Bryony Shaw credited keeping her tactics simple as she enjoyed a goodsecond day of the ISAF Sailing World Cup Final in Abu Dhabi on Friday.
The defending champion in the Women’s RS: X, who followed up her second place in the first of the three races with victory in the last to hold a two-point overall lead from Italy’s Flavia Tartaglini, the second race winner.
The Briton said of her success so far at the competition held at Abu Dhabi Sailing and Yacht Club: “It’s about keeping everything simple and minimising mistakes, as I made a few today.
“We might have a different breeze tomorrow so I will be racing smart and keeping my energy levels as good as they can be.”
READ MORE:
– Olympic-worthy action on offer in Abu Dhabi with the ISAF Sailing World Cup Final
– Photo gallery: Olympic-style ISAF Sailing World Cup showcase gets in motion in Abu Dhabi
Meanwhile, Australian Tom Burton, leading the 20-boat Laser fleet overnight, once again showed his liking for conditions in Abu Dhabi, and second place in the day’s opening race won by German Philipp Buhl saw him extend his advantage to three points over Robert Scheidt, the five-times Olympic medallist.
In the Laser Radial, the Netherlands’s Marit Bouwmeester won the first of two races from Josefin Olsson and, after discarding her eighth position in race two, ended the day leading the Swede by three points.
Austria’s defending champions Lara Vadlau and Jolanta Ogar are embroiled in a close battle with Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark in the Women’s 470 class, and there is nothing between them after two days of fleet racing.
The first day of the regatta had been a mixed one for Vadlau and Jolanta Ogar, as their opening win was followed quickly by disqualification for a false start in the second race.
They reclaimed the outright lead by winning today’s opener from Mills and Clark who were placed third. But the British girls reversed the positions in the second race to draw level with last year’s gold medallists.
Ogar said that dealing with the early starts to the competition in the UAE was proving tough.
“The wind was really nice today but it’s the hours we struggle with, we don’t like sailing so much in the morning,” she said.
“The wind conditions were perfect with some great waves. The British girls are a good team and it’s good to be so close to them - we like them.”
There are still two days of racing left, but already multiple world champions Mat Belcher and Will Ryan are looking good for another pair of Men’s 470 World Cup gold medals in Abu Dhabi.
Finishing second in today’s first of two races to Sweden’s Anton Dahlberg and Fredrik Bergström, the Australians won the second race to earn a four-point advantage over Americans Stuart McNay and David Hughes whose opening fourth place was followed by a disappointing retirement.
After tomorrow’s third day of fleet racing, the top ten athletes from each of the eight Olympic sailing classes, as well as the open kiteboarding competition, will move forward into tomorrow’s medal races to decide who leaves Abu Dhabi with World Cup gold, silver and bronze.
Follow us on Twitter @NatSportUAE