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Reporting: F18 Worlds Day Three Report
Day Three, Long Bach, California, Report by Jeremy Leonard
The Globaltech F18 Worlds in Long Beach, CA now in its 3rd day, has been one of those sailing events that people remember and talk about for a long time afterwards. The results from yesterday determined which sailors would be designated to sail in the Gold Fleet and which sailors would be sailing in the Silver. With over 120 boats registered, you can bet that the competition was fierce all over the track. The start of the first race for the Gold Fleet was one of the most aggressive, well-sailed starts that I’ve ever witnessed in sailboat racing. The fleet was tight, and just about every boat was exactly on the line as the gun fired. The caliber of sailing skill is extremely high here in Long Beach, just as you would expect at a Worlds event.
The wind has ranged from light, around 6 knots on the first day, to two epic days of perfect sailing conditions breeze in the high teens, sun, and a slight wind chop. The breeze has been in the range where one error can cause a spectacular wipe out. Sailor john Bauldry pitched his boat so violently, that the mast broke as it slammed the water. To make matters worse, as the boat tumbled, the mast caused a minor injury to one of the other boats sailing nearby. Luckily the injured crew is OK and recuperating well. Bauldry received a new mast, and with the help of many of his competitors, was able to get his boat back together and will be sailing tomorrow. There have been a handful of breakages, crashes and other damage that have been keeping the on-site fiberglass repair guys in work.
The Alamitos Bay Yacht Club has been an epic host to the madness that several hundred cat sailors can bring, and the RC has done a great job keeping the race courses together. The hospitality of the club combined with the sand, sun and weather, you really can’t go wrong.
On the racecourse in the Gold Fleet, the French team of Olivier Backes and Matthieu Vandame have kept their finishes handily in the top ten giving them a total of 24 points, which places them in the first position. With 28 points, Billy Besson and Jeremie Laguarrigue of Sweden hold second spot. In third, with a total of 37 points, are Mischa Heemskerk and Bastiaan Tentij from the Netherlands. Darren Bundock and Jeroen van Leeuwen round out the top four with 39 points.
For the Silver Fleet, John Hoag and Todd Christensen from the USA are in the first place with 187 total points. In the second spot with 212 points, fellow countrymen Guy Selsmeyer and JJ Johnson sit, one point ahead of Jeff Ledee and Vincent Jordil from France. In the fourth spot with 223 points are Ken and Eric Marshack.
The weather is supposed to hold, and we should see the same breeze that we’ve seen for the past two days. The media team has been hitting the information upload as hard as we can, with scheduled live-streamed shows, huge numbers of pics, and live tweeting with video and pictures from the racecourse. The media team is using the Globaltech F18 Worlds FaceBook page as their main outlet for information. Pics can be found here.
Daily Video Reports can be found here:
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Go check it out!
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