The 2024 sailing season has begun at Marina Rubicòn, Lanzarote, Spain and the search is on for this year’s World Champions!
Our sponsored Dutch sailors Odile van Aanholt and Annette Duetz who sail the mad-fast Olympic skiff known as the 49erFX have held that title twice – but last year narrowly conceded it to the Swedish team of Bobeck and Netzler.
This year they’re back. And they mean business!!
At the time of writing the six-day competition is half-way through and the score board finds the current world champions – Swedish sailors Bobeck and Netzler – in first place with our Dutch team in second place.
I guess that’s exactly how the new season should begin!
Watch Live video!
From today, Friday 8th, the event will be broadcasting live video with commentary. We hope you will join us in following the action! You can watch the live feed from the event HERE.
In a fleet of 51 boats just two points separate the two leading vessels – and with nine more races to run over the next three days, we’re all set for a truly nail-biting competition!
Even the weather forecast promises the crews won’t always get a smooth ride!
The competition so far…
The surprises began right from day one: To avoid overcrowding at the turns, the fleet of fifty boats were split into two groups – each sailing a separate course. A northerly wind was blowing 10 to 15 knots over a plunging swell – yet when the racing started the conditions on each course could not have been more different, with lulls and smooth seas on one, and gusty winds over the heaving water on the other!
The smooth water group raced tactically between the lulls – whilst the rough-water group fought hard to keep their skiffs upright!
In fact there were many capsizes in the rough-water fleet amongst whom our sailors Odile and Annette were competing, but ‘guess what?’, they avoided all dangers to finish the day right at the front of the fleet, tying on points with (and here’s another surprise) the team from China. China have been working hard at their craft, but not until this week had they been counted amongst the 49erFX elite.
Day 2…
It was on the second day of the event that the Swedish reigning World Champions took their rightful place at number one on the score card – with the Dutch team in second place.
2024 Lanzarote 49er and FX Worlds
© Sailing Energy / Lanzarote Sailing Center
07 March, 2024
Day 3…
The leader board remains unchanged since yesterday, but Odile and Annette have a technical advantage over the swedes in that they have fewer points: the race rules allows teams to strike out their worst-scoring heat throughout the competition. An unlucky race can be scratched from a team’s score – but that leaves any past bad performance bare. As the race continues over the next three days we’ll be on the edge of our seats watching how the teams perform in the second half of the competition and over the weekend.
Keep up with the results…
The score card is updated immediately after each heat and can be found here …along with live/replay trackers, a summary of the day’s news and a gallery of photos and video showing the highlights of all the day’s excitement on the water!
If you’re unable to follow the action – don’t worry, we’ll let you know on Sunday at the close of the competition how the Dutch team got on, of course!
We’re thrilled to see our team back in action, clearing themselves a space at the top, and determined to take Gold!
As sponsors for the Dutch 49erFX team, we’re inspired by their constant striving to be the best they can be!
