First day drama at the Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF Championship

The British team lead the charge in the 29er with two strong performances in both the girls and boys fleets, while the Cyprian sailors carried on dominating in the Laser and Boy¹s RS:X. The strong winds returned to the Bay of Århus today keeping the sailors working hard on the second day of the event.

There was a change at the top of the leaderboard in the SL16 multihull fleet with the ISAF Athlete Participation Programme (APP) sailors from South Africa taking the top spot from the Danish team. Matthew Whitehead and Micheal Ovenstone who were in fourth after the first day found their form on the water with a first and second. Whitehead commented, ³It was quite breezy out there on the water with huge waves which is what we like to sail in. We overstood one mark and came screaming in, nearly taking a few boats out! We had a brilliant day.²

These sailors are amongst the 29 APP sailors who are helped each year to compete by ISAF and the programme. They get financial backing and an internationally renowned coach in the form of Jim Saltonstall (World Youth Sailing Trust coach) to help them throughout the week.

Maja Knezevic (SRB) in the Laser Radial class is another young sailor who has been helped by the APP scheme to represent her country. It is the first time Serbia has competed at the Youth Worlds and she is very proud to be here. ³I am loving my time here. Jim is a really great coach and looks after us all, as well as some of the other sailors who need extra help. I just want to do as well as I can,² said Knezevic.

The breezy conditions made for plenty more excitement on the 29er course and following three races in both boy¹s and girl¹s fleet the British and Australian teams continue to dominate the overall standings. James Peters and Ed Fitzgerald (GBR) won the opening two races in boy¹s fleet and although they dropped to tenth in race five after hitting a wave and pitch polling on the final run, they hold the overall lead. Byron White and Rhys Mara (AUS) are just three points behind in second, whilst Judge Ryan and Hans Henken (USA) climb five places to third overall and were the standout performers with 2, 3, 1 scores today.

Great Britain also leads the Girl¹s 29er fleet, with Frances Peters, James¹s older sister, and Claire Lasko posting first, second and third place finishes today. After five top-three finishes the pair have built a six-point cushion at the front but are not getting carried away yet. ³I am really pleased to get consistent results this early in the competition but we have a long way to go so we have to keep it up. We have to take each day as it comes,² said Peters. It was also a good day for the Dutch crew of Annemiek Bekkering and Jeske Kisters, who scored a sixth and two bullets to move up six places to fourth overall.

The 29er fleets had the benefit of a video debrief from Jim Saltonstall after yesterday¹s racing and it certainly showed in the improved performance of some of the teams today. The Brazilian Girl¹s 29er duo of Martine Grael and Daniela Adler climbed four places up the overall leaderboard to seventh after scores of 3, 4, 5 today. ³We¹ve been sailing 29ers for three months and today was only the fourth day of strong winds in our lives. But we¹re doing well so we¹re really happy about it,² said Adler. It is no surprise the team are such quick learners when you consider their sailing backgrounds; Martine is the daughter of Volvo Ocean Race skipper and five-time Olympic medallist Torben Grael whilst Daniela¹s uncle is Daniel Adler, also an Olympic medallist. The next generation are also clearly aware of the family traditions.

In the Laser Radial class the Australian defending champion now leads the pack with a consistent top five positions as the Canadian sailor Isabelle Bertold falls to second only two points behind. The Finnish competitor, Heidi Tenkanen posted a first and a fifth to raise her from sixth to third overall.

Pavlos Kontides (CYP) carries on leading the boy¹s Laser fleet with another two first places, making it look very easy out on the water in the big breeze. American Luke Lawrence also showed consistency with two second places lifting him to second place overall and pushing local Århus sailor, Thorbjorn Schierup into third.

The top three places in the Boy¹s RS:X fleet have remained the same with the Cypriot windsurfer, Michalis Malekkides posting a first and fourth. This is his second Youth Worlds and he was looking for a top six place before he came but now thinks he can do better. ³I worked a lot over the year with my coach to improve on my strength. Especially when it¹s windy I think I¹m very good and in the light wind I do well. I think that the work is paying off now,² said Malekkides.

Laura Linares carries on leading the girl¹s fleet with a second and first place with Poland¹s Maja Dziarnowska and Greece¹s Anastasia Davrou swapping places below her.

Follow all the action from Århus including news, results, features and more on the 2008 Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship website www.youthworlds2008.org and on the ISAF Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship microsite www.sailing.org/youthworlds.