Snipe Women's World Championship 2025 at Enoshima, Japan - Day 2
by Alex Pline 25 Jul 15:24 UTC
22-27 July 2025
As predicted, the temperatures were very hot the morning of the second day and the breeze started to build up earlier than day one.
The first race, a windward/leeward course, began at 11 am in 15-17 knots and increasing chop. Again the race committee started with a U Flag but given some slight adverse current, it was an all clear start.
Predictably the favorites all went for the pin end of the line and worked their way up the left side of the course taking advantage of the left shifts. Given the left shifts, the fleet spent the majority of the downwind leg on starboard, with typically only one jibe on the lower end of the leg, no doubt welcome with the increasing breeze and very steep chop. The second lap played out pretty much the same with Marija Andela De Micheli Vitturi/Maj Kristin Hansen Borgen (CRO) and Ai Yoshida/Honoka Miura (JPN) vying for the top two spots with Kathleen Tocke/Arianna Buzzetti (USA) in third. However, after a port/starboard incident at the leeward mark Ai Yoshida/Honoka Miura (JPN) was disqualified negating the second place which went to Tocke/Buzzetti and Yumiko Mori/Ikumi Okumura (JPN) taking third.
The breeze continued to build close to the 18 knot limit with the strong thermal effect so the course for race two was changed to a double triangle. Again, most of the favorites went for the pin end start that was all clear, but Tocke/Buzzetti (USA) and Sarah Alexander/Charlotte Carroll (USA) were boxed out and forced to tack to the right. Even though most of the fleet was on the left half of the beat, gains were made by teams to the right and Vitturi/Borgen (CRO), Alexander/Carroll (USA), Yoshida/Miura (JPN) and Tocke/Buzzetti (USA) rounded the first weather mark in close proximity. Yoshida/Miura (JPN) was clearly the fastest off the wind taking the lead and opening a sizable gap after both reaches, but Vitturi/Borgen (CRO) were faster upwind closing the gap on the second beat. However, once around the second weather mark Yoshida/Miura (JPN) once again expanded the lead on the reaches to win the race with Vitturi/Borgen (CRO) second and Tocke/Buzzetti (USA) third.
The racing was very exciting to watch in the big breeze and very large chop as the breeze built to above 20 knots at times and the competitors handled the challenging conditions very well. The earlier start time was a wise choice as the breeze eventually built to a steady 20+ knots in the later afternoon after the fleet arrived back in the harbor. An even earlier start is planned for day three, again to complete the scheduled two races before the significant thermal breeze again builds in the afternoon. If two races are completed tomorrow a discard will be included which will bring the two fastest teams of Yoshida/Miura (JPN) and Vitturi/Borgen (CRO) to the top of the scoresheet.
In the evening, Fleet 428 hosted a cocktail party at a local bar for all competitors to eat, drink and socialize. At the event Shinichi Uchida honored the two mother/daughter teams of Yukiko/Yuriko Hayakawa and Lisa/Lexi Pline as being emblematic of the spirit of the Snipe Class.
Results after Day 2: (top five, 4 races)
JPN Ayaka Yamazaki & Aina Hokuto, 19pts
USA Kathleen Tocke & Arianna Buzzetti, 20pts
USA Sarah Alexander & Charlotte Carroll, 24pts
USA Lisa Pline & Lexi Pline, 26pts
JPN Yuka Akamatsu & Sayaka Kodama, 28pts