International 14 World Championship 2015: Milder conditions for Race 4

After yesterday’s windy afternoon race, the 67-boat International 14 World Championships fleet are today expected to enjoy a much milder day on Corio Bay in Geelong.

The race management team at Royal Geelong Yacht Club are preparing to set a course for a south-easterly breeze of between six and 10 knots.

This forecast will come as a relief for several of the exhausted crews who, like the British team of Julian Pearson and David Edge, have had gear repair work to do overnight. If they can get their boat ready in time, the pair will deserve, as a minimum, an encouragement award. Early in the regatta they broke their mast. They then had a super start to Race 2 leading the fleet before a costly capsize. Then there was yesterday.

Britain’s Julian Pearson and David Edge hard at work on Beast II prior to the start of racing today.
Credit: Tracey Johnstone

“We had major gear problems yesterday. A shroud gave way and it was game over. It then took us an hour and a half to get back to shore. In the process we lost our boom, but we have been able to borrow another one from a UK team. And, we have had to get some sail repairs done,” - Edge said.

On the massage table in the covered work area, Amanda Drennan has been kept busy. “Yesterday I had over 10 sailors on the table after racing,” - Drennan said. Early this morning she was back to work with a steady stream of grateful sailors lining up.

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