You could hear a sigh of relief when all 210 competitors got up this morning: the sun was out, and there was a bit of a breeze.
During the day, the wind changed and the clouds came back in, but at least the rain held off.
The race committee decided early on to try and get four races completed today in order to catch up with yesterday's delays and abandonment of the second race.
First race started at 10.25am with only 6 knots breeze. Later in the day, the wind got up to 20 knots, but was not staying around for long. A few of the flights had to be abandoned, but overall the race committee is pleased to have called four races for each of the three fleets.
Provisional results after five races show Bart Lambriex from the Netherlands placed first, Wade Waddell from the USA is placed second and Philip Meijer also from the Netherlands is placed third.
Ryan Lo who was in second place yesterday, holds the fourth position.
Best New Zealand sailor is Leonard Takahasi-Fry, who is now in sixth position, climbing from 23rd yesterday.
It was a long but very good day for sailing. Sailors left the harbour at 9.30am to start the first race at 10.25am and returned around 5pm.
The weather for tomorrow is promising to be fine with southerlies dying out, with wind speed around 12 knots. The lighter winds are usually favourable for the lighter sailors, and this competition isn't over yet. The Optimist World Championship finishes on January 9th.
A full list of provisional placings is available here, images and film footage from today's racing is available at
Opti Worlds Vital Stats:
30 December 2011 - 10 January 2012
The boat: a safe and simple dinghy that is one of the world's most popular designs
The racing: 9 days of Championship racing
The competitors: 210 sailors aged between 11 and 15 years
The countries: teams from 48 nations including reigning Champs Thailand
The host club: Napier Sailing Club, Napier, New Zealand
Famous sailors that have started out in Optis include: Ben Ainslie
The big sponsors: Vodafone, New Zealand Major Events, Hawke's Bay Tourism, SPARC, City of Napier, Air New Zealand, the Radio Network, EuroCity Napier, Victoria Cruising Club, Lion Foundation
The technology: GPS tracking and live video coverage online - real time
The website: www.optiworldsnz.org.nz
The Facebook page: 1,177 likes http://www.facebook.com/optiworldsnz2011
For more information please contact:
Nathalie van Dort - Media Relations - email:
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ph: +64 21 066 9811
Nigel Rippey - Event Director - email:
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ph +64 27 482 8522
Peter Dawson - Chairman - email:
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ph +64 27 443 8590
Note for Media
To access raw film footage please contact Nathalie van Dort - Media Relations This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it / 021 066 9811.
Matias Capizzano is the official photographer for the OptiWorldsNZ. He provides a number of images for editorial purposes, free to use. Click here to go to the press gallery. We would love for you to use these images, but please credit the photographer: PHOTO MATIAS CAPIZZANO
