Half a day of waiting

Light winds continued at the Junior 470 World Championships

As the foundations of the leading positions of Israel and Spain started shivering yesterday, Steven LeFevre and Steven Krol (470 Men) from the Netherlands and Hannah Mills and Katrina Hughes (470 Women) from Great Britain managed to take first place in the Junior 470 World Championships for Men and Women’s crews after four days of racing.
 
Boats were kept in the boat park at the start of the day because of a lack of wind. Just like on day one, an eight to ten knot light breeze came up in the afternoon and got racing underway to continue both the Men's and Women’s events in the Junior World Championships with race seven and eight.
 
Men

Steven LeFevre and Steven Krol (NED), who fell from fourth to seventh overall after day three, now profited from a bad day for Lior Lavie and Yam Amir (ISR) and Berenger Balzeau and Mathieu Fountaine (FRA).
 
The Dutch men scored a consistent and secure fourth and third place in today’s races and now lead the Men’s 470 Gold fleet, only one point ahead on best performers of the day: Luca Dubbini and Roberto Dubbini (ITA) who finished in second and first place.
 
“We had a bad start in the first race and rounded the upper mark somewhere between 20 and 25. This could have been killing but you never give up because you never know what may come up. The wind dropped during the race. The Women’s and our fleet came together at the mark, and all the boats got packed up. We managed to get out of there quickly and took our advantage Race two started pretty well for us and especially downwind and in the reach we were pretty strong as usual. The low position of the mark on the reach was another advantage for us to make good speed and win positions.” LeFevre said.
 
On the remarkable changes of today within the top ten, LeFevre comments: “Now that we have got into the final series and you compete with the best in the Gold fleet, you need to concentrate more on what you’re doing and stay focused on what happens on the course. It’s harder to be, and stay on top.”
 
Women

Hannah Mills and Katrina Hughes ruled on this fourth day of the Women’s Championship in both races and took the overall lead.
 
“We had good starts in both races and a good boat speed upwind. There is a different pressure across the race course and we try to use that the best way we can within our strategy. In today’s first race, we were lucky that we had just rounded the mark before the men’s and women’s fleets came together.” Mills said.
 
Also Sweden’s Lisa Ericson and Astrid Gabriellson seemed to be able to maintain perfect boat speed and strategy, and followed the GBR girls over the finish line in both races.
 
Tara Pacheco and Berta Betnoz (ESP) see the lead that they built in days, slipping through their fingers in just a few hours. With a seventh and fourth place in today’s races, they maintain a second overall position with three points ahead of the girls from Sweden, and five points below Great Britain’s leaders.

Racing continues tomorrow in both the Men/Mixed and Women’s events of the 2008 Junior 470 World Championships. The Medal races of each event will take place on the 29th of July.

Results:

Men

1-NED 77 - Steven LEFEVRE and Steven KROL, 26.0 points
2-ITA 4 - Luca DUBBINI and Roberto DUBBINI, 27.0
3-ISR 9 - Lior LAVIE and Yam AMIR, 35.0
4-POL 52 - Tomasz JANUSZEWSKI and Marcin MICKIEWICZ, 36.0
5-POR 17 - Victor BERGSTROM and Marcus DACKHAMMER, 37.0

Women

1-GBR 835 - Hannah MILLS and Katrina HUGHES, 13.0
2-ESP 696 - Tara PACHECO and Berta BETAZOS, 18.0
3-SWE 33 - Lisa ERICSON and Astrid GABRIELSSON, 21.0
4-GER 51 - Annika BOCHMAN and Anika LORENZ, 30.0
5-AUS 352 - Stacey OMAY and Chelsea HALL, 30.0