Issue date
The Hague is renowned for its wind and waves but, as so often happens at big regattas, the a-typical becomes the typical.
Treacherously light and shifty winds, strong currents and lazy swells have been dished up for the more than 400 sailors at this year's Youth Sailing World Championships in the Netherlands. It has translated into plenty of delays, general recalls, no racing at all for some fleets and long days on the water.
They aren't the sort of conditions that suit George Lee Rush and Seb Menzies but the pair, who came into these youth worlds having won the 29er at Kiel Week and the European championships, have adapted well. They climbed up to third in the boy's 29er after the second day of racing on the back of a third, second and fifth.
Three other New Zealand boats are in the top 10, with Helena Sanderson and Cam McGlashan sixth in the Nacra 15, Hugo Wigglesworth seventh in the boy's kitefoiling and Lucas Day and Sam Scott 10th in the boy's 420.
"It’s definitely been pretty tough," Lee Rush said. "We’ve not had much wind over eight knots and a pretty interesting sea state. It’s been surprisingly shifty given it’s onshore. There’s a bit of random stuff going on, for sure.
"It’s been a battle so far. Every metre, every place counts. The level is incredibly high and we are fighting for every place but we’re happy with how we went today.
"Yesterday, we weren’t risking it enough in our starts at either end of the line and that’s where we were losing out. We had good starts today, our speed felt good, so pretty happy with today. We’ll keep trying to build on that."
The forecast for tonight (NZ time) isn't all that promising if they had been hoping to stretch their legs but there could be some breeze for the final two days of competition.
No racing was possible overnight for the windfoiling fleets, although they did sail a couple of hours to their course only to turn around again, and only one race was possible for the boy's ILCA 6.
"The Hague is known for big wind and big waves but everyone has to adapt," New Zealand team leader Sam Mackay said. "It's definitely been a big learning experience for the sailors but everyone is motivated to get out there and see what they can do tomorrow."
Results and standings after day 2 of the Youth Sailing World Championships in The Hague:
Boy's kitefoiling (19 boards)
1st: Riccardo Pianosi (ITA) 1 (2) 1 (2) 2 1 1 - 6 points
2nd: Maximilian Maeder (SGP) (3) 1 (2) 1 1 2 2 - 7 pts
3rd: Jakub Jurowski (POL) 2 3 3 (11) 6 5 (7) - 8 pts
7th: Hugo Wigglesworth (NZL) 9 (DNC) 7 7 (11) 7 5 - 35 pts
Nacra 15 (14 boats)
1st: Garcia de la Casa / Garcia de la Casa (ESP) 2 (4) 1 1 1 - 5 pts
2nd: Grandjean / Fehlmann (SUI) 1 2 2 2 (4) - 7 pts
3rd: Rideau / Moreau (FRA) (4) 1 3 4 3 - 11 pts
6th: Helena Sanderson / Cam McGlashan (NZL) 5 6 4 (9) 6 - 21 pts
Girl's ILCA 6 (56 boats)
1st: Eve McMahon (IRL) (2) 1 1 - 2 pts
2nd: Evie Saunders (AUS) 1 (7) 2 - 3 pts
3rd: Claudia Lledo (ESP) (7) 2 6 - 8 pts
34th: Teaghan Denney (NZL) 33 (41) 19 - 52 pts
Boy's ILCA 6 (61 boats)
1st: Sebastian Kempe (BER) 1 1 (11) - 2 pts
2nd: Rocco Wright (IRL) 2 (17) 4 - 6 pts
3rd: Yogev Alcalay (ISR) 5 3 (26) - 8 pts
16th: Caleb Armit (NZL) 4 24 (39) - 28 pts
Girl's 29er (23 boats)
1st: Gout / Babin (FRA) 1 1 5 (7) 3 1 - 11 pts
2nd: Pefaur / Pantin (ARG) (3) 2 3 3 1 3 - 12 pts
3rd: Ernst / Schmidt (GER) 7 7 (9) 1 6 4 - 25 pts
20th: Lucy Leith / Lizzie Shapland (NZL) 20 18 16 (DNF) 15 17 - 86 pts
Boy's 29er (24 boats)
1st: Videla / Funes de Rioja (ARG) 1 1 1 2 (8) 2 - 7 pts
2nd: Sesto Cosby / Wilkinson (GBR) (17) 2 3 4 3 7 - 19 pts
3rd: George Lee Rush / Seb Menzies (NZL) (7) 4 7 3 2 5 - 21 pts
Girl's 420 (21 boats)
1st: Wehrie / Rinn (GER) (5) 1 2 3 - 6 pts
2nd: Maria Perelio Mora (ESP) 1 6 1 (UFD) - 8 pts
3rd: Deguchi / Miyamoto (JPN) 4 4 3 (5) - 11 pts
14th: Nicola Hume / Daniella Wooldridge (NZL) (21) 17 10 12 - 39 pts
Boy's 420 (23 boats)
1st: Levy / Gal (ISR) 1 1 (10) 4 - 6 pts
2nd: Barcelo / Villamueva (ESP) 2 10 1 5 - 8 pts
3rd: Namdar / Gozek (TUR) (15) 8 5 2 - 15 pts
10th: Lucas Day / Sam Scott (NZL) (11) 7 11 3 - 21 pts
Girl's windfoiling (29 boards)
1st: Merve Vatah (TUR) (1) 1 1 1 - 3 pts
2nd: Tamar Steinberg (ISR) (1) 1 1 1 - 3 pts
3rd: Lina Erzen (SLO) (DNF) 3 5 3 - 11 pts
15th: Aimee Bright (NZL) (DNF) 13 17 11 - 41 pts
Boy's windfoiling (31 boards)
1st: Hidde van der Meer (NED) 1 (3) 1 1 - 3 pts
2nd: Charlie Dixon (GBR) 1 1 (3) 1 - 3 pts
3rd: Davis Mazais (LAT) 3 5 3 (7) 11 pts
30th: Jack Parr (NZL) (DNS) 25 27 27 - 79 pts
Full results
- Pic George Lee Rush and Seb Menzies are third in the boy's 29er. Photo: Sailing Energy / World Sailing.
