- 2007 29er World Championship
- January 25th, Day 5
4 races were held in Gold and Silver fleets with the maximum wind velocity of 12 knots down to 7 and intermittent rain. Puffy conditions threw the competitors curves on the course, keeping them on their toes. At the end of the day, Pepe Bettini and Matias Keller of ARG regained the lead with fellow countrymen Matias Gainza and Federico Vilambrosa in 2nd with Gonzalo Pollitzer and Jose Maria Diez (ARG) in 3rd. James Ellis and Rob Partridge GBR split the top 5 domination by the Argentines.
Americans Judge Ryan/Hans Henken are 20th and Max Fraser/Alex Bernal 25th.
In the silver fleet, Maria Agustina Torre and Franco Greggi of ARG are tied for first with Americans Emily Dellenbaugh and Briana Provancha. Nathalie Keller and Irina Hotz of Switzerland share 2nd with Robby Bisi and Manuel Garcia Diez of ARG.
Results are pending protest. More races are scheduled for Friday.
Full report to follow. Results: www.29er2007.cnsi.org.ar
-Jerelyn Biehl
- January 24th, Day 4 - Lay Day
The fleet took today off as a Lay Day, despite grumbling last night from many competitors who wanted to keep racing after being skunked by the wind gods on day 3.
Alex Bernal and Briana Provancha relaxing while waiting for wind yesteray.
- January 23rd, Day 3
No racing was held on Tuesday due to thunderstorms and unpredictable winds. The qualifying series is now complete and the competitors will be now be split into gold and silver fleets to begin the finals on Thursday. Wednesday is a designated layday with no sailing. The sailors will carry their qualifying position as their first race of their final series.
2 US teams are in the gold fleet: Judge Ryan/Hans Henken and Max Fraser/Alex Bernal.
-Jerelyn Biehl
- January 22nd, Day 2
With promises for more breeze, the sailors eagerly left the shore today. But they were again disappointed with 2 races in the 5-8 knot range, a wait as the wind dropped, and the last 2 races sailed in a building sea breeze with 10-12 knots.
Today’s winners were Matias Gainza and Federico Villambrosa who finished 6th in the 2006 World Championship, and the father/son team of German and Martin Billoch (ARG) with dad on the wire posting a 3-2-8-1 and moving them into 4th overall. Gainza/Villambrosa sailed flawlessly with a 5-3-1-2 keeping them atop the leader board.
Female skippers and teams that remain in the hunt include Adela Deschamps of Argentina, with crew 470 Olympian Juan de la Fuente in 7th, and the British duo of Sophie Wegelin and Sophie Ainsworth currently standing in 9th. Pepe Bettini and Matias Keller (ARG) remain in 2nd with Francsco Piccini and Santiago Deneri (ARG) in 3rd. Piccini/Deneri held a 7-1-1-9 in today’s racing.
Top North American sailors Judge Ryan and Hans Henken stand in 20th; Max Fraser and Alex Bernal in 24th; Emily Dellenbaugh & Briana Provancha in 30th; Ian Andrewes and Campbell Rivers in 42nd; Alain Huggler and Eric Aahkus 44th; and Michelle Strebel and Rachael Short in 48th.
More races are scheduled for tomorrow. Updated results available here.
-Jerelyn Biehl
- January 21st, Day 1
With a day of mixed conditions, two Argentine teams emerge as the leaders after 4 races in the qualifying series. Day 1 began in 6 knots of breeze with two separate courses for qualifying. The wind dropped during the first race, and then dropped below the class minimum of 4 knots after the race was complete. The RC waited with the sailors for 1 hour before it began to slowly fill. Race 2 began in 8 knots and slowly built to a nice 15 during race 4. Course B finished around 6:30 with Course A in about 45 minutes later.
With such different conditions, the light air teams were up near the top for the first 2 races while the heavier teams were flying during the last 2. Those who were able to excel in both conditions are near the top of the results board for day 1. Argentines Matias Gainza and Federico Villambrosa posted a 1-2-1-1 in the yellow/blue fleet while Pepe Bettini and Matias Keller posted a 1-2-3-1. They were leading race 2 and mistakenly left the course thinking they were over. Bow numbers were posted for those OCS and Pepe/Matias thought it was their sail number posted. But they realized their mistake, came back to the weather mark and finished 3rd in the race. At 8pm, the wind is now 22.
First start of the qualifying series. USA 129 (Emily Dellenbaugh and Briana Provancha) can be seen in the front row. Photo by Julian Bethwaite.
Judge Ryan and Hans Henken are the top US team standing in 18th posting a 3-4-15-20. Max Fraser and Alex Bernal follow in 23rd; Emily Dellenbaugh and Briana Provancha in 29th, Alain Huggler and Eric Aakhus 38th; Ian Andrewes and Campbell Rivers 43rd and Michelle Strebel and Rachael Short in 49th.
Max Fraser and Alex Bernal sailing downwind
Full results can be found at: www.29er2007.cnsi.org.ar as soon as the club posts them.
Mondays forecast is for 12-20 knots. The Rio de la Plata is extremely shallow (5 feet across the course) with short chop and the water the color of “café con leche’ due to the river’s influence and shallow depth.
-Jerelyn Biehl
