The 2011 Techno World Championships opened up in glorious fashion this Wednesday July 20th with bright blue skies, warm 20mph winds, and plenty of action on the race course.
After what looked to be a near perfect day of racing for the Practice Race the day prior San Francisco only upped the ante delivering exceptional racing conditions for the regatta’s first official day of action. The agenda for the day called for 2 races in the first half of the day with a short break before sending the fleets out for one last race.
Like yesterday’s practice race the flood tide was in full swing. When the tide is flooding here in San Francisco that means it’s working against the racers as they sail upwind to the tune of about 2.5 knots on this day. This makes calling lay lines particularly difficult and forces the sailors to use tactics to minimize its effects. Lucky for the fleet St Francis Yacht Club Member Dr. Paul Heineken supplied them with a framework document to explain the tides and offering up advice honed from Heineken’s decades of sailing these very waters. You can read Dr. Heinekens document by clicking techno293worldchampionship.org
Once again the fleets were split up with the largest fleet of Under 17 Boys and girls racing on the Eastern most course while the Under 15 fleets raced on the western most course. Unlike the day prior both courses were nearly identical in weather due to the complete absence of the infamous San Francisco Marine Layer.
As racing kicked off it in the Under 15 Girls fleet it was Britain’s Emma Wilson (GBR 961) off to a strong start posting two bullets and a second. Compatriot Emily Hall (GBR 714) was never far behind and managed to end her day on a high note taking the final race win. Israel’s Shai Blank (ISR 951) rounded out the top 3 on the day.
3 races and 3 different winners in the Under 15 boy’s fleet but it was the consistent sailing of Belarus’s Mikita Tsirkun (BLR 714) that put him in the top spot at day’s end. Sharing in the bullets was Italian Mattia Onali (ITA 134) and Brenna Francioli (BRA 70) who won race 1 and race 3 respectively. Francioli however stumbled in race two posting a 9th place finish leaving him in fourth overall on the day. Belarus’s Artiom Javadav (BLR 766) capitalized with consistent sailing to hold on to third place as the day wrapped up.
The Under 17 girls saw recently crowned Formula Windsurfing World Champion American Marion Lepert (USA 143) pick up where she left off in Puerto Rico; winning. Lepert has been training hard for the event and it showed in her perfect 1-1-1 scoring line. British Teammates Noelle Finch (GBR 703) and Sills Imogen (GBR 561) took second and third respectively.
The Under 17 boy’s fleet saw fierce competition with 63 competitors vying for top honors. Adam Purcell (GBR 62) of Great Britain ended the day winning the final race and closing out on top of the leader board. French teammates Albert Chaillot (FRA 808) and Hubert Aupinel completed the top three. A notable performance was turned in by Evgeny Ayvazyan (RUS 3) of Russia who started out strong with a 1-2 scoring line only to falter in the days final race with an 18th. Look for Ayvazyan to vault up the standings as throw outs come in to play later in the week.
Racing alongside the younger fleets is the Open division and Alejandro Monllor (PUR 1) only got stronger as the day went on. Monllor, from Peru, ended the day atop the leader board with Julien Bouyer of France (FRA 192) only one point back in second. Japan’s Jun Ogawa (JPN 116) completed the top 3.
Despite the small fleet the Raceboard action was well contested with Switzerland’s Vincent Huegenin trading wins with Argentinean Fernando Consorte (ARG 155) as the two dueled throughout the day. Jean Asia (FRA 171) of France is in third place.
After racing the fleet retired to a catered party at event Sponsor Sports Basement. In addition to hosting the party with food and beverages Sports Basement gave an additional 10% off their already insanely low prices. No doubt some parental credit cards will be hurting in the morning.
Racing continues tomorrow July 21st on the San Francisco City Front with a first possible start at 11am.
Complete Results: www.sailingresults.net
Day 1 Photo Gallery: waterhound.smugmug.com http://mpora.com/videos/tXI9AyVXY
