Please select your home edition
Edition
Zhik 2023 Black Friday LEADERBOARD

470 European Championships at Cesme, Turkey - Day 1

by Andy Rice 13 Sep 2022 20:53 BST 13-18 September 2022

Old Spanish teammates win different sides of the draw

Day one of the 470 European Championships launched with a bang. The first day of qualifying was a big test as the strong northerly wind got stronger throughout the day.

With old teams from Tokyo 2020 forced to form new alliances in the new era of 470 Mixed competition, the men's 470 Olympic bronze medallists from Spain - Xammar & Rodriguez - were competing on opposite sides of qualifying.

Fast start for the Spanish

Winners of the day in blue fleet were Spain's Nico Rodriguez now crewing for Silvia Mas. Winners of the day in yellow fleet were Spain's Nora Brugman with Jordi Xammar at the helm. Xammar only just flew into Turkey in time for the first race after a hectic weekend competing in St Tropez as Team Spain's skipper on the high-speed SailGP circuit at the weekend.

Mas has been out of the boat for most of the year after picking up a ski injury, so she and Rodriguez were uncertain how their first major regatta together would go. Scores of 4,2,1 were a stellar start for the new pairing, as Rodriguez commented: "I would say that we had a really good day for our first day. We didn't have any letters on our scores, and getting a second place and a race win was really nice."

With scores of 1,2,1, the Spanish team of Xammar and Brugman were even more impressive, especially considering the late arrival into Cesme. "We didn't have time to get used to the venue," said Brugman, "so we wanted to keep things simple and stay close to the fleet while we were still learning the best way around the race track. We avoided any big mistakes and we were going fast in the wind and the waves, so we're happy with our day."

Sweden and Britain in hot pursuit

Anton Dahlberg finished one place higher than the Spanish men at Tokyo 2020, but the Olympic silver medallist from Sweden, now sailing with Lovisa Karlsson, was a little tough on his performance. "I think we took too much anxiousness out on to the water today," he said. "We're quite fast but sometimes fast and stupid. Sometimes it was surprisingly tricky out there but it was great conditions for 470 racing."

The British teams showed flashes of brilliance but couldn't match the consistency of the Spanish. Martin Wrigley, now sailing with Tokyo gold medallist Eilidh McIntyre, won the first race of blue fleet, closely followed by teammates Vita & William Heathcote (GBR). As Vita commented: "That first race was our tribute to the Queen." All three British teams in Turkey have been flying Union Jack flags at half mast in tribute to the passing of Great Britain's monarch.

Wrigley & McIntyre sit in fourth place overall, while the Heathcote siblings are in ninth overall. The Heathcotes were leading at the halfway stage of their final race but on the tight spinnaker reach their pole kept on pinging off the mast, losing them valuable places and dropping the sister and brother combo to fifth across the finish. Even so, not bad for William who was competing in his first ever 470 championship as a last-minute stand-in for Vita's usual crew, Ryan Orr, who is recuperating from a climbing injury.

Asians out in force

With international regattas having been in short supply over the past couple of years, and with less than two years to the 2024 Olympic Games, this European Championship is vital competition, even for non Europeans. The Asian nations are out in force, with teams from China, Japan, Korea and Thailand. Yixiao Lyu, sailing with male helmsman Ming Xu, was feeling tired after three tough races in the waves although she's happy to be racing against the best in the world. "Our results were not good, but we are enjoying the sailing and the competition," she said.

Today was also Phillip Autenrieth's birthday, the German sailor celebrating a race win with his skipper, Luise Wanser. "We were fighting for the win in the last race of the day, too, but we had problems with our kite halyard on the reach," said Autenrieth, 32 today. "That lost us around five places, so that was frustrating." This evening the teams were working hard to iron out all the glitches in their equipment and they're debriefing the highs and lows of a challenging first day of competition with their coaches.

Tomorrow the sailors can expect two more qualifying races in the big northerly breeze of Cesme, Turkey.

To get all the news, photos and updates from the racing, go to 470.org

Related Articles

World Sailing names Paris 2024 Race Officials
With 50-50 gender split in key positions World Sailing, the world governing body of the sport, is pleased to announce the names of the Race Officials who have been appointed for the Paris 2024 Olympic Sailing Competition. Posted on 6 Dec
Sail Melbourne overall
Matt Wearn continues winning the ILCA 7 class Yesterday's clouds and rain made way for sun and steady winds as Australia's Olympic sailing stars emerged on the final day of racing at Sail Melbourne. Posted on 3 Dec
Sail Melbourne Day 3
Wind and waves wreak havoc A traditional Melbourne south to southwesterly wind of 16 to 22 knots saw sailors battling whitecaps and an increased sea state of 1-meter waves at a wet and wild Sail Melbourne today. Posted on 2 Dec
Sail Melbourne Day 2
The future shines bright Some of Australia's brightest young sailing stars shone bright on another glamour day of racing at Sail Melbourne today. Posted on 1 Dec
Sail Melbourne Day 1
Australia's best Olympic sailing prospects dominate Some of Australia's best Olympic sailing prospects lit up day one of a windy Sail Melbourne on Port Phillip today. Posted on 30 Nov
Moana Auckland - new Ocean Festival launched
the inInaugural Moana Auckland, New Zealand's Ocean Festival, launches in February next year Aucklanders and visitors are in for a festival like no other when the inaugural Moana Auckland, New Zealand's Ocean Festival, launches in February next year. Posted on 8 Nov
Team GB reveals first athletes for Paris 2024
Olympic medallists Emma Wilson, John Gimson and Anna Burnet are among ten sailors named today Olympic medallists Emma Wilson, John Gimson and Anna Burnet are among ten sailors named today by the British Olympic Association (BOA) as the first Team GB athletes selected for Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Posted on 12 Oct
GB and The Netherlands lead Olympic qualifiers
Ten places have now been allocated to France as host nation World Sailing has confirmed the first 107 boats and boards qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games following the 2023 Allianz Sailing World Championships, The Hague. Posted on 12 Sep
SailGP: Kiwis drop big rig - new pix
The New Zealand Sail GP team dropped their big 29metre rig just after the finish of Race 3 The New Zealand Sail GP team dropped their big 29metre rig just after the finish of Race 3 on the opening day of France SailGP in Saint-Tropez. Posted on 9 Sep
Allianz Sailing Worlds hailed as inspirational
Over 1,100 athletes competed in sailing's biggest championships The Allianz Sailing World Championships has been described as "inspirational and historic" after two new Olympic classes and Para Sailing made their first appearance at the quadrennial event. Posted on 21 Aug