Postcard sailing on Keppel Bay, at Rydges Resort Queensland, for day four of the Seawind F18 Worlds, Mitch Booth and Pim Nieuwenhis (NED) have drawn level with Darren Bundock and Glenn Ashby (AUS).

Weather conditions were perfect,  the south easterly blowing at 16-18 knots, the sun shining and the sky blue. Spectators on the beach enjoyed the action as the F18's flew around the race course.

Day 4 - Seawind F18 Worlds at Rydges Resort, in Yeppoon, Queensland, in sunny conditions and 16 knots of breeze.

Conditions were not as choppy as yesterday and the sailors were obviously enjoying the sunshine and strong competition. Spectators too enjoyed very pleasant conditions on the sand, and on the water a viewing spectacle unfolded as the 'speed machines', the F18's, flew around the race course.

Race officials planned to take advantage of the great conditions, running four races in the day - two in the morning with a lunch break and then two in the afternoon.

At the start of Race 6, Bundock and Ashby (Aus) took the lead heading up to the first mark, with Booth and Nieuwenhis (NED) in hot pursuit. In an exciting tussle, Booth and Nieuwenhis took the upper hand and rounded first, closely followed by Bundock and Ashby. A further two seconds behind Styles and Peel (GBR) rounded in third, with the French champions Mourniac and Citeau in fourth, another two seconds back. Heemskerk and Rasley (NED) followed, then Billy Besson and Jarlegan Arnaud (FRA). The Greenhalgh brothers from Great Britian were eighth, then Greg and Brett Goodall (AUS), with Laruffa and Heasman (AUS) completing the top ten.

At the second mark it was Bundock and Ashby, from Booth and Nieuwenhis, Mourniac and Citeau another six seconds back. Then Besson and Arnaud with Heemskerk and Rasley just two seconds behind them.

Conditions seem to suit Mitch Booth and his crew as they regained the lead coming down the second run. Their blue spinnaker was flying full, in close company with the distinctive red kite of Bundock and Ashby.

Booth and Nieuwenhis hung onto the lead to round mark 3 clearing out from of Bundock and Ashby. Styles and Peel rounded third with Mourniac and Citeau in fourth.

Booth and Nieuwenhis clearly crossed the finish line in first place, with Bundock and Ashby second, then daylight to Styles and Peel in third. The pack then started to bunch, with Mourniac and Citeau crossing just two seconds behind the Brits. Besson and Arnaud, Heemskerk and Rasley and Robert and Peter Greenhalgh all crossed the line in quick succession.

Results Race 6 - subject to protest

29 Mitch Booth Pim Nieuwenhis NED NED8 29 1  1

23 Darren Bundock Glenn Ashby AUS AUS7 23 2  2
38 Hugh Styles Tom Peel GBR GBR007 38 3  3

60 Jean-Christophe Mourniac Franck Citeau FRA FRA1 60 4  4
47 Billy Besson Arnaud Jarlegan FRA FRA658 47 5  5
77 Mischa Heemskerk Cristopher Rasley NED NED007 77 6  6
15 Robert Greenhalgh Peter Greenhalgh GBR GBR120 15 7  7
27 Steve Brewin Andrew Williams AUS AUS7 27 8  8
53 Robbie Daniel Hunter Stunzi USA USA121 53 9  9
37 Carolijn Brouwer Jeroen Van leeuwen BEL BEL7 37 10  10

Race 7 commenced with a clean start.  The breeze was holding at around 16 - 18 knots and the sun shining brightly.

Heading up to the first mark, Besson and Arnaud lead Bundock and Ashby, with Heemskerk and Rasley third.

Andre Vincent and Bernier Geoffroy (BEL) capsized and were drifting out at the first pin. They appeared to have sustained damage and their race was over.

At the first mark Besson and Arnaud led from Bundock and Ashby, with Booth and Nieuwenhis seventeen seconds behind the Australians. Heemskerk and Rasley rounded third, followed by Brad Collett and Lucas Mcdonald (AUS) who made a top ten appearance for the first time in the regatta. Then followed Mourniac and Citeau, Daniel and Stunzi (USA) and Laruffa and Heasman (AUS).

Besson and Arnaud maintained their lead around the next mark from Bundock and Ashby, with Booth and Nieuwenhis moving up from fifth to third. Heemskerk and Rasley dropped back a place to fourth, twenty six seconds behind the Dutch pairing. Collett and McDonald also moved up a place to be fifth, with Mourniac and Citeau moving from eighth to sixth.

At the next mark, Besson and Arnaud were still holding the lead from Bundock and Ashby. Booth and Nieuwenhis were eight seconds back from the Australian champions. It was tight at the top, with Heemskerk and Rasley holding down fourth. Mourniac and Citeau were twenty seconds behind the Dutch pair, with Collett and McDonald ten seconds further back and dropping down to sixth.

