By Laurie Fullerton

A mere whisper of breeze favored the young sailors competing in Granaway Deep, Hamilton as the second day of the Renaissance Reinsurance Junior Gold Cup saw Joshua Greenslade, 14, of Bermuda take two bullets in the first fleet races. Although the lighter sailors enjoyed more boat speed than their heavier counterparts, the racing was a challenge for all sailors as the wind hovered at a mere 4 to 6 knots.
"The Bermudians are doing well and I think the conditions today have been to the advantage of our younger, lighter sailors," said team coach Pablo Weber.
Junior Optimist skippers from eight nations including Bermuda are competing through to Saturday as part of the festivities surrounding the Investors Guaranty presentation of the King Edward VII Gold Cup.
Greenslade managed to better than Tina Lutz, the German Optimist world champion who finished the day in third place overall. Lutz, who will turn 15 next week, is in her final months of racing in the Optimist class, and is particularly keen to carry off the Renaissance Reinsurance Trophy before she graduates to a bigger class. The Bermudian sailors, who make up 28 of the 40 strong fleet, also face strong opposition from Matthew Schoener Smith from Trinidad and George Kool of New Zealand as well as others from the USA, Peru, UK, France and Australia.
"This light air is a little different than what we have in New Zealand but I am getting used to that," said Kool. "I had a fourth place in the second race and a tenth place earlier in the day. I am not too pleased with the 10th place but we have two more days of racing ahead."
First place finisher Greenslade found the breeze at the start of both races by going out to the left of Granaway Deep while his other competitors moved towards the right, and went out on his own.
"I think getting the good starts is key and once I saw that the wind had shifted to the left I got there, tacked, and I was out in front," Greenslade said. "I am pleased because I felt I could do well here but I didn't think I would get the top score today."
On the first day of the Junior Gold Cup on Wednesday, a team racing event saw four out of the five races go to Stephanie Zimmerman, James Anfossi, Sean Moynahan and Jason Saints of Bermuda. Trinidad native Matt Schoener Smith showed what a 'veteran' sailor he has become by consistently finishing well.