Tornado European Championships in Travemunde - Overall
by Andrew Dowley 28 Jul 2014 12:43 BST
24-27 July 2014
On day three Roland and Nahid defended their 2nd place with 2 firsts and a 2nd place in conditions between 6 and 11 knots. The Greek duo hat trouble crossing the start line because of a speedboat crossing the line seconds into the first race. They had to veer away and restart again, rolling up the field from behind, ending 4th behind the The Czechs David and Adam, Martin and Marc. Sarah and Jurgen Jentsch had their best result with a 6th and 2 further good results which means they have closed the gap to Maurer now 8th overall and Jentsch 9th overall.
The 2nd and 3rd races with a little more wind, downwind a flyer brought better results for Kostas and Dani nailing a 1st in the last race of the day.
The race officer Olaf Stormer, Lübecker Yachtclub, has done a great job so far, with start lines and buoys at perfect angles, sailing distances and race times all in tune with the conditions.
At 5pm the Trave Short Track races took place in front of 25,000 spectators with 16 Tornados and a final heat of 4 with prizes of ipads and more!
The final day began with heavy rain showers and waiting for the competitors. By 10am it was clear that most probably we wouldn't be sailing before 12, maybe not at all. At 11am Dani and Kostas decided to surprise us with an informal question and answer round, on tactics and any trouble shooting. The sailors had the opportunity questions to directly related to our recent sailing experiences. It was great, thanks Champions!
At 12am the waiting for racing was ended and 2014 had new European Champions. Dani & Kostas 1st, Nahid and Roland 2nd and Rusterholz and Baier 3rd. In Mixed, 1st place went to Nahid and Roland, 2nd to Maurer and Oldenburg and 3rd to Sarah and Jürgen Jentsch.
The fleet was lucky to get a glimpse of the sun for packing trailors and material, at 3pm the Prize Giving Ceremony took place in the Sailors Village by the Trave opposite the Passat.
Now most crews are heading home south, we wish everyone a safe trip home and look forward to next time.
Austria is coming up next weekend at Achensee where 17 to 20 Tornados are expected, then the Torbole Trophy as German Nationals in September. Remember, come to Torbole as it is the last race before packing the container for Perth.