Konrad Davy – Thursday – Day 4

Ken

EYC’s Konrad Davy in the Miami Olympic Classes Regatta

This 25th edition of ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami annually attracts top ranked one-design sailors in 10 Olympic and three Paralympic events selected for the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

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Sailors and their coaches made the most of their down time for the third consecutive day, as rain showers and little breeze put a dampen on the racing outlook on Wednesday.

The light air theme so far this week has forced sailors to use their extended onshore hours to acclimate to the conditions and adjust their equipment accordingly.

All week, sailors have put a strong focus on boat positioning to harness what little breeze has been available on the course. Lighter crews have had the upper hand so far on Biscayne Bay.

The forecast for Wednesday night includes a large band of showers and squalls moving across South Florida.

For Thursday, rain showers are predicted and some models showing breeze out of the North with 9 to 12 knots of pressure. Another model shows unstable breeze all day around 3 knots

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Shifty Winds Challenge Sailing’s Best on Thursday

Sailors experienced slightly cooler temperatures this morning with considerable breeze ranging from 6 to 8 knots out of the Northwest under overcast skies. The breeze built up to 15 knots in the afternoon on some courses. The afternoon also featured isolated thunderstorms that steadily moved across Biscayne Bay bringing scattered showers.

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Laser

In the Laser Yellow fleet, Nick Thompson (GBR) came from behind to win Race 4. He was just 12th around the first mark, but was able to diminish his deficit on each leg. Thompson trailed Matthew Ryder (CAN) by six seconds around the last mark, before pulling off the victory in the downwind sprint.

“It was a tricky day in general, as the breeze was light and all over with lots of clouds moving through,” explained Thompson. “I am happy with both races today, as I was able to pull through the fleet and come back. On the first start, I thought most of the fleet was a bit punchy, so I held back and had to fight hard for a first and ninth place. My strategy to get to the top is to stay away from the corners and work my way through the middle of the fleet.”

Thompson also commented on the light air this week, “The race committee has done a really nice job working through this and it’s just a bit of bad luck for them as the weeks leading up to this have been really nice.”

Race 5 belonged to Pavlos Kontides (CYP), silver medalist in the 2013 Laser World Championship and 2012 Olympics. He outlasted Giovanni Coccoluto (ITA) by 22 seconds at the finish line.

World #2 Tonci Stipanovi? (CRO) won his second consecutive race to start Thursday’s racing in the Laser Blue fleet. He placed second in Race 5, just three seconds behind winner Alex Mills-Barton (GBR). Stipanovic leads overall by three points over World #1 Tom Burton (AUS).

Despite his penalty in race # 4, Konrad Davy moved up two places today.

Full results to date (5 races) available HERE…

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Hi Hank
Tomorrow (Friday) is medal round which Konrad unfortunately will not be in.
The conditions have been tough with shifts that really affect standings. Plus the level of competition is the highest.
Konrad is using what he has learned from this regatta and will be that much more prepared for midwinters east.
Konrad has Fort Lauderdale OCR starting next Friday.
He is planning on doing a lot better there.
Thanks for the coverage.
Ken

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Read Monday’s posting (day 1)  HERE…

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