ILCA 6 Radial World Championship

The opening day of the 2021 ILCA 6 World Championship fell victim to an uncharacteristic lack of wind in Barceló Mussanah Resort, resulting in the scheduled races being cancelled. Action will resume tomorrow with 72 ILCA, 6 male and female sailors ready to go when the conditions allow.

Racing is due to take place every day until 6 December 2021. A diverse women’s fleet features several of the world’s top ten female sailors in the class, including 2020 Laser Radial Olympic Champion, Anne-Marie Rindom of Denmark, world number two and 2018 World Champion, Emma Plasschaert of Belgium and world number four, Elena Vorobeva of Croatia. Agata Barwinska of Poland, currently ranked sixth in the world; Maxime Jonker of the Netherlands, ranked eighth; Vasileia Karachaliou from Greece, ranked ninth; and Marie Barrue from France, tenth in the world going into the tournament, will also be taking part.

The Men’s race includes Abdulmalik Al Hinai, Almoutasim Al Farsi, Hallie Al Saasi and Al Bara Al Noufli, four of Oman’s best ILCA 6 sailors, who will all be looking for a strong showing on home waters. Richard Marcus Arge, Karel Ratnik and Tristan Šaraškin all representing Estonia, Nik Pletikos of Slovenia and Umut Eyriparmak of Turkey will provide tough competition over the next five days.

Hamed Al Yahmadi, ILCA 6 World Championship project manager, said, “We are disappointed not to have any racing today but this is the nature of the sport. We are at the mercy of the elements and we have no choice but to wait. This is a good opportunity to conduct some final equipment checks, rest and recover before racing commences. The sailors enjoyed two days of excellent practice beforehand so we are sure that when the wind picks up again, they will be ready to go and we will see the high standard of sailing expected from some of the world’s best in the ILCA 6 class.”

The event is supported by national carrier Oman Air, OQ and the Barceló Mussanah Resort as official partners, and Be’ah as environmental supporter. The National Mineral Water Company Salsabeel Water provided all essential water supplies for the event while the Royal Navy of Oman provided medical support throughout.
Wind causes more surprises on Day 3
of the 2021 ILCA 6 World Championship

Day three of the 2021 ILCA 6 World Championships was once again influenced by the wind. Just two races in the men’s category and one in the women’s were completed at Barceló Resort Mussanah as the sailors struggled to get to grips with the changing wind patterns.

The men’s leaderboard remains unchanged from yesterday with Oman’s Almoutasim Al Farsi out in front, holding a six-point lead over Nik Pletikos of Slovenia after winning one race and finishing second in the other.

Abdul Malik Al Hinai of Oman moved into third position when Umut Eyriparmak had to retire from the second race after making an excellent start by winning the first. He ends the day in fourth place. Ali Al Saadi of Oman retained fifth position and stays within touching distance of the leaders.

The only women’s race of the day was dramatically impacted by the weather as seven of the fleet were given the black flag and disqualified for prematurely starting the race, including yesterday’s leader Julia Büsselberg of Germany and Anne-Marie Rindom of Denmark. That allowed Emma Plasschaert of Belgium to take the victory and move to the top of the leaderboard.

Büsselberg slips to second and Agata Barwinska of Poland moves into third. Viktorija Andrulyte of Lithuania moved into fourth place after a strong display and yesterday’s second placed sailor Vasileia Karachaliou dropped to fifth after today’s race. The fleet is still very close with just seven points between first and sixth.

Nik Pletikos of Slovenia, said, “Today we had quite shifty wind, not much wind which was tough for me as one of the heaviest in the fleet. So, I struggled a bit in the up-wind. We’ll see what happens tomorrow, hopefully there will be more wind.”

Viktorija Andrulyte of Lithuania, said, “There were light to medium winds today for us, which I enjoy a lot. There are still a lot of races to go, my expectation is that I just want to keep pushing myself and enjoy. The race is very hard, the fleet is really good, but it’s great to compete and be against the best sailors in this class.”

Racing continues tomorrow with more races scheduled in each category. The event is supported by national carrier Oman Air, OQ and the Barceló Mussanah Resort as official partners, and Be’ah as environmental supporter. The National Mineral Water Company Salsabeel Water provided all essential water supplies for the event while the Royal Navy of Oman provided medical support throughout.

More information about the championships is available at organisers page www.omansail.com or the class website http://2021-radial.laser-worlds.com.

Action heats up on penultimate day of the 2021 ILCA 6 World Championship
A dramatic penultimate day in the 2021 ILCA 6 World Championships ensured the quest for medals will go down to the final day in both men’s and women’s races. After a week of low wind, today was completely different and saw many sailors show their true form.

In the men’s races, leader Almoutasim Al Farsi was unable to compete in the first race and earned himself a penalty but followed up with a creditable third place and a fourth in the last race of the day. Umut Eyriparmak of Turkey won all three races today to take second while Nik Pletikos finished second in all three races and sits in third. Al Farsi remains out in front but his lead is now a single point over both second and third. Omani sailor Abdul Malik Al Hinai in fourth is still in contention after three strong performances today. He trails third place by six points.