At mark 4, the battle continued with Besson and Arnaud holding the lead from Bundock and Ashby. Booth and Nieuwenhis were maintaining the pressure, just two seconds behind the Aussies, with Heemskerk and Rasley holding onto their fourth place, thirty seconds ahead of Mourniac and Citeau. Collet and McDonald were in sixth from Laruffa and Heasman, who were definitely having their best race of the regatta. Brewin and Williams were next from Matthieu Souben and Gurvan Bontemps (FRA). Daniel and Stunzi completed the top group.

Besson and Arnaud led round mark 5, with Booth and Nieuwenhis continuing to improve their placing. Bundock and Ashby dropped back to fourth, being overtaken by Heemskerk and Rasley on that leg. Laruffa and Heasman did well and were just behind the French pairing of Mourniac and Citeau.

Down the run, Booth and Pim Nieuwenhis hit the lead, but just three hundred metres from the finish they broke a sheet, their spinnaker came tumbling down and the following group swept around them.

At the finish Billy Besson and Jarlegan Arnaud crossed the line ahead of Bundock and Ashby, who improved from their last mark rounding position to finish thirty seconds behind the leader. Heemskerk and Rasley finished two seconds further back, with Booth and Nieuwenhis in fourth, also two seconds back.

Laruffa and Heasman recorded their best result to date to finish in fifth, with Collett and McDonald in sixth. Mourniac and Citeau finished six seconds behind the Australians, with Brewin and Williams in eighth, two seconds back.

Results Race 7 - subject to protest

47 Billy Besson Arnaud Jarlegan FRA FRA658 47 1  1
23 Darren Bundock Glenn Ashby AUS AUS7 23 2  2
77 Mischa Heemskerk Cristopher Rasley NED NED007 77 3  3
29 Mitch Booth Pim Nieuwenhis NED NED8 29 4  4
13 Mark Laruffa Ricky Heasman AUS AUS1981 13 5  5
24 Brad Collett Lucas Mcdonald AUS AUS18 24 6  6

60 Jean-Christophe Mourniac Franck Citeau FRA FRA1 60 7  7
27 Steve Brewin Andrew Williams AUS AUS7 27 8  8
53 Robbie Daniel Hunter Stunzi USA USA121 53 9  9
56 Matthieu Souben Gurvan Bontemps FRA FRA125 56 10  10

After a general recall the fleet were away cleanly in Race 8 and Booth and Nieuwenhis (NED) immediately showed their preference for the conditions, sailing clear of the fleet. Besson and Arnaud (FRA) were second around the mark, with Heemskerk and Rasley (NED) third, twelve seconds in arrears. Bundock and Ashby were fourth, after going out to the right of the course. Daniel and Stunzi (USA) were fifth.

Heading towards the next mark, Booth and Nieuwenhis continued their dominance of the race, rounding twenty one seconds ahead of Besson and Arnaud. Heemskerk and Rasley were third, with Bundock and Ashby moving up from sixth to fourth. Daniel and Stunzi were fifth.

At the next mark, Booth and Nieuwenhis were five seconds ahead of Besson and Arnaud, with Heemskerk and Rasley twenty six seconds further back. Bundock and Ashby were still fourth, with Collet and McDonald (AUS) in fifth,  ten seconds behind them.

At the third mark the top four places remained the same. Collett and McDonald moved up to fifth, swapping spots with Daniel and Stunzi.

Booth and Nieuwenhis crossed the line way ahead of Besson and Arnaud, with Bundock and Ashby, twenty two seconds further back, but moving up one place from the last mark rounding, to take third.

Results Race 8 - subject to protest

29 Mitch Booth Pim Nieuwenhis NED NED8 29 1  1
47 Billy Besson Arnaud Jarlegan FRA FRA658 47 2  2
23 Darren Bundock Glenn Ashby AUS AUS7 23 3  3
77 Mischa Heemskerk Cristopher Rasley NED NED007 77 4  4
24 Brad Collett Lucas Mcdonald AUS AUS18 24 5  5
38 Hugh Styles Tom Peel GBR GBR007 38 6  6
53 Robbie Daniel Hunter Stunzi USA USA121 53 7  7
66 Thibault Vauchel Bourgnon Yvan FRA FRA8 66 8  8
37 Carolijn Brouwer Jeroen Van leeuwen BEL BEL7 37 9  9

60 Jean-Christophe Mourniac Franck Citeau FRA FRA1 60 10  10

Race 9, and a perfect afternoon down at the beach with the breeze holding steady, still a postcard 16-18 knots.

After two general recalls, the F18 fleet started cleanly on the third attempt, with Bundock and Ashby (AUS) and Booth and Nieuwenhis (NED) starting on the pin end of the line. They went left, followed by fifty percent of the fleet.

Bundock and Ashby and Booth and Nieuwenhis started left and stayed left, coming into the next mark from the port layline. Out on the right of the course, Collett and McDonald made big gains, making up for their ordinary start.

