Breeze on at 29er Worlds

Kingston, ONT (July 31, 2014) – It was another windy day as the 29er World Championship began the final stage to determine the champions. As Gold Fleet and Silver Fleet were beginning their first race of the day, a rain cell rolled in. The rain was not here for long but left strong winds gusting up to 22 knots from the South-West.

Gold Fleet
With wind speed of 16-18knts, the Gold Fleet spread out during their first upwind leg. Fighting to get to the windward mark first was NZL Micah Wilkinson and Jack Rogers, and AUS Kurt Hansen and Harry Morton. AUS increased their speed on the downwind, passing NZL. AUS continued on to win the first race of the final series. NZL Wilkinson and Rogers were close behind finishing 2nd, with USA Zack Downing and Riley Gibbs in 3rd.

For the 2nd race of the final series, USA Downing and Gibbs lead the fleet through the race and finished 1st. ESP Tania Bonilla and Marc Chapon following close behind in 2nd and AUS Hansen and Morton in 3rd.

Race 3 of the day for Gold Fleet was led by NZL Wilkinson and Rogers until the second windward leg, when GBR Gillies Munro and Daniel Harris took the lead. Munro and Harris held their lead and finished first, NZL Wilkinson and Rogers 2nd. Unfortunately AUS Hansen and Morton were OCS during race 3 however they took the lead again and finished first in the final race. GBR Munro and Harris finished 2nd and ESP Bonilla and Chapon finished 3rd.

The day finished with GBR Gillies Munro and Daniel Harris in the lead overall, followed by AUS Jim Colley and Shaun Connor in 2nd and NZL Micah Wilkinson and Jack Rogers in 3rd. USA Zach Downing and Riley Gibbs started strong with a 3-1 but closed with a DNF-DNC and dropped to 11th.

Silver Fleet
Silver Fleet began the day with general recall with the U flag. For the second start the black flag was raised and a steady 15-17knts sent sailors on their way. By the time the top boats reached the windward mark the winds had increased to 20-22knts. GBR Ruth Allan and Alice Masterman were first to the mark with ARG Ignacio Varisco and Nicolas Peirano Prat, and USA Nicolas Muller and Ian Macdiarmid close behind. By the second windward mark USA Muller and Macdiarmid had passed GBR and ARG, and continued on to win the 1st race of the final series.

The second race of the day began with NZL James Wilson and Oscar Gunn in the lead, followed by USA Shane Riera and Wade Waddell in 2nd and in 3rd GER Max Stingele and Julius David. GER Stingele and David went on to pass USA and NZL to finish 1st. The 3rd race of the final series was lead and won by ARG Varisco and Peirano Prat with HKG Fredinand Heldman and Leonardo Giustniani in 2nd and USA Muller and Macdiarmid in 3rd. The 4th and final race of the day was led and won by USA Jacob Rosenburg and Rhodes Garner followed by ARG Ignacio Varisco and Nicolas Peirano Prat.

Bronze Fleet
Bronze Fleet`s first race began with a black flag start, followed by GBR Robert Morris and Anthony Lowther. B y the second windward mark GBR Morris and Lowther had taken off from the rest of the fleet and continued on to win the race. The second race began with GER Christian Schenk and Felix Reinbott with HKG Henry Salmon and Aymeric Gillard on their tail. HKG Salmon and Gillard caught GER Schenk and Reinbott, to finish 1st. The third and final race of the day was won by CAN Inie Corbeil and Florence Delhaes.

Schedule
The final series continues for the following two days. The award ceremonies will be held Saturday August 2nd at Portsmouth Olympic Harbour.

Event website – Current results