Waiheke’s Serena Woodall and her Enzedder Racing teammates Sam Street and Andre van Dam didn’t sail away as winners in last week’s Act 2 of the 69F Youth Foiling Gold Cup in La Grande Motte, France. But she’s still optimistic about November’s final in Barcelona.
The crew last sailed together in January’s Act 1 at Miami, Florida and they say it was great to have more time on the water together in France. In the four-day qualification series, teams compete in six-boat fleet races using a knockout and repechage system to get through to the Act finals. The top six crews comprise the Gold Fleet and the next six make up the Silver fleet. The remainder of the teams are knocked out. During the qualification phase in France, Enzedder Racing got knocked into the Silver Fleet and ended up third in that division.
Racing was challenging in puffy conditions and the competition was strong. Although they had confidence-building moments, Serena’s team result wasn’t the one that they were looking for. Nevertheless, they maintain their ticket in the Gold Fleet at the grand final based on their finish in Miami.
“A tricky event for us, getting a bit of every condition each day. We are excited for the training and the push to Barcelona’s grand final in November,” says Serena.
• Sarah Gloyer
