Monaco Optimist Team Race - Day 1
by Isabelle Andrieux 11 Jan 08:01 GMT
10-13 January 2019
Monaco Optimist Team Race day 1 © Martin Messmer
A crowd gathered on Thursday morning on Quay Louis II for the first day of the Monaco Optimist Team Race, organised with the support of FxPro, Eventica, Fon, technical clothing supplier SLAM and Erplast. The match racing regatta, which celebrates its 10th anniversary, unites 64 under-14 sailors the next generation!
A veritable forest of Optimists, a small one-design one-person dinghy, invaded the quay at the Yacht Club de Monaco ready to do battle for four days of competition. Americans, Chinese, South Africans, Uruguayans, Swedes, Italians... a total of 16 nations and 16 high-level teams have made the trip to compete.
After yesterday's snowflakes during a training day organised by the YCM, to the surprise of the youngsters from the Visun Royal Yacht Club in Sanya, today produced dream conditions with a stable 12-knot south-westerly beneath sunny skies on a flat sea. It was ideal to pull off nearly a third of the scheduled programme with 39 match races completed.
With five wins for Monaco and four for Finland, these are the only two nations who remain unbeaten this evening. A fantastic result for the young Monegasques, participating in their first team race event against experienced teams like the USA and last year's winner, Finland.
Also of note is the Turkish team, finalists last year, who came 3rd in their group ahead of the USA in their first confrontation.
The next three days promise to be intense, both from a sporting and personal point of view: for it is a great opportunity for contestants to meet others their own age around common values all sailors share, that of friendship, solidarity and having fun.
Programme: (subject to change)
Friday 11th January 2019
10.00am: First warning signal
6.30pm: Talk by Vicky Ellis (Meeting Room Quay Level)
Saturday 12th January 2019
10.00am: First warning signal
Evening at leisure
Sunday 13th January 2019
10.00am: First warning signal
4.00pm: Prize-giving (Meeting Room Quay Level)
For more information visit www.yacht-club-monaco.mc/en/regattas-events/20-19/motr