Snakes and ladders in Saltsjöbaden
Day 5 of the Championship provided yet another different day of unique conditions for the sailors to get to grips with. With longer, pressure driven shifts, consistency was very difficult to achieve and many of the sailors picked up some larger points they must add to their final series scores mixing up the overall results heading into the final day of racing tomorrow.
In the Men’s fleet (and overall) Hugo Revil and Karl Devaux (FRA 4) mastered the conditions beautifully and came out of Day 5 with a commanding 11 point lead. Irish sailors Ben O’shaughnessy and Ethan Spain also managed the tricky conditions well, putting them in 2nd overnight and Hungarians Tóth Attila and Borda Levente are currently third, by just 8 points.
The secret to the conditions today lay with the French, with three boats now in the top ten. Nolann Huet Des Aunay and Titouan Gresset (FRA) sit in 4th and lead the Under 17 fleet, with Folkert Van Surksum and Lars Ganzevles (NED) chasing their stern in 9th.
In the Open fleet, although Hedvig and Hugo Liljegren (SWE) struggled to find form, they did enough to retain their lead ahead of Caroline Pennetier and Benjamin Benhayoun (FRA) with Yanne Broers and Gustav Åsholm-Bradley (NED) just 3 points behind.
In the Women’s category, Alja Petric and Caterina Sedmak (SLO) won race 2 of the day ahead of Lucia Cullen and Alana Twomey (IRL) in 14th and 15th position overall respectively. In third overnight is Jannin Sarah and Fleur Babin (FRA).
With another four races scheduled tomorrow and this regatta proving to be high scoring in the results department, tomorrow is another day and as France 4 are all too aware, there is every chance we may see some mix ups in the final day as sailors begin to feel the pressure of the European Championship titles weighing heavily on their shoulders. Hugo Revil, ‘for sure it was a very good day, but tomorrow we can finish not in first position, so we stay focused for tomorrow and we want to win!’.
The forecast is for 10 – 15 knots, north-easterly winds tomorrow for the final day of racing so PRO Tim Hancock has scheduled an early start for four races at 10 am. The 2023 European Champions Men, Women and Open will be crowned and the podiums will be filled with pride and satisfaction for the winners, The Royal Swedish Yacht Club and for all the incredibly selfless volunteers behind the scenes that really make these big events happen.
Our sport and the International 29er Class European Championships would not be possible without the Race teams, International Jury, shore team, safety teams, rib drivers, 29er builders and dealers, the 29er Class Executive Committee, measurers and everybody who stands behind the event to make it happen, and for that we can never be more thankful.
