2000 World Championships
Some Results (Unofficial)
ESP – Santiago Lopez-Vazquez – Javier De La Plaza
GER – Marcus Baur –
FIN – Thomas Johansson
DEN – Michael Hestbeck
AUS – Chris Nicholson
USA – Charlie Mackee
FRA – Audineau
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Daily Articles by Andy Budgen through Yachts and Yachting
Final Day
Again just a short message as we have had a full day what with racing and then packing the container. I also deserve a beer or two !!
Today again the breeze was from the same direction, although this time stronger than recently. This meant that the committee only got 3 of their 4 races in today. There were alot more boats ‘in the tide’ although I am happy to say Andy & I learnt the lessons of earlier in the week and kept the mast above water.
The Overall results changed a little as some boats struggled with breakages. McKees broke their rudder gantry & Sundby broke his mast. Again it was Lopez who shone overall to be the 49er 2000 World Champ. Marcus Baur sailed very well counting 5,3,1 to lift him to 2nd ahead of Thomas Johanson and Hestbeak. Nico was 5th, McKee 6th and Audineau 7th.
Barker won the British fleet in 10th, with Brotherton 11th and Richardson 12th. Robinson was 14th and we had a much better day to finish a dismal 19th. Today our pace was significantly better, & I suppose keeping the boat upright helped. The last race today was our second best result of the gold series, the best being the first race !!
Anyway thats about it from Mexico, Andy & I will be home on Sunday pm and our next regatta is the Olympic trials starting on the 17th April.
Off to the Bar !! Budgie.
Day 4
After all the protests & requests for redress Andy & I qualified 15th for the Gold fleet series.
A few days ago I suggested that a reasnable day was around 40pts. Well today we managed to accululate a grand total of 62pts in 4 races. If I also say that our first race today was a 4th, then you get some idea of just how bad the rest were. In all fairness we are in the gold fleet and keeping a low score is significantly harder, however we did have some shocking races.
Again today the wind started about 12kts and by the 4th race was probably up to about 15-18. To make you all feel better, it was also alot colder today.
The people who are coming out on form are Lopez the spanyard, who is leading, and Hestbeak who had 2 bullets today but is trailing Lopez by just a few points. Baur is also doing well in 3rd. McKees are 4th and Nico 5th. Unfortunately none of the brits had a great day, however Barker is 10th, Robinson 11th, Richardson 12th. We are 15th, but quite a few points behind and Brotherton 19th.
Today was a bit of a funny day with huge tidal variations across the course, making the right dominate most of the time. One thing for sure is that the racing in the gold fleet is definently a lot tighter, with boat speed crucial to any sort of success. Unfortunately this is one thing we were seriously lacking today at times, along with some bad mistakes including another ‘Splash’ in the last race (again sticking it down the mine on a gybe). If we don’t get any other prizes this week, we will certainly get the ‘Splash trophy’ !!
On the positive side, our starts were good & punchy, so we can’t put any blame on starting !!
Another 2 days & 8 races still to go, so as we all know too well anything can happen, however we need to start going a bit faster.
Budgie.
Day 3
BARKER AND HISCOCKS LEAD BRITISH 49er FLEET INTO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS
A succession of good starts supported by steady boathandling in the fresh 13 – 20 breeze secured Great Britain’s Ian Barker and Simon Hiscocks eighth position at the end of the qualifying phase of the 49er World Championships in Mexico yesterday.
Barker and Hiscocks will now lead the World Class Performance sailing squad into the 25 boat Gold fleet that will challenge for the world title. “I’m pleased the qualifying is over and that we have come through well. We’re now looking forward to getting down to business in the finals,” remarked Ian on coming ashore yesterday afternoon having added 4,2,8,7 to his scorecard.
The Budgen brothers put in what helmsman Andy described as an “average performance” not helped by a capsize on the start line in Race 10 when he fell out of the boat.
To compound their problems, the spinnaker halyard block detached from their mast on the final hoist. Despite these problems, their consistency over the first two days paid dividends as they easily make the Gold fleet cut in fifteenth.
A fourth and a second in the final two races from Alistair Richardson and Peter Greenhalgh, who represented Great Britain at the 1999 IBM Sydney Harbour Pre Olympic Regatta, was enough to elevate them inside the required top twenty five. “We have struggled to find our usual speed here, but it all returned this afternoon and it was great to sail straight past Chris Nicholson (Australia) on the way to the finish in the last race!” commented Alister.
Robinson & Elliott had the most to do. They claimed the penultimate place in the finals fleet in twenty fourth overall.
Results after Day Three (11 races):
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Day 2
Day 2 of the 2000 49er World Champs was Unreal! Once again Club Med hosted the 57 teams to another day of great racing. 3 races were sailed for both groups as the wild North Westely kicked hard and it became a litte too much for a 4th race. Eric Merganthaller and his team of Race Officers, Umpires, and shore team did a fantastic job making sure the racing was at the highest level and everyone was having a lot of fun!
A drifting mark led to a few redress hearings tonight but aside from that protests were at a minimum and good sailing in warm windy conditions made the day perfect.
