Racing Starts Today At 2009 Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship

The 39th edition of the Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship launches into action on the Bay of Buzios today, with 283 sailors from 60 nations set to do battle across seven events.

The championship officially got underway as the ISAF Flag was raised at a samba-styled Opening Ceremony held in Buzios, Brazil yesterday evening. Today the focus shifts to the water with the opening two races scheduled for each of the seven Youth Worlds events.

The first starts are scheduled for 12:00 local time (15:00 UTC) and weather conditions look set to be ideal, with 10-15 knot northerly shifting around to the north east through the day. With a cold front passing overnight, the conditions are expected to be much lighter tomorrow.

Jonatas Freitas MORALES GONGALVES (BRA) knows the local weather patterns as well as anyone. His day job is coach for the Confederacao Brasileira de Vela e Motor, but this week he’s in Buzios as assistant to ISAF Championship Coach, double Olympic medallist Santiago LANGE (ARG).

Following on from today’s breezy conditions, MORALES GONGALVES is expecting lighter winds before a return to the more typical Buzios weather in a couple of days. “As it’s winter time we’ve got some low pressure coming which is set to stay here in Buzios for one or two days,” he explains. “With the wind coming towards the shore conditions will be lighter and it’s will make for tricky sailing in shifty winds. After this low pressure passes we’ll have stronger winds again with waves like we’ve seen for the practice races.”

Twelve races are scheduled across each of the seven Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship events. Six racing days are spread across 11-17 July, with a lay day on 14 July. Two of last year’s champions are in Buizos to defend their titles, whilst Great Britain is defending the prized Volvo Trophy, awarded to the top-performing nation at the championship. With the huge entry and a lot of new faces competing this year, pre-championship favourites have been particularly difficult to identify, so today’s racing is a great opportunity for the teams to mark themselves out as potentially medallists.

Event – Equipment – Entries

Boy’s One Person Dinghy – Laser Radial
Girl’s One Person Dinghy – Laser Radial
Boy’s Two Person Dinghy – 420
Girl’s Two Person Dinghy – 420
Boy’s Windsurfer – RS:X
Girl’s Windsurfer – RS:X
Open Multihull – Hobie 16

Racing Schedule

Saturday 11 July – 2 races scheduled
Sunday 12 July – 3 races scheduled
Monday 13 July – 2 races scheduled
Tuesday 14 July – Lay Day
Wednesday 15 July 2 races scheduled
Thursday 16 July – 2 races scheduled
Friday 17 July – 1 race scheduled

Keep up to date with all the latest updates at www.isafyouthworlds.com.