2005 Laser Worlds Day 2 & 3 Report

Bradley

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Day 2: BOB HAS A GOOD DAY AT THE RACES

Defending champion and national hero, Robert Scheidt BRA, found the accelerator pedal today to be the first sailor in the 2005 Laser World Championship to post two consecutive bullets. After a delay of 45 minutes waiting for a rain cloud to clear the course area, blue skies returned together with a slightly stronger wind than the previous days. The 15 to 16 knot wind produced some large waves giving the sailors some impressive downwind rides. In these conditions the downwind speedsters excelled and big gains and losses were seen. Before getting to the downwind the starts and first upwind had to be negotiated.

Scheidt said "I had a very nice day. I was off the line with clear air in both races and this, I think' made a difference. I also felt quite in phase with the shifts which is very important in this racing area. It has made up for a poor first day and has given me strength to fight for the top positions."

Racing in the second fleet on the inner loop, Scheidt rounded the windward mark second to Diego Romero ARG. Romero dropped to third on the downwind as both Scheidt and Milan Vujasinovic CRO passed him. From then on Scheidt extended his lead to finish comfortably ahead whilst Romero re-took Vujasinovic on the last reach before the finish.

In the yellow fleet Andrew Murdoch NZL started at the pin and went most of the way to the left left lay line. Only Adonis Bougiouris GRE crossed ahead of him to take the led. Murdoch lost his second place at the end of the first downwind after taking a yellow flag penalty. Bourgiouris held his lead until the last reach when he let Brendan Casey AUS through after briefly sailing to the finsh mark instead of mark five, 700 metres downwind of the finish line.

In his second race Scheidt had the lead at the first mark ahead of Vasilij Zbogar SLO. Recalling the race he said "Vasilij was very fast on the first downwind and it was really close but on the second beat I managed to play the shifts a little bit better and get a little bit of pace to get ahead of him". Zbogar never had Scheidt out of his sights but was unable to reel him in was he had got clear.

After an eleventh in the first race Andrew Murdoch NZL led his fellow countryman, Michael Bullot home to post his second win in the series. His first place in the yellow fleet was the biggest lead seen so far.

Series leaders Zbogar and Romero are now the only sailors who have scored consistent top ten places as others continue to struggle to find consistency. Each day will be fascinating to watch to see if Scheidt has once again found his winning way or if others can hold a series together in this highly competitive fleet.


Overall results without discard:
1. Vasilij Zbogar SLO 15pts
2. Diego Romero ARG 17pts
3. Robert Scheidt 21pts
4. Mate Aropov CRO 21pts
5. Jermie Steyaert FRA 24pts
6. Adonis Bougiouris GRE 26pts
7. Andrew Murdoch NZL 27pts
8. Milan Vujasinovic CRO 27pts
9. Bruno Fontes BRA 33pts
10 Brendan Casey AUS 35pts


Full results: http://www.2005laserworlds.com.br/results.html
Source: Jeferry Martin


Day 3: The Scheidt Express continues

2 more races in perfect conditions of 12 to 15 knot winds and big waves saw Robert Scheidt continue his winning ways at the Laser World Championship in Fortaleza, Brazil. Sailing for the first time in the yellow fleet on the outer loop, he won both his races first with a lead of 60 seconds and then 30 seconds. Scheidt started in the middle of the line in both his races. Reflecting on his races he commented "it was just like yesterday I got good starts and went middle to right up the first windward legs." He makes it sound easy but he is the first person to acknowledge that there is a highly talented group of sailors chasing him hard from a variety of countries.

One of these is Jeremie Steyeart from France who was sailing in the blue fleet on the inner loop. He pulled through from sixth at the halfway stage to finish third behind Michael Bullot NZL and Vsilij Zbogar SLO who held first and second all the way round. In his second race Steyart got out in front and stayed there. Talking about his second race he said "I had the perfect race - good start, good boat speed and I got away on the run". Mate Aropov CRO was second to Steyeart. He started at the pin end and tacked only twice to round the first mark fourth and then picked off two boats on the first downwind leg.

The final two races of the qualifier series will be sailed on Sunday before the fleet is split into gold and silver groups for the remaining 6 scheduled "finals" races. Qualifier results count the same as Finals races putting Scheidt in a commanding position especially as he now drops his worst result, a seventeenth in his first race. The discard also promotes Steyaert to the runner up position and yet again changes the top ten results.

Just before the halfway stage Scheidt's counting scores of 2,1,1,1,1 are impressive and make it look as though his toughest challenge is facing the multitude of TV cameras that gather on the shore every day to get the scoop story on one of Brazil's most successful sportsmen.

A coach commented "his sense of balance downwind is amazing, he could walk a tightrope without a pole. It is a pleasure to watch him sail."


Overall results after 6 races with 1 discard:
1. Robert Scheidt 6pts
2. Jermie Steyaert FRA 14pts
3. Vasilij Zbogar SLO 16pts
4. Mate Aropov CRO 17pts
5. Andrew Murdoch NZL 20pts
6. Diego Romero ARG 30pts
7. Mark Powell GBR 30pts
8. Felix Pruvot FRA 30pts
9. Alexander Schlonski GER 33pts
10 Milan Vujasinovic CRO 35pts


Full results: http://www.2005laserworlds.com.br/results.html
Source: Jeferry Martin
 

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