Olivia Price and Evie Haseldine backed up their solid opening day performance with another three keeper scores in the 49erFX to finish day two of the 2023 Allianz Sailing World Championships in third place.

“We had a fun day out there, with 15 knots and a bunch of swell as there was wind against tide to begin with,” said Price after racing.

“The starts were key for us, making sure we got off the line early and on time. If you were late back with the tide pushing you against the course then you were on the back foot from the beginning.”

Olivia Price and Evie Haseldine CREDIT Beau Outteridge

The FX fleet has one more day of qualifying races before breaking into gold and silver fleets.  In additional to chasing the World Championship podium, the team from Sydney are also seeking to qualify Australia for the 2024 Olympic Games as nation qualification quota spots are available to the top ten nations in the 49er and 49erFX classes.

“Obviously it’s a consideration,” said Haseldine regarding the nation qualification quota. “But coming into the regatta our team decided that it was going to be heads-down performance-wise and let’s see what we can do and not put too much emphasis on the result. 

“We know what we are capable of and at the end of the day we are here to put together a professional performance.”

The fledgling team of Mina Ferguson and Dervla Duggan are the next best Aussies after a 6th in the final race of the day. 

Mina is a member of the Australian Sailing Futures program, which supports athletes categorised at the Development level in Australian Sailing’s integrated High Performance program. The intent of the Futures program is to successfully support the progression of targeted athletes along the Performance Pathway and into the National Squad and Australian Sailing Team. 

“I’ve been in the Futures program for the past two years and it’s a great opportunity for me to improve my skills and it’s also been really good integrating with the Australian Sailing Squad girls,” said Ferguson. 

“We’ve had quite a few training blocks over the past couple of years, and now I am here, keen to race and see how the rest of the regatta goes.”

Mina Ferguson and Dervla Duggan CREDIT Sailing Energy

Australian Sailing National Performance Pathway Manager Ken Lynch expanded on the importance of the program; “Exposure to bigger, high-quality fleets and the type of competition environment that surrounds this type of event is an important part of athlete development.

“For those that are ready, it enables accurate benchmarking, highlights the importance of critical elements of racing and drives more effective and accurate planning post event to optimise speed of learning and development.”

There were mixed fortunes for Australia’s 49er teams, with Jim Colley and Shaun Connor adding three keepers to their scorecard while yesterday’s leading Australian team of Tom Burton and Max Paul finished a tough day at the office with a DNF.

“It was a challenging day on the water with increasing wind against tide making for a seriously nasty sea state,” commented 49er Squad Coach Brady Lowe.

“Jim and Shaun managed to put together some good starts and great pace and handling downwind for a good day, but unfortunately Tom and Max faced some handling challenges downwind in the big waves. Unfortunately, they did not finish the last race with some breakages after a capsize.” 

Jim Colley and Shaun Connor CREDIT Sailing Energy

The Para Sailing World Championships are also underway in The Hague, with Victoria’s Alison Weatherly moving up to 4th in the Women’s Hansa 303 class after posting a pair of thirds today. Compatriot Peter Coleman is 13th in the Men’s Hansa 303.

Tomorrow will see the introduction of the ILCA 6 and ILCA 7 classes to the racing schedule, with the Formula Kite and iQFOiL commencing on Monday.

Visit the event website for more details on the event, see full results in the Results Centre and follow the racing via the trackers on at the SAP Sailing website each day.

Australian Sailing Team (AST), Australian Sailing Squad (ASS), Australian Sailing Futures (ASF) and other Australian results at the 2023 Allianz Sailing World Championships: 

49erFX (59 entries)
3rd - Olivia Price & Evie Haseldine (ASS/NSW) – 1, 4, 2, 3, 2, (5) (12 points)
21st - Mina Ferguson & Dervla Duggan (ASF/NSW & ASS/VIC) – 12, 3, (20), 10, 14, 6 (45 points)
25th - Laura Harding & Annie Wilmot (ASS/VIC & NSW) – 9, (19), 14, 5, 6, 18 (52 points)
41st - Natasha Bryant & Madeleine McLeay (ASF/NSW) – (28), 22, 18, 19, 12, 23 (94 points)

Women’s Hansa 303
4th - Alison Weatherly (VIC) (7), 5, 3, 3 (11 points)

Men’s Hansa 303
13th - Peter Coleman (VIC) 12, 14, 11, (RET) (37 points)

Nacra 17
16th - Ruben Booth and Rita Booth (AUS) 6, 10, (12), 10, 9, 7 (43 points)
19th - Brin Liddell and Rhiannan Brown (ASF/NSW) (17), 13, 10, 7, 7, 10 (47 points)
22nd - Jake Liddell & Lucy Copeland (ASS/NSW) 11, 11, 6, 11, 9, (12) (48 points)
24th - Archie Gargett & Sarah Hoffman (ASF/NSW) 8, 9, 14, 13, 14, (15) (58 points)
33rd - Lisa Darmanin & Darren Bundock (AST/NSW & NSW) 11, 15, 16, (17), 15, 17 (74 points)

49er (83 entries)
25th - Jim Colley & Shaun Connor (AST/NSW) – (18), 11, 15, 3, 9, 3 (41 points)
35th - Thomas Needham & Joel Turner (ASS/QLD) – 13, (16), 9, 10, 11, 10 (53 points)
42nd - Tom Burton & Max Paul (ASS/NSW) – 4, 6, 19, 13, 19, (29 DNS) (61 points)
45th - Thomas Cunich & Miles Davey (ASF/NSW) – (26), 12, 18, 14, 9, 12 (65 points)
63rd - Jack Ferguson & Jack Hildebrand (ASF/NSW) – (29 BFD), 12, 23, 13, 29 RET, 13 (90 points)

Mixed 470 (65 entries)
28th - Nia Jerwood & Conor Nicholas (ASS/WA) – 13, (27), 19, 3 (35 points)
43rd - Sophie Jackson & Angus Higgins (ASF/VIC & ASF/SA) – (31), 25, 13, 15 (53 points)

Men’s Formula Kite – No racing today
Scott Whitehead (ASS/QLD)
Oscar Timm (ASF/QLD)

Women’s Formula Kite – No racing today
Breiana Whitehead (AST/QLD)

ILCA 6 – No racing today
Zoe Thomson (AST/WA)
Elyse Ainsworth (ASS/WA)
Casey Imeneo (ASS/VIC)
Mara Stranksy (ASS/QLD)
Evie Saunders (ASF/NSW)
Sylvie Stannage (NSWIS) 

ILCA 7 – No racing today
Matt Wearn (AST/WA)
Finn Alexander (ASS/NSW)
Luke Elliott (ASS/NSW)
Zac Littlewood (ASS/WA)
Ethan McAullay (ASS/WA)

Men’s iQFOiL – No racing today
Grae Morris (ASS/NSW)
Harry Joyner (ASS/WA)
Jack Marquardt (VIS)

Women’s iQFOiL – No racing today
Samantha Costin (ASS/QLD)