2013 29er Worlds in Photos

From July 25th to August 2nd, 213 teams from 25 countries competed in the 29er World Championship in Arhus, Denmark. US Teams ended up 8th-11th, and with the Worlds coming to Canada next year, this is the perfect time to get into the boat!!

Never been to a World Championship before? Here's a taste of the 2013 Worlds:


When we arrived, the boat park was already packed; fortunately, the charter company had marked our boats with small american flags so that we could find them amongst the crowd.











Upon arrival, each team is assigned a measurement time, during which they have to de-rig everything so that the boats can be weighted, and dimensions taken to ensure that the equipment meets class rules.  The process usually involves a lot of waiting around, so the good teams come prepared with clothing to stay out of the sun, and plenty of food and water to stay strong.






Opening ceremonies vary a lot from venue to venue.  In Arhus, the sailors from every country paraded a short distance with their flags for a photo opportunity, but other venues often demonstrate local customs with dancers, singers, musicians, and more.









2013 rigs in the air is quite a sight.  The calm before the storm.












Day 1 of racing is usually the first time that all of the sails get put up at the same tim, and when they do, it is important to be one of the first teams waiting in line at the launch ramp so that you can get out to the course and get a good warm up in.










Teamwork is crucial when warming up.  A good training partner can give you a huge jump on the fleet.

With 53 boats in each of the 4 fleets, bad air can be brutal.  This red kite lost 30 places in the last minute of racing because they didn't fight for the high lane around the last mark.











Dane and Quinn winning race #1 on day 2 of the qualifying series.  This race finished in heavy thunderstorms, and the fleet was sent in after a long assessment of the conditions by the race committee.










Max and Zach winning a race in qualifying with Zach Downing and Tyler MacDonald close on their tail.













Sponsored European teams are the norm.

Max and Zach finishing first after sailing a clean, fast qualifying race.  Go USA!!

The French who ended up winning the event were required to display the yellow dot on the last day because they were leading.  2nd had a blue dot and 3rd had a red dot.

Awards ceremony.

On the podium.  The only time that the US National Anthem has been played at a World Championship for 29ers was at the 2007 Youth Worlds in Canada, when Emily Dellenbaugh and Brianna Provancia won the women's skiff division.  Who will be the next US team to raise the American flag in front of the crowd?






Get ready for Kingston, 2014!!!

Sailing Scuttlebutt Press

Some great commentary that was recently featured on www.sailingscuttlebutt.com:

From Michael Mollerus:
Re, the 29er World Championships in Aarhus, Denmark. Although the French team of Lucas Rual and Emile Amoros won the regatta, after leading off and on throughout, the United States was also well-represented at the top of the 210+ boat regatta. Five of the seven U.S. teams participating finished in the top 20, with three boats finishing in the top 10 (the boats were 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th and 19th) - the U.S. had more teams in the top 20 than any other country, all without any formal support from a national sailing federation (unlike most other countries). I suspect that these results are among the better results, across the class, that the U.S. has seen in an Olympic-feeder class, and it is clear that the U.S. 29er organization, the sailors, their parents (disclaimer: I am a parent of one of the sailors) and suppliers and others that support the class must be doing something right, based on these results and the many skilled sailors that are currently in and have previously come out of this class.  I don’t pretend to know exactly what it is, but it is clearly something that U.S. Sailing should be actively looking at and building on.

Speed Rigging

How fast can you rig? Tensioned + kite, main, and jib rigged in 4:04