International One Metre World Championships in Gladstone, Australia - Day 2
by IOM Worlds 23 Oct 23:40 NZDT
20-28 October 2024
Day two of the IOM World Championships in Gladstone, Australia was almost an exact repeat of day one. Again, racing was delayed for several hours as the PRO waited for the breeze to move out of the West to North quadrant. At that angle the wind is offshore and it is not possible to set a course where the sailors can see along the start/finish line.
Once the wind did come in, it came from the North and hit in the low teens, the middle of A rig for the competitors. As the day went on, the wind climbed to the top of the A rig range and very marginal B rig. When top of the range for the A rig, the IOM loves to drive the nose down on a run, particularly if a gust hits and you are going slow.
The B rig experiment was unsuccessful for all bar Chuck Millican. The US sailor was well placed on the line when starting, with a big gust hitting right as the gun went, allowing him to step away from the fleet and then hang on till the end of the heat.
Overall, at the front of the fleet, there were several big movers. After 5 races with 1 drop counting, Zvonko Jelacic stepped up to be overall leader, posting 2 seconds and third. After a perfect day yesterday, Ian Vickers dropped to second with a 11, 9 and 1. Alexis Carre was also consistent, now sitting third overall. And the other big mover up the was Australia's Sean Wallis. He dropped his 37 from yesterday and posted a 7,1 and 4, moving him to fourth overall.
Unfortunately, there was a big downward slide for the defending champion, Olivier Cohen. He dropped to the B fleet and missed climbing out of it by a quarter of a boat length. His score for the day 13, 18 and 21. And he is now sitting thirteenth overall. Clear evidence of how tough it is in this fleet.
Again today, the action was intense. Sailing the IOM, the best are lightening quick with their reactions, but the risks are high and there are many incidents throughout the fleet. It is great to watch. All of the racing is been live streamed and you can view on Youtube. The link for the stream and results are all available at www.iomworlds.com