The second day of racing at the 2024 Etchells World Championships saw a big change in conditions and bigger gains across the scoreboard.
Two more races were completed, this time in a 15-20 knot easterly with flatter water and slightly longer courses. On Day 1, Race Officer Ross Wilson set a 1.6nm course, while today, he opted for 1.7.
After a general recall and then a start under a black flag, two boats were forced to wait on the sideline. It was an agonising wait for Mark Roberts, Jake Newman, and Charlie Wyatt (AUS1473 Fumanchu2), and Jeanne-Claude Strong, Seve Jarvin, Sam Newton, and Max Jameson (AUS1518 Flying Higher), with both teams receiving a BFD to kick off the day.
Race 3 saw Magpie (Graeme Taylor, James Mayo, and Richard Allanson – AUS) swoop in and steal the win, pushing them further up the leaderboard after a 5th (Race 1) and 11th (Race 2) on the opening day of the competition.
On the dock, Taylor said, “Yeah, that wasn’t too bad.” He and his crew are now third overall.
With the lightest race of the regatta so far, the overall results have seen snakes climbing the ladders. Second in Race 3 was AUS1466 Tango Chris Hampton, Charlie Cumbley, and Paul Childs (AUS), who had their best race of the regatta so far after finishing 14th and 15th in Race 1 and Race 2, respectively.
Humble pie was on the menu for Mark Bradford, Will McCarthy & Anthony Nositer (AUS), being careful not to make a wrong move in front of the media boat after considering himself very lucky that their epic Chinese gybe wasn’t captured on camera. Sailing their Etchells named Pie, prior to racing, Bradford asked, “Did you see our Chinese gybe?! NO?!? Well, thank goodness because that would have been entertaining for you!” Bradford and his team managed to stay clean during Race 3 and had their best result of the regatta to date as well, finishing third.
With a few cheeky gusts of about 20 knots, the conditions stayed relatively consistent. Only a few colourful words were heard at the top mark rounding, with most of the sailors staying relatively well-behaved.
Race 3
- AUS – Graeme Taylor, James Mayo, Richard Allanson
- AUS – Chris Hampton, Charlie Cumbley, Paul Childs
- AUS – Mark Bradford, Will McCarthy, Anthony Nositer
The Race Committee rolled straight into Race 4 but was forced to fly the General Recall flag after the fleet was a little too eager to get underway. The black flag was once again flown, this time with six boats receiving a BFD score.
Race 4 saw massive changes to the overall leaderboard, with Michael Manford, Dean McAullay, and Nicholas Gray (AUS) snapping their way to a win after a battle down the final leg. Sailing an Etchells called The Croc, Manford was impressed with how his team raced.
“We had a great day. We’ve got Dean McAullay in the center and Nick Gray up the front. The boat was in good shape and we had plenty of boat speed.”
“It was shifting, sort of 15 degrees every three or four minutes, so you just had to take advantage of the shifts. We were lucky enough to get on the right side of the shifts more than the other boats. I think we just got lucky!”
When asked how they would manage the remaining five races, Manfred said, “I think we just keep our heads down and try to stay out of trouble for the next few races. The goal is not to break any starts, which I would typically do in a championship, and just have some fun.”
Mark Roberts, Jake Newman, and Charlie Wyatt rectified their Race 3 BFD by having a ripper of race to finish second. When the drop comes into play, they will be able to discard the letters in their score.
Jan Muysken, Polly McNeill, and Sven Runow (AUS) achieved a glamourous Race 4 result, claiming third place on the leaderboard.
Race 4
- AUS – Michael Manford, Dean McAullay, and Nicholas Gray
- AUS – Mark Roberts, Jake Newman, and Charlie Wyatt
- AUS – Jan Muysken, Polly McNeill, and Sven Runow
The forecast for Day 3 is for 8-15 knots from the east at the scheduled start time of 1300 hours. The crews will be keen for Day 3 to wrap up, as every sailor is required to complete a mid-regatta weigh-in after racing.
After four races, Corinthian teams are sitting pretty at the top! Graham Vials, Billy Russell, and Andrew Lawson (GBR1490 No Dramas) have taken the overall lead after another consistent day of racing. They hold on by four points. Manford and his crew on The Croc are also in the Corinthian division and are second overall.
Top 5 After 4 Races
- GBR – Graham Vials, Billy Russell, and Andrew Lawson – 17pts
- AUS – Michael Manford, Dean McAullay, and Nicholas Gray – 21pts
- AUS – Graeme Taylor, James Mayo, and Richard Allanson – 23pts
- HKG – Mark Thornburrow, Malcolm Page, Mike Huang, and Julian Plante – 43pts
- USA – Michael Jobin-Keith Swinton / David Gilmour / Ned Breed – 45pts
2024 Etchells World Championship – Schedule
Wednesday 20 March
Warning Signal: 1300 hours AWST / Race 5 & Race 6
Thursday 21 March
Warning Signal: 1300 hours AWST / Race 7 & Race 8
Friday 22 March
Warning Signal: 1200 hours AWST / Race 9
Prize Giving Presentation
Event media at this regatta is made possible thanks to the support from HillPDA Consulting.
