ILCA Australian & Oceania Championships at Adelaide Sailing Club - Qualifying Day 1
by Jack Fletcher 3 Jan 00:41 PST
1-8 January 2024
Australia's Matt Wearn leads the way after Day 1 of qualifying at the ILCA 7 Australian & Oceania Championships being held at Adelaide Sailing Club.
Lorenzo Chiavarini from Italy leads the Open class, but with some big numbers and no drops, the top 10 is still wide open.
After a grey morning with a few spots of rain, the day cleared for what was a fantastic first day of the regatta.
A shifting breeze kept everyone on their toes with big gains to be made by watching the cloud bands roll through, dictating the direction and intensity of the wind.
The ILCA 7s first race was run in a fantastic 15 knots with the ILCA 6s starting their day with a light 8-10 knots and lumpy seaway that provided some good rides and tactical downwinds with the swell direction slightly at odds with the wind.
"It was pretty tricky but came home quite well with a 3 and a 1. It was shifting around a bit with overcast skies and just dumping down from the skies." Said ILCA 7 sailor Lorenzo Quiaverini from Italy.
In the ILCA 4 class Aidan Simmons has taken a narrow lead from Chase Taylor with a big chasing pack all on 7 points behind them.
Breanne Wadley and Caterina Meyer are right in the mix sitting in equal 3rd place and the leading women.
With the ILCA 4 sailors mixing it with the world's best as they prepare for the Men's Open worlds, it's a great chance for them to see how the best ILCA sailors prepare and race.
"Oh it's very very fun and good, yeah it's just inspiring to see really good sailors and you just like want to be like them so it's good." said ILCA 4 Sailor Henry Pigott
In the ILCA 6 a late start due to a shifting breeze means we're waiting on results with the fleet only just returning to shore.
Tomorrow looks like another glamorous Adelaide day with 30 degrees and 20+ knots forecast.
For more information and to enter into the event, head to www.adelaidesailingclub.com.au/majorevents/ilca-2024.