2021 European WASZP Games - Day 2
by Marc Ablett 13 Aug 08:24 BST
11-15 August 2021
With an early start to make the most of the morning Peler (northerly wind), the 2021 WASZP European Games started with a bang! Four exciting championship races ensued in a good breeze of 12-18 knots.
The one-design racing in the WASZP is unbelievable to watch and in the rising Lake Garda light the flash of colour across the water on start time was something to behold.
The WASZP class has come a long way in its short history, but wow aren’t we in the flow of it now. With the standard high amongst the fleet just staying in the top 20 is proving difficult, the balance at the top of the fleet is fantastic, with a good mix of youth and experience at the pointy end. To further show the opportunities in this fleet, some of our highly fancied women sailors are right definitely in with a shot at the top of the fleet, with Nora Doksrod from Norway showing great speed and handling to sit in 11th overall with 2 top 10 finishes to round out the day.
In race 1 it was Elliot Savelon from the Netherlands who showed a clean pair of heels to take the win, with racing so tight at the top of the fleet every race counts, Ross Banham from GBR took out 2nd place while seasoned campaigner Alexander Hoghiem from Norway took out 3rd.
Race 2 and I think we have all seen the footage of the start, but Francesco Bertone, took his first heat win at Tier 2 level with an all the way performance off the pin end. The WASZP Global Rankings leader Matt Beck then put an 11th place behind him in race 1 to race up the fleet to place 2nd.
Race 3 and it was Matt Beck again pulling back 4 places on the final run to the finish to pinch his first victory of the campaign, Jann Schuepbach from Switzerland and Bertone from Italy took 2nd and 3rd. In race 4 it was Beck again stamping his authority on the fleet with an all the way victory.
We currently have 8 different nations sitting inside the top 10, which just goes to show how valuable international racing is to the fleet. All these men and women have been training for the best part of 2 years for another shot out of it and they have all come in hot together, it is fantastic to see.
Overnight leaders:
Matt Beck – GBR
Francesco Bertone – ITA
Paul Farien – GER
Once the championship racing concluded it was on to the finals of the SLALOM in the afternoon Ora. It has been super hot in Italy and the Ora hasn’t been arriving with its usual punch. But nevertheless a full card of Slalom was completed with 2 semi finals and a 3 race finals series to crown the champion.
It was Charles Cullen from Ireland who becomes our 2021 WASZP European SLALOM Champion with a commanding performance in the finals and 3x podium finishes in the final races.
It will be another early morning start to make the most of the Peler and then it will be back to afternoon schedule the following day.
Full results are available here...