World Laser 4.7 Youth Championship 2007
Thu 27th December 2007 - Fri 4th January 2008
SOUTH AFRICA, Hermanus
4th January - Final day
The Laser 4.7 World Championship reached a nail biting climax on the final day at Hermanus, near Cape Town, South Africa. The south easterly wind from the previous day increased in strength overnight and was blowing 20 with gusts of 25 knots as the 115 sailors, all under 19 years old prepared to go afloat. For the lighter weight sailors they were concerned whether they could hold good overall placings in the strong winds and for the heavier sailors they were looking forward to the chance of improving their position. Their fate was temporarily decided when the Race Committee postponed the start and held the fleet ashore after measuring sustained gusts of 27 to 32 knots. 40 minutes later the wind had subsided back to it's earlier range and the fleet were called afloat for some exhilarating and tough sailing.
The gold fleet, sailing first, started at their second attempt and immediately attacked the left had side of the course. In a balanced upwind leg Luciano Hlunuda CRO led around the first mark closely followed by Lazaros Theodosiadis GRE, Baepi Pinna BRA and a tight chasing pack. The strong winds had already turned the tables on overnight leader, Andraz Gulic from Slovenia who struggled round in 50th place. Fellow lightweight Boris Bignoli ITA was also buried in the late twenties.
Theodosiadis caught a good gust on the downwind and flew past the Croatian leaving the rest of the fleet standing. By the time he got to the top of the second windward leg he was 75 seconds ahead of Filip Kobielski who had climbed from fifth place, George Kostomoiros GRE who had climbed from 7th and Pinna. Also now in the leader frame was overnight third placed Filip Matika CRO.
On the next downwind Theodosiadis extended further and cruised home to take the winning gun 2 minutes ahead of Kobielski and Kostomoiris. Matika and Pinna followed in 4th and 5th places. After ten races putting Bignoli and top of the leader board with Gulic 5 points behind as they were able to discard their 26th and 51st place finishes in the tenth race.
The danger to them both was clearly coming from Matika and Pinna if they continued to struggle in the fresh conditions. Either the Croatian or the Brazilian could take the title on the last race as only 3 points separated them.
Contrary to the first race the fleet took the right hand side of the course for the first leg of the second race of the day. At the first mark Kostomoiros rounded first ahead of the rapidly improving Utka Gonener from Turkey and the expected pair of Matika and Pinna. Bignoli was once again in the twenties with Gulic a little better than in his previous race in the forties. After another lap of downwind and upwind the leading 4 positions were unchanged. Gonener was still only a boat length behind Kostomoiros and Matika was covering Pinna's every move.
After a third downwind and windward leg there were no changes in the top three as they crossed the line. Local ace, Matthew Shaw had jumped a place to pass Pinna however the championship already belonged to the Croatian.
It was double celebration for the host country of the 2008 Laser 4.7 Worlds as Tajana Ganic's scores of 29 and 25 in the mixed fleet was just enough to give her a two advantage over Ewa Makowska from Poland and the youth women's world title.
