Lack of wind leaves the third day of the Snipe World Championship without racing

Light winds frustrated attempts to hold races and left the day blank. The fleet praised the Race Committee’s decision: “They made the right call by not holding a race without the minimum conditions required by the class.”

The main question on the third day of the Snipe World Championship was whether the Race Committee would manage to complete at least one race. The weather forecast was truly poor, even worse than that of Wednesday, 23rd of September, although some models suggested a weather window around 2:00 p.m., with the possibility of winds reaching six or seven knots. This, the most optimistic forecast, failed to materialise.

To avoid an unnecessary wait on the racecourse, the fleet remained ashore until 12:30 p.m. The Race Committee attempted to start the procedure several times, but the wind never provided the intensity and stability required for a fair World Championship race. At 3:45 p.m., the first Snipes returned under tow to Moll de Llevant, opposite the headquarters of Club Marítimo de Mahón. Among the resigned participants, a familiar sailing saying was repeated: “No wind, no race”. No wind, no race. Tomorrow is another day.

The overall standings are led by Gustavo and Rafael del Castillo, from Real Club Náutico de Gran Canaria, after three races, half of the six scheduled at this stage of the championship. Had the calm not intervened, the discard of the worst result, which comes into play from the fifth race onwards, would already have taken effect. The wind, however, is expected to be somewhat more generous from tomorrow. Forecasts are calling for around ten knots from 11:00 a.m., with a marked shift from Westerly to Mistral and the possibility of the breeze increasing to Force 4 as the hours go by.

Principal Race Officer Ariane Mainemare explained that the fleet went out to sea because the conditions initially observed matched the most favourable part of the forecast: “When the boats went out, the wind dropped to three or four knots. Then it seemed to come back in and we had five or six knots for a while, so we set up the course and the starting line.”

The Committee even began the starting procedure, but had to postpone it in the final minutes. “We had set the course with the first mark at 010 and the wind was shifting towards 030. A 20-degree difference was too much. It then remained very unstable, between north and 040, with an intensity of three to six knots, without reaching the minimum average of five that we need to start.” The time of day and the usual evolution of the wind in the area ultimately ruled out any possibility: “We knew that nothing else would come in during the afternoon, so we decided to stop and wait until tomorrow.”

Víctor Pérez, representing Club Marítimo San Antonio de la Playa, supported the Committee’s decision on returning to port: “We were waiting while the wind went up and down. I think they made the right call by not holding a race without the minimum conditions required by the class.” The Mallorcan sailor hoped the situation would change over the final two days: “We tried, but we hope that tomorrow and Saturday we will have better conditions.”

Brazilian sailor Eric Lineburger also considered the suspension the right decision. “The forecast was calling for very little wind and the possibility that there would be no racing. It’s frustrating to wait on the water and return without having competed, but the Committee made a good decision because holding a race with so many changes in direction would have been very difficult,” he explained.

The World Championship can already be considered valid, as the three required minimum races have been completed, but there are still two days available to make up some of the races lost from the schedule. Forecasts indicate that today and Saturday there will be room for further changes in a very open overall classification. Club Marítimo de Mahón is hosting 88 crews from 21 countries in this edition, with 176 sailors representing 92. The fleet consists of 58 open-category teams and 30 mixed crews.