Finlad and Spain both are on top with each country having two teams in the top 5. Germany grabbed the other top 5 spot with Chris Nicholson and Daniel Philips of Australia in 6th. Word on the street is they have also secured the Australian spot in the Olympic Games. A big jump by the American´s, Jonathan and Charlie McKee today after some great finishes.
Breakage was the word of the day with a few rudders, a centerboard or two and several masts as the high winds were too much of a challenge for some.
Tomorrow looks to be another fantastic day with the same winds lining up on the forecast. So, if your at home and it is snowing or raining, your 49er is in the shed and you are reading this, you’re missing out! 80 plus degree temperatures and a beautiful blue 64 degree Sea of Cortez with great winds! Don´t miss the next one… Hawaii or Brazil look to be the site of the 2001 world champs. adios from Guaymas, Mexico
Andy & Ian Budgen’s Report:
Eventually yesterday they did post overalls and Andy & I lay 10th. Today the races were sailed in a steadily building breeze which topped at about 20kts. The courses were set out in the waves which made for some good entertainment in the final race.
In our fleet today were Barker, Robinson, Brotherton, Nicholson, Baur, Lopez & Bruni amoung the rest. Race 1 started well for us, with after a good start on port, we led to the favoured right side of the beat and led to the top mark. We had a bit of a battle with Robinson & then Dimitiri, but held the lead to the finish. All of the British boats were high up in this race with Brotherton 3rd and Robinson 4th.
Race 2 was a similar affair tactically, however this time however we got trapped going left and by the time we got back to the right it was too late. we rounded the top mark in about 10th, which was were we finished. Baur won the race with Lopez 3rd & Barker 4th.
After waiting around for a while they eventually got race 3 underway in fresh conditions and waves. There were a number of boats Black flagged for one of our recalled starts (including Baur, Sundby & Barker), however after a request for redress they all either recieved the pos’n in the race which they illegallly sailed or average pts. We had a good beat to round in about 7th, passed a couple who capsized on the hoist, & then put it in ourselves on the final gybe to the bottom gate. Unfortunatley this was not to be the last as we managed a grand total of 4 before the finish. I think we must have been sailing round in bigger waves than everyone else as most seamed to cope ok! This race was won by Nico, which was his first win of the regatta.
Overalls are up… the Fins lead (Johanson), followed by Lopez, Baur, Hestbeak, Nico, Sundby & McKee. Brotherton is 10th after a good couple of days, with us 12, Barker 13th, Richardson 24th and Robinson 29th.
Had a hard day finding out that it is easier to sail around the course than swim, easy pts thrown away, but must look forward, still going well and last day of qualifying tomorrow, before the sserious stuff starts.
Bed time !! Budgie.
Day 1
As sailors awoke this morning here at Club Med in San Carlos, Mexico they were all ready to begin the final world championship leading up to the Olympic Games in Sydney. Covered in a thick fog, 57 teams from 25 nations rigged their boats on the sand beach preparing for a 9:30 first race. Like clockwork the fog burned off and the sun began to shine as everyone headed out to one of the two race courses.
Two races per group were sailed in a light 5-10 knot southerly wind. On the yellow course the Finsh team of Johanson and Jarvi dominated the morning with a 1,7 while on the orange course there were many teams with a good and a bad race making no clear leaders. With winds slowly dying the race committee sent everyone in for lunch.
The afternoon brought the sailors a beautiful Westerly sea breeze and they all headed out for two more races (4 races per day maximum). With a building breeze everyone was able to stretch their legs while fully double trapezing. Again the Fins Johanson and Jarvi came out on fire with a 2,3 but Germany´s Baur and Barth were on top with a 3,1.
Andy & Ian Budgen’s Report:
After Andy spending an hour in the sauna yesterday we completed registration and measurement in our selected weight band.
Due to the unpredictable weather, the scheduled start time this am was 09:30. Just as well this is 16:30 British time, as Andy & I are just about awake by then !!! We were a little dissapointed this morning as we awoke to fog and a cold breeze. This did burn off by about 10ish to allow 2 races for each group before lunch.
We started the day well with a 4th in the first race, which was sailed in a 5-8kt breeze. In our fleet today we had Nicholson, McKee, Audineau, Baur, Robinson, Barker, amoung the total 28 boats. I won’t go into detail of ever race, but this was the best race for us of the day. It was apparent that the results of both groups in the two races before lunch were very mixed & as usual it was just as easy to be at the back as at the front. The second race was sailed in even less wind and very unsettled.
In the 4 races today a number of boats have been scored OCS in one race or another. These include McKee when they won the 2nd race and Audineau in the 4th.
The 2 pm races were sailed in a much steadier breeze of about 10tks, although both courses were very favoured to one side. Our other results for the day were 11,9,11. Although this may not seam great, it is alot better than most, as some of the favourites have some high scores. Unfortunately no overall results have been posted (probably because they also think they are insignificant at this stage !!).
As Andy & I have decided under a 30pt day is pretty good, around 40pt OK and from 50pt down very average, so we are quite happy with day 1. We are well prepared, our boat speed is pretty good, although does still need work in some conditions, and we did make some tactical errors, but no-bodys perfect !!
Still early days, but a good start.
Cheers, Budgie
