Double World Championship titles for Irish Van Steenberge siblings
First ever Open World Championship title winners Clementine and Nathan Van Steenberge from Ireland also win the overall World Championships by 16 points. With 8-15 knots north westerly wind on the final day of racing, shifty conditions with a moderate sea state, the Irish siblings sailed a standout final day of four solid races with no large discard to the overall Championship win. Sailing a consistent series over the week long championships, which has tested the fleet in every condition from 25 knots, flat water in Weymouth Harbour down to 6-10 knots in the bay, accompanied by very large swell, chop and significant wind shifts.
As most sailors know, consistency counts, and Clementine and Nathan once again proved this old age saying still rings true. With no large discard going into the final race, they climbed through the fleet to secure the overall win. In the rest of the top ten overall places, points came down to the final race. 2022 Men’s and Overall World Champion. Maximo Videla and Juan Cruz Albamonte, Argentina won the final race to swoop into the Men’s top spot taking the overall Men’s World Championship for a second time. Close behind was Italians Alex Demurtas, Giovanni Santi who also finished second last year and in third Hugo Revil and Karl Devaux, France.
Poland’s Ewa Lewandowska and Leon Sapijaszko took second place in the Open World Championships and in third was Amparo Stupenengo and Tadeo Funes De Rioja from Argentina.
In the Women’s fleet, racing was similarly close and came down to a protest in the final races. With Italians Malika Bellomi and Beatrice Conti just managing to hold on to the Women’s World Championship title just ahead of Emily and Jessica Riordan from Ireland. Ebba and Ellen Fredriksson from Sweden took third, also winning the Silver fleet by 28 points.
Men’s Under 17 Champions were Dutch team Folkert Van Surksum and Lars Ganzevles whilst Women’s Under 17 winners were Emily Polson and Tiffany Mak from Hong Kong. Open Under 17 winners were Panna Széll and Brúnó Schneider from Hungary so we can watch this space for an exciting future in the sport.
Argentina took the Nations Cup which is awarded to the country which has the least points when adding up their top three boats from at least two categories, and their pride, team work and camaraderie was very clear for all to enjoy!
Whilst it has been a challenging week for the 410 competitors from all over the world, one thing is for sure the fleet had incredible fun and the vibes around the 29er class and in the boat park were at an all time high. Sailors were kept engaged and in the fight for the top spots until the very end of the championships, racing was some of the closest we’ve seen, and in the end those who kept their nerve and minimised the big scoring races came out on top.
Thank you to WPNSA and all their volunteers for hosting the 29er Class in an event which was planned pre-pandemic and has been over three years in the planning. The Class cannot extend enough thanks to Ovington boats who continue to support the fleet throughout the world and extends a huge thank you to our event Sponsors, Musto and Marlow for making the 2023 World Championships one to remember forever.
The fleet are packed and on their way to KSSS, Sweden for the European Championships starting on the 12th August. See you there!
