Great finale for 2017 International WASZP Games
Campione, Italy (August 5, 2017) – It was a fitting finale to the first International WASZP Games at Campione on Lake Garda. Harry Mighell from Sorrento in Victoria, Australia, did a horizon job on the fleet in light 7 to 10 knot marginal foiling conditions.
Race 9 started in a patchy light breeze from the South, that swung around the compass right from the start. The fleet of 53 WASZP’s packed the start line, low riding off on starboard tack. This time the shift further to true South forced the majority to take the left side of the course sailing low towards Malcesine on the East side of the Lake. A number of competitors fell into holes or off the foils stopping dead to let clusters of other WASZP’s past.
Rory Rose (GBR) from Aberdeen & Stonehaven YC in Scotland, led a group of the lighter youth sailors around lap 1, but the experience of Harry Mighell was enough for him to keep them in his sights. Harry rounded just behind Reed Baldridge (USA). Guillaume Rol, the 19 year old Swiss sailor and Stuart Appleby from WPNSA in the UK were up in the front pack.
Downwind, Harry Mighell pulled away leaving the young guns to try and defend their positions against the more experienced WASZP sailors. Back upwind for the second time and Mighell used the pressure in the middle section of the course to sail well clear, but the places were changing be-hind him as the breeze continued to oscillate.
Rory Rose held on to second and the kiwi Bruce Curson appeared to be reeling in the places just ahead of Joan Costa from Spain, his nearest rival overall. Reed Baldridge was slipping down the pack and his challenge for the overall title rapidly fading.
The last leg was a bit of a game changer, as the breeze begun to fade and the struggle to stay in pressure to foil becoming an absolute necessity.
Harry Mighell cruised across the finish line to win by a country mile. Harry was a key cog in the design and build team of the WASZP and it was a proud moment for him to win the inaugural International WASZP Games in the boat he was largely responsible for creating.
Behind Harry, second to cross the line was a jubilant young Swiss youth sailor Guillaume Rol, enjoying his moment in the sun. Carving through the fleet for third was Kohei Kajimoto, one of the WASZP team who sails in Melbourne, Australia. In fourth was Joan Costa from Spain, who at only 17 years of age, sealed the Youth category. Behind Joan, another Spanish young gun, Ruben Booth, finished with his best performance of the championship. Reed Baldridge crept over in sixth to claim second overall in the championship.
Final Results (Top 10 after 9 races inc 2 discards)
- AUS 238 – Harold Mighell – 4,2,3,1,2,1,1,1,1 = 9pts
- USA 2383 – Reed Baldridge – 1,1,2,3,3,3,2,3,5 = 15pts
- AUS 2380 – Kohei Kajimoto – 9,6,5,2,4,2,6,2,ocs = 27pts
- ESP 2167 – Joan Costa – 5,4,OCS,4,6,5,5,9,3 = 32pts
- NZL 2382 – Bruce Curson – 11,8,6,5,8,6,4,5,7 = 41pts
- FRA 44 – Pierre Leboucher – 6,9,7,6,12,7,7,7,9 = 49pts
- AUS 2395 – Tristan Brown – 16,5,9,12,7,10,9,4,8 = 52pts
- AUS 2390 – Dean Souter – 18,dnf,1,26,1,4,3,6,20 = 53pts
- AUS 2389 – Gus Ekberg – 2,11,11,7,9,9,11,12,24 = 60pts
- GBR 2078 – Stuart Appleby – 7,7,15,10,11,8,10.,8,13 = 61pts
Event details – Results – Facebook
Championship Results – All Categories
| Place | Country | Entrant | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Overall | Australia | Harry Mighell | 9 |
| 2nd Overall | USA | Reed Baldridge | 15 |
| 3rd Overall | Japan | Kohei Kajmoto | 27 |
| 4th Overall | Spain | Joan Costa | 32 |
| 5th Overall | New Zealand | Bruce Curson | 41 |
| Place | Country | Entrant | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st European | Spain | Joan Costa | 32 |
| 2nd European | France | Pierre Leboucher | 49 |
| 3rd European | Great Britain | Stuart Appleby | 61 |
| Place | Country | Entrant | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Female | New Zealand | Sara Winther | 236 |
| 2nd Female | Norway | Fredrikke Foss | 237 |
| 3rd Female | USA | Melissa Kalcin | 273 |
| Place | Country | Entrant | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Master | New Zealand | Mark Orams | 94 |
| 2nd Master | New Zealand | Glen Sowry | 163 |
| 3rd Master | Spain | Mikel Vasquez | 190 |
| Place | Country | Entrant | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Junior | Spain | Joan Costa | 32 |
| 2nd Junior | Great Britain | Rory Rose | 78 |
| 3rd Junior | Spain | Marcal Costa | 110 |
| Place | Country | Entrant | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Silver (6.9) | Norway | Nicolai Jacobsen | 135 |
| 2nd Silver (6.9) | Sweden | Rasmus Granzin | 161 |
| 3rd Silver (6.9) | Great Britain | William Heathcote | 169 |
Reverse Grid (Pursuit) Race
| Place | Country | Entrant | Start Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Great Britain | Stuart Appleby | 3 |
| 2nd | Australia | Harry Mighell | 1 |
| 3rd | Norway | Erik Karlsen | 7 |
Speed Demons (GPS)
| Place | Country | Entrant | Peak Speed | 10 Second Avg. |
| ——- | ———– | ——— | ——– | ——– |
| 1st | New Zealand | Bruce Curson | 21.8 knots | 20.4 |
| 2nd | Norway | Nikolai Jacobsen | 21.5 | 20.1 |
| 3rd | France | Pierre Leboucher | 21.0 | 20.4 |
| 4th | Norway | Alexander Hogheim | 20.8 | 20.2 |
| 5th | Norway | Tobias Birkeland | 20.7 | 19.7 |