Aon Youth Worlds - Mixed day for Kiwi's on Day 2

by Yachting New Zealand on 17 Dec 2016 A day of mixed results for the NZL Yachting Trust Youth team followed a spectacular flyby from Emirates Team New Zealand's AC45 off Torbay this morning.

Hard to miss, the appearance of the bold red and black catamaran on the Hauraki Gulf came in a day which left most sailors scratching their heads for an explanation as to the 6-14 knots of gradient Southerly breeze they faced, which posed a direct contrast to the dying winds expected throughout the day.

“It was an unusual breeze direction, and not what we had predicted going out there, as it was light in the first race and picked up as well as getting shiftier towards the end of our second race,” commented Laser Radial sailor Olivia Christie.

Originally from Wellington, Christie is comfortable in the stronger winds and did well to place seventh in the second race following a 31st in the first race of the day.

“I had good starts in both of the races but the first one didn’t quite go my way. Getting out to the edges of the course and into clear air was pretty important to do well in the second one,” she says.

Christie wasn’t the only New Zealand sailor to have a mixed day however, with Nacra 15 pair Jackson Keon and Tom Fyfe describing their day as just that.

“Conditions were much softer than yesterday and the fleet was less spread out. Getting off the line and finding a clear lane was key,” says Keon.

Not as strong as the first day’s results, the boys placed 10, 7, 10 in todays’ racing after their third and second yesterday, along with a DSQ which they now discard to sit in fifth overall.

“It’s tight racing, but looking to tomorrow it’s about minimizing risks and doing the best we can. We’re hoping for a bit more breeze tomorrow too,” says Keon.

The boys are enjoying the new class which is making it’s debut this week at the youth worlds competition. “It’s pretty cool, they’re a bit different to what we’re used to training in an F18 but there are some similarities and we just have to get used to it in all conditions,” adds Keon.

New Zealand 29er boys pair Francesco Kayrouz and Oscar Gunn had a strong start to their day, enjoying their first race win and following it up with a fourth and an eighth. Key to the boy’s performance today was good speed and making the most of their opportunities, with their overall position bumping up to sixth.

29er sisters Kate and Greta Stewart have also climbed up the scoreboard to fourth overall following their placing’s of 7,6,4, across the racing today.

The first fleets to start racing tomorrow at 0955 are the RS:X Boys, 420 Boys, and 29er Boys.

NZL Yachting Trust Youth Team provisional results following the second day of the Aon Youth Sailing World Championship:

420 Boys
13th Josh Berry and Henry Haslett: 13,13, (14), 6

420 Girls
9th Courtney Reynolds-Smith and Brianna Reynolds-Smith: 6,4, (16) 12

29er Boys
6th Francesco Kayrouz and Oscar Gunn: (12),12,11, 1,4,8

29er Girls
4th Greta Stewart and Kate Stewart: (13),4,7,7,6,4

Nacra 15
5th Jackson Keon and Tom Fyfe: 3,(21DSQ), 2, 10,7,10

Laser Radial Boys
2nd George Gautrey: 6,2,4,(7)

Laser Radial Girls
14th Olivia Christie: 7,18, (31), 7

RS:X Boys:
6th Patrick Haybittle: 5,6,10, (11) 8,7.

As racing progresses over the next three days’ results can be viewed by clicking here

For details on how to follow the regatta click here

About the Youth Worlds

The Youth Worlds was first held in Sweden in 1971. The 2016 Youth Sailing World Championships in Auckland, New Zealand will be the 46th edition of the championship. More than 380 sailors from 66 nations sailing in more than 260 boats across nine disciplines will compete in New Zealand.

Past notable winners include American's Cup skippers, Chris Dickson (NZL), Russell Coutts (NZL), Dean Barker (NZL); Olympic medalists, Nathan Outteridge (AUS), Iain Jensen (AUS), Robert Scheidt (BRA), Amelie Lux (GER), Ben Ainslie (GBR), Iain Percy (GBR), Alessandra Sensini (ITA), Elise Rechichi (AUS), Dan Slater (NZL) and Tessa Parkinson (AUS); Volvo Ocean Race sailors like Stuart Bannatyne (NZL) and Richard Clarke (CAN). The most successful Youth World Champions are Great Britain's Sally Cuthbert and Poland's Zofia Klepacka having won four successive titles in the Laser II and Mistral respectively.

Australia is the current holder of the Nations Trophy, awarded annually to the top performing nation at the Youth Worlds. France is the most success nation through the history of the Championship, winning the Nations Trophy on a record eleven occasions and holding a record 76 medals: 28 gold, 30 silver and 18 bronze.