International One Metre World Championships in Gladstone, Australia - Day 1
by IOM Worlds 22 Oct 23:39 NZDT
20-28 October 2024
International One Metre World Championships in Gladstone, Australia Day 1 © IOM Worlds
Day one of the IOM World Championships was intense. It was a slow start, with an offshore breeze from the exact wrong angle for setting a course, delaying the start for 2 hours. At 11am the wind moved to the North and started to stabilise and the race officer called racing on.
Racing at the IOM Worlds is conducted under the HMS fleet racing system. The fleet is split into 5 different groups. One race is complete after all 5 fleets have sailed. In the first race the top fifth go to A fleet, the second fifth to B fleet and so on. Once into the second race, if you are in the top six you step up into the next fleet and don't count a score until you no longer step up.
Today we saw several sailors who ended up in E fleet after the first race, keep moving up by placing in the top 6, stepping into the next heat, placing into the top 6, stepping up until they made the B and C fleets. Into the A fleet were most of the favourites had placed themselves, the intensity was through the roof. Some aggressive starting and mark round caused a few pile ups and dragged some favourites down.
Two full races were completed plus part of the 3rd race - (C,D and E fleet). So at the end of the day, counting only two races, the best placed are Ian Vickers from NZ with two firsts. He is at his 7th World Championships, but has never yet won a Worlds. His best place being 3rd in 2019. The next 3 places are French sailors with Olivier Cohen, the defending World Champion in second with a 2nd and 4th. Alexis Carre third with a 5th and 2nd and Patrice Montero fourth with a 3rd and a 5th.
Zvonko Jelacic, Ante Kovacevic both from Croatia, Steve Landau of the USA, and Paolo Cappa of Italy, each won their first heats, but suffered in the carnage that was the A fleet heat in the second race, finishing 14th, 16th, 18th, and 19th respectively.
Overall, Day one delivered. We had intensity, shifty racing and an extremely positive response to the live stream of racing that you can view on Youtube. The link for the stream and results are all available at www.iomworlds.com