29er Eurocup at Fraglia Vela Riva, Lake Garda - Days 1 & 2
by Fraglia Vela Riva 31 Oct 2011 06:58 GMT
29 October - 1 November 2011
Day 1
The young, emerging sailors take the stage at Fraglia Vela Riva this weekend with the 29er Eurocup from Saturday 29th October to Tuesday 1st November. This is the final stop on the European tour for the skiff class for 16-18 year olds (fore-runner to the Olympic 49er class). The 29er also appeared at Riva del Garda last August at the European Youth Sailing Games. Almost 60 boats are taking part with at least 150 people involved among racers, coaches and chaperones from 10 different nations including Great Britain, Germany, Lithuania, Spain, Poland, Norway, Austria, Switzerland and Sweden.
The regatta got off to a great start on Day 1 with all 4 scheduled races being completed. At around 2 pm, though, a rather weak “ora” made the first race a bit long and technical. The course was subsequently shortened by Fausto Maroni, the on-water technical supervisor and by then the southerly had wind picked up to 6-7 m/sec giving good conditions for 4 fine races. This event attracts more and more participants every year due to the popularity of the 29er with youngsters for its acrobatic style, speed and adrenaline rush.
After the first day of competition the podium is dominated by the Spaniards with the top 2 crews practically neck and neck on points. Llena-Mahiques have a 1 point lead after discarding a 15th place in the 1st race and then taking two 3rds and a 2nd. Right behind them is the other Spanish crew of Robles-Trittel who finished with two 1sts, a 9th (discarded), and a 7th. The mixed, Swedish crew of Sommarlund-Anjemark is in 3rd place. They started well with a 2nd and a 1st but fell back later with a 16th and an 8th. Lavinia Tezza and Paola Bergamaschi (S.C. Garda Salò) are the first of the Italian crews in 20th place. The 29er XX is also featured at this event with 3 crews participating. This is a possible women’s Olympic class for Rio 2016. Dominating the field are the German sisters Jule and Lotta George with 4 partial wins. They seem to be already setting their sights on the future.
The event concludes on Tuesday after a possible total of 14 races and a hotly-contested Eurocup final. The conclusion of the tour was set to take place in Turkey with a stop at Riva, but since the event was cancelled in Istanbul, the Tour will close right here at Riva del Garda.
Day 2
It was yet another good day of weather and wind on Trentino Garda for the last stop towards the final of the 29er Eurocup. Winds were favourable enough for another 4 races to be held with the “ora” sometimes reaching 7-8 m/sec. - conditions usually only seen at the height of summer! Current European Champions, Carlos Robles and Florian Trittel, today focused entirely on victory and after 8 races they have a 16 point lead over Norwegians Snerlebakken-Klippenberg who made a great comeback after yesterday's performance.
With light winds of 3-4 m/sec, the Spaniards took 3rd place in the first race and then followed with a 2nd and two 1sts. The Norwegians took two 2nds, a 7th and a 4th and are in 2nd place with a 6 point lead over the other Spanish crew who were yesterday's leaders. As well as failing to reach a top 3 position today (4-5-6 partials), the crew of Llena Marti and Oriol Mahiques were penalized with a “ black flag” for a false start. They currently lie in 3rd place, 3 points ahead of Payne-Berry of Great Britain.
The race for a final place on the podium seems to be down to 5 crews even if Cooper- Poyner of G.B. who are in 6th place, bagged two 1sts and a 5th today. Their performance has been, however, inconsistent taking around 20th position in their other results. Many of the other crews from 6th position down have also shown inconsistent performances, alternating excellent partials with mediocre ones.
The organizational staff at Fraglia Vela Riva hope to complete another 4 races tomorrow- Monday- leaving the last two for the final day on Tuesday 1st November. It's gearing up to be a fight to the finish for a final place on the podium.
“The weather has certainly been on our side for this last event of the season - commented Mauro Stanga, President of Fraglia Vela Riva - and has given these youngsters the ideal conditions to enjoy the 29er skiff at its best. This event has become a fixed date on the calendar for the All Saints long weekend and underlines our commitment to youth sailing. We have seen a multi-national participation of 15-19 year olds not only enjoying the acrobatic style, speed and adrenaline rush provided by the 29er, but also the camaraderie of young people being together.”- concluded Stanga.
Results after 8 races
More photos can be found on Picasa.