420 World Championship sees three races with strong wind

Another magnificent windy day on the waters of Arma di Taggia: 211 crews were engaged in the penultimate day of racing of the 420 Frecciarossa World Championships. With 14 stable knots from the east, the race committee started the first races of the day on the two regatta fields located just under a mile from the coast; these were always well managed also thanks to the use of MarkSetBot robotic buoys, even with the strong wind conditions during today's third and last regatta, when the wind reached 20 knots. Taking advantage of these conditions, the Sitzmann-Woodworth couple among the males who, today too, have taken home three first places - added to the three of yesterday, making a great performance of 6 consecutive victories. The US crew are thus positioned in the upper part of the ranking with a large margin of advantage over the direct opponents in the gold fleet. Behind them the French Delerce-Rossi (3-2-3 the partials of the day) and then, the Spaniards Morales-Bethencourt (7-19-4). On the female front too, the American domination continues with the Lahrkamp-McNamara crew who, thanks to three excellent races (1-1-3), climbed the rankings from the third place yesterday and today is at the top of the chart followed by the Spanish Ballester-Perello. They paid the price of the first two races which were below their standards (24-18-1). The French Benoit-Apolline (2-12-7) are back in the third position and stand out for their regularity in the rankings.

On the U17 side, another amazing day for the Parkin-Whidden couple who took home three daily victories, with a considerable gap from their opponents. This further underlines how the US crews are at ease in strong wind conditions. Behind them the Spaniards Perello-Cardona (10-5-7), who maintain yesterday’s position in front of the other Iberian (male) crew Mesquida-Jaume (6-2-5).
The World Championship continues tomorrow with the final day, at least 2 other races and the prize-giving ceremony are planned.

 The nations represented
Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Croatia, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, England, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, and the USA.
 
The 420
The 420 was designed by Christian Maury, in response to a specification drawn up by Aristide Lehoerrff and Pierre Latxague, sailing instructors at the Socoa sailing school in Saint Jean de Luz - Ciboure in southwestern France. The project aimed to meet the need for a high-performance training boat. Originally designed for experienced sailors looking to improve their racing skills, it was soon realized that this boat suited a wide variety of crew weights and abilities well. The Class developed rapidly in France, being adopted nationally as a propaedeutic hull for the Olympic 470 class, launched in 1964. Its international status has been recognized by the International Yacht Racing Union, then ISAF, and now World Sailing. The 420 was the boat chosen for the very first ISAF World Youth Championships, held in Angelholm, Sweden, in 1971.
50 years ago exactly from the 2021 Frecciarossa Sanremo World Championships.