Matias Del Solar leads Standard Apprentice class of 2012 Laser World Masters Championships
Chile’s Matias Del Solar had a tremendous start in the Standard Apprentice fleet of 2012 Laser World Masters Championship at the Waterloo Bay in Brisbane, Queensland. The Chilean sailor sailed with all his skills to hit two bullets on the first day of the
regatta to take the overall lead with two points after two races.
Before the first day proceedings could be commenced, a big thunderstorm hit Waterloo Bay waters but it did not affect the proceedings. After the thunderstorm, strong winds covered the racing area completely which delayed the racing a bit. However, the 19-boat
Standard Apprentice fleet began the first day racing after a while with four scheduled races.
The first race of the Standard Apprentice division was gunned away under a lighter breeze that blew up to five knots but as the leaders reached the top mark, the winds built up a bit and began wafting around 10 knots. The winds kept fluctuating over the
race course. At the end of the first day proceedings, the average speed of the breeze was calculated at around 11 to 18 knots from 90-120 degrees.
The former Olympian, Chile’s Matias Del Solar sailed perfectly from the start winning both races. Australia’s Tony Baisden finished on second with seven points while Brett Morris of Australia and New Zealand sailor Rob Woodward equally finished on third
with nine points.
Speaking to the local media at the end of Day 1, Baisden spoke about De Solar, “Mathias is very quick. I think this week the rest of us will be just trying to keep him honest’ commented Baisden dockside this afternoon. Brett Morris who came second at the
Nationals came back from ‘the deep’ in the second race so he has speed. It’s going to be an interesting week.”
De Solar will definitely be looking to retain his lead on the second day of the regatta as he has a golden opportunity to claim the title. His position in the regatta has become strong from the start but still he has to watch Baisden who might spring up
in the next days. One race will be discarded at the end of Day 2 proceedings which might shake the scores a bit.
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