SAILING WEEK LANZAROTE 2023: D2, brezza da nord

Posted by RIWmag on 15 Feb 2023 /

The breeze from the north brings flatter water and unstable breeze offshore from 10-15 nodes
Shahar Tibi (ISR) takes command of iQFOiL's women's fleet
Sebastian Koerdel equalizes with Sam Sills (GBR) in the male iQFOiL

More than 360 among the best sailors in the world are ready to compete in the Lanzarote International Regatta, which takes place in the south of the Canary Islands from 9 to the 17 February.
Only in its third year, Lanzarote International Regatta is quickly establishing itself as one of the must-see events on the Olympic sailing circuit, with 39 Nations represented this week. Right after the recent Lanzarote iQFOil Games, The Lanzarote International Regatta has assembled a group of world-class race officials to manage the event for six Olympic disciplines: 49ER, 49Online RFQ/tender process, 470 Mixed, iQFOil Women and Men and Nacra 17 catamaran.

The first breeze from the north of the week brought flatter water and unstable wind conditions offshore. Compared to previous days of big wave at the Lanzarote International Regatta, il sesto giorno (D2 for IQFoil) It was a completely different challenge.

iQFOiL women
In the four regattas of the iQFOiL women's fleet, Pilar Lamadrid (ESP) has achieved the most consistent performance. It was a nice comeback after the Spanish rider had been forced to retire from racing the previous day..
"Yesterday was not the best day for me", Lamadrid said. "I didn't feel good physically. Yesterday with the big waves I felt absolutely destroyed. I finished the first race but not very well. The second race, I couldn't even do it. So I went ashore early and rested well and slept last night.. The flatter water was much better for my back and body today, And at least I managed some better races.”
With scores of 2,8,1,1, Lamadrid had the best day on the water and climbs to fourth place overall. However, is Israel Shahar Tibi (ISR) who moves to first place overall on equal points with her teammate Sharon Kantor.
“It was a good ride, much more elusive than other days”, said Tibi. "Everything was always in motion., The wind always changed from second to second. In these races you can gain a lot and lose a lot. I was probably veering more than anyone else out there., sometimes up to five turns on a upwind, which is unusual for iQFOiL because turns are expensive in terms of positions. But today it was worth it. So it's a really interesting ride., really intense".
Tibi switched to iQFOiL just weeks after representing Israel at the Tokyo Games in the 470. “Quick transition to iQFOiL but I'm still very happy I made such good progress on the board. We have a great team of girls training together in Israel. Here in Lanzarote we have four girls in the top five.". Lamadrid from Spain is the only non-Israeli in the top five.

iQFOiL men
In men iQFOiL, Sam Sills started the day well but slipped in the following races. The British rider clings to the leader's yellow bib for a breath, while the reigning world champion from Germany, Sebastian Koerdel, draws on points with Sills.
“The first two races were pretty good”, said Sills scored 1,2 at the start of the four-race session. “But my subsequent races were quite shocking.” It is true that Sills' later results of 17,23 They were nothing exciting, But tonight he will analyze the mistakes and work out a different approach for the day ahead.. The learning curve in this new Olympic class remains very steep.
Sills had some close battles with Nicolas Goyard (BETWEEN) who scored 2,1,1,17 and took third place overall. “I had an epic battle with Nico in the first race”, said the British rider. "We were neck-and-neck throughout the race., exchanging positions all the way. We were really fighting and my heart rate must have been 200. It was so extreme. Actually when we turned the last buoy my board was almost touching its, and we had this incredible fight until Nico crashed, which made it easy for me [win]”.
Goyard was also excited by an adrenaline-filled day on the water.. "The detachment and’ very tight state all along the way, and I did some good and bad races, like everyone else. Some of my beginnings were not so good, But we're all quickly learning what works and what doesn't.”