On the first day of the Delphis Dart 18 World Championships two races are sailed under total different circumstances. After a delay there was a light but stable wind to start the first race. Thierry and Christine Wibeaux from France reached the first mark with a big lead d, followed by the English team Geoff and Jenny Lloyd. Both teams managed to expend their lead in the downwind lab. During the second round the expected wind shift continued and the wind decreases. The race was shortened to two rounds, in the last downwind lap the wind shifted about 60 degrees causing a total mix up in results. The lead of team Wibeaux was enough to finish first. The British team Alan and Fiona Kernick finished second with Niels Oostenbrug and Harry van Veen from the Netherlands third.
The wind shift came with an increase of wind, so the second race could be started with a stable 3 bfd wind. Unfortunately the tide also turned causing the fourth attempt to be honest. 7 teams were disqualified under the black flag rule. From the first moment three teams took the lead and didn’t relinquish their lead. Dan Norman en Melanie Rogers from the United Kingdom were all to fast. Second was the French team Dodé Emmanuel en Fred Moreau. Alan en Fiona Kernick finished in third positions

The overall rankings after two races:

1. Dan Norman and Melanie Rogers (GBR), 5 points
2. Alan and Fiona Kernick (GBR), 5 points
3. Thierry en Kristine Wibaux (FRA), 7 points
4. Emmanuel Dodé en Fred Moreau (FRA), 7 points

The Championships are organized by the Royal Belgian Sailing Club (RBSC) Het Zoute in Knokke, a sailing club with loads of experience with International top sailing events. During the event it will be possible to follow the sailors live with a GPS track system on website www.dart18worlds2011.com.

In addition to the title sponsor Delphis Container Transport, this years Dart18 Worlds Championships are supported by Knokke-Heist, Province of West-Vlaanderen, Gaastra International Sportswear, National Loterij Belgium, McDonalds, Landrover, Windsport International, Vivium Assurances, Fluxys Gastransport, Hansgrohe en Metapro Network Event Kortrijk Xpo.

For more information on the Delphis Dart18 Worlds please contact:

Royal Belgian Sailing Club
Sven Janssens, Beachmaster
Mobile: +32 475928005
e-mail: zoute@rbsc.be

International Dart Association
Nicolette van Gorp, Voorzitter
Mobile: +31 (0)6 51577809
e-mail: nvgorp@live.nl
website: www.dart18sailing.org
Website: www.dart18worlds2011.com