Lack Of Wind Stops Play On Day Two Of 2010 Marinepool Melges 24 World Championship
Tallinn, Estonia - 8 August 2010 - Despite the best efforts of a determined Race Committee, an almost total absence of any meaningful wind meant that no racing was possible today at the 2010 Marinepool Melges 24 World Championship in Tallinn, Estonia. By way of a first and a second in yesterday's opening two races, Italy's Lorenzo Bressani on Uka Uka Racing leads the Championship by four points from the Norwegian Corinthian Oyvind Peder Jahre on Storm Capital Sail Racing Team. Another Italian, Carlo Fracassoli on Gullisara, holds the remaining podium position at this stage, just points behind Jahre's.
Jahre's impressive performance yesterday means that he also leads the Corinthian Division by six points from Estonian Tiit Vihul on Rock City, with Austrian Christoph Skolaut on Franz Rocks a further two points adrift in third.
Even Melges 24 World Championships have to abide by the fundamental rule that if the wind doesn't blow, the boats won't go. Despite the Race Committee assembling the seventy-nine boat fleet out on the Baltic this morning in readiness for an on time start at midday, after several frustrating hours of chasing zephyrs around, they were eventually forced to send the fleet ashore just after two o'clock, to await further instructions. Around an hour later, a promising breeze began to develop and the committee boat led the fleet back to sea, in the hope of getting at least one race in before evening. It was all to no avail however, as after two aborted attempts to get the fleet away, the breeze evaporated for good and Principal Race Officer Lars Nyqvist had to bow to the inevitable and send the frustrated competitors back to shore.
Having lost two races today, Nyqvist and his race team will attempt to catch up with the schedule tomorrow and have brought forward the warning signal for the first race by one hour to 10.55. Opinions here are split on the forecast for tomorrow but organisers and competitors alike will have their collective fingers crossed for enough wind for some decent championship racing.
Provisional Overall Top Ten After Two Races
1. ITA787 - UKA UKA RAcing - Lorenzo Bressani - 3 pts
2. NOR751 - Storm Capital Sail Racing Team - 7 pts
3. ITA807 - Gullisara - Carlo Fracassoli - 9 pts
4. ITA727 - Hurricane - Murphy & Nye - Alberto Bolzan - 11 pts
5. NOR804 - Full Medal Jacket - Eivind Melleby - 15 pts
6. JPN797 - ThreeBond - Tetsuya Matsunaga - 18 pts
7. FRA639 - Euro-Voiles - Christophe Barrue - 21 pts
8. NOR400 - Baghdad - Kristian Nergaard - 23 pts
9. EST761 - Rock City - Tiit Vihul - 25 pts
10. ITA783 - Audi - Riccardo Simmoneschi - 28 pts
Provisional Corinthian Top Five After Two Races
1. NOR751 - Storm Capital Sail Racing Team - 2 pts
2. EST761 - Rock City - Tiit Vihul - 25 pts
3. AUT406 - Franz Rocks - Christoph Skolaut - 10 pts
4. SWE666 - Number of the Beast - Jonas Berntsson - 11 pts
5. AUT608 - Sailingteamaustria.com - Peter Steinkogler - 12 pts
IM24CA BLOG - includes post racing interviews and full on the water coverage
Championship racing runs from Saturday 7th to Thursday 12th August, with up to three races per day and a maximum of twelve races total scheduled. Five races are required to constitute a series. When six or more races have been completed a boat's series score will be the total of her race scores excluding her worst score. The first start of racing each day is schedule for 12.00 except for the final day when the first start is schedule for 10.00 and there will be no warning signal after 14.00.
Tallinn is the capital of Estonia, and in 2011 it will also be the capital of culture for all of Europe. This will be the biggest cultural event in the history of Estonia. Welcome to the city of culture! www.tallinn2011.ee
You can follow the racing live at the IM24CA Blog. Further information is available from the 2010 Marinepool Melges 24 World Championship Event Website and via the event's Facebook Group.
The 2010 Melges 24 World Championship is sponsored by:-
Title Sponsor & Official Clothing Partner - Marinepool
Official Marina Services Partner - TopCity
European Capital of Culture 2011 - City of Tallinn
Official Vehicle & Marine Engine Partner - Honda
Official Hotel Partner - Pirita Top Spa Hotel
Official Travel & Accommodation Partner - Reisiekspert
Official Ferry Transport Partner - Tallink
Apres Sailing Refreshment Partner - A.Le Coq
4energia Renewable Energy Company
Enterprise Estonia
LTT Wholesale Groceries
KSA Eye Centre
Brand Factory
Visit the Official Event Website of the 2010 Marinepool Melges 24 World Championship.
The Melges 24 is designed by Reichel Pugh and considered the most unique one design sportsboat in the world as well as one of the fastest-growing classes of high performance yachts. For more information, visit the official class websites of the International Melges 24 Class Association and the Finnish and Estonian Melges 24 Class Association.
To find out more about the Kalev Yacht Club visit www.kjk.ee