The picture in the women’s category is becoming much clearer now after Anne-Marie Rindom (DEN) became the new leader with two second placed finishes. Just one point behind is Agata Barwinska of Poland but both are clear of the rest of the fleet. Vasileia Karachaliou of Greece is in third, 23 points behind second but there is drama unfolding behind her. Viktorija Andrulyte of Lithuania ended the day in fourth place and Emma Plasschaert of Belgium is fifth. Just four points separate third, fourth and fifth. Cristina Pujol Bajo (ESP) is sixth, eight points back. Julia Büsselberg, the overnight leader, fell to tenth place after today’s races.

Ahmed Al Wahaibi, Oman team coach, said, “We are very optimistic about tomorrow’s race. My team has been preparing very well for this championship and we are looking forward to the final day”.

Cristina Pujol Bajo of Spain, said, “Today was difficult for me because I already had one discard, so I didn’t want to race and go over the line or get a second yellow flag. Conditions are my preferred for sailing. I didn’t have any really good results today but also only had one bad result, so overall I am pleased.”

Egon Vigna, coach of the Italian Olympic Team, said, “Here in Oman we have three sailors, Chiara Benini, Matilda Talluri and Federica Cattarozzi. The races are very interesting for me to race here because we have a very young group but they have been racing well and I am very happy.”

Racing continues tomorrow with more races scheduled in each category. The event is supported by national carrier Oman Air, OQ and the Barceló Mussanah Resort as official partners, and Be’ah as environmental supporter. The National Mineral Water Company Salsabeel Water provided all essential water supplies for the event while the Royal Navy of Oman provided medical support throughout.

2022 World Champions crowned in final race
of the 2021 ILCA 6 World Championship
The 2021 ILCA 6 World Championship concluded today in Barcelo Mussanah, Oman, with Nik Pletikos of Slovenia winning the men’s 2021 ILCA 6 World Championship in the last race on the last day of the competition. Taking the title by a single point, Pletikos secured the gold by winning race 12, while closest challenger, Oman’s Almoutasim Al Farsi, leader of the race throughout, finished fourth.

That result meant that Al Farsi must settle for the silver while fellow Omani AbdulMalik Al Hinai moved up a place to take the bronze to secure two medals for the host nation. Umut Eyriparmak (TUR) ends the championships in fourth, Karel Ratnik (EST) in fifth and Ali Al Saadi of Oman finished in sixth.

The women’s race was just as dramatic. Emma Plasschaert of Belgium is the 2021 ILCA 6 Women’s World Champion finishing level on points with Agata Barwinska of Poland. Plasschaert finished ahead of Barwinska in the final race, crossing the line in third, to win gold while Barwinksa claims silver. Viktorija Andrulyte of Lithuania takes the bronze, two points behind. Olympic Champion Anne-Marie Rindom (DEN) finished fourth, four points off the podium positions, with Julia Büsselberg (GER) in fifth despite winning the final race. Just seven points separated first and fifth in the end.

Emma Plasschaert, new women’s World Champion, said, “Today, I went to the last day without any expectation, and just wanted to have three good races. I ended up with two good ones. It is a little bit surreal to come back on shore and not knowing what the points are. I am obviously super stoked about it and proud to be the world champion!”.

“It came here thinking to aim for top three,” Agata Barwinska (POL) said. “I am having a bit of a bitter-sweet moment. I finished with the same points as Emma but I am not saying that this is my last Worlds”. She added, “There was a lot of very good athletes like Anne-Marie Rindom who just won an Olympic gold medal. It was great to race against her. For me, it was a lot of light wind throughout the week, which I really like!.”

Julia Büsselberg of Germany, finishing fifth in the women’s race, said, “On the one hand, I am very happy with my performance, especially on the last day. On the other, it is just seven points to the title and I had it in my hands in at least three of the races where I made a mistake so I am not one hundred percent happy at the moment. In my opinion, the level of the competition was very high, nearly everyone has competed at the Olympics and will continue afterwards.”

After the racing had concluded, organisers Oman Sail and race officials gathered to present the winners with their medals at a ceremony held under the patronage of Her Highness Afraa bint Talal Al Said at Barceló Mussanah Resort.

The event was supported by national carrier Oman Air, OQ and the Barceló Mussanah Resort as official partners, and Be’ah as environmental supporter. The National Mineral Water Company Salsabeel Water provided all essential water supplies for the event while the Royal Navy of Oman provided medical support throughout. More information about the championships is available at organisers' page www.omansail.com or the class website http://2021-radial.laser-worlds.com.

Barceló Mussanah Resort will now prepare to host the 2021 Youth Sailing World Championships. A highlight in the world sailing calendar from 11-18 December 2021 as 350 of sailing’s future stars head to Oman for the 50th anniversary of the competition and the first to be held in Asia.

At the same time, the venue will invite the community to #SailwithUs as part of the nationwide Oman Sailing Festival which kicks off at the venue on 11 December 2021. Lasting a week, until 18 December, visitors have the opportunity to try sailing and windsurfing for free and take part in a beach clean up to preserve the environment for future generations and help to keep the seas clean.

More information about the championships is available at organisers page www.omansail.com or the class website http://2021-radial.laser-worlds.com.