Picture Perfect Conditions 

Day 2 Results

Day 2 Photos on Live Sail Die

The start was delayed an hour while the breeze built but we were then treated to 3 epic races in glorious conditions. The 10 to 15 knot easterly that developed blew straight down the sound and there were plenty of shifts to play and a nice seaway for the downwind legs. After yesterdays chilly blast today gave us blue skies and warm temperatures. The wind was ideal for close racing and there was incredible competition right through all the fleets. Every race was different, with no side paying consistently and wind strength, wave and tide changing enough to make every race unique and challenging.

 

At the front of the 41 boat ILCA 7 fleet the extremely close contest between reigning World Champion Tom Saunders and George Gautrey continued, with Tom scoring two bullets to Georges one on the day, extending Toms overall lead. Luke Cashmore and Luke Deegan continued to keep the two leaders on their toes with consistent top placings. Several masters were also right on the heels of the leaders, with GM Andrew Dellabarca the standout, finishing the day 5th overall. Kris Decke (M) was also right in the mix in two of the races, but got lost in the pack in the second race of the day, allowing Andrew to open up a gap at the front of the Masters fleet. Apprentice Tim Pitcaithly from Nelson continued his consistent form to be the leading Apprentice and leading South Island sailor.

 

Just as Tom let one get away in the 7's Caleb Armit let one slip in the ILCA 6's, with second overall George Lane triumphant in the last race of the day, although Caleb continues to lead convincingly overall. Two strong second placings saw Dylan Forsyth move to third overall. The close contest between the women continued. Olivia Christie moved up the leaderboard to be the leading woman in 4th overall, closely followed by standout youth Greta Pilkington. Local Picton sailor Emily Overend was all smiles after a solid day, capped off with a 3rd in the last race which moved her up to 6th overall.

 

Phil Wild (AM) was another to score 2 bullets today in the ILCA 6 masters,. His performance in the second race was one of the most dominant of the day, winning by a large margin after being beaten into second by Ed Tam (M) in the first race. Ed remains second overall and is followed by an improving Werner Hennig (GM) from Hamilton, who is tied on points with another GM, Roger Winton in forth. Helen Spencer is the leading womens master, although she let husband Rick slip ahead of her on the points table today, which I am sure she will be working to correct tomorrow.

 

So with half the series races now completed the favourites continue to dominate. With another fine day but slightly lighter winds forecast for tomorrow we can hopefully look forward to more close, high quality racing, with 3 races again scheduled.

 

Nick Page