th Alexander Munro and Brad Moss (Male 420 – 34 entries)
4th Jack Simpson and Logan Dunning-Beck (29er – 23 entries)
21st Michael Cate (Male Laser Radial – 50 entries)
18th Molly Meech (Female Laser Radial – 41 entries)

Team Manager: Ian Neely
Coaches: Shelley Hesson and Jim Maloney