EVENT REPORT - by Richard Knight

2010 Laser 4.7 Worlds Championships 1 to 8 April, Pattaya, Thailand

Hong Kong sailors participating
Jamin Early (14) RHKYC
Campbell Manzoni (14) RHKYC
Lilly Manzoni (16) RHKYC
Lars Schkade (16) RHKYC
James Johnston (12) HHYC & RHKYC
Nagisa Sakai (16) HHYC
Goncalo Cavaleiro de Ferreira (16) ABC 

Photo Gallery www.facebook.com/RHKYC

About the Championships
The World Youth Laser 4.7 Championship 2010 is open to entrants between 12 and 18 years of age.

In all, the event has attracted 119 entries:-

46 entries - Boys Under 18 (Lars and Goncalo competing)
42 entries - Girls Under 18 (Lilly and Nagisa competing)
31 entries - Mixed Under 16 (Jamin, Campbell and James competing)

There will be 12 races sailed over 6 race days with one rest day in the middle.

Day 1 Race 1 & 2
Racing got underway today on time but in both the Under 18 Boys and Girls Fleet were a bit too keen and were called back for a general recall. The black flag was used on the second attempt and it had the desired effect.
The sea breeze of 10 to 12 knots and a slack tide provided ideal racing conditions. The starts were tough and this was an area that we focused on in our post-race debrief. Also of concern was the Rule 42 penalties that were handed out to Lars and Goncalo, tough calls in the choppy conditions but with on the water jury there is no arguing! Race 2 saw more tidal flow and also more wind. This created even bigger waves making the upwind tough going. However, it was all worth it for the screaming reaches and planning runs!

Day 2 Race 2 & 3
The wind conditions proved to be ideal once again. The sea breeze filled in on time and picked up to an exciting 12 to 16knots. What made the conditions more tricky was the bigger waves due to the wind against tide for the first part of race 1. With much of last night's briefing discussing the starts it was great to see the sailors be much more involved and getting away in better positions. The lesson of the day, and main topic of the de-brief was how to handle the waves as this was where much of the ground was lost. However, James was enjoying the conditions and picked up two good results (7th and 12th) in the Under 16 fleet. His experience of sailing Optimists in waves really showed as he worked his laser upwind. Nagisa was not able to repeat yesterday's excellent results (talking the overnight lead after day 1 in the Under 18 girls fleet) but her nearest rivals also had mixed results with only the Australians and a Greek sailor looking consistent. Lars and Goncalo have found the going tough in the U18 boys fleet, although Lars did get into the top 10 at first mark in race 4 only to lose places surfing the waves on the reach and run. Campbell didn't quite match his results from yesterday, while Jamin and Lilly both picked up a few.

With low tide getting later and later in the afternoon the conditions are ever changing. It should be running out during tomorrow's first race and turning in time for the second. After another tough day of racing the sailors will be looking forward to the rest day on Monday.

Day 3 Race 4 & 5
While the 120 sailors rigged up infront of the Royal Varuna Yacht Club is was clear that the breeze would be lighter than the previous day. While this was welcomed by the lighter sailors, it would mean the racing would be closer as there is very little difference in boat speed in these conditions. After two general recalls the Blue Fleet got away, the out going tide pushing the fleet up on the line perhaps the reason for the recalls. The left side of the beat was the most popular and seemed to be the right choice as the lead boats in all three fleets arrived at the windward mark from that side.

In race 5, although the tide had now turned it was still the left that was favoured and competition was tough for that side. The breeze had also picked up and was approaching 15knots soon after the fleets started. Best performance from the Hong Kong team came from James as he continued to improve scoring a 10th and 14th; it could have been a single digit except for a lot of congestion at the last mark as two fleets caught up with each other.

Day 4 Rest Day

Day 5 Race 7 & 8
With six races complete the sailors now had a ranking for them to target for the remaining races. Based on their current ranking their aim was to 'sail above their ranking' in the remaining races. As we met for breakfast it was clear that the wind was up for Day 5. There was not normally breeze at this time and yet the trees were showing the signs of an early start to the sea breeze. With a stronger out going tide for most of the day we were expecting some choppy weather and that is certainly what we got. The white caps filled the bay, partly wind, partly tide induced. Either way it was going to be a tough day for everyone on the water, including the coaches.