Overall results Youth Men after 11 races and 2 discards:
1. Filip Matika CRO 54 pts
2. Baepi Pinna BRA 59 pts
3. Alexander Zimmermann PER 64 pts
4. Boris Bignoli ITA 65 pts
5. Jacob Bozic SLO 69 pts
6. Lazaros Theodosiados GRE 82 pts
7. Utku Gonener TUR 85 pts
8. Andraz Gulic SLO 89 pts
9. Matej Valic SLO 93 pts
10. Matthew Shaw RSA 99 pts
Overall results Youth Women after 11 races and 2 discards (points extracted from overall mixed gold fleet)
1. Tajana Gani CRO 195 pts
2. Ewa Makowska POL 197 pts
3. Lina Stock CRO 226 pts
4. Tiffany Brien IRL 244 pts
5. Matea Senkic CRO 245 pts
3rd January
After two days of frustrating wind at the 2007 Laser 4.7 World Championship in South Africa the first of the 2 days of finals racing saw a new south easterly wind direction and a good racing strength. Racing head to head for the first time the races was guaranteed to be close. In the 10 to 12 knot wind the fleet got a clean start. Although the port end was favoured, allowing Rafai Milczarczyk POL to port tack the fleet, most of the fleet started nearer the committee boat. Series leader, Andraz Gulic from Slovenia, chose the port end of the line and worked the left hand side of the course as did most of the fleet. However it was Martino Tortarolo ITA who led George Kostomoiris GRE round the first mark. Gulic rounded 16th while his closest rival, Alexander Zimmermann PER was 8th. The wind was oscillating through 15 degrees and coming through in puffs giving good overtaking opportunities and also the risk of a slide down the results list. While most of the race leaders worked the left to middle on the second windward leg the fleet was spread across the course. Half way up the leg there was a significant right hand shift that upset the leader board. Danilo Aragao from Brazil was the only one of the top six initial leaders to benefit moving up from sixth to take the lead. Gulic was on the right and pulled up to fourth. with third overall, Boris Bignoli ITA, in second. The eventual race winner was Travis Dow NZL who dropped out of the top six on the second windward leg but made a good recovery in the second half of the race. Gulic made the most of his good fortune to finish second ahead of Utki Gonener TUR and Bignoli with Zimmermann in 10th.
The wind increased to 12 to 14 knots for the second race. Gulic again chose the port end of the start but with a few more boats sniffing out the port bias on the line his start was poor. Halfway up the windward leg he was hard left in a group of 12 boats that had split away from the main fleet on the right of the course. When they came back together it was clear he had chosen the wrong side round the first mark around 30th. At the front sixth overall, Filip Matika CRO, rounded first ahead of Milczarczyk and Sharhar Jacob ISR. By the end of the second round Jacob had worked his way through to second with Gonener pulling up from 8th to 3rd. These 3 had a close race to the finish on the next round but with each closely watching the others they finished in the same order.
At the end of a challenging two race day Gulic still holds the overall lead by a slender two points. Bignoli has moved up to second with a fourth and a fifth race score. The best result of the day was Gonener's. His two third places moved him from 29th to 11th overall.
Two more finals races are scheduled for the last day of racing which if completed will allow a second discard. The south easterly is forecast to increase and can blow very strong!
Overall results after 7 races and one discard:
1. Andraz Gulic SLO 41 pts
2. Boris Bignoli ITA 43 pts
3. Filip Matika CRO 62 pts
4. Alexander Zimmermann PER 63 pts
5. Jacob Bozic SLO 69 pts
6. Matej Valic SLO 79 pts
7. B80 ptsaepi Pinna BRA
8. Matthew Shore RSA 81 pts
9. Jonathan Schopfer SUI 101 pts
10. Lazaros Theodosiados GRE 102 pts
2nd January 2008
As quick as the new year arrived summer and the wind has disappeared from the Cape Region of South Africa. At the Laser 4.7 World Championship the fleet waited on the shore for several hours and were then called afloat as a fickle wind arrived in the afternoon. Several attempts were made to start the yellow fleet but each time it was aborted as a result of a major shift in the wind direction or the wind dying. The Race Committee gave up trying to get a race at 1730.
The fleet is now split into gold and silver fleets for the last two days
Overall results after 7 races and one discard:
1. Andraz Gulic SLO 21 pts
2. Alexander Zimmermann PER 33 pts
3. Boris Bignoli ITA 34 pts
4. Matthew Shore RSA 35 pts
5. Jacob Bozic SLO 44 pts
6. Filip Matika CRO 46 pts
7. Matej Valic SLO 49 pts
8. Jonathan Schopfer SUI 53 pts
9. Lazaros Theodosiados GRE 62 pts
10. Luciano Hlanuda 65 pts
1st January 2008
Single race possible for delayed start after New Years Eve party.
With the competitors bringing in the New Year with an exuberant party complete with fireworks and a full dinner for some four hundred guests and competitors the racing start was delayed till 14H00, by the organizing committee, as it was the wind only materialized around 13H00.
