Dubreucq & Parekh at 49er World's

 
Picture from the event on Matthieu's blog. Tuesday's racing saw average winds of 18 knots with gusts into the high 20's. They're having fun, right?  - Ralph, Montreal Sailing

Matthieu Dubreucq and Trevor Parekh are part of the Canadian contingent attending the World Championships being held in the Bahamas for the 49er and 29er classes. They are campaigning the Olympic class 49er. 

First, they brought the skiff to Miami to have work done including aligning the foils. They got in a practice race in very light winds. Racing began in winds of 6-12 knots with large shifts that made conservative strategy paramount. The second day of racing had the fleet racing in 25-30 knots of wind, but with the big shifts in direction still fluctuating by 25 degrees and more. After 5 races they were sitting in 43rd position overall out of a fleet of 62.

Wednesday's racing was very tricky right at the windward mark where big shifts would suddenly screw up teams preparing to round. Unfortunately, the third day's results were killers for Dubreucq and Parekh with two OCS' recorded. The qualifying rounds saw them finish in 50th overall, and poised for more sailing in the Silver fleet. They have scored 23rd out of 37 in that fleet. Thursday, the wind died before the Silver fleet could start a race.


Friday's winds were 10-14 knots. Only 7 minutes separated front and back of the fleet at the finish.



This regatta, although a World championship is a shakedown for their next outing, which will be the selection for Canada's national team. Here is an excerpt from an article written in French for Sportcom:

Dubreucq et son partenaire en sont à leurs deuxièmes championnats du monde ensemble, le résultat n’est pas ce qui importe le plus. Le duo veut surtout se préparer pour les épreuves de sélection nationale qui auront lieu dans deux semaines. « Notre but c’est vraiment de prendre de l’expérience ensemble et on prend vraiment cette régate-là pour bien régler le bateau et s’assurer qu’on navigue correctement en vue des qualifications nationales, parce que c’est pour nous la compétition la plus importante, cette année. En plus, c’est la première étape de la Coupe du monde, donc on ne se laisse pas abattre avec les résultats », a-t-il poursuivi.

Il reste trois jours de compétitions pendant lesquels les bateaux devraient participer à un total de huit courses, si naturellement la température le permet. C’est donc le samedi 9 janvier que l’on connaîtra le résultat final de cette compétition.