Paul Mckenzie and Philip Toth finished 33rd from a fleet of 86 boats at the International Star Class World Championships in Varberg Sweden.
The week didn't start well for the team, with car problems on the way from France up to Sweden resulting in three days at the mechanics in Kassel, Germany. That meant no training in Varberg before the event! On top of that, they were forced to use their older mainsail for race 1, after the “best” sail hooked on a pylon and ripped leaving the harbour.
However after a tough week the pair scored a 7th in the final race and moved up the results to 33rd and 16th nation. McKenzie said: “This was our first Star regatta with over 50 boats, which changes the game considerably. Starting was extremely difficult and our preparation wasn't ideal, but we fought on and finish strongly with a 7th in the final race.
“The overall result is in line with pre-season expectations and demonstrates we now own a regular place inside the top half of the fleet even at World level. Starting in big fleets now seems to be the main obstacle to better results”.
This was Philip Toth's best result at a major international championship to date. Toth said: “It was just a matter of getting a good start and sailing clear to the right side of the course where the current always appeared favourable. Things worked out perfectly and we were able to move through the fleet to finish 7th”.
The next event on the calendar is the final Sailing World Cup event in Weymouth England in early September.
