New Zealand’s 49er crews rose to the challenge in survival conditions on day two of the 49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 World Championships in Quiberon, France, with Seb Menzies and George Lee Rush leading the Kiwi charge in winds gusting well beyond 25 knots.
As much of the fleet battled capsizes and steep chop, the New Zealand crews delivered some of their strongest racing of the regatta so far, highlighted by a major climb from Mattias Coutts and Oscar Gunn, alongside another composed performance from Menzies and Lee Rush near the front of the fleet.
Menzies and Lee Rush, who sat fourth overall after the opening day, again showed impressive consistency in the heavy air. The pair opened day two with another fourth-place finish before recording a 10th in the second and final qualifying race of the day.
Those results leave the Kiwi duo seventh overall — just six points behind regatta leaders Keanu Prettner and Jakob Flachberger of Austria.
The biggest move of the day came from Coutts and Gunn, who surged 26 places up the standings to 28th overall after producing two of their best races of the championship.
The young crew claimed a superb second-place finish in their opening race before backing it up with a seventh, hauling themselves firmly back into gold fleet contention after a frustrating opening day.
“It was a really windy day with quite a lot of chop out there, and it was tough to keep the boat upright and get it around the track,” Coutts said.
After struggling to find rhythm in the lighter conditions on day one, the pair looked far more comfortable once the breeze built.
“We struggled a bit with our speed and didn’t quite execute our starts as well as we wanted to on the first day, but we were happy with how we sailed today,” Coutts added.
“We had two pretty good results, and we know that if we can find good speed, we have what it takes to put together good days and be in contention.”
Francesco Kayrouz and Hamish McLaren also relished the stronger conditions, posting scores of 10 and five to jump to 40th overall, while Sam Bacon and Blake McGlashan sit 55th overall.
Elsewhere, racing was abandoned for the 49erFX and Nacra 17 fleets as conditions deteriorated further across Quiberon Bay.
That meant no racing opportunities for Nicola and Rebecca Hume in the 49erFX, while Nacra 17 crew Micah Wilkinson and Kate Stewart were also kept ashore as organisers opted against sending the mixed multihulls onto the water.
The punishing conditions created dramatic scenes throughout the championship fleet, with widespread capsizes and races increasingly becoming tests of survival as much as speed.
Race officials eventually curtailed racing as conditions worsened through the afternoon, with forecasts pointing to another windy day ahead in Quiberon.
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Originally published by Yachting New Zealand.
