Yves Mermod and Maja Siegenthaler of Switzerland lead the 470 World Championship in Japan after day one, and they got there the hard way. Sixth, second, then first across three races — one point ahead of French pair Manon Pennaneac'h and Pierre Williot, with the standings liable to shift dramatically before anyone reaches the Gold Fleet.
Third overall are Israeli junior sailors Roy Levy and Ariel Gay, silver medallists at the Junior Worlds in Gdynia. Mermod was blunt about what that kind of competition in the field means. "I think the level we are having here at the Worlds is the highest we can have. Probably it's even higher than the Olympics."
France featured prominently through the opening races. Matise Pacaud and Lucie de Gennes took the first Yellow Fleet race with a comfortable margin, while Pennaneac'h and Williot were consistent enough to hold the overall lead midway through the day. In the Blue Fleet, British sailors Martin Wrigley and Bettine Harris won the opening race, with junior Worlds bronze medallists Lomane Valade and Julien Bunel finishing third after leading early.
Thailand's Navee Thamsoontorn and Nichapa Waiwai then controlled the second Yellow Fleet race from start to finish. A different story unfolded in Blue, where Mermod and Siegenthaler were pipped by Germany's Theresa Löffler and Christopher Hoerr in a close battle.
The breeze made things interesting throughout. Siegenthaler described a day of declining pressure and jumpy shifts. "We had dropping winds, so we started with 12 knots in the first race, and it went down a little bit each race. The shifts got a little crazy at the end, but we managed pretty well, and we're happy."
The final races settled the standings. Mermod and Siegenthaler fought off Japanese pair Tetsuya Isozaki and Yurie Seki to take the Blue Fleet win and move to the top overall. In Yellow, home sailors Motomi Urabe and Musashi Tabata claimed the race and sit fifth.
It is their first Worlds, and Urabe made no secret of what that meant stepping onto the water this morning. "This is our first World Championship, but we were confident that we could compete with the world's best. I think it was a really good start. I was nervous this morning because it was our first day of racing, but I think we communicated well and had a good day on the water." Tabata looked ahead: "I hope we can keep this momentum going so that we can qualify for the Gold Fleet. That is our goal for tomorrow's qualification series. I think we will have good wind tomorrow, so I hope we can keep communicating well and have another strong day. Arigato gozaimasu!"
One point between first and second. The qualification series tomorrow will feel nothing like an opening act.
