A Bag of Bullets for Burling

They’re not long back in the boat after their two-and-a-half year holiday in the America’s Cup and the Volvo Ocean Race, but Peter Burling and Blair Tuke are back at the top in the 49er after firing three bullets in a row today. “Nice day out,” smiled a typically straightforward Burling, checking carefully over every part of the rig after a testing outing for the 96-boat fleet.

It’s not that it was that windy, but the easterly breeze had kicked up some big waves in Weymouth Bay, offering plenty of opportunity for a high-speed pitchpole. The Antipodeans are muscling in on the European party, both Kiwis and Aussies enjoying the big breeze, big wave conditions. The only European team in the top four is Spain’s Diego Botin and Iago Lopez who were almost as dominant as the Kiwis in their third of the qualifying draw, scoring 2,1,1. “It’s so nice to be racing in good conditions again,” said Lopez. “Today was a great day for 49er sailing.”

The Spaniards are just a point off the Burling/Tuke lead, and just two points off the Spanish are the Aussie brothers Will and Sam Phillips who scored three second places behind the unstoppable Kiwis. “Got to be pretty happy with that,” said Will. “Still a long list of things to work on, but we’re getting there with our starting and boat speed was pretty solid.” His favourite bit of the day was the two-sail blast back across Portland Harbour, back in the relative safety and comfort of the flat water after the lumpy challenge of the Bay. 
Day 2 Racing Photos

Day 2 FX report

Day 2 Nacra 17 Report

Rio 2016 bronze medallists Erik Heil and Thomas Ploessel were fast out of the blocks in the morning, winning their first heat, but ran out of steam as the day progressed. “I was getting tired,” smiled Heil, sounding like a broken man. They pitchpoled in race two but recovered to a still respectable 10th place. “I was losing concentration because we were getting tired.” Then they capsized again in the final race of the afternoon, this time only managing an 18th. Even so, the Germans hold on to 7th place overall. 

Austria’s Benjamin Bildstein and David Hussl struggled in yesterday’s conditions but got their mojo back on day two, scores of 1,1,5 lifting them to 12th overall. Great Britain’s Chris Taylor and Sam Batten had just put together a good set of results – 7,4,9 – and were enjoying the ride back home across the harbour when their forestay snapped at the top terminal. “The rig dropped back but the boom sat on the leeward wing and sort of supported the mast until we had time to re-tie the kite halyard as a temporary forestay,” said Taylor. So no real harm done, and a big day’s sailing that has planted a big grin on the face of the 49er fleet.

Regatta information

Schedule:

Wednesday 8 May          1700                    Beach Clean

Monday 13 May              1055                    Qualifying Races

Tuesday 14 May              1055                    Qualifying Races

Wednesday 15 May        1055                    Qualifying Races

Thursday 16 May             1055                   Qualifying or Fleet Races

Friday 17 May                   1055                   Fleet Races

Saturday 18 May              1055                   Fleet Races

Sunday 19 May                 0955                   Fleet Races

1500                    Medal Races

TBC                      Prize giving

Photography:

49er and 49erFX: https://49er.org/event/2019-european-championship/#photos

Nacra 17: https://nacra17.org/events/2019-european-championship-2/#photos

Live Broadcast:

1. 49er Sailing – Gold Fleet Day 1 – 2019 Volvo European Championship

URL https://youtu.be/b3fsnwNGyqQ

<iframe width=”480″ height=”290″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/b3fsnwNGyqQ” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture” allowfullscreen></iframe>

2. 49er Sailing – Gold Fleet Day 2 – 2019 Volvo European Championship

URL https://youtu.be/7pxYk7L_Q54

<iframe width=”480″ height=”290″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/7pxYk7L_Q54” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture” allowfullscreen></iframe>

3. 49er Sailing – Gold Fleet Day 3 – 2019 Volvo European Championship

URL https://youtu.be/OGd_TQC3qEY

<iframe width=”480″ height=”290″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/OGd_TQC3qEY” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture” allowfullscreen></iframe>

4. 49er Sailing – Gold Fleet Day 4 – 2019 Volvo European Championship

URL https://youtu.be/rxrV_BLsZ_k

<iframe width=”480″ height=”290″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/rxrV_BLsZ_k” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture” allowfullscreen></iframe>

5. 49er Sailing – Medal Races – 2019 Volvo European Championship

URL https://youtu.be/XBxlZofvxPc

<iframe width=”480″ height=”290″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/XBxlZofvxPc” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture” allowfullscreen></iframe>

Highlights, Interviews & VNR:

  • Between May 16 and 19, Icarus Sports will be producing:
    • A daily two-minute highlights video
    • VNR and interviews for news
  • Footage can be downloaded from the Icarus portal – https://portal.icarus-sports.com/
  • Please contact Will Carson to request interviews

Results:

Results will be posted race by race, as they happen

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