Again the windward marks on all courses were brought close inshore, which led to big shifts and big gusts going into the top of the racecourse. This is one of the facts that could well be turning this regatta into a very high scoring one, as all the top sailors drop results, and pile on the points.

Today there are two races scheduled for each fleet, the breeze is slightly less yesterday, and from the north, giving another day of challenging sailing. Races on all courses are due to start at midday local time and two races will be sailed.

One aspect of the event in Madeira is the presence of renowned coach Jim Saltonstall, who is here on behalf of the World Youth Sailing Trust to provide valuable feedback to every sailor here, this is Jim’s 25th Youth World’s, in 23 of which he was in charge of Team GBR.

Each evening, Jim is debriefing sailors on their day on the water, and yesterday evening, as well as a video debrief, talks on strategy, tuning, starting, rules and tactics, Jim reminded everyone what they have achieved just by being here. Every one of these athletes represent the best at what they do, and the names on the medals, will be the names to look out for at future world class and Olympic regattas.

Boys Single-handed – Laser
Alex STEELE (CAN) still leads the fleet after the two races sailed yesterday, although dropping to 16 place in race four, he succeeded in coming back confidently in race two to finish fifth and lead the results after day two. Eduardo COUTO (BRA) moves into second place today and takes his first set of top three stickers for the week, moving ahead of the young Croatian Tonki STIPANOVIC, after performing better on his second day on the water here in Madeira.

Only four points separate the top three medal positions in the Laser class and at this early stage in the regatta everything is to play for.

Girls Single-handed – Laser Radial
Krystal WIER (AUS) still leads the fleet after her blistering performance on day one followed by a solid one yesterday. Although not replicating her first day results of two first places she did manage to score a fifth and a seventh to consolidate her lead.

Scoring identical but reciprocated results on day two, Charlotte DOBSON (GBR) is in second place, some nine points behind Crystal at this stage, and with Cecilia CARRANZA winning race five yesterday and lying in third place overall, a clear pecking order is being formed by the results in the girls fleet.

Gea BARBIC (CRO), one of three sailors in this fleet funded by the ISAF Athlete Participation programme that includes, Merilli RANDMAA (EST) and Angela ALBELA (PUR), is still in fourth place in the championship and challenging the three leaders at every opportunity.

The jury is out in force on all courses policing rule 42 infringements and have given a number of yellow flag penalties so far in the racing. Judging has been described as ”strict but fair” and reflects the new standardisation of judging policy established by the ISAF Rule 42 working party recently.

Boys Double-handed – 420
Another high scoring championship looks on the cards for this fleet, outside of first place anyway. The Australian leaders after day two Nathan OUTTERIDGE & Ayden MENZIES, seem to be revelling tin the tricky conditions, and have a comfortable lead at the head of the results table. With three first place finishes on day one, they capitalised with a consistent second and third yesterday, going into day three with only eight points out of five races. The pair seem to have made an effortless transition from the 29er after their Gold medal at last year’s championship.

Loic Le BACQUER & Yannick PEDUZZI (FRA) are still in second after scoring creditable fourth and third place finishes, whilst the British pair had a difficult day yesterday and drop into fourth place, with Matija LONGIN & Ivan BARBAROSSA popping up into third place.

Girls Single-handed – 420
The Australian dominance of double handed sailing has been apparent for a while in the Olympic classes and is now filtering into the Youth World classes. Always thought of as a feeder boat for the 470, the 420 is a good breeding ground for the future in that class.

Elise RECHICHI & Rayshele MARTIN have, after two day’s racing, emulated their team mates performance of three firsts and a dominant position at the top of the leader board. They are good bets for a medal at this stage and hold a lead of 15 points over Team France in second place.

The Danish pair of Henriette KOCH & Lene SOMMER have leapfrogged Singapore into third place.

Boys Sailboard – Mistral
Event being ranked in the top 100 in the ISAF World Sailing Rankings is not a prequel to a Youth World Gold medal, but Argentine sailor Mariano BENITEZ is putting in the results to prove that he deserves his position in the Official Rankings for Olympic Classes. A second and a fifth on day two consolidated his lead in the Mistral.

Casper BOUMAN (NED) has dropped from second equal to third overall after his equal placed competitor WING Ho Yu (HKG) proved that there are other people on the track apart from Benitez, nailing both races yesterday to score to firsts.

Girls Boardsailing – Mistral
Zofia KLEPACKA (POL) continues to lead this small, but perfectly formed fleet with a good couple of wins yesterday. Showing that it will take something special to knock her off the top spot, she is earning valuable points for Poland’s assault on the Volvo Trophy for the overall best competing nation.

Second placed Flavia TARTAGLINI (ITA) has scored almost as consistently as Zofia, and now lies in second place with a second and four first place finishes.

So far in the championship we have had five races in each fleet. With good race management conditions for the experienced team every race has been started on time and gone to schedule. Over the six fleets there have been a grand total of 18 different race winners, with the boys single-handed fleet being hardest to call, each race having been won by a different sailor.

With her total dominance in the early stages of the regatta, Zofia KLEPACKA is the only race winner in the girls boardsailing.

As we look out, with a perfect view from the championship venue of Quinta do Lorde Yacht Club, on the race areas for the Lasers and 420’s, racing for the day is due to start. ISAF will bring you all the latest news and action, as it breaks.

Source: ISAF Secretariat