EUROSAF Match Racing, Youth European Championship: Gold for GBR, silver and bronze to FRA
by Doris Gstatter / EUROSAF 5 May 14:14 BST
27 April - 1 May 2023
Winner team - EUROSAF Match Racing, Youth European Championship 2023 © Malo Thierry
Light winds dominated the EUROSAF Match Racing, Youth Open European Championship held last weekend in Nantes. The best European match race sailors under the age of 23 met in the Northwest of France.
After having one Round Robin completed, all four teams from France ranked in the top six and proceeded to the second stage. Only Ben Tylecote and his crew from Great Britain and Marius Westerlind could challenge the home teams in the "Gold Group". Due to the lack of wind, this second Round Robin had to be shortened to make sure that semifinals and finals could be sailed.
Thrilling semi finals
Both semifinals were decided in the last race of the best of five series, having the better end for Team Tylecote (GBR) and Team Delerce (FRA). In the first race of the finals against Ange Delerce (FRA), Tylecote's team had better time and distance on the start and stayed in the lead until the finish. The second race was similar until the wind died and flicked, with spinnakers up on both legs, then on the final downwind Delerce overtook as the breeze filled in from behind.
"Following a protest which decided the race result would stand, it meant the scoreline was 1-1. However, as the wind dropped again it wasn't possible to run another race and we were then over the time limit. It went to tiebreak and as winners of the round robin we won", Tylecote said right after the race.
Ange Delerce, currently ranked number 30 in the Open Match Racing World Ranking, had to settle for the silver medal. Bronze was decided between two French teams, Ian Garreta beat Noë Ackermann with two clean wins.