At the first mark, Besson and Arnaud (FRA) had a good lead over Styles and Peel (GBR), with Booth and Nieuwenhis (NED) third. Then followed Bundock and Ashby (AUS), Daniel and Stunzi (USA) and Collett and McDonald (AUS).

The leading group tightened up coming into the mark as the breeze continued to build gradually.

At the next mark Booth and Nieuwenhis moved up from third to share the lead with Besson and Arnaud.

Bundock and Ashby moved up a place to be third, four seconds behind Besson. Styles and Peel dropped back to fourth, with Daniel and Stunzi maintaining their fifth place, fourteen seconds in arrears of the Brits. Echavarri and Paz Blanco (ESP) moved up from ninth to sixth. Heemskerk and Rasley maintained their seventh place, with Collett and McDonald dropping back from sixth to eight place.

Booth and Nieuwenhis held a big lead over the fleet as they approached the next mark. They had made a huge gain on the right, with their lead probably twenty five boat lengths over Bundock and Ashby, who came up on the left hand side of the course. Styles and Peel were third, then a gap to Daniel and Stunzi, with Echavarri and Paz Blanco (ESP) just four seconds back.

Booth and Nieuwenhis' lead was unassailable, they went on to win easily from Bundock and Ashby. Echavarri and Paz Blanco came flying in from left, and so did another group of F18's out on the right. There was nothing between them and it was difficult to pick who finished where.

In the end it was Besson and Arnaud fourth, Heemskerk and Rasley fifth, from Styles and Peel.

Results Race 9 - subject to protest

29 Mitch Booth Pim Nieuwenhis NED NED8 29 1  1
23 Darren Bundock Glenn Ashby AUS AUS7 23 2  2
36 Fernando Echavarri Anton Paz Blanco ESP ESP2207 36 3  3
47 Billy Besson Arnaud Jarlegan FRA FRA658 47 4  4
77 Mischa Heemskerk Cristopher Rasley NED NED007 77 5  5
38 Hugh Styles Tom Peel GBR GBR007 38 6  6
53 Robbie Daniel Hunter Stunzi USA USA121 53 7  7
37 Carolijn Brouwer Jeroen Van leeuwen BEL BEL7 37 8  8
24 Brad Collett Lucas Mcdonald AUS AUS18 24 9  9
27 Steve Brewin Andrew Williams AUS AUS7 27 10  10

Mitch Booth was smiling after winning the last race and catching Darren Bundock, who had led the regatta since the first race. 'Conditions have been good for us so far. The last race was interesting. We'd been square with the Billy Besson (FRA) at the bottom mark, we chose the favoured gate, which was  the right, then we were committed because we could not cross the fleet coming down under spinnaker. We were unhappy being out there on our own.

'We found a nice shift on the right and rounded at least 20 lengths ahead. Darren made a big gain down the last run. There is still a long way to go in this regatta though, anything could happen from here.'

On the beach Darren Bundock commented on the regatta so far. 'Mitch has more time than anyone else on Tigers. To be honest three years ago in these conditions, which are perfect for him, he'd have left us all for dead, so we are pleased to be square with him, with a better drop.'

Mark Laruffa, the Regatta Co-coordinator was reflecting on the sunshine and lighter breezes. 'These are the conditions we expected, plenty of sunshine, almost postcard sailing, close to the brochure.  If we can get two more days like this it will be great.'

Provisional Overall standings Top 10 -

1 Mitch Booth Pim Nieuwenhis NED NED8 2 5 1 1 2 1 4 1 1 18 13
2 Darren Bundock Glenn Ashby AUS AUS7 1 1 2 2 1 2 2 3 2 16 13
3 Billy Besson Arnaud Jarlegan FRA FRA658 4 13 7 5 5 5 1 2 4 46 33
4 Mischa Heemskerk Cristopher Rasley NED NED007 8 2 3 4 78 DNF 6 3 4 5 113 35
5 Jean-Christophe Mourniac Franck Citeau FRA FRA1 3 7 10 3 10 4 7 10 78 DNF 132 54
6 Steve Brewin Andrew Williams AUS AUS7 6 4 9 8 4 8 8 28 10 85 57
7 Carolijn Brouwer Jeroen Van leeuwen BEL BEL7 7 8 6 9 3 10 78 DNF 9 8 138 60
8 Fernando Echavarri Anton Paz Blanco ESP ESP2207 5 3 5 17 8 18 11 16 3 86 68
9 Robbie Daniel Hunter Stunzi USA USA121 24 20 18 15 12 9 9 7 7 121 97

10 Robert Greenhalgh Peter Greenhalgh GBR GBR120 9 RDG 15 78 DNF 10 7 7 16 11 26 179 101

For full results www.2007f18worlds.com

Event media.

Last Updated ( Friday, 23 February 2007 )