Electrical storms and 100kph winds stop racing in Perth
Loud thunder, lightning and heavy rain forced the Perth 2011
ISAF Sailing World Championships to be cancelled today.
Fears for the safety of competing crew meant sailors were
kept off the Australian waters. With electrical storms and up to 100kph winds
forecast for later, the Race Committee suspended racing for the entire day.
Just one women’s match racing flight took place before
storms forced all finn, laser radial, men’s 470 and women’s windsurfing races
to be abandoned.
British match racer Annie Lush said that cancelling racing
was the right decision. “So far we’ve averaged 15 minutes’ racing a day since
the start of the regatta which is a bit frustrating and means we have a lot
more racing still to do,” she said.
“We still have plenty of time though, so it was the right
call and it is good to keep the racing fair and safe,” Lush added.
Photo taken by Richard Langdon at Perth.
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