The conditions prior to the start of the yellow fleet were light with wind that was swinging between 180 and 240 degree's which delayed the start to 14H40 when the wind settled down to 240 degrees allowing the race officer to set the course and start the racing for the day.
The yellow fleet�s first start continued the tradition started by the blue fleet in the 6th race of yesterday with a general recall. The AP was hoisted and the line reset. On the second start there was a general recall again under the black flag and competitors were black flagged for being OCS. It took four starts for the yellow fleet to get racing and French competitor took the fleet by surprise with a classic pin end start on port crossing the whole fleet who were bunching on the pin end. He had a good clear start and headed to the right hand side of the course which was not the favored side, he rounded around 15th at the top mark. The majority of the fleet headed to the left hand side which paid. On the downwind leg first was a Croatian competitor. Meanwhile the blue fleet were also battling with their starts having had a general and the Black Flag was flying.
On the yellow fleet's second beat again there was a split in the fleet with the majority of the fleet going left. The breeze had strengthened and was filling in from the left hand side of the course. Consequently those that went left benefited from the better breeze. On the third down wind leg current overall point�s leader was in the leading pack but the changing conditions had resulted in position shuffling. On the final beat the race leaders headed to the left hand side of the course in a distinct group of five. During the downwind leg of the yellow fleet the blue fleet finally got onto the race course, with a number of Black Flag Disqualifications (BFD's) reducing the fleet size.
For the yellow fleet on the finish line it was ITA 178472 Boris Bignoli who moved into third overall whith todays performance followed by RSA158277 Mathew Shaw currently 4th overall. The first girl finished well down the fleet and was CRO 177842 Lina Stock who finished 23.
In the blue fleet on the first down wind leg there was a fair split between the race leaders and the main chasing group. On the leg the race leader pulled ahead. At the bottom mark it was POL186837 Ewa Makowska, and the first girl followed by RUS 15111 Ivan Zotov the second girl around the mark was IRA 189050 Tiffany Brien. Conditions had gone more overcast and the breeze had continued to build with a short chop developing on the race course. POL 186837 Ewa Makowska did not fair as well and by the end of the second beat RUS 15111 Ivan Zotov had moved into first, with a small lead POL 186837 Ewa Makowskarounded the bottom mark for the second time in second and IRA 189050 Tiffany Brien retained her position in the fleet as well as position in the girls fleet as the second female around. RUS 15111 Ivan Zotov continued to lead and at the finish line it was RUS 15111 Ivan Zotov followed by POL 186837 Ewa Makowska Second.
The race officer went into start sequence with the yellow fleet while the blue fleet was on there final upwind leg however this was a general recall again followed by the AP as the blue fleet were on there way to the start line.
Once the course was clear the race officer attempted two more starts both which resulted in general recalls and collisions as the fleet bunched at the pin end. The race officer decided to postpone race 8 till tomorrow, due to the shifting wind direction.
A total of 19 BFD's were issued in race 7
Current Overall Positions
1st Andraz Gulic SLO 21 points
2nd Alexander Zimmerman PER 34 points
3rd Boris Bignoli ITA 34 Points
Girls Overall positions
1st Ewa Markowska POL (24th )
2nd Lina Stock CRO (43rd )
3rd Tajana Ganic CRO (47th)
31st December 2007
Challenging conditions provide good racing for the fleet with ups and downs for the fleet.
At 11am this morning the AP flag went up signalling a delay in the stat of the day's racing, this was due to the wind oscilatting on the course just prior to the start of the day's racing. The Race Officer Di HuttonSquire waited for the wind to settle and adjusted the course accordingly.
Racing got underway at 11H47 in a building wind, that peaked at around 16 knots before dying down in race 6. The left hand side of the course seemed to have a but more breeze. The yellow fleet had a general recall with the majority of the fleet reaching down the line. The fleet was black flagged and restarted without incident.
