12/02/2023
Updated at 7:54 pm
Come to have 26 knots and waves of three meters have been the conditions that we have seen this Sunday in the third day of competition of the Lanzarote International Regatta. The 470 fleet has come to complete a race while the 49er and 49erFX have not been able to compete due to the "calima", the dust coming from the Sahara that is coming out to the Canary Islands and that good visibility is impossible.
Spain, segments and thirds in 470
Both the enormous waves and the strong void were a challenge for the fleet. It was the 'calima' -the suspended dust from the Sahara that has placed Lanzarote, Fuerteventura and Gran Canaria under yellow warning- which has prevented them from continuing with today's tests. With visibility reduced to around 200 metres, safety has prevailed and for the first time the Race and Race Committee sent the fleet back to Marina Rubicón.
Anton Dahlberg and Lovisa Karlsson will regain first place after winning a new regatta with big waves and wind. This victory allows the dreams to overcome the former leaders Jordi Xammar and Nora Brugman (ESP), who will not be able to compete today after Nora hurt herself leaving the race course: "Fortunately, the physiotherapist of the Spanish federation Pilar Clapes has made a great job so that tomorrow I will be one hundred percent, and I am already at my best!” , she has signed her.
Despite this, today's points will surely be discarded, so the Spaniards remain on the podium and move to second place overall, with an 11-point lead over their teammates Silvia Mas and Nico Rodríguez.
La Catalana and the Galician are doing a great job in Lanzarote, always managing to be in the Top 10 of all the regattas that the 470 fleet has contested these three days of competition.
“We are happy because in the end our objective is to try to add time together and not make big mistakes and we are doing that. We are competing well in a fleet that includes practically all the best in the world, only one or two boats from the top 10 are missing. These are days when you can break, capsize and have mistakes that take you out of the championship. Returning without big discards and without making big mistakes is to be happy”, explained Nico Rodríguez.
Olympic bronze medalist in Tokyo together with Xammar, the Galician has things clear: “We are a team that has been sailing together for a short time and we still have work ahead of us. It's about being consistent and seeing that we compete at a high level. All regattas are important now and we are taking the Lanzarote International Regatta ours for what it is: a serious, important regatta, with a well-assembled team as we are seeing. We are happy with the process we are following”.
No tryouts for the 49er
The main official of the Lanzarote International Regatta, Ricardo Navarro, regretted that it was not possible to do more regattas. “We've had a lot of viting today, maybe more than we'd like, but the reason there wasn't more testing was the haze. In our sport we work in direct contact with nature and, sometimes, nature says that we cannot navigate”.
Meanwhile, two British teams fit in taking the top spot in the 49er and 49erFX fleets: James Peters and Fynn Sterritt and Freya Black and Saskia Tidey, respectively.
This afternoon even the flights in and out of Lanzarote have been delayed due to the effects of the haze. If the dust from the Sahara clears overnight and visibility improves, the plan is to do a full-fleet moto and then the Medal Race, with just the top 10 finishers on the 470, 49er and 49erFX.
Classifications
470
1. Dahlberg/Karlsson (SUE), 7+5+1+2+1+(9)+1=17
2. Xammar/Brugman (ESP), 3+3+12+1+2+2+(DNC/33)=23
3. Mas/Rodríguez (ESP), 1+7+7+(8)+8+6+5=34
… up to 32 qualifiers
49er
1. Peters/Sterritt (GBR), 4+3+2+2+3+(23)+3=17
2. Dunning Beck/Gunn (NZL), (15)+7+8+8+7+2+1=33
3. Przybytek/Piasecki (POL), (12)+5+9+9+2+9+7=41
… up to 29 qualifiers
40er FX
1. Negro/Tidey (GBR), 1+(12)+2+4+1=8
2. Germani/Bertuzzi (ITA), 5+(6)+1+1+6=13
3. Oak/Shea (USA), 4+(18)+3+8+4=19
… up to 30 classified
Report an error
