RS800 European Championships 2023 at Circolo Vela Torbole, Lake Garda, Italy - Day 4

Setting my alarm for 6:30am was not what I'd expected this week but alas, that's what I found myself doing Wednesday night. The aim was to utilise the morning Pelèr in order to catch up on Wednesday's lost race and that's exactly what we did.

There was much chuntering between some of the heavier teams as we rigged up about the strength of the breeze but it actually turned out to be proper twin wiring as we launched. As we began racing however it became patchier and it all went pear-shaped for James and myself after rounding the first leeward gate in 3rd in a big hole. The rest of the fleet made huge gains on us and the top guys we rounded with somehow managed to escape the becalmed state we'd found ourselves in with ease.

Startline action on RS800 Europeans at Lake Garda, Italy day 4 - photo © Emilio Sabtinelli

After much swearing and discontentment with our sailing abilities we headed out to the cliffs alongside Geoff Carveth and Lez Dhonau in what seemed like the best course of action. Only to realise far too late that the windward mark had been repositioned and we'd sailed twice as far as we needed to. As we beam reached back to the mark we watched as the guys we'd rounded the gate with start hoisting kites about a kilometre away and resigned ourselves to a discard. Enough about our plight. The race finished with Phil Walker and John Mather taking the victory, Maria Stanley and Tommy Darling taking second, and Tom Morris and Guy Fillmore taking third.

Startline on RS800 Europeans at Lake Garda, Italy day 4 - photo © Emilio Sabtinelli

The afternoon was why we come to Garda. The Ora came in the best it had so far this week and we enjoyed champagne sailing conditions for two races. The stronger breeze seemed to separate the fleet more than previous days however in the first race it was the usual suspects leading the way with Maria and Tommy posting their first bullet of the championship after Tom and Guy started halfway up the beat and got U flagged. Phil and John took second, and Luke and Emma McEwen third. We took fourth after a last lap battle with Fred Lord and Louise Gale rounding off the top five with their best race so far.

RS800 Europeans at Lake Garda, Italy day 4 - photo © Emilio Sabtinelli

In the final race of the day we had the privilege of experiencing another Ralph Singleton port flyer (how do we keep letting him get away with these!?) culminating in a tenth and his and Ollie's best result of the championship up to now. But it was Gilles Peeters and Heloise Baize who rounded the windward mark in pole after hitting the left hand side of the course hard. Despite their best efforts they couldn't hold back the rampaging Tom and Guy who eventually hunted them down on the last lap to take the win. It was an excellent race for Gilles and Heloise in second and their best result so far. Luke and Emma rounded off the top three.

It's all still to play for with only seven points separating the top four (watch out guys, we're only 24 points behind!). Tom and Guy lead heading into the last day, can they hold on to win their first Garda Europeans? With two races scheduled Friday it's fingers crossed for the same conditions as today and let's finish the championship with a blast!

Results after Day 4: