Home win on the cards?

New Zealanders lead both fleets as 420 Worlds enter gold fleet stage

New Zealand continues to dominate at the 420 World Championships 2007 being sailed off Takapuna Boating Club in Auckland.

Carl Evans and Peter Burling are the top qualifiers at the conclusion of the Open division qualifying series. Simon Cooke and Scott Illingworth (NZL) qualify in second with New Zealand holding seven of the top ten spots.

Overall results after today’s (Thursday) racing for the Open division has determined the gold and silver fleets for the finals series, which commences when racing resumes on Saturday. The top half of the fleet becomes the gold fleet and will sail together from Saturday starting the finals series with their qualification placing counting as one race on the leader board. The second half becomes the silver fleet.

Jo Aleh and Olivia Powrie (NZL) have today established a ten point lead in the Women’s division. Two 3rd places for Aleh and Powrie today bring their point-score total to nine points; the Auckland pair has not yet finished outside the top three.

New Zealand also holds second place in the Women’s division with Sarah Bilkey and Rosie Sargisson having another solid day on the water. They are ten points behind the leaders on 19 points two days into the six day regatta. De Giacomo and Lardani of Italy are in third place on 39 points.

Race one got underway on schedule in a northerly breeze of 7-10 knots in great contrast to yesterday’s blustery south westerlies. However by the end of the first race, the wind turned and a south westerly developed and increased during the afternoon and reaching 15 knots at times.

Racing resumes on Saturday after a lay day on Friday.

420 World Championships 2007

1st NZL Carl Evans Peter Burling – 9 points
2nd NZL Simon Cooke Scott Illingworth 11 points
3rd NZL Derek Scott Jamie Hunt 16 points
4th NZL Swanson Bruce Kennedy – 19 points
5th BRA Marcos Adler Bruno Faria - 24 points
6th NZL Mike Snow-Hansen Joshua McCormack – 30 points
7th AUS Sam Kivell Max Taylor – 30 points
8th GER Ferdinand Gerz Bastian Henning – 31 points
9th NZL Alistair Thompson Jason Saunders – 31 points
10th NZL Andy Maloney Blair Tuke - 38 points

Women’s Division Preliminary Results
Top Ten after Day Two

1st NZL Jo Aleh & Olivia Powrie – 9 points
2nd NZL Sarah Bilkey & Rosie Sargisson - 19 points
3rd ITA Eugenia De Giacomo & Lisa Lardani - 39 points
4th GER Imke Brockerhoff & Hannah Schwich - 50 points
5th FRA Anaïs Gaboriau & Zoë De Kerangat – 63 points
6th NZL Sarah Berry & Emma Berry - 65 points
7th NZL Shelley Hesson & Bianca Barbarich-Bacher – 66 points
8th FRA Marina Laulanet & Mathilde Gayon – 66 points
9th GER Tina Lutz & Lisa Frisch – 71 points
10th ITA Benedetta Danti & Elisa Cecconi – 71 points