It seemed to be a day of general recalls as the blue fleet also had a general for their first start followed by a clear start, this was despite the congestion on the bridge boat end of the line.
In both fleets there was a split and in both cases the left hand side was the favoured side. Those the went right toward the club house ended up rounding in the middle of the fleet. Overall race leader SLO 174364 Andraz Gulic seemed to be having a good first beat in the blue fleet by going right however it was BRA and CRO who were 1st to the mark. The first girl at the top mark was RSA closely followed by CRO 174208 Matea Senkic and CRO 187074 Tajnana Ganic in second and third.
On the second down wind leg in the blue fleet the left hand side was definetly favoured with more breeze and those that sailed a higher course benefitted enabling CRO 187073 to pull ahead of the fleet. CRO 187073 was not able to hold onto his position on the second beat and by the third mark rounding there had been a further change in postions with POl 4566 in 1st followed by BRA6192 and NED 1623 THe first two girls were 5th and 13th round the mark they were CRO 4208 and CRO 7074 third was RSA 0041 On the final beat for the blue fleet, the fleet had spread out significantly in the building breeze and increasingly choppy conditions.
At the finish line it was RSA 158277 Mathew Shaw who is the first South African overall and lying 4th overall which is on a tie breaker between three boats who posted his best position of the regatta with a first followed by TUR 180251 Canberk Karahan and third was ITA 186287 David Bondi And in the blue fleet POL 174566 Poitr Ogrodnik currently lying 17th overall took 1st position followed by BRA 166192 Danilo Aragaro who is currently 60th overall and third CRO 187073 Filip Matika who is currently 9th overall.
RACE 6
In the second race of the day (race 6) the yellow fleet repeated their perfomance of the first race with a general and then a clear start. The Blue fleet seemed destined to do the same however they ended up doing seven starts in total with general recalls and an AP before finally getting onto the race course with an all clear as the yellow fleet was coming onto their final down wind leg.
On the first rounding of the bottom mark in he yellow fleet it was RUS 181491 Yan Chckh in the lead who held onto his lead to the finish, TUR 180251 Canberk Karahan who was not able to catch RUS 1814191 despite being hot on his heels and GRE 181562 Lazaros Theodosiadis who finished 12th, The girls TUR 184711 Cagla Donertas rounded in 14th with POL 186837 Ewa Makowska three places back at 19th third girl was RSA 160018 Emma Walker rounding around 21st. CRO 169854 Antea Kordic who connected with the mark and was penalised by the Jury who promptly did his penalty turn finished 22nd.
The yellow fleet's second beat was a technically challenging beat with the breeze going light and patch but constant in direction. Where competitors chose to tack and and which side they chose had large consequences, by the time the final yellow fleet's competitors had rounded the top mark the leaders in the yellow fleet were three quarters of the way down the course to the bottom gate.
In the end it was RUS 181491 Yan Chckh who took the win from TUR 180251 Canberk Karahan both of whom had a comfortable margin on third.
In the blue fleet those that came up the shore line benefitted from a good wind band and at the top mark it was FRA 169110 who had a poor rounding which enabled PER 182329 to take the inside track (See gallery for mark rounding) The breeze that had abaited slightly filled in for the rest of the Blue fleets race from the right hand side resulting in GRE 174373 Petros Hanazoglou capsizing and requiring assistance.
the final result for the blue fleet is first BRA 52116 Alexandre Alencastro who is currently 47th overall second was PER 182329 Alexander Zimmerman and third was Travus Dow NZL 191623.
Overall Results after six races is:
1st Andraz Gulic SLO 16pts Who posted his worst position in todays races of 18th in race 5. 2nd Alexander Zimmerman PER 26pts (up from 5th). 3rd JaKob Bozic 32pts (up from 6th). 4th is tied between Mathew Shaw RSA (who was 14th overall yseterday), Boris Bignoli ITA and Baepi Pinna BRA who was second yesterday one point behind the current race leader.
