Danish pair top Pre-Worlds event
[caption id="attachment_75113" align="alignright" width="300"] LOCAL HOPES: Port Elizabeth sailors Sigi Bailes and Dudley Isaacs compete in the first race of the 5O5 Pre-Worlds and South African Championships in the Bay yesterday Picture: MIKE HOLMES -[/caption]
THE first race of the 5O5 Pre-Worlds and South African Championships was sailed in very light, shifty conditions in the Bay yesterday.
There were two races scheduled for the day, but the first had to be abandoned halfway through after a 180 degree wind shift.
The race that did take place was sailed in the south west breeze on flat seas and allowed the fleet to come close inshore and sail around a mark laid close to Shark Rock Pier.
Denmark's Jan Saugmann and Jakob Karbo took first place followed by United States competitors Ted Conrad and Brian Haines. Aussies Sandy Higgins and Paul Marsh were third.
Thomas and Peter Funke were the best of the South Africans in sixth place.
The final day of the Pre-Worlds takes place today with the weather man predicting more wind from the South West ranging from 11 to 17 knots.
After today's racing, the South African champions will be crowned at the opening ceremony at 5pm followed by a civic reception in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan City Hall.
Local Algoa Bay Yacht Club sailors, Sigi Bailes and Dudley Isaacs, will be sailing the PreWorlds and world championships in black vests today, while the rest of the fleet sails in SAP Gold Vests.
Bailes and Isaacs sailed to 22nd place in the 28 boat fleet yesterday.
Bailes and Isaacs applied to the race committee to sail in black vests in order to pay respect to and in memory of Glynis Baer and Joy Finn, who both died in a car accident outside Swellendam, earlier this month.
Baer was a member of Algoa Bay Yacht Club and was one of the main organisers of the 60th SAP 5O5 World Championships event.
Joy was the wife of the South African Sailing Eastern Cape Councillor Andrew Finn. Bailes is a member of ABYC and Isaacs is with Knysna Yacht Club.
-Herald Reporter
