After five races and one discard, Greek Byron Kokkalanis leads the RS:X Worlds in Buzios.  The wind increases in Manguinhos beach and the sun shows up again.[more]


The second day of racing in the 7th RS: X Worlds was typical of Buzios, home of the competition. The wind of 15 knots from the east allowed the race committee to do the three races scheduled, with an average duration of 30 minutes each. With five races completed, thesailors discarded the worst result, which has changed the score sheet a lot.


Sailing at home, happy with the perfect conditions, Ricardo “Bimba” Winicki, won the first race of the day and with a third and a fourth place, moved up to 5th position overall. The leader is the Greek Byron Kokkalanis.


“The wind was a little more constant and I sailed easier today. On the first race, I believed in the gusts on the right side of the course. It paid off and I won. On the second race, I did the whole race in fourth, passing the French in the last downwind leg. In the last one, I had a good start and fought with Dorian Van Rijsselberge and Nick Dempsey, gold and silver medals in London Games, the whole race”, said Bimba.


Brit Nick Dempsey also sailed well. With the discard he appears in third place overall, two points behind the leader.


“The weather was quite tricky again on the water and I had a six and two second places. That is not bad, the first result is a little bit disappointing, but the weather was quite difficult there, so, it’s ok”, he said.


The girls also had three races and Brit Bryony Shaw took the lead. The French Charline Picon regrets having lost the first place. “I haven’t sailed in these conditions in a while so it served as a test for me. Today was a bit more complicated. In the third race I made a mistake that cost me the leadership. I was close to the British, but took the wrong decision in the windward leg and ended in 13th place”, she said.


Among the female Brazilian sailors, Patricia Freitas was the best placed in 13th overall. She had a good start, finishing ninth and seventh places, but in the third race she could not start well and ended up finishing in 18th place.


With yesterday’s races, the men’s fleet reach the end of the qualifying series and tomorrow (Monday) will be divided into gold and silver fleets, with the first 50% of the best sailors on the first and the second half of the fleet on the last. The girls will continue sailing a single fleet until March 5th. On March 6th, the top ten will sail the medal race, with double points and no discards allowed.


Tomorrow three more races are scheduled, with the start signal at 12pm. The forecast indicates that the wind will remain the same as today: 12 to 15 kt from the east.


The 7th World Championship RS: X is sponsored by city of Buzios, Pro Lagos, Institute Equipav and Aegea. Is supported by Federal Government and has the aid of: Wollner, Rider, Hannover Wines and Bodega Ruca Malen.


Results:


Men’s fleet after five races and one discard


1. Byron Kokkalanis, GRE, 9 points
2. Dorian Van Rijsselberge, NED, 10 p
3. Nick Dempsey, GBR, 11 p
4. Piotr Myszka, POL, 11 p
5. Ricardo Winick, BRA, 14 p



Women’s fleet after five races and one discard:


1. Bryony Shaw, GBR, 10 points
2. Charline Picon, FRA, 13 p
3. Lee-El Korsiz, ISR, 14 p
4. Maayan Davidovich, ISR, 23 p
5. Qiaoshan Weng, CHN, 23 p