GB 49er duo maintain World Championship lead
Written by RYA | 27 September 2013
Fletcher and Sign hold on to overall lead, while fellow GB crews improve on day four of 49er and 49erFX Worlds in Marseille
Overnight leaders Dylan Fletcher and Alain Sign will hold on to their yellow jerseys for another day at the 49er World Championships in Marseille, where an increase in breeze shook up the fleets on the first day of semi-finals racing on Friday (27 September).
Reigning European Champions Fletcher and Sign endured a mixed day across their four races with a fourth and a third sandwiched between 10th and 15th place finishes on this fourth day of Championship racing for the men’s Olympic sailing skiff, held alongside the first ever World Championship for the new 49erFX women’s skiff introduced for Rio 2016.
While Fletcher and Sign had their overall lead narrowed to just two points, British Sailing teammates John Pink and Simon Wheeler enjoyed better fortunes, improving their overall standing to fifth from 15th heading in to the day.
Pink, who won World Championship silver in 2009 with ex-squad member Rick Peacock, and his 26-year-old crew Wheeler picked up three top five finished and a tenth from their four races, and admitted that improved race starts made the difference on this windier fourth day.
“We’ve had four slightly shorter races than we’re used to – four 20 minute races,” explained Pink after Friday’s racing. “We’ve been a bit average at starting for the last couple of days so we went out with the intention of just trying to get off the line [better].
“With these races being shorter it was quite important to be able to get off the line and make the first decision which I think we managed to do well a couple of times.
“A couple of times we didn’t, but we made the best of the situations we were in and I think it went alright!”
Pink, 30, and Wheeler have not had enjoyed the best run of regatta results this season – their best coming on home waters at the Sail for Gold Regatta at Weymouth and Portland in June – but the helmsman is confident that the duo are making great strides.
“It’s mine and Simon’s third World Championship together, but the first one where we’ve actually managed to get into the gold fleet. The other two we’d always thought we’d had the skills to get there but had never cut it,” the Fareham-based sailor explained.
“We’ve worked hard over this season. We’ve not had some of the best events leading up to this, but we’ve worked hard to try and keep improving at every event and day to day and I think we’ve managed that and have got ourselves quite a good routine. We’ll keep sticking to that and hopefully it will come good.
“We have another four races tomorrow and it’s due to be a bit breezier, so it will probably be quite quick firing!” said Pink looking ahead to the second day of semi-finals racing on Saturday.
“We’ve got to get out there with the right intensity and getting that first race away tomorrow will be important – making sure we know what the conditions are making sure we nail that. From thereon in we’ll just keep doing what we’ve been doing.
“We’re happy with whatever comes. We’ve been around a bit and have done enough racing in enough conditions that we’re happy with whatever it throws at us.” Two-time Olympians Stevie Morrison and Ben Rhodes, who won the world crown in 2007, also sit inside the top ten after their four races today, in eighth place overall.
Frances Peters and Nicola Groves are knocking on the door of the podium spots after day four of this inaugural World Championship for the women’s 49erFX.
The duo, who claimed European bronze together in July, sailed a steady four races including three top ten results to edge into overall fourth place, up from seventh, with two days of the regatta left to run.
The 22-year-old Peters described Friday as another testing day on the water, with the level of competition having now shifted up a gear.
“Because we’re in to the final series, it’s the top 20 boats rather than being in flights as we have been, so there’s a bit of a standard increase.
“Today it was really, really tight racing and was so hard if you got stuck at the leeward marks or windward marks. If you ended up in the pack, it was really, really hard to break free.”
The 24-year-old Groves says with plenty of racing still to come – including a weighty emphasis on the final medal race day – there’s no room for complacency.
“It’s just business as usual – we’ll see how we go. There’s a bit more breeze tomorrow but we’ll keep the same approach all the way through and see how we come out.
“We’re just going to take each day as it comes, and keep chipping away at it. Hopefully we’ll get into the top ten and into a position where we can medal and see what we can do in the last three double points medal races, because there’s a lot of points you could pick up on the last day there!”
Fellow British Sailing Team crews Charlotte Dobson-Sophie Ainsworth and Kate Macgregor-Mary Rook, will be going all out to improve on their overall 25th and 30th positions.
Racing is set to continue on Saturday 28 September, with the final medal races scheduled for Sunday 29 September.
For full regatta results and information visit
http://49er.org/2013-world-championships/
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