Patton Rises Above Light Wind Chaos
Day 2 of the World Record Breaking Lake Garda Optimist Regatta will be remembered for the light winds of the morning and the chaos that resulted. However Campbell Patton will remember it for the day he finished 4th and 2nd in his fleet.
The Race Committee started the first races of the day in light breezes which got lighter as the races progressed and turned 180 degrees. One of the flights was abandoned, but the flight containing the 2 Bermuda sailors had a boat a long way ahead who managed to cross the finish line, this meant their race could not be abandoned.
Patton was in 4th place and managed to drift across the finish line just as the time limit for the race expired. Unfortunately the remaining 162 sailors did not and were scored “did not finish” as a result. Matilda Nicholls was in 12th place, just short of the finish line as this happened, so a disappointing race for her. There remains many protests by disappointed sailors, so the results are not yet concluded.
Sailors were sent ashore to wait for the thermal winds to return, which they did by mid afternoon. The Bermuda sailors were again in the same flight and both sailors got good starts. They competed well in the 15 knot breeze with Campbell Patton rounding the windward mark in 5th place and Matilda Nicholls in 20th.
The sailors competed well on the downwind legs of the trapezoid course with Patton finishing 2nd and Nicholls 18th.
The other flight in the Cadetti Fleet completed their two races of the day, which has resulted in a significant point difference on the 160 boats that could not drift across the finish line in the morning race. A very confusing day with no overall results yet but a fantastic performance by Bermuda’s Campell Patton.
