As the day one of the regatta began with the team leader briefing, tension prevailed amongst the members of the organizing committee as each sub-committee faced and tackled different challenges that arose alongside the preparation for the launching of the boats into the sea.

With the ASAF Nations trophy at stake, the sailors had to get to grips with the heavy winds and large swells off the coast of Chennai. The 154 sailors from 18 nations racing across the six fleets were greeted with winds in the high teens, sometimes touching 20 knots, coming in from the south west which tested all, especially the Optimist Green fleet novices.

Despite all odds, all races went as per schedule. “Despite the cyclone, the organizers got everything together and conducted all the races as per schedule which is a very good thing,” commented a parent of one of the sailors. “It was a fantastic sight to see the huge fleet at sea,” he added.

The Indonesian and the Hong Kong teams took advantage on Day One and are currently leading the Laser 4.7 Classes having won all of the three races, whilst Sweden leads the Optimist fleet. “They led both the races in the optimist class and also all three in the Laser 4.7 which came as a huge surprise to many of us here,” said Swedish coach Bjurn Zetterstrom commenting on the team’s performance.

“It was a little wavy and in the first couple of races, I hoped there was more wind because of the huge waves as one needs better speed to get over them,” said Nancy Highfield from Hong Kong. While on the other hand, Zetterstrom, the Coach of the Swedish team thought that the condition was perfect. “I think the condition was perfect, the wind was very steady and the swells were something that could be handled and that made the condition perfect,” he said. “The conditions were good but quite different from back home,’ said his daughter and student, Louise Zetterstrom.

At the end of the day, the team the race committee with the extensive support from the team on the beach successfully conducted 2 Races for the Optimists – both the main fleet and the Green Fleet, 3 races for Laser 4.7 and 4 races each for the Laser Radial, 29er and RS One Classes. Further, Dyane Coelho from Goa and Anand Thakur from Bhopal of the Indian Contingent are leading in the RS One and 29er Classes.

The day was a fantastic display of excellent team work and outstanding sportsmanship.

Results are Provisional as of 16th December 2016 on 23:59

Optimist (Girls)

Optimist (Boys)

Optimist (Green Fleet)

Laser 4.7 (Girls)

Laser 4.7 (Boys)

Laser Radial (Girls)

Sailed: 3, Discards: 0, To count: 3, Entries: 4, Scoring system: Appendix A

Laser Radial (Boys)

Follow the racing action on our social media channels

https://twitter.com/ASAFUpdates

https://www.facebook.com/asiansailing

https://www.instagram.com/asiansailing/