ASIAN SAILING CHAMPIONSHIPS: SHIFTS, CURRENT, AND STRATEGY AT PLAY ON DAY ONE OF RACING

December 13, 2023

An unexpected wind shift right and a strong windward current tested sailors on their first day of racing at the 2023 Asian Sailing Championships, resulting in some notable swings in results at the top of most fleets.

In the ILCA 7, Kazumasa Segawa of Japan bounced from fifth in the first race to first in the second. Thailand’s Chusitt Punjamala, who won the first race, dropped to eighth in the second. In the ILCA 6, Thailand’s Sophia Montgomery scored a first, then dropped to sixth. China’s Dongshuang Zhang followed her fifth-place finish in the first race with a first-place finish in the second.

In the 49ers, China’s Zaiding Wen and Tian Liu won the first race only to finish tenth in the second race.  Mingliang Ding and Wenwei Zhang, also of China, won the second race after an eighth-place finish in the first.

The only fleets that saw consistent results were the 470 and 49erFX classes. In the 470, Ming Xu and Yahan Tu of China won both races of the day, their compatriots Zangjun Xu and Yani Xu with two third place finishes. In the 49erFX, Chinese ended the day first and second overall, but Singapore’s Kimberly Lim and Cecilia Low will be the ones to watch, overcoming a black flag in the first race to win the second race.

As one coach explained, the pattern of the past two weeks broke today. After consistently shifting left during training days, the wind initially predictably moved left then dodged right by 20-30 degrees. A postponement for a course correction after the first significant shift put the ILCA fleets up against an additional challenge, the full strength of an outgoing current coming from the same direction of the wind during the second race. Those who had gone into deeper waters on the left were left at its mercy.

Sailors, however, credited good results to good starts and poor results partly to strategic missteps. Unforeseen conditions aside, two fleet leaders with mixed results acknowledged losing strong leads while focused on protecting their positions instead of expanding their leads.

The 2023 Asian Sailing Championship is the last Asian-only Olympic sailing qualifying event. Of the 193 sailors registered, 187 from 17 Asian nations are eligible to qualify their country for Paris 2024, three others being from outside the region, and Malaysia already qualified in the ILCA 6 class.

The event is organized by the Yacht Racing Association of Thailand and the Royal Thai Navy, with the support of World Sailing and the Asian Sailing Federation. Sponsors include the Sports Authority of Thailand, Chonburi Province, and Pattaya City.

For results, see https://www.pattaya-olympic-qualifier.com/results/

Note: Results in the Nacra 17 class were, at time of press, pending the outcome of a hearing.

Report by Nima Chandler

Photography: Yacht Racing Association of Thailand