Against the stunning backdrop of Ninepins, Bluff and the Clearwater Bay peninsula, today’s practice race for the 47th Etchells World Championships offered competitors completely different conditions to those enjoyed during the Asia Pacific Championships, with 18 to 20kts of northerly breeze throughout the day.
Principal Race Officer Kevin Wilson had promised sailors a few practice starts before allowing the race to run to the end – in the event, after one abandonment and three general recalls, Wilson finally got the fleet off under a black flag, with six over-eager boats recording a BFD.
In line with tradition, many competitors chose to peel away on the second run and head for home, rather than record a finish however Australian Graeme Taylor had no compunction about taking a gun for this warm up event.
Most boats got what they wanted out of the day, except perhaps those retiring with broken halyards and Hong Kong boat Reprobate which will be hoping that an overnight fiberglass service will be running at RHKYC to fix the sizeable hull hole sustained on the start line.
Racing gets underway on Monday 2 November, with the PRO intending to run two races back to back. The champion will be crowned after seven days of racing and/or nine races, with one discard on offer.
– RHKYC Media
