RS:X Worlds - Two at the Top for NZL

After day two at the RS:X World Championships Tom Ashley tops the leader board with Jon-Paul Tobin close behind in second place, having had a stellar day on the water.

Host venue, Kerteminde, Denmark produced first-rate conditions for competition with 15-23 knots of breeze swinging from onshore through to the left going on to blow off the beach as the day went on. The Men’s fleet sailed two races, and the Women kicked off their Championship with three races now on the board.

It’s an exciting sight to see not just one, but two kiwis at the top of the board, however plenty of racing remains before the world title will be decided on September 4th in Denmark, and the points are super tight at the top right now.

Reigning Olympic champion Tom Ashley was 3rd then 5th on the water overnight enough to pull him up into the top spot as the day one leaders slipped. He has 14 points just one clear of team-mate Tobin on 15 points, who sailed home to a win and a 2nd place overnight seeing him climb up from ninth to second equal overall.

Both Byron Kokalanis and Przemyslaw Miarczynski also have 15 points equal to Tobin and one adrift of Ashley. Day one leader Poitr Myszka is in fifth place with 17 points.

Here’s what Ashley has to say reporting in after day two: “I had a solid day on the water with a 3rd and a 4th. My speed was pretty good and the first race was very close in the leading group.”

“In the second race I got on the wrong side of a big left hand shift just after the start and never really got in touch with the leaders after that. Still managed to stay in front of the rest of the fleet though and hung on for 5th.”

“Overall I'm pretty happy with my day. Not spectacular, but again I managed to stay out of trouble and I'm glad that I seem to be fairly competitive at the top level after such a long time away from competition. I'm really enjoying the racing and I'm looking forward to the rest of the event.”

Kate Ellingham is the best placed of the New Zealand women lying 27th after three races, with Stefanie Williams close behind in 28th place.

Day one of racing is complete at Hayling Island, Great Britain for the 2010 Olympic Class Laser World Championship. Reported internet access issues mean that results from the opening day are not yet available on-line and the performance of the strong kiwi team taking part will be reported at a later stage.

The 2010 Finn Gold Cup, to decide this year’s World Champion, gets underway in San Francisco today. There are five New Zealanders in the line-up including the NZL Sailing Team’s Dan Slater.
2010 RS:X World Championships, 29th August – 4th September
New Zealand’s provisional standings after day two

Men’s Championship (111 sailors)
1st Tom Ashley (1, 5, 3, 5)
2nd Jon-Paul Tobin (6, 6, 1, 2)
63rd Antonio Cozzolino (41, 39, 21, 24)

Women’s Championship (66 sailors)
27th Kate Ellingham (11, 14, 16)
28th Stefanie Williams (14, 13, 14)
38th Alice Monk (18, 20, 22)
52nd Natalia Kosinska (28, 22, 27)