Day 4: Increased breeze as the pressure builds towards the cut

After today's racing the Senior Standard fleet falls to the final cut, broken into gold, silver and bronze fleets. As solid ENE'ly breeze this morning suggests we should stay close to schedule.

A good weather forecast for Day 4 of the Laser World Championships promises to keep the pressure on the Standard Senior fleet right though to the cut which happens after racing today. For those who are destined to sail in the Silver and Bronze fleets there is the reality that this is not going to be their year to win the world title!

And for those in the Gold fleet there is the knowledge that the business end of the regatta is about to start. The preliminaries will be done and it will be time to put any worries or concerns to the back of the mind and focus on getting it right every time.

Today's forecast promises up to 18 knots with the same trend as yesterday, the early ENE'ly backing to the ESE with the addition of the thermal help during the late morning and early afternoon. 

It remains tight at the top of the standings. Tom Slingsby's back to back wins yesterday sent him to the top, but the size of his winning margins were significant and certainly were the talk of the dinghy park yesterday and this morning. There was a minor moment or two for the double world champion when he discovered a small crack in the head of his daggerboard when he was rigging. A replacement was sourced, one which had already been repaired. The pressure, such as it was, was heightened because he's away in the Yellow flight, today's first start. But he got off the beach on time.

Slingsby has Nick Thompson (GBR), lying sixth overall, in Yellow and Kiwi Andrew Maloney in Yellow. In Blue third placed Goodison is drawn with 2009 runner up Michael Bullot (NZL) and Andreas Geritzer (AUT), 2004 silver medallist who lies ninth. And in Blue there is Joshua Junior, the young Kiwi who lies second, Italy's fifth placed Giacomo Bottoli and eight placed Andrew Murdoch (NZL).

The Junior World Championship have their rest day today.

2/9/2010 10:23