ABERDEEN RACING ACADEMY
Special Edition 29er WORLDS - AUGUST 2017
Introduction
The 29er Worlds began with the Opening Ceremony on Sunday 30th July. Each country, bearing their national flag, was greeted on the main lawn of Alamatos Bay Yacht club.
Once the opening ceremony was concluded an early night was had by all in preparation for the following six days of racing. Launching was to begin at 10.30am each morning, with the first starting signal at 12.00 pm.
The schedule for the event consisted of three days qualifying, then reliant upon those results the teams were split into gold, silver and bronze fleets for the remaining three days of the championships.
https://www.facebook.com/aberdeenracingacademy/?fref=hovercard
Qualifying Series
The first days racing saw winds of around 8 - 10 knots and by the third race it had reached 13 -16 knots. Yann/Akira had a great start to the event finishing with an 8th and two 10th positions, although they were slightly disappointed as damage to their boat caused by another competitor during the 2nd race certainly hindered what could have been a better third race for them. Calum/Russell struggled at the beginning of the day but produced a much better result in the last race as the wind increased, finishing in 13th position.
Day three saw Lewis/Dylan launch early in order to complete the final race from day 2, unfortunately they finished a slightly disappointing 37th after their top 10 finish the previous day. Once Day two's racing was complete the fleets were once again mixed up. Yann/Akira and Calum/Russell were placed in the yellow fleet (course area A) with Malo/Anatole and Lewis/Dylan in the blue fleet (course area B). The wind built up over the course of the day to a maximum of 10 knots, blue fleet continued to produce some great results, the best from Yann/Akira in race 9 finishing in 4th place. Calum/Russell also seemed to pick up some momentum, finishing 12th and 14th in races 8 and 9. Malo/Anatole also had a great race 8 finishing in 12th.
By the end of Day 3 the final results showed that Yann/Akira, Calum/Russell and Malo/Anatole had all qualified for gold fleet, with Lewis/Dylan qualifying for silver fleet. A pleasing result for all of our sailors who had met the expectations of their coaches.
Finals
Day five saw four races completed by each fleet. The wind was much stronger than previous days, with speeds averaging between 11 - 22 knots. Silver and bronze fleet competed on course C, a new sailing area for the fleets, located in front of Kitesurfing beach on Belmont Shore. This provided more shelter for the less experienced sailors. Gold fleet sailed further out, behind course area A. The day produced a mixed set of results from our gold fleet teams, the best was a 4th from Calum and Russell. Silver fleet managed 4 clean starts, Lewis/Dylan had consistent results, their best being a 22nd.
Sailors were met by a beautiful day for the final day of racing, with brilliant blue skies and the breeze ranging from anything between 7 - 15 knots. The order of the day was for each fleet to complete 3 races. Gold fleet were in the same area as Day 5, while silver and bronze fleet were sailing in race area E, located just in front of Seal Beach, a great spot for spectators to watch the final days racing unfold. Yann/Akira in the gold fleet started off the first race with an excellent 2nd place, Calum and Russell had a great last race finishing 5th and the highlight of the day for Malo/Anatole was 5th.
The silver fleet had an eventful final day on the water. With two races completed and after 3 general recalls the last race of their 29er Worlds eventually started. Sadly, one of the crews from the Irish team ran into serious trouble, requiring life saving treatment. The race and sailing for the day was then abandoned. Thanks to the quick actions of fellow competitors and coaches the young man survived and has now made a full recovery. It was an important reminder for our teams that safety is imperative on the water and put sailing well into perspective.
Final Results
Our final overall results were:
Yann/Akira 22nd
Calum and Russel 26th
Malo/Anatole 41st
Lewis/Dylan 85th (Silver fleet - 37th)
We would like to also take this opportunity to congratulate the South African team - Benji Daniel and Alex Burger, winners of the 29er World Championships who became great friends of all the team, we look forward to seeing them in Hong Kong at the end of the year. Well done!
Forthcoming Events - 29er European Championships
You can continue to follow their progress on the Academy Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/aberdeenracingacademy/?fref=hovercard, or by following the 29er European Championships website below.
ABC's 50th Anniversary Dinghy Opening Regatta.
http://www.abclubhk.com/events/OR2017_Dinghy_9-10Sep.aspx
The Notice of Race can be found at:
Sponsorship
Subscription
Aberdeen Boat Club
Email: dinghycoach@abclubhk.com
Website: http://www.abclubhk.com
Location: Aberdeen Boat Club Ltd., 20 Shum Wan Road, Aberdeen, Hong Kong
Phone: 852 2552 8182
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aberdeenracingacademy/