5 September 2009
Be Number 1’s Nick Dempsey made an encouraging start on the first day of competition in the RS:X World Championships at Weymouth today, with a second and a first from his two races putting him in second place overall in the 105-strong men’s competition.

Poland’s Przemyslaw Miarcynski took the early advantage in testing 30-knot winds as he picked up the perfect score of two race victories to put him at the top of the leaderboard.

“It’s a decent start and I’m pretty happy with it,” admitted 2004 Olympic bronze medallist Dempsey afterwards. “I sailed really well today. I feel I’m sailing better than I’ve ever sailed and I feel more prepared than I have ever been. But there’s still a long way to go yet and I’ll just continue to do my best.”

Frenchman Julien Bontemps, the Beijing Olympic silver medallist, is behind Dempsey in third place, on equal points with New Zealander Jon Paul Tobin.

In the 58-strong women’s fleet, Bryony Shaw, Dempsey’s fellow Be Number 1 athlete, endured a more exacting day and currently lies in 22nd place, although there is still plenty of time for her to make her way up the leaderboard. The Beijing Olympic bronze medallist finished 13th in the opening race, but she was making a decent fist of the second race when she was knocked in by a gust and dropped to 11th.

Spain’s Marina Alabau, the three-time European champion who Shaw edged into fourth position at last year’s Olympics, won both of her races to take the early lead while Italian sailor Flavia Tartaglini is in second overall and France’s Marine Rambaud lies in the bronze medal position.