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Another day for the heavy weather sailors

By

Carl Smit Mike Holt
Top of the leaderboard in the 60th SAP 5O5 World Championships on 6 points are Carl Smit and Mike Holt. Image: Alan Straton

Port Elizabeth, 30 March 2015 – Two races were sailed on the third day of the 60th SAP 5O5 World Championships bringing the total sailed to 5 in the series and with a discard kicking in the results just got interesting.

Sailors sailed an average of 40 kilometers on course today and will be looking forward to the lay day break to-morrow with racing to resume on Wednesday which is expected to present Port Elizabeth’s famous west wind of over 20 knots which will make for fast and flat sailing.

In the first race Ian Pennel and Johannes Tellen were dominant. Starting in 11 knots of east breeze the first leg saw many first position changes between Pinnell and Tellen with the boats of Quirk and Payne, Higgins and Marsh. But, it was the British pairing of Ian Pinnell and Johannes Tellen who rounded the top mark first and remained dominant throughout the race to finish first.

Top of the leaderboard and pathfinder for Race 4, Mike Holt, sailed on the non favoured side and had a lot of catching up to do – something which he could only do when the wind started increasing in intensity to the 15 knot mark on Leg 4 of this 11 leg race, eventually finishing in number 3 spot behind Australians Sandy Higgens and Paul Marsh.

Howard Hamlin who, along with help from local sailors Jim Foot and Andrew Blaine put in 200 man hours earlier last week to get his bare boat ready to sail in these World Championships made a welcome return to form with a decent top 10 finish in 6th place in Race 4.

The SAP Sailing Analtytics revealed some interesting statistics around the Top 3 finishers in Race 4:

  1. Ian Pinnell and Johannes Tellen sailed 18 876 metres at an average speed of 8.85 knots
  2. Sandy Higgens and Paul Marsh sailed 18 628 metres at an average speed of 8.73 knots
  3. Mike Holt and Carl Smit sailed 19 202 metres at an average of 9.07 knots
  • The South African boat with the highest average speed was that of Tina Plattner and Daniel Shelton at 8.49 knots
  • The boat that sailed the furthest was that of Roger and Nigel Deane from Great Britain at 19 998 metres.

Race 5 was sailed in a rising east which topped out at 21 knots in the final leg – conditions well suited to current World Champions, Mike Holt and Carl Smit who sailed to their third bullet of the regatta to retain top spot on the leaderboard.

Sailing stats from Race 5’s Top 3 finishers reveals:

  1. Mike Holt and Carl Smit sailed 20 743 metres at an average of 9.95 knots
  2. Ian Pinnell and Johannes Tellen sailed 20 280 metres at an average speed of 9.55 knots
  3. Ted Conrads and Brian Haines sailed 20 928 metres at an average speed of 9.82 knots
  • The South African boat with the highest average speed was that of the Funke brothers – Peter and Thomas at 9.34 knots
  • The boat that sailed the furthest was that of Bronwen Klaas and Aron Tellen from South Africa at 19 998 metres.

Sailing is a delicate balancing act between boat speed, distance and the least number of tacks and gybes.

The youngest team sailing in the World Championships is the South African Team of Jonathan Ham (17) and Micaela Robinson (14) are currently lying in 31st place overall.

At the end of Race 5 with one discard the Top 3 overall are:

  1. Mike Holt and Carl Smit – USA on 6 points
  2. Ian Pinnell and Johannes Tellen – GBR on 9 points
  3. Michael Quirk and Luke Payne – AUS on 12 points

The Top 3 South Africans overall are:

  • Peter and Thomas Funke on 31 points in 7th place
  • James Largier and Richard Hutton-Squire on 43 points in 12th place
  • Ricky and Brennan Robinson on 44 points in 13th place
Richard Hutton-Squire and James Largier
Team SA members Richard Hutton-Squire and James Largier. James’ mother, Di, is the Principal Race Officer. Image: Alan Straton
Brennan and Ricky Robinson
Team SA brothers Brennan and Ricky Robinson are in 13th place in this their first 5O5 World Championships. Image: Alan Straton
David Shelton Tina Plattner
Team SA members David Shelton and Tina Plattner in 15th place overall after 5 races. Image: Alan Straton
Jonathan Ham Micaela Robinson
The youngest competitors in this World Championships – Jonathan Ham (17) and Micaela Robinson (14) are lying 31st after 5 races. Image: Alan Straton
Peter Thomas Funke
Team SA leaders Peter and Thomas Funke. Image: Alan Straton
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Alan Straton

Chief Cook, Bottle Washer and Broom Mechanic at MyPE
Passionate about Port Elizabeth and definitely NOT packing for Perth. Alan's ethos is epitomised in the words of Nelson Mandela; "I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the idea of a democratic and free society. If need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die." See more articles by Alan.