J/24 European Championship at Lake Balaton, Hungary - Overall
by Júlia Dávid 1 Oct 2017 20:05 BST
27 September - 1 October 2017
Hungarian victory crowned the J24 European Championship which was held in Balatonfüred between September 24th and October 1st. The title was decided during the very last race of the 10-race competition.
The continent trophy was won by young Robert Bakoczy and his dynamic team after 4 days of consistent sailing who also finished 6th on this year's Melges24 world championship. The Open Champion title was won by American Keith Whittemore.
250 competitors on 48 boats from 8 countries sailed the waters around Balatonfüred during the European Championship on board of the world's most popular OneDesign keel boat, the J24. Light wind continued to be the theme during the last race day, but despite of the challengingly shifty conditions the Race Committee, headed by Bence Fluck managed to run 2 races on the final day.Race 9 was sailed in 7-8 knots.
Race 9 was sailed in 7-8knots noth-easterly winds in which 3 German Teams gathered BFD penalties due to jumping out early. LUV was the first boat to reach the 1st upwind gate, shadowed by the young girls-only team on GER5266, while Django turned third. By the end of the 2nd leg leading positions have shifted as the left side of the course proved faster but LUV and GER5266 managed to hold onto their leads while Greek Evniki completed the leg third. The second upwind leg was accomplished by again LUV first while 2 teams came in from the right, Jukebox in the second place, while Furio on third. Tom Stiry and his Team won Race 9 before Jukebox and upcoming FGF Sailing Team. Race 10 was a nerve-wrecking course testing the endurance of the teams with its dropping, shifty winds. Evniki was the first to round the 1st upwind mark followed by Dutch Team JOOL and Jmania which order was kept by at the downwind mark, except Evniki swapped positions with Team JOOL. Dropping winds clustered up the teams at the mark, there were fierce struggles for inside positions coupled by load protest calls. Team JOOL struggled up first to the 2nd upwind mark, followed by Evniki and Vitesse. The Dutch ended up winning the race on board of Team JOOL beating Evniki and Vitesse.
The Race Committee was determined to do an 11th race which had to be started by 4 pm. The wind was picking up to 7-8 knots, shifted east, but the 1st start attempt had to be interrupted by an AP due to a sudden wind shift. The 11th race started clear at the 2nd start attempt, though shifting conditions forced an abandonment. Therefore the European Championship closed after 10 races. FGF Sailing Team helmed by Robert Bakoczy became European Champions. "The J24 European Championship was a great adventure for us, as this is not our class, we sail in a different class. It was great that there was no pressure on us and this brought us victory. We are extremely delighted. I don't know, I am just overwhelmed right now. It hasn't yet sunk in that this has happened to us and we won." said Bakoczy after his win.
Silver went to Farkas Litkey with his mixed Hungarian-Italian Team on board of Pelle Nera, while the bronze was earned by Balazs Tomai and his Team on Jenesis. The Open Trophy was taken home by American Keith Whittemore and his Team on Furio. "It was amazing to race on this beautiful Lake where, to our surprise and biggest delight, powerboats are banned. You cannot believe how lucky you are with this. We had 10 great races, great organisation, fair start lines." said Whittemore after the races.
Jukebox helmed by Miklos Rauschenberger was leading the regatta during the 2 days finally finished fourth. They received a standing ovation at the prize-giving ceremony as they earned 3 wins during the regatta and offered very consistent sailing all throughout the week. German Süllberg with Stefan Karsunke finished 5th followed by Evniki helmed by Athimos Nikolaidis at 6thThree more Hungarian Teams made it to the top 10 which is a great achievement considering the strength of the fleet. Dutch Team JOOL (Dirk Olyslagers) finished 7th followed by Jbond (Robert Sarina) at 8th, iJroncat (Gabor Sallai) 9th and Jinge (Imre Scholtz) closing the top 10 league at 10.
Following the J24 Class' legacy, there were also 2 special prices distributed. One went to the "The Old Boat Thropy" which was earned by Just a big Dinghy helmed by Annamári Sabján. The boat had been used by a Swiss fisherman before who shortened the mast by 6 cm. So the mast had to be restored to its original length before the European Championship in order to comply with class regulations. The girls-only team went to lengths to make their boat race compliant. The "Ladies Trophy" special prize was won by Emily Kern and her Team on Rotogirl. "The Top Youth Boat Trophy" was won by the GER3634 team, Fast F helmed by Johanne Maske. The "Top Senior Boat" title went to Italian Attilio De Battista on ITA498, named Pilgrim.
Erik Hercsel, the President of the Hungarian J24 Class concluded the event as follows: "I am grateful that I had a chance to sail the same course with such great sailors during this regatta. Seeing the Hungarian fleet, the teams, the helms achieving such great results makes me even more happy. Long months of organization and many late nights preceded this event. Big thank you to my entire Team who made this event such a success, to the many supporters, volunteers, J24 Class members, to Balatonfüredi Yacht Club, and of course to our sponsors whose support was inevitable in the realization of this great event."
j24europeans2017.hu