Waiting game at World Cup Series Genoa

Genoa, Italy (April 16, 2019) – The second day of racing at Hempel World Cup Series Genoa was hit with light wind that limited qualifying racing today for the eight Olympic classes in attendance.

After the 49er, 49erFX, and Nacra 17 fleets got underway yesterday, the Men’s and Women’s 470, Laser, Laser Radial, and Finn joined in today but the weather had other ideas. Across the 676 registered sailors from 58 nations, only the 49erFX blue fleet were able to complete a race alongside the Lasers.

The Laser fleet got racing underway in 5-6 knots immediately in front of the venue, Fiera di Genova, after a long morning wait for wind. Croatia’s Tonci Stipanovic, sailing in the blue fleet, took a convincing victory and was full of praise for the race officials immediately ashore after racing.

“Compared to events I’ve been to recently, we had a Race Officer who could understand what was happening to the wind. He was changing the course nearly on every leg and the mark was always in the right place.

“Some Race Officers are always pushing and they don’t want to wait or cancel the race if it’s unfair conditions. It’s a hard job but I like it when the Race Officer can feel what is happening and makes the right decisions.

“I’m going home happy today because we always knew what was happening and he was not pushing. He waited for wind and we had a fair race. I’ve always said, if I’m leading the race and it’s not fair I would be more than happy for the Race Officer to cancel the race and win a fair one instead.”

Stipanovic did indeed win a fair race in very challenging light conditions. He was followed by Dutch racer Duko Bos and Australia’s Luke Elliott.

Norway’s Hermann Tomasgaard also enjoyed the racing in the Laser yellow fleet, snapping up the victory ahead of Sergey Komissarov (RUS) and Stefano Peschiera (PER). The Norwegian comes into Genoa off the back of an exceptional performance in Miami where he controlled the fleet and clinched gold with a day to spare.

He finished sixth at the recent Princesa Sofia Regatta in Palma, Mallorca and is aiming to recapture his Miami form.

“My starts were good in Miami but I had a tough time in Palma,” commented Tomasgaard. “They were not as good and today’s start was not perfect either. It’s difficult to say where it went wrong but if you’re a second late it can make a huge difference. I’ve not been as on it recently.

“Racing is the best practice for the start. Once you make the acceleration you’ve got to go for it and go full speed.”

Although he suffered a tough start, there was no issue with Tomasgaard’s performance throughout the rest of the race. He moved up from seventh at the first mark to clinch the victory. “In the beginning I thought I was going to get caught in the middle like you often do in light wind but the group of us found pressure and moved forward.”

After one race, Stipanovic and Tomasgaard share the lead.

Denmark’s Ida Marie Baad Nielsen and Marie Thusgaard Olsen claimed the blue fleet victory. The result has not yet been applied to the overall leaderboard as the 49erFX yellow fleet need to complete their third race of the series.

The Danes sealed the single 49erFX race in a 3-5 knot breeze, finishing ahead of Italy’s Carlotta Omari and Matilda Distefano and Spain’s Tamara Echegoyen and Paul Barcelo Martin.

Competitors in the Men’s and Women’s 470, 49er, Finn and Nacra 17 remained ashore all day and did not race. The Laser Radial fleet briefly took to the water but conditions were not deemed appropriate.

Racing is scheduled to resume tomorrow for the 49er, 49erFX, Laser, and Nacra 17 at 11:00. The remaining fleets all have an additional race scheduled as they aim to catch up on races missed today.

Nearly 680 sailors representing 58 nations are competing at Hempel World Cup Series Genoa which is hosting eight of the 10 Olympic events. The 49er, 49erFX, and Nacra 17 fleets are racing on April 15-20 while the Men’s and Women’s 470, Laser, Laser Radial, and Finn are on April 16-21. Medal Races on the 20th and 21st will be streamed live … see below.

Event details – Results – Facebook

North American Results (Canada, Mexico, and USA):
Top ten or top position
• 49er Men (2 races): 28th Harry Melges/ Finn Rowe (USA).
• 49erFX Women: Incomplete – some teams have two races while others have three races.
• Nacra 17 Mixed: Incomplete – some teams have one race while others have two races.
• Laser Men (1 race): 45th Robert Davis (CAN)

North American Entries (Canada, Mexico, and USA):
• 470 Men: Stuart McNay/ David Hughes, Trevor Bornarth/ Trevor Davis (USA).
• 470 Women: Nikole Barnes/ Lara Dallman-Weiss, Atlantic Brugman/ Nora Brugman, Emily Bornarth/ Laura Slovensky (USA).
• 49er Men: Nevin Snow/ Dane Wilson, Harry Melges/ Finn Rowe, Judge Ryan/ Hans Henken, Andrew Mollerus/ Ian MacDiarmid, Ian Barrows/ Mitchell Kiss (USA).
• 49erFX Women: Stephanie Roble/ Margaret Shea, Paris Henken/ Anna Tobias (USA).
• Laser Men: Robert Davis, Justin Norton, Luke Ruitenberg, Hugh Macrae (CAN); Marek Zaleski, Malcolm Lamphere, Henry Marshall, Paul Didham (USA).
• Laser Radial Women: Isabella-Anna Bertold, Maura Dewey (CAN); Hanne Weaver (USA).
• Nacra 17 Mixed: Riley Gibbs/ Anna Weis, Ravi Parent/ Caroline Atwood, Sarah Newberry/ David Liebenberg (USA).
• Finn Men: No entries

Saturday Medal Races – April 20 – Nacra 17, 49er and 49erFX:

Sunday Medal Races – April 21 – 470, Finn, Laser, Laser Radial:

The World Cup Series is an annual circuit of Olympic sailing for elite and professional sailors, and a key touchpoint for fans and media to connect to the sport of sailing and develop support for athletes on their road to Tokyo 2020 Olympics and beyond. Over 2,000 of the world’s leading sailors, representing 75 nations, have competed in the World Cup Series since its inception in 2008.

2018-19 World Cup Series
Enoshima Round: 9-16 September 2018
Miami Round: 27 January-3 February 2019
Genoa Round: 15-21 April 2019
Marseille Final: 2-9 June 2019

Source: World Sailing