In the words of Ronnie McCracken (who is here on the international jury for this event), 'the Hong Kong sailors reveled in the conditions'. Despite seeing such conditions only a few times before in Hong Kong, the team did perform above expectations, and scored some of their best results in the regatta. This is very encouraging and the team were even talking about spending more time training off Lamma when back in Hong Kong to seek out similar conditions.. They may have not been winning races but they were hitting their tagerts. Jamin and Lars both managed an OCS/BFD. Although it may not look good on the score sheet, it does demonstrate that they are really pushing the starts. Now of course they will have to be more carefull in the four remaining races. James continues to climb the rankings with two top 10 results today, while Nagisa also climbs a place in the overall results.

Day 6 Race 9 & 10
Today the conditions were very similar to yesterday, about 15knots and some big waves to deal with. The tide was a little lighter, but it was still pushing fleet up on the start line and combined with the Race Committee having issues keeping the start line the way they wanted, there were a number of general recalls and black flags. Goncalo was unlucky to pick up his second yellow flag (rule 42) and as a result scored a DNE in the first race of the day. The three jury boats on the water were busy today, as Goncalo wasn't the only sailors to be given a yellow flag. 

In race 10 both Goncalo and Lars benefited from 10 boats being OCS/BFD to score there best results of the regatta so far. However, the result of the day goes to Campbell who scored a 9th in race 9, a real jump up from his mid-regatta ranking. Not only was he in the right place in the right time to get into that postion on the first beat but he was able to maintain it throughout the race which shows real potential. James scored a good 8th and was unlucky to lose a number of places in race 10 on the second beat. He now has his sights on the top 10, although it is very close in the overalls.

Tomorrow is the last day of race. The start time has been brought forward by an hour to provide more time for checking in the charter boats as well as the closing ceremony.

Day 7 Race 11 & 12
All 120 sailors got out to the start area ready for the earlier start time and the first warning signal went off on time with about 10 knots of sea breeze on the course. However, in what has become a common trend the blue were called back with a general recall. Even when the Race Officier brought out the black flag that still didn't deter enough sailors and there was a second general recall followed by a delay while the committee boat was repositioned. Racing did then get under way for all fleets. All the sailors were within at least 6 points of the sailor above them in the rankings but it was only Campbell and Jamin who were on track after Race 11 to climb in the overalls.

As soon as the last boat finished Race 11 the breeze strengthened and the waves grew. With the wind approaching 20 knots and waves over 1.5m race 12 was turning into quite a finale. The Hong Kong sailors enjoyed these conditions with almost all of them scoring better results. To cap it all off the sailors got to sail an exhilarating broad reach back to the beach!

The sailors returned to shore and immediately a new race was on, to return the charter boats! With the line forming around the Yacht Club carpark the regatta staff made preparations for the closing ceremony. Unusually for a World Championships there were no protests on the final day and therefore there was no delay in the proceedings getting underway. After all the sailors had received a gift from the organisers the official prizes were awarded. Hong Kong did not go away empty handed. James picked up an award for the youngest sailor (12yrs old) taking part in the Championships and he was also awarded 1st for sailors born in 1997.

The sailors enjoyed the closing ceremony dinner and also the Thai Navy Band that performed a wide range of tunes live. The next major championships for the 4.7 class is the European Championships held in France this July and there is already interest amongst the Hong Kong team to attend this event.

The team will return to Hong Kong later afternoon on Friday 9th April.

Provisional Results for HKG Sailors
Link to full results http://www.varuna.org/RaceResults/youth.htm

Laser Squad Sailors

Jamin Early	Jack Evans	Aymeric Gillard	Christopher Gordon
Christian Houston-Floyd	Lilly Manzoni	Campbell Manzoni	Lars Schkade
Alexandra Witt