Ireland's 49er debutante duo Ben O'Shaughnessy and Ethan Spain made a splash in the 49er class at Kiel Week Regatta in Germany on Saturday, as the former Dublin-Cork 29er champions took a 2 and a 9 to lie fifth after the first two races of the series in a 74-boat fleet.
Ireland's Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove are lying eighth counting two 7 place scores.
The 49er fleet sailed in two groups of roughly 40 boats each. But for reigning World Champions Erwan Fischer and Clément Péquin, Kiel Week got off to a disastrous start. After a collision with an inexperienced team left their hull damaged and taking on water, they were forced to retire early and return to shore for repairs—scoring two costly DNS (Did Not Start) results. A frustrating beginning, but they’ll aim to recover in the coming days.
Meanwhile, Germany’s own Moritz Dorau and Riko Rockenbauch lead the overall standings after a strong performance with a 3rd and a 1st place finish in their races. Close behind them are Uruguay’s Hernán Umpierre and Fernando Diz, eager to capitalise after near-misses in previous events.
Four races are scheduled tomorrow for each fleet in both the 49er.
Results here
