PA Consulting Allen RS Feva Worlds in Travemünde - Overall
by Frances Peters 30 Jul 2015 19:17 BST
18-24 July 2015
Last week, RS Feva sailors from around the world descended on Travemunde, Germany to compete in the PA Consulting Allen RS Feva World Championships 2015. For 324 sailors from 19 nations, a field stretching along the promenade looking over the Baltic became home for a week, while boats sailed in what has to have been the highlight of RS Feva sailing this year.
Notorious for its fun, friendly and welcoming vibe, the RS Feva fleet lived up to its reputation. The class joined around 30 others in Travemunde Woche and with it the live music, festival tents, tall ships, food and souvenir stalls as well as live coverage of the racing.
When sailors weren't engaged in the tight fleet racing on the water, they were cheering one another on in (equally competitive!) games of football and volleyball, which quickly became the centrepiece of the boat park. Others could be found chatting and catching some rays with friends or immersing themselves in the festival.
After the opening ceremony parade, the event got off to a breezy start. Competitors were thrown in at the deep end for their qualifying series, with several boats having to retire from races as conditions grew increasingly challenging. European Champions, Jack Lewis and Lucas Marshall (GBR) didn't hang around, taking a perfect score away from the first day. Meanwhile Jersovas and Strelciunas (LTU) made their mark in the fleet early, sitting in 4th after day 1.
More breeze on day 2 saw the Swedish teams ahead of the game. Elin Nordin and Samuel Fredriksson posted a 2,3,3, putting themselves well in the hunt, while teammates, Hedvig Hedstrom & Stina Langenius and Oscar Andersson & Rebecca Flohr were hot on their heels.
Day 3 brought a new series as boats were split into gold, silver and bronze fleets based on their score from their qualifying series. Lighter winds made for a new challenge but still saw the Swedes, Hedstrom & Langenius in the top few along with Jersovas and Strelciunas of Lithuania and Mattia Zinetti & Davide Carbonelli of Italy.
For the British teams, it was a family affair as the Armstrong brothers lead the way and the Jameson brothers were in joint 2nd with Lewis & Marshall.
The battle at the top remained tight, but a win in the final race from Ian Bird and Jake Hardman (GBR) saw them clinch the PA Consulting Allen RS Feva World title, only beating the Armstrong brothers (GBR) on tie break. RS Feva European Champions, Lewis and Marshall (GBR), took bronze overall along with the title of PA Consulting Allen RS Feva Junior World Champions.
Meanwhile, Freya Black & Hattie Cage (GBR) added to their Europeans performance, winning the ladies title. Jersovas & Srelciunas of Lithuania completed a strong week, finishing 6th overall. Just behind in 7th place was Swedish team, Nordin & Fredriksson, while Italians, Zinetti & Carbonelli took 9th overall.
A highlight of the evening entertainment for the week was the Nations Cup. 1 boat from each nation was picked to represent their team in a series of sprint racing held on the River Trave with a backdrop of the infamous tall ship, Passat. Spectators gathered along the shoreline among the festival tents to listen to the live commentary and cheer on the teams as they tacked in right along the river edge. After 2 rounds of racing, the Lithuanian team, Simonas Jersovas and Vejas Strelciunas were crowned Nations Cup Champions!
Next on the International circuit is the RS Feva Grand Final to be held in Muiderzand, Netherlands between the 19th – 20th September 2015. The event will complete the 2015 RS Feva Eurocup circuit. We are also excited to be able to announce next year's World Championships which will held in Santander, Spain from 22nd – 29th July. After such a success this year there's a lot to live up to but it's a venue sure not to disappoint.
We have been proud this year to have been supported by PA Consulting along with Allen, who have helped to make this year's RS Feva World Championships such a fabulous week. We also owe our gratitude to RS Sailing and Bolle' for their regatta support.
At a time when we are celebrating the recent successes of our current RS Feva sailors, it seems apt to congratulate some of our class veterans. Crispin Beaumont and Tommy Darling (GBR) have recently finished 2nd at the 29er European Championships, while teammate Emma Loveridge crewing for Mimi El-Khazinda has been crowned Ladies European Champion.
Full results [PDF}:
RS Feva Worlds - Overall
RS Feva Worlds - Gold Overall
RS Feva Worlds - Silver Overall
RS Feva Worlds - Bronze Overall