The last light wind day
It was busy at the Hellingweg around 11 am when the male ILCA6, 420’s and 29er classes all went on the water. All start times were rescheduled a little to hopefully have better conditions and a bit more wind. Again a light and tricky day for the sailors, especially with the tide to turn during racing.
The good thing is that a calm sea makes it easier for the sailors to talk to their coaches, who are on one of the big fishing boats during the day. Heavy winds and a lot of waves make this quite challenging, but less ribs floating around is a good thing to help reduce the footprint of the event.
Keagan Nel from South Africa is sailing an ILCA6 and was also waiting in the early morning traffic jam on the ramp. He enjoyed the past few days: “I’m good in the light airs. I went from 4th to last on Sunday to 18th in the last race yesterday. So the light winds paid off. The fleet is very competitive, really anybody can win. One guy came last yesterday and the day before he won the race.”
The ILCA’s did go out but unfortunately for Keagan he could not profit from the light wind today. Both ILCA6 classes did not manage to complete a race today. Unfortunately the wind died and the current got stronger. After the wind shifted around a few times they decided to give the Nacra’s a go.
Both the 29er classes went out today but only the boys managed to race this morning. The girls did go out but unfortunately did not have enough wind to race.
The 2 pm crew change
At 2 pm the Delta flag was up for the female 420 teams. To lose as little time as possible they all got taken to their boats by rib. Normally they have to wait on shore for the boys to come back and hand over their boat. This way both 420 clases managed to finish all races scheduled for today. Around the same time the ILCA’s headed back and the Nacra15 fleet went out to course C.
Nacra15’s sailing around Smartmarks today
In the one race that was sailed by the Nacra15’s today the organization tested the Smartmarks. Normally, the marks to set a course for sailors and surfers have to be taken out and moved by committee boats. Because the GPS-controlled Smartmark buoy can be moved via an application less ribs are needed to adjust a race course.
The foiling conditions were failing today
For the foilers the day was a little less action packed. Only the male kiteboarders finished a race. The rest has to wait till tomorrow, when the typical Scheveningen conditions kick in and it’s time to fly!
Testing marks, boats and other ideas to reduce our footprint
Edwin Lodder is member of the organizing committee and advisor sailing at the Youth Worlds and always thinking about ways to reduce the footprint of the event. And to make sailing events more sustainable in the future: “The young athletes have a lot on their mind. For many of them it’s their first big international event. This is why we tried to make our sustainability actions and solutions as much fun and as effortless as possible.”
“For the future of sailing it’s also important to think about ways to reduce the number of coach boats and make them more sustainable. During the coach forum tonight we’ll share a presentation with ideas about the development of new electric coach boats, like the RS Pulse. This is the electric coach boat we are testing during this event.”
Time for a TrashUre Hunt
In the light of sustainability goals and reducing the footprint there’s a TrashUre Hunt on the social program tonight! Together with Olympic champion Dorian van Rijsselberghe and the TrashUre Hunt organization from Scheveningen all sailors are invited to join a fun and inspiring beach clean up.
Keep the sea plastic free
The event organization motivates the athletes to use as little single-use plastic as possible. Water tabs can be found near the sailor’s lounge and reusable water bottles are provided to all participants.
Bikes, bikes and more bikes
The Netherlands is the ultimate destination for cycling thanks to its flat landscape, mild climate, short distances and wonderful infrastructure. To make it easy for all participants to get around quickly and reduce the amount of cars and vans on site, every single sailor and coach got their own bike for the duration of the event.
