Rain, thunder, lightning and racing challenges

It was another wet start to the ASAF Asian Championship with overhead storm around the race track at the scheduled start time of 13:00 keeping fleets ashore as the Race Committee postponed racing to 15:00.

Patience was required from the Race Committee and teams, as everyone waited for an opening in the weather, which eventually delivered around 15:30. Racing got underway in the late afternoon in an 8-9 knot easterly breeze, increasing to 10-11 knots.
Again the weather and race track made sure there was no margin for error. First to start were the RS:X Men followed by RS:X Women, whilst, the Laser and Radial fleet waited for winds to settle in their course.

49er

Ganapathy KC/Varun Thakkar (IND) hold a slender lead over the Japanese and the Thailand teams going into race day three, but discards will come into play soon and it is anybody’s guess on the things to come.

“We ended up starting at the committee end of the line, and unfortunately we couldn’t recover,” said Ganapathy. “We felt like we sailed a good race, which was a positive, so hopefully we can just take forward the positives into tomorrow. Round the race course we were sailing really well, so are happy with what we did on the water.”

After a long day, Makino and Takahashi (JPN) have redeemed yesterday’s performance and leaped up the leaderboard from fifth to second.

“We managed to get off the line well and sail our own race,” sail Makino. “We were really happy with our performance and are now slowly trying to crawl our way back up to the top. It is really tight racing so it will be a long week for all,”

An upgrade from sixth going into the day to third at the end for Whitcraft brothers, Don and Dylan (THA) after a second place after a bullet in the first race of the day. 

“It was a long day with a lot of waiting, so you knew in the end there was going to be a race, so you had to be on it, and ready to go. We feel confident with our speed and feel confident with our sailing, and we enjoy it here,” said Don. “It’s challenging, but it’s a bit like sailing on a big lake with current.”

49erFX

It is early days, but Japan’s Matsunae and Harada marked their best ever opener and maintain a solid 2,1,1 scoreline. However, with just three races down, they are understandably cautious.

“It feels nice to be up there at the top,” smiled Masunae. “The three races have been fantastic and we just need to keep the momentum going and keep building on what we have. We seem to have great speed and are making good calls,” she added referring to their tactics around the track.

Climbs for some, drops for others, including India’s #1 team of Varsha/ Aishwarya, who fall a place after a DSQ.

Laser Men

Malaysia’s Khairulnizam Mohd Afendy leads the way in the Laser and is closely followed by Keerati Bualong (THA) and Shinnosuke Yasuda (JPN). 

Here though, the challenges of the race course are likely to leave the doors to the podium wide open to many teams right to the end.

“I had quite a good start, but we couldn’t get to the right side where I wanted, so ended up on the left. I managed to catch quite a few boats, and it was quite a horse race on the reach, so it was hard but I gained a few points and am happy with that,” Bualong said about his day.

Laser Radial

Kamolwan Chanyim (THA) has been rock steady for the past three years and focussed on winning that special ticket to Rio 2016 at the ASAF Championships and her performance was reflected in both the races, which she won with ease.

“It would be good to have a change at the top,” reflected Nur Shazrin Latif (MAS) in respect of Chanyim’s dominance, “but it is not just up to us. This regatta will be a test  and we have only had two races. It is going to be really, really open.

 “Its early days, so we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves,” chipped in Khairuneeta Afendy (MAS). “This is the first time in many years that we have spent a month preparing at the venue before an event, which is extremely helpful at a venue like this.”

RS:X Men

Michael Cheng of Hong Kong dominated the day, but was unlucky to be penalised in the first race. He more than made up by winning the second race with a comfortable margin. Cho Wonwoo (KOR) leads after two races and is closely followed by Natthaphong Phonoppharat and Ek Boonsawad, both from Thailand.

RS:X Women

Siripon Kaewduangngam (THA) leads after two races closely followed by Sin Lam Lo and Wai Yan Ngai both from Hong Kong.
“I am pretty pleased with the day. It’s been pretty tough with the thunderstorm out there and a lot going on, so getting good results on top of the chaotic conditions is really awesome,” said Siripon Kaewduangngam.

Racing starts at 12:00 on Wednesday, though the weather predictions do indicate another wet day.

Results – ac2016.asiansailing.org/index.php/results

Participating Nations
Teams from 21 Nations: Bahrain, China, Chinese Taipei, Cook Islands, Hong Kong, Germany, Great Britain, India, Indonesia, Iran,  Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Singapore, S Korea, Thailand and UAE.

Rio 2016 Olympic Qualification
Find out more about qualification for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and details of nations already qualified at www.sailing.org/olympics/rio2016

Useful Links
Championship Website – www.ac2016.asiansailing.org

Social Media
Asian Sailing Federation on Facebook will bring you regular updates at https://www.facebook.com/asiansailing
The  @ASAFUpdates Twitter account will be following the action throughout the Championship.