EUROSAF Youth Sailing, European Championship at Gdynia - Day 2
by John Friend, EUROSAF 20 Aug 2014 22:23 BST
19-23 August 2014
Despite the breezy start and delayed launching of the boats, the EUROSAF Youth Sailing, European Championship again completed an almost full programme of races today, with some interesting developments is the overall placings.
Strong winds caused a delay to the start of Day 2 of the EUROSAF Youth Sailing, European Championship in Gdynia this morning, with guests reportedly as high as 30 knots. Conditions lessened sufficiently that racing got underway by the middle of the day, in wind speeds of some 16 to 17 knots with gusts in the region of 22 knots. This made for some exciting racing. As the day progressed, so the winds lessened, with shifts close to the shore, but otherwise the direction was fairly steady. One of the members of the International Jury said "we had everything from 10 to 30 knots of wind, but generally the direction was consistent, starting the day at 265° and ending at 260°"
First out of the blocks was the 29er class, showing off their pace and skittishness to the full. Some exhilarating sailing was enjoyed by both sailors and observers, but after completing 3 of the 4 scheduled races, the race committee decided to call it a day and invited the RS:X class to join them on the water. Course Alpha is being shared by the 29er and RS:X, but they are racing at separate times, to ease course management. Competition at the top of the 29er fleet remains close, with Martyna Mik and Wojciech Petiak from Poland scoring two bullets today, but British competitors Daniel Blight and Rowan Edwards, and Mimi El-Khazindar and Emma Loveridge, remain in first and second places overall after six races. Norwegian sailors Tomas and Mads Mathisen lie in fourth place, but with a discard coming into effect after eight races, this could make a difference to the overall positions.
Some of the Laser Radial sailors found the conditions early on hard work, but they prevailed and completed all three scheduled races. Hannah Anderssohn, from Germany, continues to sail well, but could not repeat her feat of yesterday, when she scored two 1st places and a 2nd. Today she finished 4, 1, 3, giving her a total of 12 points. Frankie Dickens from Great Britain was able to narrow the gap between herself and Magdalena Kwasna from Poland, who had previously held a clear 2nd place, and they are both now on 17 points. Clementine Thompson from Great Britain is in fourth place. In the Boys Laser Radial fleet there were several place changes, with the leader from yesterday, Gianmarco Planchestainer of Italy, dropping to fourth place after being black-flagged in race 6. Some very consistent sailing from Sebastian Kalafarski, Poland, who scored three 2nd places, saw him move into the overall lead. He is followed by Nicolo Villa, Italy, and Adrian Raczkowski, Poland, which sees Italy and Poland leading the way in this fleet.
Emma Wilson, Great Britain, maintained her 7 point gap at the top of the leader board over Elena Vacca, Italy, in the Girls windsurfer class. Oda Skaug from Norway jumped from 5th to 3rd place, ahead of Patrycia Lis, Poland, who remains in 4th place, despite winning the opening race today. After scoring three 2nd places today, Evgeny Ayvazyan, Russia, has moved into second place in the Boys windsurfer class, behind the leader from yesterday, Radoslaw Furmanski, Poland, who again took two 1st places from three races. Michele Cittadini, Italy, is placed 2nd.
Laura Izzo and Maria Giovann Ianzillo, from Italy, maintain their excellent start to this championship and retain a comfortable lead after six races. Behind them Ewa Romaniuk and Katarzyna Goralska, Poland, have moved up the leader board from 5th place yesterday to 2nd, with Amy Sparks and Milly Pugh, Great Britain, pursuing them closely, as they move from 6th to 3rd. James Clemetson and Daniel Whitely, Great Britain, leapfrogged Matteo Pinchrie and Ludovico Basharzad, Italy, to take first place in the Boys fleet, with Mattia Panigoni and Riccardo Mirra sitting in 3rd position.
The championship continues tomorrow with another full schedule of races.
Results after Day 2: (six races)
International 420 Girls
1st Laura Izzo & Maria Giovanna lanzillo, ITA, 10pts
2nd Ewa Romaniuk & Katarzyna Goraiska, POL, 23pts
3rd Amy Sparks & Milly Pugh, GBR, 25pts
International 420 Boys
1st James Clemetson & Daniel Whiteley, GBR, 16pts
2nd Matteo Pinchrle & Ludovico Basharzad, ITA, 18pts
3rd Mattia Panigoni & Riccardo Mirra, ITA, 21pts
Laser Radial Girls
1st Hannah Anderssohn, GER, 12pts
2nd Frankie Dickens, GBR, 17pts
3rd Magdalena Kwasna, POL, 17pts
Laser Radial Boys
1st Sebastian Kalafarski, POL, 16pts
2nd Nico Villa, ITA, 21pts
3rd Adrian Raczkowski, POL, 23pts
RS:X 8.5m Girls
1st Emma Wilson, GBR, 12pts
2nd Elena Vacca, ITA, 19pts
3rd Oda Skaug, NOR, 21pts
RS:X 8.5m Boys
1st Radosław Furmanski, POL, 10pts
2nd Evgeny Ayvazyan, RUS, 15pts
3rd Michele Cittadini, ITA, 18pts
29er (seven races)
1st Daniel Blight & Rowan Edwards, GBR, 15pts
2nd Mimi El-Khazindar & Emma Loveridge, GBR, 15pts
3rd Tomas Mathisen & Mads Mathisen, NOR, 19pts
Full results will be found at www.gdyniasailingdays.org/en/2014/mej-eurosaf/wyniki