Laser World Championships Day 5

9:36 PM Mon 24 Aug 2009 GMT

'2009 Laser Worlds Halifax' Matias Capizzano &copy

Laser World Championships Day 5. For the second day in a row there was no racing at the 2009 Nautel Laser Worlds taking placed on St. Margaret's Bay in Nova Scotia.

A brush with Hurricane Bill on Sunday forced organizers to store 196 Laser hulls inside two buildings at the St. Margaret Sailing Club. The boats were unpacked quickly on Monday morning in anticipation of a great day of racing, but St. Margaret's Bay did not live up to its reputation of steady afternoon sea breezes.

Instead the fleet floated around the race committee boat waiting for the wind to fill in. It never did. At one point in disgust, athletes began hitting the hulls of their boats with their tiller extensions, the drum beat echoing across the water, almost calling to the wind.

'It's disappointing to lose two days of racing,' said event manager Duncan Enman. 'It happens sometimes and just means we will try to get in more races in the next two days. Having a day without wind on St. Margaret's Bay, this time of year, is almost unheard of.'

While athletes were disappointed with the lack of racing, they also recognize there's not much that can be done. The forecast for Tuesday calls for winds 10 to 15 knots (20 to 32 kilometres per hour).

Estonian coach Rein Ottoson, who runs a top-notch racing school in Tallinn said, 'I have been to many World sailing events and there was usually a major problem or two with racing and organization. Not here; both the organizing and race committees have been excellent.'

Major sponsor Nautel of Nova Scotia, which sells broadcast equipment in over 170 countries, has taken the very unusual step of setting up a temporary FM radio station (106.3) under a special licence. The media, hundreds of volunteers ashore, spectators and the general public all enjoy commentary and interviews during these World Championships. One veteran international journalist commented, 'It's a great idea because we can listen when often required to stay ashore to write stories to send home.'

by Event media

Newsfeed supplied by

#News #Sailing

Sailing

Reefing Early: Shorten Sail Before You Must

Sailing

Heave-To: Sailing's Emergency Pause Button

Sailing

Heaving To: Park the Boat in a Blow

Sailing

Overnight at Anchor: Setting Up Right

Sailing

The Figure-8: Return to a Person Overboard

Sailing

VHF Radio on the Water: Channels and Calls

Sailing

Read the Wind: Judge Its Force Without a Gauge

Nearby
Mount Wellington, TAS	31 kn WSW	4°
Bushy Park, TAS	9 kn W	14°
Campania, TAS	Calm	14°
Grove, TAS	3 kn N	12°
Tunnack, TAS	4 kn SSW	10°
Dennes Point, TAS	12 kn WNW	14°
Ouse, TAS	6 kn WNW	11°
Windiest in Australia
Maatsuyker Island, TAS	37 kn NW	11°
Most Windless in Australia
Cerberus, VIC	Calm	11°
Hottest in Australia
Fitzroy Crossing, WA	4 kn SSW	34°
Coldest in Australia
Perisher Valley, NSW	3 kn SW	1°
Wettest in Australia
Pukatja, SA	40.2 mm

Laser World Championships Day 5

Reefing: Read the Signs, Act Early

The Beaufort Scale: How We Learned to Rank Wind

Reefing Early: Shorten Sail Before It's Too Late

Live Weather

Nearby

Windiest in Australia

Most Windless in Australia

Hottest in Australia

Coldest in Australia

Wettest in Australia

Sailing Articles

Buy & Sell

2022 Cabrinha Switchblade

2024 Naish Odyssey

2025 Duotone Glide Version 2

2026 Duotone Grip 4 88 & 94

Severne R8

Cloud 9 High Modulus + Carbon Mast 80Cm

2022 Fanatic Pro Wave

Know before you go

Download the Seabreeze app for iOS or Android.

Weather

Activities

About

Other

Support