With wind limits on the edge, conditions on day one of Sail Melbourne International 2020 provided many competitors with a wild, windy and challenging day on Port Phillip Bay.

Racing started out in around 20-22 knots but with wind gusting into the high twenties as the afternoon progressed, racing was cut short after several classes reached their wind limits. All classes, but the Tasar, still managed to get one race in with only the kiteboarders as well as the windsurfers completing their race schedule.

“It’s funny I’ve spent a lot of time here over the past decade and I’ve never seen a day like this racing. But that’s Melbourne for you, a pretty easterly wind, super windy, up and down and big waves standing up and fun for everyone. It was a case of getting out there and trying not to make too many mistakes,” Rio 2016 Olympian in the Finn class Jake Lilley said about the conditions after winning the Finn fleet race.

Lilley also contested the 2019 Finn Gold Cup in Melbourne in December, where he finished fifth overall after winning the top-ten medal race on the final day of the event and also secured Australia the Finn quota spot for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

With a small group of international Finn sailors staying on to make the most of Australian summer, the ten-boat fleet at Sail Melbourne is expected to see some exciting racing over the next five days.

“It is great to have some international guys here, every race is like a medal race and those that aren’t here are missing out,” Lilley said.

“The international guys here and my training partner Lachie (Gilham) are really high calibre, so it is just great practice and to race ten really good guys every day is just like medal race. And we will practice scenarios to hold us in good stead come the middle of next year,” Lilley added.

Sail Melbourne International continues the 2020 Melbourne Summer of Sailing event series and with just under 200 days until the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games the event has attracted over 300 entries from 25 countries with many of the international sailors using the event as a warm-up for their class world championships, including the Laser, Laser Radial or RS:X world championships in February.

While for some of the internationals, who have only just arrived, the conditions were a bit a shock to the system, others quite enjoyed and thrived in them.

Korea’s Tokyo 2020 RS:X representative Wonwoo Cho was one of the latter and loving the strong winds he finished second in all of the three races and leads the RS:X results board after day one.

“I like strong winds and today I finished three times second so I am leading the racing now and am very happy,” Cho said, who is the first time in Melbourne.

“This is my first time in Melbourne and it is beautiful weather and a good place for windsurfing. I arrived ten days ago and will be going back to Korea after this competition and will return for the World Championships in Sorrento. I am in training for Tokyo and many good sailors come here for training, so it’s great to be here.”

The Laser Standard and Laser Radial events have also attracted a world-class field and the largest number of entries with SMI an exciting opportunity for the world’s best International Laser class sailors to test the Port Phillip ahead of their class world championships at Sandringham Yacht Club in February.

The fleets only managed to get one race in on day one though with Rio Olympic champion Tom Burton making the most of it and finishing second behind three-time Olympian Jean-Baptist Bernaz.

“It was a pretty big day with massive waves and big winds. We only had a little bit of waiting around and it was pretty obvious that everyone was close to the limit with one race today, so we are in for a big three race day tomorrow,” Burton said.

The Laser Radial was won by Rio Olympic champion Marit Bouwmeester from the Netherlands with Western Australian Michael Compton following in second and top male competitor in the fleet.

See updated race schedule here: https://cdn.revolutionise.com.au/cups/sailmelbourne/files/9lwtps3gmsjdufpt.pdf

See all results here: http://bit.ly/SailMelbourne2020Results

For more information about Sail Melbourne International head to www.sailmelbourne.com.au

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