Great Britain and New Zealand took the bullets at the first day of racing at the ISAF Grade W Yngling World Championship in Miami, USA.
Biscayne Bay lived up to the reputation as one of the world's finest sailing waters with a wind of 14-16 knots, sunny skies and warm temperatures.
After a short delay the first race got underway and it was soon clear that it was difficult conditions with the shifts playing unequally over the course. The American team of
Sally BARKOW,
Carrie HOWE and
Debbie CAPOZZI paid excellent attention and led for a large part of the race before being overtaken towards the finish by defending World Champions
Sarah AYTON,
Sarah WEBB and
Pippa WILSON (GBR).
In the second race BARKOW's team were over the line early and had to turn back below the starting line. In race 2 the shifts were more durable which made it difficult to find passing lanes and the American team finished 14th. After successfully reading the rhythm of the shifts
Sharon FERRIS,
Raynor SMEAL and
Olivia POWRIE (NZL) won the race a boatlength in front of the 2007 European Champion
Ekaterina SKUDINA,
Diana KRUTSKIKH and
Natalia IVANOVA.
Defending World Champions AYTON, WEBB and WILSON top of the leaderboard after day one, following a first and a third place. FERRIES, SMEAL and POWRIE lie in second place, with the Australian team of
Krystal WEIR,
Karyn GOJNICH and
Angela FARRELL (AUS) an impressive third.
The racing continues with three races scheduled for Monday. After 10 scheduled races the Medal Race will take place on Friday.
Results -
click here
Yngling World Championship -
www.ussailing.org/olympics/ynglingworlds/index.asp