Epic Battles determine three World Titles
Auckland witnessed the climax of three tensely fought World Championships, where none of the victors had it easy… Challenging Auckland wind and waves played their part in determining the outcome of the Hyundai 49er, 49erFX & Nacra 17 World Championships. We have three winners, but anyone watching the groundbreaking live coverage will know that there […]
Tough Day for the Yellow GERseys
Some race analysis and video clips from the penultimate day of the Championships…. 49erFX Gold Race 1: A great pin end start by NED 1, who rounded the top mark behind POL 888. But then a horrible kite trawl for the reigning World Champions allowed the chasing pack to close in. On the second windward […]
Champions make vital moves before Super Sunday
The 49er and 49erFX both saw new regatta leaders heading into the final day of competition, while the Nacra 17 title race looks wide open… The breeze was a little softer than previous days, and at times extremely unpredictable and shifty. Yet somehow the class acts continue to prove that they’re still the class acts, […]
Going Deeper into a Difficult Day 4
Some deeper analysis of the tight racing in the 49er and 49erFX Gold Fleet competition on Day 4, the first day of the Finals… 49er Gold Race 1: In the light sea breeze the first race saw a clean start and the fleet split left and right. The right side of the course played marginally […]
Huge Scrap for the Gold Rush
The end of the Qualifying Series in any Olympic-class World Championship is always a fraught scramble to make it through to the Gold Fleet Finals. Scrape through to the final 25 and you live to fight another three days. Fail to make the cut – and the best you can finish is 26th overall. Add […]
Left is Best – Analysis of Day 2 Racing at the Worlds
The pin end of the line is proving a popular place to start, with the 49er and 49erFX race tracks of day two often yielding an advantage on the left-hand side. Despite the left paying, some of the race leaders at the bottom gate were still opting for the right-hand side, only to lose out […]
USA veteran finds her feet in the FX, and Austria 1 point ahead of Kiwi 49er legends
Day two of the 2019 Hyundai 49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 World Championships brought solid breezes across all courses, still with plenty of wind shift and surprise to keep the 400-odd competitors on their toes. After being held ashore on day one due to too much breeze, today was the first opportunity for the 49erFX […]
Germany emerge unscathed from a brutal opening day
Erik Heil and Thomas Ploessel opened day one of the World Championships with a stunningly consistent performance while some of the other big guns failed to fire. Two 49er races were completed after wild weather lashed the race areas off Auckland, New Zealand. With wind speeds up to 37 knots recorded on the race course […]
49erFX: Brazil win, but Dutch survive pressure to win ticket to Tokyo
Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze won the Open European Championships, the Olympic Champions from Brazil in a different class this week in Weymouth. The greater interest for the Medal Race was which of the chasing pack would succeed in taking the silver and bronze. There were six teams in contention for the minor medals, but […]
49erFX: Scandinavians deliver while the leaders falter
On the penultimate day of gold fleet racing, after a brief postponement the 49erFX gold were up first in the harbour course, to battle in the light winds for positioning going into the medal race. It was a day for the Scandinavians to shine, with the Danes having led from the left to round in […]