Sailing Magazine
pic by Liesl King
by Richard Crockett
After a disastrous Worlds last December where our team of Benji Daniel and Alex Burger were plagued by spreader breakages, they have made a very positive start to the 2020 49er World Champs in Geelong, Australia.
Racing on day 1 did not happen due to no wind, so this morning (Tuesday) they opened their regatta with a 51st in race 1, and went on to improve on those positions in the next three races, finishing with a 24; 13 & 14 – giving them a 51st place overall in a fleet of 78 boats. As I said, a satisfactory start which will give them confidence for the rest of the regatta.
Confidence is something these guys need heaps of as they were gutted by their performance in the 2019 Worlds in Auckland, New Zealand in December last year. It’s not that they sailed badly, but was rather due to continued spreader breakages and damage. And with this confidence needs to come some solid results to keep them in the hunt for an Olympic berth in Japan later this year.
Your “Japie” followers are rooting for you guys, so go and do it and show them what stern stuff we “Japies” are made of!
