ILCA Australian Championships

It was another frustrating day for sailors and race officials alike at the 2020 Australian Laser Championships. Sandringham Yacht Club was shrouded in smoke, with the gentle southerly breeze not strong enough to blow it away – or allow racing to commence on time.
Finally, a light westerly materialised earlier than forecast and the PRO sent all three fleets out on to the course. But the dramas were just beginning.

Laser Radial
The Laser Radials, now split into Gold and Silver fleet, were the first to attempt a start.
With the bushfire smoke becoming thicker and the wind continuing to fluctuate in both direction and velocity, it was a real test of the sailor’s instincts and nerve.

There were a number of general recalls as the wind swung by as much as 30 degrees during the pre-start, causing the race committee to eventually start the Gold fleet under Black Flag.
A large group at the pin end were caught out and 21 sailors were disqualified, including the two leading Australians, Mara Stransky and Zoe Thomson.

Stransky was philosophical about the result, saying, “I was over (the line), I’ll take the penalty.”
But she did comment that the conditions were very difficult, with the pin being shifted several times as the wind fluctuated, and with visibility so low in the smoke haze.

“The wind was so light you could barely lay on starboard and you couldn’t get a transit because you couldn’t see the other end of the line,” she said, reiterating that she wasn’t making excuses.

Ultimately, Vasileia Karachaliou of Greece led home a European trifecta, ahead of Louise Cervera (FRA) and Maxime Jonker (NED).

Vasileia Karachaliou (GRE) moved into second overall with a win in Race 6. Photo Jon West Photography.

Rio Olympic Champion Marit Bouwmeester (NED) holds on to her overall lead by a single point over Karachaliou and her Dutch team mate Jonker.

Silver fleet is led by Russia’s Mariia Kislukhina from Australians Lachie Weber and Jack Eickmeyer.

Laser Standard
The men sailing the Standard rig were not exempt from the problems besetting the Radials and there were six black flags in that fleet also.
Matt Wearn consolidated his position at the head of the competition with a solid third place.

“It was a pretty average race,” he said. “I’m happy to take that one away though. I’ll take ‘a keeper’ in conditions like that.”

Double world champion, Nick Thompson, who finished 10th was also philosophical about the day. “The wind was fluctuating from 3 to 10 knots and shifting about 40 degrees. The worst thing was you couldn’t see the shifts (because of the smoke),” he said.
The race was won by Luke Elliott of Australia, with Karl-Martin Rammo of Estonia second.

Luke Elliott (AUS) shrouded in smoke on his way to a win in Race 6 of the Australian Laser Championships. Photo Jon West Photography.

The result moved Elliott into the top 10, but there was little change at the top. Wearn increased his overall lead to nine points over New Zealander Sam Meech, giving him a healthy buffer with only two days left to sail. Another Aussie, Mitch Kennedy, holds third place, six points behind Meech.

Laser 4.7
The young sailors in the 4.7 fleet showed their older counterparts how it should be done, with just two competitors black flagged.

Singaporean sailors took five of the top six places. Victorian Hamish Cowell was in second place, splitting winner Joelle Lio, a female in the Under 18 category, and third-placed Russell Yom.

Yom now leads the overall standings by a single point from compatriot Jonathan Lio, while Australian Toby Coote is in third.

Joelle Lio (SGP) showed the boys how to sail in light conditions. Photo Jon West Photography.

Race officials will try to get three races sailed tomorrow, when conditions are forecast to be better, with slightly stronger winds and better visibility.

Full results are available at here.

Melbourne, January 5,2020: Three races were held at the Australian Laser Championships today as organisers sought to make up for yesterday’s cancellations owing to high winds.

A cold and wet Melbourne morning greeted the sailors, but the forecast moderate southerly winds had settled in, providing good racing conditions. All 277 entrants were successfully launched in time for the 12.45pm start.

With the wind strength varying between 12 and 18 knots and oscillating, experience, skill and a little bit of luck were all needed.

Standard Rig

Australia’s Tokyo 2020 representative, Matt Wearn, struck the first blow, winning the opening race ahead of Duko Bos (NED) and Richard Maher (AUS). Double world champion Nick Thompson (GBR), who won both races on the first day of competition, found himself on the wrong side of wind shifts to finish 14^th.

