| GAETA, ITALY-(26-4-2004) Sun and steady wind of 12 knots for the 2nd race at the Star World Championship in Gaeta were welcome after the poor weather conditions of the first day of racing. The 2nd day brought perfect sailing conditions.
The race, which started at 2:25 pm, was sailed on course #3, a five legged windward-leeward course with an upwind finish. At the first windward mark, first around was the Dutch team of Mark Neeleman/Peter Van Niekerk, followed by the Danes Stig Westergaard/Jann Neergaard, with third being the Italian team of Roberto Benamati and Filippo Domenicali (33rd in the first race). The Olympic Champions Torben Grael/Marcelo Ferreira were 5th around the buoy, the winners of yesterday’s race, the English Iain Percy/Steve Mitchell were seventh, and Nicola Celon/Sergo Lambertenghi were 8th.
At the leeward mark, Neeleman and Van Niekerk were solidly in command. This scenario did not change in the 2nd go-around with the Dutch again first around the weather mark, and just behind were the Brazilians Grael/Ferreira, with the Danes Westergaard/Neergaard in 3rd.
The Dutch crossed the finish line first, while the 2004 European Champions, the Swedes Frederik Loof/Steve Mitchell were 2nd, and third were Grael/Ferreira. The best Italian teams were, in 14th Giampiero Poggi/Giovanni Stilo, and Pietro D’ali/Piero Romeo in 18th.
Tomorrow, Tuesday, April 27th, will bring the 2nd race, with the start at 2 pm. Wednesday is a lay day, with racing continuing on Thursday, April 29th.
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