European 18ft Skiff Grand Prix in Carnac, France - Day 1
by Andy Richards 15 Sep 2007 12:28 BST
14-16 Septmeber 2007
Summer finally made an appearance on the European 18ft Skiff Grand Prix - sunshine, 25oC and a steady 12-15knots greeted the small but competitive fleet of 18ft Skiff sailors for the final round of this years tour. The venue is Carnac in southern Brittany, the 'spiritual' home of skiff sailing where the European fleet was re-born nearly 10 years ago. And this years event looks like to one of the most competitive ever building on the success of the European tour this year.
Although overall numbers on the tour have generally remained constant over the last few years (with 30-35 teams competing at one time or another during the season), the depth of quality has improved significantly, with the racing much tighter and more tactical than in the past. Contributing to this has been a influx of world class sailors to the fleet over the years, and this event is no different, with former 49er world champion Simon Hiscocks taking the mainsheet on the ever improving PICA team from the UK, and 2007 505 World Champion Jan Saugmann doing the same job on the Danish skiff Bodotex.
Racing kicked off in a building 8-10knot breeze, and Bodotex were straight out of the blocks taking a commanding lead by the first mark. The 'rock-star' effect had similar impact for PICA who rounded in 2nd while the chasing bunch all piled round seconds later. There was a significant amount of place-changing during the race and eventually current series leaders Pindar Radii (GBR) stuck their noses in front of PICA at the end, with Danish team of GP Covers managing to sneak ahead of their compatriots in Bodotex who did not manage to keep their heads with the pressure all around them.
There was a wait for the second race as the race committee shifted the course round to suit the wind that was clocking round to the right with the slowly establishing sea breeze. The fleet got away first time and it was PICA this time who showed a clean pair of heels to the rest and rounded clear ahead of GP Covers and GE Commercial Finance (GBR). In the chasing pack it was UTI (SUI) who made the early running in 4th, and this leading bunch held their positions to the finish.
The breeze had built up nicely for the third race to provide 'champagne sailing' for all the crews, and providing excellent photo opportunities for the circling press helicopter - sometimes getting a little too close providing some unwelcome gusts in the wind!
This time GE Commercial led the pack round most of the race, closely followed by Gill Wet and Wild (GBR) who finally found their top gear in the last race of the day. Pindar Radii and GP Covers were having a ding-dong battle for 3rd place while the ever present UTI was having a job keeping on-form PICA at bay. At the final mark, Gill Wet and Wild managed to sneak ahead of GE Commercial when their kite halyard got stuck, while the others managed to hold onto their positions.
Saturday's forecast does not bode well with only a gradient 2-3knots forecast, however the sun is primed to make an appearance again and this should kick in the famed Carnac sea breeze. After a the first days racing, it couldn't be closer at the top of the fleet with 2 points between the top four - all to play for!
Results after Day 1: (top ten, 3 races, no discards)
1st PICA (GBR) James Mears, Simon Hiscocks, Stewart Mears 9pts
2nd GP Covers (DEN) Flemming Clausen, Thomas Ebler, Soren Clausen 9pts
3rd Pindar Radii (GBR) Andy Richards, Andrew Fairley, Dave Richards 10pts
4th Gill Wet & Wild (GBR) Ed Browne, Mark Addison, Graeme Oliver 11pts
5th GE Commercial Finance (GBR) Mason Woodworth, Ding Brown, Si Hamilton 14pts
6th UTI (SUI) Stephan Rueger, Ueli Marti, Res Schurd 17pts
7th Bodotex (DEN) Saugman Broendum, San Saugmann, Martin Friderichsen 20pts
8th Elcotec (ITA) Stefano Lagi, Giovanni Bonzio, Luca Bonezzi 22pts
9th Wet Protect (GER) Werner Gieser, Jan Dicks, Max Freidrich 23pts
10th Space Model (GER) Dennis Gehulein, Latzi Meissuer, Thomas Eggersclarfer 30pts