Abu Dhabi: The opening day of racing at the inaugural ISAF Sailing World Cup Final in Abu Dhabi was described as spectacular on Thursday.
A northwesterly breeze, which ranged between 9-14 knots, greeted the sailors across the four race tracks.
The outside courses saw big waves to add some spice to the sailors’ lives, while the flat water on the inside Corniche course tested competitors’ all-round abilities.
Racing for the 270 sailors from 38 nations across the 10 Olympic and open kiteboarding fleet commenced at 12pm and wrapped up with a full complement of races in the Olympic events.
Slovenia’s Vasilij Zbogar was dominant in picking up a pair of race wins in the 19-boat Finn fleet.
After racing ashore at the Abu Dhabi Sailing and Yacht Club, the Slovenian was visibly pleased yet shocked with his regatta opening, saying: “I am a bit surprised with the two first places. It’s much better than I thought I would start. The conditions were perfect for my technique and weight and my boat speed was extremely good.
“The main issue was that I got a yellow flag in the first race, which was a bit annoying but I still finished first.”
Zbogar’s victories came by different margins. A close encounter with Jake Lilley of Australia in the opening race saw him take the victory by a narrow two seconds. He ramped it up in the second race, taking the gun by 30 seconds over Pieter Jan Postma of the Netherlands.
Abu Dhabi is a new venue for the Slovenian, which he hailed from both sailing and offshore perspectives.
“Until now, Abu Dhabi has been a big surprise for me. Everybody was a bit sceptical at first, thinking maybe the venue and the sailing conditions weren’t right, but here we are and people are extremely helpful, everything is extremely well organised and the sailing is spectacular.
“I think all the sailors are really happy and they all see it’s a big step forward in Olympic classes.”
The 20 competitors were to be divided up for Stage 2 heats on Friday and Saturday based on their seeding from Stage 1. The top 10 boats will then progress to the medal stage.
Two semi-finals will be held with five racers in each.
Places 1 and 2 will carry forward 10 points, 3 and 4 seven points, 5 and 6 five points, 7 and 8 four points and 9 and 10 three points.
Two races in each semi-final will follow, with the top-two sailors in each heading to the final.
From there, it is a four-way, single-race shoot-out for the podium spots.
The ISAF Sailing World Cup Final is making its debut in the UAE capital, and includes 10 Olympic events, with sailors battling for a share of the $200,000 (Dh735,000) prize.
