Darwin Escapes 2019 J/70 World Championships at Royal Torbay Yacht Club - Day 4
by Louay Habib 6 Sep 2019 16:21 NZST
2-6 September 2019
The penultimate day of the Darwin Escapes 2019 J/70 World Championships was blessed with beautiful conditions in Tor Bay. With the breeze coming from the land once again, shifts and puffs of breeze made for tricky conditions with snakes and ladders right across the race course. Three windward leeward races were held in a shifting northerly breeze oscillating 45 degrees, the mean wind speed was about 12 knots with occasional 20 knot gusts.
In the Open Class, Paul Ward (GBR) Eat,Sleep,J,Repeat retains the lead having scored a 6-8-30 today. However, Pichu Torcida (ESP) racing Noticia, has shortened their odds on winning the worlds posting an 11-9-11, finishing the day just four points off the lead. Realistically these two teams will battle for the Open World Championship in a double-header of racing tomorrow. Still in with a chance of winning the title are Alberto Rossi (ITA) Enfant Terrible, Joel Ronning (USA) Catapult, and Claudia Rossi (ITA).
In the Corinthian Class, Doug Struth (GBR) racing DSP has regained the lead but only just, Denis Cherevatenko (RUS) racing Joyfull had a great day on the water and move up to second just 4 points off the lead. Yesterday's leader King & Wilson Soak Racing (IRL) drop to third after three mid-fleet finishes. There were race wins today for Reg Lord (AUS) racing Juno, Enfant Terrible, and Luis Bugallo (ESP) Mar Naturna.
Quotes from the Boats
Luis Bugallo (ESP) Mar Naturna
2018 J/70 Corinthian World Champion
"Today the conditions were a bit easier, especially as there was less chop but it was still difficult to work out which way to go. This is a difficult place to sail but it is the same for everybody. We are looking forward to the last day of the regatta, we have a lot of teams in front of us but we are a young team looking to improve, and just like every day, tomorrow there will be lessons that we can learn."
Tom Grimes (AUS) Juno
2019 Youth Match Racing World Champion
"Today the shifts were shorter and more manageable and we had a much more enjoyable day. We just have to keep it together and avoid any big mistakes. It is a really big thing for us to come and race here, as we only have a few J/70s in Sydney Harbour, so to shake it up with this big competitive fleet is a lot of fun. Tor Bay is a lot like racing on Lake Macquarie where a lot of the crew grew up sailing."
Ludovico Fassitelli (MON) Junda-Banca del Sempione
"We scored two podiums today so that was really good, Tor Bay is a big surprise for us, we were expecting big ocean waves but this is like sailing on a beautiful lake with very strong winds! We are in sixth position and tomorrow we want to stay in there and maybe get up the leaderboard. To race in this beautiful place with 80 boats is great, and we expect to have all of these boats in Monaco 2021for the J/70 World Championship."
Racing at the Darwin Escapes 2019 J/70 World Championship will conclude tomorrow Friday 6th September with two races scheduled to decide the 2019 Open and Corinthian J/70 World Champions. Race Officer Stuart Childerley is expecting a return to big conditions with the potential for over 20 knots in Tor Bay.
The Darwin Escapes 2019 J/70 World Championships, hosted by the Royal Torbay Yacht Club, up to the minute coverage as the drama unfolds at www.facebook.com/j70uk
Darwin Escapes 2019 J/70 Worlds Website: www.j70worlds2019.com
Full results can be found here.
J/70 teams from all over the world are competing at the Darwin Escapes 2019 J/70 World Championships: Argentina, Australia, Bulgaria, Brazil, Cayman Islands, Cyprus, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Malta, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United States of America.