Snakes And Ladders On Penultimate Day Of RS Feva Worlds

It was a day of snakes and ladders for most on a tricky penultimate race day at the RS Feva Worlds. The fleet was held ashore for an hour and a half whilst the gradient breeze flopped about and the seabreeze settled. It was a light 8kts that saw the Gold fleet set off.

By the second race the wind had increased to a lovely 12kts but then shifted 20 degrees right towards the end of the second Gold race but during the sequence for the second Silver. A postponement and course realignment later Silver and bronze got off.

By the end there had been many shifts and increases and decreases in pressure posing real challenges for the sailors. Top wind speed was probably about 14-15kts and bottom end was probably the 8kts for the days first race.

Whilst most suffered the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune the superb Piers Nicholls & Freddie Peters staged a monumental recovery to ping in a 5,2,3 day to go second overall. Given that they were ‘managing’ the regatta overall the equally impressive Harvey Martin & Bobby Hewitt stuck in an 8,1,4 to create a big advantage going in to the last day with only two more races to count and no more discards. Markus Lilienthal & Uko Rasmus Tideman from Estonia are the current bronze position holders but their daily score shows the real story – 17,4,16.

The points gap between fourth and tenth isn’t huge so there is still a lot to play for. Nikol Stankova & Vaclav Brabec lead the charge for the CZE team, followed by Bo v Wendel de Joode & Thies Verploeg (NED), James Hammett & Ben Todd (GBR), Willemijn & Manus Offerman (NED), Will & Matt Taylor (GBR) Simonas Jarsovas & Gabrielle Petraityte (LTU) Edward Norbury & Charlie Hutchings (GBR).

For the Ladies trophy Norway’s Caroline Heiberg & Marie Bordal have taken a grip but it is still very tight between Jessie Main & Poppy Gilks and Hannah & Maddie Bristow. In the Juniors Jack Lewis & Lucas Marshall have a good lead on Ben Batchelor & Erin Murphy and Jaroslav Cermak & Petr Kostal. In the family categorythe Offermans (NED have a slim four points over the Taylors with the Armstrongs not far away.

The Silver fleet currently ahs the tightest battle going on – one point separates the top three. The Cunliffe’s (GBR) from Jean Leo Touffet & Jade Saunier (FRA) and Tristan payne & Jake Carpenter (GBR)The bronze fleet saw the the weirdest coincidence of the event – big riser in the standings Roscoe Martin & Maddie Wylie had exactly the same scoreline in Bronze as big Brother to Roscoe, Harvey, had in the Gold fleet – 8,1,4. But the leaders are Martijn Jessurun & Nynke Nell (NED) from Thore Wagner & Lara Marie Liebherz and then the boys mentioned.

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