Enoshima, Japan – 7/30/2021 – By World Sailing – Today’s racing will take place in:
- 49erFX Women
- 49er Men
- 470 Men
- 470 Women
- Laser Men
- Laser Radial Women
Lighter winds for Day 6 of the Sailing competition. The water is flatter too. Will that make Enoshima Course less of a washing machine, with the waves less likely to be bouncing so strongly off the beach?
In the Laser Men and Laser Radial Women’s fleets due to compete on Enoshima from midday, there are some sailors who will be hoping for all the random chaos they can get from the conditions, in a last gasp bid to get close to podium contention. Today’s two races are the last opportunity before the Medal Race on Sunday for these singlehanded sailors.
One of those needing a good chunk of luck from Mother Nature is Marit Bouwmeester whose black-flag disqualification for starting too soon in one of yesterday’s races has put the reigning Olympic Champion back to 7th in the Radial results.
Softer breeze could be just what Pavlos Kontides (CYP) and others need to do if they’re to rein in Laser leader Matt Wearn (AUS), who has been imperious in the big wind and high waves of the past couple of days.
There are some other highly fancied Aussies who matched Wearn’s double bullet performance yesterday, and that’s the GOAT of 470 sailing, Mat Belcher and Will Ryan. Contesting two races on Zushi course, the lower breeze should even up the playing field in the 470 Men.
Pole position for Agnieszka Skrzypulec and Jolanta Ogar, the Polish team who have made the running in the stronger breeze thus far in the 470 Women’s fleet. Today is a vital day for others to make their moves up the scoreboard.
Tied at the top of the 49er Men are Great Britain and Spain, with two reigning Olympic Champions breathing down their necks – 2008 gold medallist Jonas Warrer (DEN) in third and the 2016 champions from New Zealand Pete Burling and Blair Tuke in fourth.
Unstoppable and steadier through high-speed manoeuvres in the stronger winds, Great Britain’s team Charlotte Dobson and Saskia Tidey have ruled the waves of Sagami Bay. Others will see the softer breeze as an opportunity to attack for the lead when the Women’s Skiff fleet battle it out later this afternoon on Kamakura Course.
For the Finns and Nacra 17 fleets, it’s a day of rest. Same for the windsurfers. For those who finished outside the top 10, their Games is over, while for leading lights in the RS:X Men and Women, tomorrow is their day to shine in the first Medal Races of Tokyo 2020.
Weather
- Partly cloudy with a risk of shower and thunderstorm.
- Gradient winds SSW 10kt, S-SSE 10kt from 10LT.
- Race Area surface wind SSW-S 4-6kt, S-SSE 5-9kt from 9LT, S-SSE 9-11kt G 11-13kt from 11LT, SE 9-10kt from 17LT.
- Sea state: 0.5-1m wave height.
SCHEDULE
Enoshima Course
1200 JST Laser Radial Women, 2 races
1430 JST Laser Men, 2 races
Kamakura Course
1200 JST 49er Men, 3 races
1445 JST 49erFX Women, 3 races
Zushi Course
1200 JST 470 Men, 2 races
1210 JST 470 Women, 2 races
To follow the racing on the tracker, click here.
