After 2 Races BDA Sailor 6th in Singapore
Bermuda’s sailor at the Youth Olympic Games, Owen Siese, completed his first day of racing in the Byte CII Dinghy, ending the day in 6th place overall after completing 2 races. In race one Owen finished in 18th place and had an impressive 2nd place finish in race two in the 29 boat fleet. Racing was postponed earlier in the morning due to light winds but by 11:30 they were finally allowed on the water with racing beginning about 1pm with the breeze at 8 – 10 knots.
In Race 2, Owen Siese was first around the top mark with previous training partner Netherland Antilles’ Just Van Aanholt right behind. A well-sailed reach and downwind leg allowed Just Van Aanholt to gain first position by the leeward mark and he continued to extend from there, finally ending the day with a win. With a second and a first place finish, Just Van Aaanholt tops the Youth Olympic scoreboard on this opening day.
The positions changed continuously throughout the race, with Darren Choy of Singapore and Ian Barrows of the Virgin Islands first overtaking Bermudian Owen Siese and then third placed Kaarle Tapper of Finland but then missing out on a shift later in the final leg that allowed Owen Siese to regain the second spots by the finish.
Owen Siese now sits only 10 points out of medal contention and 3 points behind the current two-time Byte CII World Champion, Darren Choy from Singapore. Owen will be allowed to discard some of his worst scores as the event progresses. The results from each race are added together to decide the final positions. The Low Points Scoring System applies so the sailor with the lowest score wins. There are 15 ‘opening races’ and a ‘final’ (16th race). If more than 11 opening races are completed there are two discards. The final (16th) race cannot be discarded.
Go Go Owen!