RS:X Open European Championships at Helsinki - Day 1

RS:X Open European Championships at Helsinki day 1 © Robert Hajduk / www.shuttersail.com

With just 32 days to go to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games the RS:X class started one of their title events to find out the RS:X European Windsurfing Champions and RS:X Youth European Windsurfing Champions in Helsinki, Finland.

209 athletes from 33 nations and 5 continents have gathered to Helsinki to test themselves at the final title event before stepping up to the biggest challenge of all at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Many big names are in Rio for the final tune-up by now. It's especially great to see so many athletes taking part from outside Europe; for example Japan, Oman, Hong Kong, Seyshelles, Aruba, Thailand, Brazil, Mexico, here in Helsinki.

The preparations for racing at the regatta venue in Hernesaarenranta in Helsinki started on Saturday with the registration and equipment inspection and with practice race on Sunday. While on Saturday the sailors experienced almost Mediterranean weather conditions of nearly 30 degrees temperature and great winds, the first day of racing was from a totally different opera – this morning in Helsinki greeted the sailors with +12 degrees only mixed with some showers. Yet there was enough wind to start the racing according to the schedule at 11am.

According to the PRO Lars Nyqvist (FIN) the wind reached up to the required five knots for that time and was steady enough to set the courses for racing. It was not an easy task for the Course Race Officers on the water as the wind started to shift making a 40-degrees difference between the two courses and also started to drop as well. The Race Committee managed to execute one race for men and two races for the youth women by lunchtime, but the wind died eventually and kept the athletes waiting ashore until the next announcements.

After 4pm the wind picked up again but was not stable enough to start racing until 5pm, when the Race Committee gave another attempt at the next races. They were successful to start the racing finally, but as the wind died entirely, the race was abandoned and the racing will continue on Tuesday where there is more wind forecasted.

Among men, who are divided into two fleets, the bullets were taken in both fleets by Polish athletes – 2015 European Champion and the current World Sailing ranking leader Pawel Tarnowski and Przemyslaw Tarnowski, 2014 ISAF Worlds' Silver in Santander. They were followed by Kieran Holmes-Martin from Great Britain, who is in the World Sailing ranking at the 11th position, and French Thomas Goyard whose best result has been Bronze medal from the 2014 ISAF Worlds in Santander. Third results have been achieved by Tom Squires from Great Britain, who was showing fourth results at the Sailing World Cup Weymouth & Portland in UK last month and by Mattia Cambioni, being at the same time the best in Men U21 division.

In the Youth Women's division, where there are 25 athletes competing, there were two races sailed today. Israel's young women have been taking the double lead here with the 2015 Youth European Champion Noy Drihan taking two bullets today followed by 2015 Youth Europeans' seventh, Shoval Ravitzky with two fourth places. In third position is Mariam Sekhposyan from Russia, last year's Youth Europeans' fourth, starting the series with third and seventh results today.

Unfortunately no races were run for women and young men today.

There will be a maximum thirteen races in a series over five race days. The regatta will consist of an Opening Series and, provided a minimum of six races have been completed in the Opening Series, a Medal Race. Men and Youth Men Opening Series' are split in the Qualifying Series and in the Final Series. The top ten at the end of the Opening Series will advance to the Medal Race. On the last day one Medal Race is scheduled with one further Opening Series race for those not assigned to the Medal Race.

The supporters and partners of the 2016 RS:X Europeans in Helsinki are Mercedes Benz, KONE, City of Helsinki, Helsinki Region Transport, Familia/Pan Nordic Meat, Ocean Nation, S1 Networks together with the International RS:X Class Association and World Sailing.

www.rsxclass.com/europeans2016