Many of the overnight fleet leaders maintained their pecking order on the second day of the Qingdao International Regatta.

 

Racing got underway in between 6-8 knots of wind from the east, before veering to south easterly, with a light fog over the race courses. The light winds, combined with the currents in Fushan Bay, proved challenging for many of the sailors. In fact, two races had to be postponed due to the decreasing wind.

 

A total of five events were staged on Tuesday. And France has risen to the leading position, holding the top slot in three of the nine events that had commenced.

 

It seemed as though double Olympic Gold medalists Roman Hagara and Hans Peter Steinacher of Austria had the race safely marked against their names as they led off the start line, and down through the leeward gate. The pair achieved a decent safety margin over their only contenders, two French pairs, and as this leading trio went through the gate, the wind dropped behind them to leave the chasing pack struggling to find the groove in the decreasing wind.

 

But as happens in sailing, it didn't quite work out as planned, and by the gun Xavier Revil and Christophe Espagnon had overtaken the Austrians to secure victory. Another French pair finished third.

 

France also leads the Laser Radial race in the form of Sarah Steyaert.

 

China's hope in the race Xu Lijia dropped from 7th to 14th overall after Day Two's competition. She was apparently affected by the decreasing wind.

 

Chinese trio in the women's keelboat continued their top performance on Day Two and moved up into second overall in the fleet.

 

China's Wang Xiaoli and Huang Xufeng claimed victory in the women's 470 event as they scooped home first. This result has brought them up into twelfth overall.

 

(CRI August 23, 2006)