35th Garda Optimist Open Meeting - Day 3
by Elena Giolai 15 Apr 2017 22:42 BST
12-16 April 2017
The final races of the 35th Lake Garda Optimist Meeting take place on Sunday. Saturday was a windy day and all the scheduled races were completed - a great organisational success for Fraglia Vela Riva, acknowledged also by all the visitors.
The live streaming, started today, allowing followers of the event to watch the racing online with the commentary from the course.
Even today, the windy Garda Trentino made the day for the 1063 participants, who enjoy sailing fast on-board of their Optimists: the quintessential kids boat, which ensure maximum safety thanks to its technical features, specifically designed for children. Two races per division took place today as scheduled.
The enthusiasm keeps on growing among organisers and guests, who do not seem willing to stop appreciating the event also on Fraglia Vela Riva's social networks. The main goal of setting up a festival for all the young helmsmen has been surely reached. On the water, the participants showed off their determination and passion of sailing in every single race; their technical skills are astonishing for their age (9 years old), capable to racing in the demanding wind conditions (15-18 knots).
Division A
Before the final race, the Italian Maria Vittoria Arseni (CV Roma, today 3-9) and the Turkish sailor Oztuncel are neck and neck, just one point apart thanks to a brilliant first and second place gained today for Oztuncel. The Polish sailor Chelkowski has risen to third place in the rankings (today 4-1). In the top positions are home athletes Mosè Bellomi (4th), Alex Demurtas (5th) and Manuel De Asmundis (7th).
Division B / Juniors (after 7 races, race 8 ranking processing)
After seven races, the ranking looks quite similar to yesterday. On Sunday, the final race with the top 157 sailors competing in the Gold Fleet will decide the winner. The American Stephen Baker is still first, who sailed fast in the strong winds despite being light. Behind him are the Germans Müller, Steidle, Krauss and the Italian Jan Pernarcic (YC Cupa). The home athlete Tommaso Boccuni is seventh. A good performance by the Sicilian Andrea Marotta (CN Gela) has them placed ninth. The Russian Liksanova, twelfth overall, is the first female.
Tomorrow the starting signal is set at midday with two races scheduled. The fleets will be determined from the general ranking: the top helmsmen challenge to win the 35th Lake Garda Optimist Meeting, a unique event that this year outnumbered the 2012 edition certified by the Guinness World Records (1063 versus 1022). Also tomorrow, the live streaming will be provided by Kinder + Sport (www.fragliavelariva.it), that allows those who stayed at home, e.g. friends and relatives, to experience the event.
www.fragliavelariva.it/regatta/2247/view