30th December 2007
Good steady wind provides good sailing with close raceing for day 2
Race 3 started ontime this morning with the yellow fleet with two OCS 179242 UAE a Frederic Jacobs and 187074 Tajana Ganic from CRO.
The Blue fleet's start was delayed by 5 minutes during this time the wind had increased slightly. The first start resulted in a general recall. The bridge put up the black flag and restarted the blue fleet with three OCS 186051 Mateus Carvalho from BRA and 185021 Tiago Morais from POR and 179881 Cem Selcuk from TUR.
The wind remained constant and steady in direction with a wind speed around 10 knots for the duration of the race, in the end it was CRO 189016 Marko Peresa who took first in the Yellow fleet and in the blue it was PER 182329 Alexander Zimmermann.
Raceing in both fleets was tight with mistakes at mark roundings costing competitors up to 15 places. A number of incidences occured on the leeward mark rounding including contact between boats and a competitor connecting with the mark
Total race time for the yellow fleet was just on 49 minutes and for the blue fleet it was just over 55 minutes
Race 4
The wind strength was building during the course of the morning and for the second race of the day it was in the region of 10 - 14 knots. Direction remained constant from the south west.
Due to the strengthening wind the windward mark was extended by 300 meters and also bouy number 2 was moved to windward. The finish boat was pulled back closer to bouy 2.
The yellow fleet start was delayed due to the blue fleet finishers coming down to the start area and being an obstruction on the race course. The yellow fleet started under the P flag with a general recall. This was due to the fleet reaching down the line to the left hand side of the course which was favoured. As a result there was significant bunching and collisions on the start. The first start resulted in a general followed by the black flag. The second start was a clear start with the on the water jury blowing at least one compettitor for infringement on the start line.
The blue fleet followed the yellow fleets starting practice by reaching down the line again bunching at the pin end. While the start was all clear a collision on the start line between GBR 17633 Daniel Wray coming in late on the leeward of the starters forcing them up and SUI 179111 Tim Waechter being closed out between his windward boats and GBR. Tim ended up against the pin end boat going backwards. The jury boat indicated an infrangement
Yellow fleet race four was won by SUI 184732 Jonathan Schopfer and in the blue fleet it was BRA Baepi Pinna currently second on points overall who dominated the fourth race.
Overall leader board after four races it is stil SLO 174364 Andraz Gulic who is just one point ahead of second place BRA Baepi Pinna 185098 In third is Jonathan Schopfer from SUI.
29th December 2007
Two Races sailed in light winds on first day.
After an intial postponement of race 1 in the morning of day 1 two races were sailed in the afternoon.
The yellow fleet was first off the mark but due to a windshift the race was recalled and after a short delay the race was reastarted.
The yelow fleet got off to a clean second start with only one OCS Danilo Arago from Brasil. At the top mark it was ITA 182954 Elisabetta Macchini who led the fleet by a good margin. However a very bad last beat by Elisabetta allowed Andraz Gulic through went on to win. Elisabetta slipped to 5th in the first race. Andraz Gulic went on to win both Race one and two and is the current overall points leader.
The blue fleet in the first race had a good start however at the first leward mark it was the Polish team that were dominataing the fleet. Due to the dying wind the blue fleet's race was shortened and they finished at the leeward gate.
The majority of the competitors returned to the shore while the Race Officers and crew stayed on the race course. A second race was called and the fleet headed out to the race course for the second race.
The Yellow fleet had a general recall and the fleet lined up again and got off to a clean start. The blue fleet had a clean start, the only OCS for the day Danilo Arago made up for some lost ground with a 20th in the second race.
The raceing was tight with congested roundings at the marks. There are a number of protest hearings that are underway.
28th December 2007
The practice race was cancelled due to light and variable winds shifting through 270 degrees. Once the sailors returned to shore a steady South Easterly wind arrived, hopefully this will remain for the next few days.
118 sailors from 6 continents and 25 countries arrived back on-shore to enjoy the opening ceremony and the traditional mixing of the waters.
The championships starts tomorrow with three races.