Aussies fight back on day 2 of the 2024 Etchells Worlds at Fremantle

After the Brits started strongly on day 1 of the 2024 Etchells World Championships in Fremantle, the home nation fought back on day 2, and are now in second and third on the overall leaderboard.

While the team of Graham Vials, Billy Russell and Andrew Lawson on No Dramas (GBR1490) hold the lead, which they’d shared overnight with fellow British team Lawrie Smith, Richard Parslow, Ruairiah Scott and Dave Hughes, the Australian team of Michael Manford, Dean McAullay, and Nicholas Gray on The Croc (AUS 1402) are just four points behind, with Graeme Taylor, James Mayo, and Richard Allanson on Magpie (AUS 1486) a further two points adrift.

It was a bad day for British legend Lawrie Smith and his team, recording a 13^th in the first race of the day, followed by a Black Flag in the next race, meaning they tumbled from the top of the leaderboard to 13^th overall.

The Croc’s Michael Manford said after racing:

"We had a great day. The boat was in good shape, and we had plenty of boat speed.

"It was shifting, sort of 15 degrees every three or four minutes, so you just had to take advantage of the shifts. We were lucky enough to get on the right side of the shifts more than the other boats. I think we just got lucky!"

On the rest of the event, Manford was focusing on keeping it clean:

"I think we just keep our heads down and try to stay out of trouble for the next few races. The goal is not to break any starts, which I would typically do in a championship, and just have some fun."

Find out more, including full results, on the event website at https://www.etchellsworldsfremantle.com/