BODA National Squad Sailors surge into top 10
Another tough breezy day on the Great Sound along with a few scattered rain showers did nothing to dampen the spirits of the 38 RenaissanceRe Junior Gold Cup sailors. Upon completion of 6 races, and at the halfway mark, Bermuda Optimist Dinghy Association (BODA) National Squad sailors, Magnus Ringsted, Sebastian Kempe, Ahzai Smith and Christian Ebbin are currently in the top 10 positions in the regatta. BODA Vice President Somers Kempe said, “I am very pleased to see the progression of the Bermuda sailors. The sailors have been travelling overseas and training very hard with their high performance international coach and while the regatta is not over yet, their results show the potential of the BODA National Squad to compete at a higher international level than in the past few years.”
The 2017-2018 BODA National Squad is Magnus Ringsted, Sebastian Kempe, Ahzai Smith, Christian Ebbin, Nicole Stovell, Laura Hupman and Rachael Betschart. Current top Bermuda female sailor Nicole Stovell is new to the Squad and BODA is very pleased to see her position thus far as 4th girl and 16th overall. Magnus Ringsted currently in 6th overall said, "I like sailing in a strong breeze so these conditions have been pretty good. I'm looking forward to two more days of sailing against some great sailors"
While the Bermudians were putting on a good show and rising upward, Jose Rother of Argentina was flawless winning all three races today and two by a large margin. Close on his heels is Santiago Pacheco of Uruguay in 2nd and in 3rd overall is Calle Lagerberg of Sweden. Top female sailor is Antonia Schultheis of Malta while younger brother Richard is in 4th overall.
Weather conditions are supposed to change tomorrow which may see a shake-up of the leaderboard. Potentially the breeze may drop down to 5-10kts which will favour the smaller sailors in the fleet. Three more races are scheduled for tomorrow before Saturday’s team Race Championships in Hamilton Harbour and a final three fleet races scheduled for Sunday.
Top 10
Jose Rother, Argentina
Santiago Pacheco, Uruguay
Calle Lagerberg, Sweden
Richard Schultheis, Malta
Fltecher Walters, Australia
Magnus Ringsted, Bermuda
Sebastian Kempe, Bermuda
William Pank, Great Britain
Ahzai Smith, Bermuda
Christian Ebbin, Bermuda
Day One starts off with a South American Drag Race
The opening races of the 15th annual RenaissanceRe Junior Gold Cup were held in "glamour" conditions out on the Great Sound today. Breeze was 20-22 knots from the ESE all day under mostly sunny skies. Straight out of the gate in it looked to be a South American drag race with Jose Rother from Argentina and Santiago Pacheco from Uruguay leading the pack.. 'Santi' was here last year and has returned having won his National Championships two years in a row. He is back to make good on his 5th place finish of last year as he felt he could do better and was very pleased to have the opportunity to return. Santi said, "I was so happy when I won the Nationals Championship at home and really hoped that Uruguay would receive the invitation so that I could come back to Bermuda, I love it here so much".
Not to be overlooked on the water was 12 year old Richard Schultheis from Malta. Both he and his sister Antonia are here competing and Malta is making their debut appearance in the Junior Gold Cup. Although he is the youngest of the overseas sailors and one of the smallest, he handled the breeze with confidence and his consistent finishes of 5, 3, 5 leave him in 4th after today.
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