Out of a mixture of modesty and misinterpretation sportsman often talk up luck. Sailors are no different, but on and opening day to Hempel Sailing World Championships Aarhus 2018, when the words “shifty”, “tricky” and “lucky” were thrown about the boat park faster than in a Vegas casino, the cream rose to the top.
Only one race was possible for each of the two men’s 470 fleets (the 130 sailors in 65 boats were split into two fleets), but the first was won comfortably in the end by the Swedish 2018 European Champions, Anton Dahlberg and Frederik Bergström and the second by the Greek bronze medallists in the 2016 Rio Olympics, Panagiotis Mantis and Pavlos Kagialis.
Behind the Swedes, the Australia’s perennial favourites, Mat Belcher and William Ryan, came back from 14th to finish strongly in third. The silver medallists in Rio, gold medallist in London 2012, and winners of the last two World Championships, kept patient and chipped away on each beat and run.
The women’s 470 (94 contenders in 47 boats and one fleet) started to follow the same pattern as racing continued late with Switzerland’s Linda Fahrni and Maja Siegenthaler, winners of the Test Event in Aarhus this time last year, dominated from start to finish. But it was the French who had the best day. Camille Lecointre – the Rio bronze medallist – and her new crew, Aloise Retornaz, were a clear second in the first race and managed sixth in second race, where the Swiss finished thirteenth.
With so many changes in the women’s fleet crews in the last couple of years the results were not such a surprise. Britain’s gold medallist in Rio, Hannah Mills and her new crew, Eilidh McIntyre (GBR), had a tougher day, in this mammoth field, finishing 9th and 14th to lie 8th overall.
In the Finn, both fleets (90 sailors from 41 countries split into two fleets of 45) managed one race and the first was won by the 25-year-old Brazilian favourite, Jorge Zarif, who was fourth in Rio but has dominated 2018.
After waiting four hours for wind, Zarif moved through the fleet in a beautiful south-easterly of 8-10 knots. Zarif is the son of the late Jorge Zarif Neto, who finished eighth in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.
Brazil’s most decorated sailors, Torben Grael and Robert Scheidt, here to support another strong Brazilian team, were in the boat park to offer him encouragement.
In the second fleet, Croatia’s Josip Olujic, was more of an outside winner, leading from start to finish. Max Salminen, who won gold in the Star class at the London 2012 Olympics, the Finn class world championship last year and is ranked second in the world behind Zarif in 2018, stormed back to finish third.
This is likely to be a week of high scores. You can’t win a regatta on the first day, but you can lose one, especially with only one discard for the week. New names always emerge at World Championships, but the best keep showing that they find a way whatever the conditions.
Full results for each fleet can be found here.
by Matthew Pryor