Just before the start of the 2018 Laser 4.7 Youth World Championships, we noted that it is “one of the more difficult World Championships to predict because sailors often make dramatic improvements from year to year in this age range. And as one year’s top sailors age out, it leaves the field open for newcomers […]

Today was another fine day for sailing on Gdańsk bay as sailors completed another two races on their way to the conclusion of the 2018 Laser 4.7 Youth World Championships at Gdynia, Poland. The wind was a bit up and down, with about 8 or 9 knots on the low end and up to 14 or

[photos: Robert Hajduk] For the start of finals competition, 155 girls split into two fleets (gold and silver), while the 275 boys competing were divided into four fleets (gold, silver, bronze and emerald). Under mostly clear skies, sailors made their way out to their respective course areas to go through their pre-start routines. Although the wind

[photos: Robert Hajduk] Partly cloudy skies and 8 – 11 knots on the course area provided good racing conditions for the last day of the qualifying series and all fleets completed the slate of scheduled races, though some fleets took quite a bit longer than others. For racing group “A”, which included the two girls

[photos: Robert Hajduk] It was the kind of day only a sailor could love: dismal, low rolling grey clouds under a grey sky, and occasional rain squalls. So what’s to love? Winds in the 10 – 14 knot range, and enough shifts of a reasonable size to make it interesting, but not so much as

[photos: Robert Hajduk] The day began under low grey skies, with about 5 to 7 knots out of the north east. In the “B” sailing group, which had three boys fleets, the yellow fleet was quite aggressive for the first start of the day, with most of the fleet well over the line in the

[photos: Robert Hajduk] 430 sailors from 44 countries have now completed their equipment inspection and registration in Gdynia, Poland. There were plenty of changes and corrections to equipment that needed to be made but now everyone is ready to compete on equal terms to prove who the best sailors are. The Laser 4.7 Youth World