Matt Wearn leads the 2020 Australian Laser Championships. Photo Jon West Photography.

It was “all change” in race two, with Wearn down in 12^th place and Thompson in 15^th. However, as the fourth race of the series had been sailed, the first of two discards came in to play, leaving Wearn still at the top of the leaderboard. The race was won by Fillah Karim of Canada, from New Zealanders Sam Meech and George Gautrey.

Meech, who is ranked third in the world, won the final race from Wearn and another Aussie, Mitch Kennedy.

The top three in the final race are also the top three on the leaderboard, with Wearn holding a four point lead over Meech, and a seven point lead over Kennedy.

Both Wearn and Meech were satisfied with their day’s work, saying the conditions were shifty but readable.

Wearn called it a solid day. “The second race seemed to get real funky and I seemed to miss every shift, but I’m happy with the results,” he said.

Meech said that the conditions were similar to Auckland Harbour but the waves were a bit bigger. “The right was pretty strong all day,” he added.

Nick Thompson had a consistent day but the numbers were a lot bigger than his two bullets on Friday. He recorded 14, (15), 13 to sit in seventh overall, 18 points off the lead.

Laser Radial

Experience came to the fore in the first race of the Radials, with 2016 Rio Olympic Champion, Marit Bouwmeester (NED) winning in Purple fleet from Marie Bolou (FRA) and Paige Railey (USA). The Dutchwoman had an excellent day, scoring 1, 3, 1 to finish on top of the leaderboard.

Defending champion and overnight leader Mara Stransky was seventh in the first race. She and Mirthe Akkerman (NED), who both scored two bullets on the first day, remained neck-and-neck as Akkerman finished seventh in Yellow fleet. That race was won by Rio silver medallist Annalise Murphy (IRE) from Silvia Zennaro (ITA) and the first of the male sailors, Henry Otto of NSW.

With the wind continuing to vary in both strength and direction, the second race mixed up the leaderboard considerably. Race winners were Maxime Jonker (NED) and Pernelle Michon (FRA). Mara Stransky finished 14^th in Purple fleet while Mirthe Akkerman was 18^th in Yellow fleet. They could both discard these high numbers, and re-focus for the final race of the day.

With the weather still cold and overcast, Annalise Murphy decided she’d had enough. Suffering from a cold picked up on the flight to Australia, she decided the fifth race could become her drop too, preferring to get warm and dry, with her eyes fixed firmly on next month’s World Championships.

The final race didn’t go to plan for Mara Stransky, who dropped her tiller while rounding the bottom mark, impeded some starboard tackers and had to do penalty turns.

“It was going well until I decided to be an idiot,” she said with customary good humour. “It wasn’t the best day.”

The damage wasn’t terminal, with the Queenslander finishing that race in 12^th place, which leaves her fifth overall, 11 points behind Marit Bouwmeester.

Australia’s leading Radial sailor, Mara Stransky, had a day to forget at the Australian Laser Championships. Photo Jon West Photography.

Western Australian Stefan Elliott-Shircore leads the men’s fleet, in eighth place overall.

Laser 4.7

Conditions were tough for the young sailors in the 4.7 Class, but at the front of the fleet they were handling it well. Jonathon Lio from Singapore won all three races but Toby Coote from WA leads the regatta by three points after a consistent day where he scored two seconds and a third. Russell Yom has the same points as Lio, but is third on a countback.

Toby Coote leads the Laser 4.7 Class at the Australian Laser Championships at Sandringham. Photo Jon West Photography.

As is common in the less experienced fleets, there were a number of sailors black-flagged for being over the line at the start after a general recall at the first attempt to get a clear start.

The race committee has announced that they will try to get three races in tomorrow, to get the regatta back on course. Winds are forecast to be light, in the 6-10 knot range, and there is a chance of more showers. The temperature should be warmer, at 16-20 deg C.

Standard Rig Top 10

Radial Rig Top 10

4.7 Rig Top 10

Full results are available at http://sailingresults.net/?ID=80313