A windward-leeward course was set half a mile from shore, with wind at 20 - 25 knots, gusting upwards of 26 knots. Three races were set for the day. Race 1 had a clean start at 1100, with the wind laying claim to numerous capsizes. Olympians Asenathi Jim/Roger Hudson lost their win to a disqualification, resulting in the top 3 finishers being: Taariq Jacobs/Josh Rubenstein (RSA111), Brevan Thompson/Alexander Ham (RSA12), and Ryan Barnardo/ Daniel Spratley (RSA13).

The damage continued in Race 2, with one sailor injured from a capsize. The top 3 finishers were Asenathi Jim/ Roger Hudson (RSA 1), Brevan Thompson/ Alexander Ham (RSA 12), and Sibusiso Sizatu/ Alex Burger (RSA 11). Race 3 had only seven of the ten boats finishing, and top 3 finishers were: Asenathi Jim/ Roger Hudson (RSA 1), Sibusiso Sizatu/ Alex Burger (RSA 11), and Brevan Thompson/ Alexander Ham (RSA 12).

After the day’s racing and the first protest for the Championship, the top 3 teams are overall:

Asenathi Jim/Roger Hudson (RSA 1)

Sibusiso Sizatu/Alex Burger (RSA)

Brevan Thompson/Alexander Ham (RSA)

Reflecting on the day’s racing, President of the 470 International Class, Stanislav Kassarov, commented, “I was impressed by the skill level of the sailors, as it’s not easy for many sailors to sail in such strong winds, but obviously the South African and Angolan teams were more than capable of mastering such conditions. We had good racing, and we’re looking forward to tomorrow’s two races”.

Crew of RSA13, Daniel Spratley added, “It was pretty windy, even for our standards. We had gusts of about 30 knots or so, incredibly shifty, oscillations of 15 seconds so you were always on your toes. We had a couple of pretty big wipe outs, but managed to get good results that we’re quite happy about. We’re enjoying the sailing, it’s lots of fun and we have some really good speed.”  

Three races are scheduled for Friday 15 January, with race 1 to start at 1100.

Photographs courtesy of Championship photographer Trevor Wilkins are available at: https://picasaweb.google.com/117086593120942909819/470Day2?authuser=0&feat=directlink

Featuring ten teams, the 470 African Championship is also the African Olympic Qualification Event with one place up for grabs on the starting line at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. South Africa has already qualified to Rio, so by the end of the Championship it will be either Angola or Algeria claiming the place.

Event Information:
Results - http://2016africans.470.org/uploaded_files/Document_2859_20160114192543_en.pdf
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/470-Olympic-Sailing
Onsite Media enquiries: kareemah.jacobs@gmail.com
Photo Gallery: https://picasaweb.google.com/117086593120942909819/470Day2?authuser=0&feat=directlink