2020 Laser Senior Europeans in Gdansk, Poland - Day 2
by Agustin Arguelles 10 Oct 07:50 BST
6-13 October 2020
2020 Laser Senior Europeans in Gdansk, Poland day 2 © Thom Touw /
www.thomtouw.com
Sunshine lightened the sailing party in in Gdansk, Poland on the second day of racing, although the day started with rain in the morning. A shifty NW breeze varying from 8-15 knots brought much longer waves than yesterday, although water conditions were still choppy due to the unsteady wind.
Race Day 2 - Laser Radial Men
Dutch sailor Paul Hameeteman NED (7-3-1-1) rounded a perfect score on Friday and took the Radial Men's overall and U21 lead, tied on 5 points with the day 1 leader Filip Ciszkiewicz POL (6-1-2-2). Third place overall and second U21 is Oskar Madonich UKR, sharing 15 points with Masters sailor Adonis Bougiouris GRE and third U21 Tom Higgins IRL.
"I'm quite happy with how today went. It's pretty tricky racing, but the stronger wind and waves made boat speed a bit more important. Looking forward to the upcoming days!", said Paul Hameeteman from The Netherlands.
"I hadn't sailed an International Laser Radial event since the 1999 Radial Worlds in La Rochelle where I won. I decided to sail the Radial because I had a small accident with my back when we were trying to put a boat in the water so I didn't want to press my back more by sailing with a Standard rig. I am 85 kilos now so I have some speed problems if the wind is lower than 15 knots. Some of the kids are really talented as they showed and make my race difficult!", said Adonis Bougiouris from Greece.
Race Day 2 - Laser Radial Women
Reigning 2019 European champion Anne Marie Rindom DEN (1-4-1-1) scored a perfect day and now leads the Radial Women's Championship with 3 points.
"I sailed fast and made some good decisions during the race. It wasn't just first from the beginning, but solid racing made it good in the end", said Anne Marie Rindom from Denmark.
In second place is the reigning 2020 World champion Marit Bouwmeester NED (2-3-2-7) with 7 points. One point behind her is now Polish sailor Agata Barwinska (22-1-3-4) with 8 points.
"I'm very happy with my performance. My tactical decisions were on point today and I'm looking forward to more races tomorrow", said Agata Barwinska.
In fourth and fifth place respectively are Maxime Jonker NED and Maud Jayet SUI on 10 points.
Race Day 2 - Laser Standard
Consistency is paying off for Croatian Filip Jurisic CRO (1-4-3-3) leading now the Standard championship with 7 points, chased in full by the British quad: Elliot Hanson GBR (3-8-1-4RDGa) and Michael Beckett GBR (4-15-4-1) complete the provisional podium with 8 and 9 points respectively.
"It was another tricky day in Poland. Bravo course is closer to the land than we'd been training, but there was also a lot of clouds causing big and often unpredictable changes. I won the first race in 5-15 knots where there was never a dull moment. I was then marked BFD for race 2; thankfully the race committee admitted their error and I now have average points. I feel like I'm racing well so far so I'm excited for what's to come!", said Elliot Hanson.
The overnight leader Lorenzo Chiavarini GBR (1-1-20-11) is now fourth overall and sharing 13 points with Pavlos Kontides CYP and Joel Rodriguez ESP in 5th and 6th.
"We had 4 races with an unstable wind. At the moment I'm doing well, I'm having good feelings but there is a lot at stake. With unstable winds like the ones we are having, you can do better or worse but the important thing is to give 100% to all of the races. At the end of the championship adds up to many points!" said Joel Rodriguez.
Sailing will continue Saturday with two scheduled races. The day will start with Coaches/Team Leaders meeting at 09:00. First warning signal for the Radials will be at 11:00 / 11:45 for the Standards.
Full results from the regatta can be found here.