Wild Day For 49er Racing

The leftover wind from the frontal system was a bit too much for some of the skiffs to handle at the 2012 49er Europeans on Lake Garda, Italy.

Sailors were sent out at 10:30 in a clearing Peler, the northerly wind, but after two laps, the race was abandoned and sailors scurried back to Fraglia Vela Riva to wait for the wind to drop. Sustained wind in the upper teens seemed a bit too much for some with the Russians loosing their mast, but the upper level teams were disappointed to be sent in. After several hours, the Gold fleet returned to only complete 1 race for the day.

It was shifty and puffy with the Swedish team capsizing and losing valuable places and Allan Norregaard and Anders Thomsen of Denmark capitalizing on the day, although not using their newly perfected trapeze technique as the unstable conditions weren’t the best. 

Tomasz Januszewski and Jacek Nowak (POL) remain in second overall despite a 22 in today’s racing. Former ISAF Youth World gold medallist James Peters with Edward Fitzgerald (GBR) scored a second in today’s race moving them to eighth overall in the standings and fourth Youth team. Spanish brothers Carlos Paz and Antón Paz sit in third overall. 

Jan Hauke Erichsen and Max Lutz remain the top Youth team and sit in fifth overall. No races were held for the Silver fleet but the starting gun will be shot at 10:00 on Friday with hopes for three races for each fleet. The forecast for typical Garda conditions, which is what everyone came for.

Racing continues tomorrow. The final series will be held in Theatre style with a 4-round knock-out style racing and a Grand Final series to be held on the last day with the final 4 boats.

Live tracking is provided by regatta partner SAP with live internet broadcast on the final 2 days.

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