420 and 470 Junior European Championships - Riding the waves on day 1

by International 420 Class Association on 14 Aug 2014 At the 420 and 470 Junior European Championships, class champions are already on top after two races for all fleets on a predominantly light breeze day with the wind ranging from 8-15 knots in shifty conditions.

Reigning 470 Junior World Champions, Jordi Xammar/Joan Herp of Spain launched their assault on the Junior Europeans title with two race wins to easily take the lead over team mates David Charles/Alex Charles who finished 5,4. The bronze medallists at the 2014 470 Junior Worlds Malte Winkel/Matti Cipra of Germany are in third.

A penalty for not wearing a PFD on the race track today added a few points to their score, but nothing the Spanish need to worry about so far. Due to their last minute decision to compete here, the pair are in a charter boat, so whilst familiarisation with different equipment will no doubt see them gain in performance over the coming days, Herp was happy with their speed on the opening day, 'It wasn't easy as the wind was pretty shifty. At some points we were leading and though it would be difficult to maintain, as some boats went more to the extremes than us. It was difficult to control the fleet, but we manged. The second race was harder, and we managed to just get the lead in the final leg over our friends Giacomo and Giulio.'

470 Men - Results after two races
1. Jordi Xammar/Joan Herp (ESP-44) - 5 pts
2. David Charles Vila/Alex Charles Vila (ESP-1) - 9 pts
3. Malte Winkel/Matti Cipra (GER-13) - 12 pts
4. Giacomo Ferrari/Giulio Calabro (ITA-757) - 16 pts
5. Simon Diesch/Patrick Aggeler (GER-11) - 17 pts
6. Balázs Gyapjas/Lóránt Péch (HUN-3) - 18 pts
7. Stefan Scharnagl/Helmut Schulz (AUT-477) - 19 pts
8. Matthes Waack/Matthias Rummel (GER-31) - 20 pts
9. Tora Kutoglu/Abdullah Baglica (TUR-1905) - 22 pts
10. Matteo Pilati/Francesco Rubagotti (ITA-27) - 22 pts

In the 470 Women, a strong start from reigning 470 Junior European Champions Anna Kyselova/Anastaysia Krasko from the Ukraine who finished 2,1. The opening race of the Championship went to Germany's Lena Stueckl/Franziska Maege who followed up with an eighth place finish to sit in third overall. Sandwiched between the two are Germany's Fabienne Oster/Alexandra Lauber.

470 Women - Results after two races
1. Anna Kyselova/Anastasiya Krasko (UKR-93) - 3 pts
2. Fabienne Oster/Alexandra Lauber (GER-95) - 7 pts
3. Lena Stueckl/Franziska Maege (GER-50) - 9 pts
4. Noya Bar-Am/Rimon Shoshan (ISR-11) - 11 pts
5. Jess Lavery/Megan Brickwood (GBR-838) - 15 pts
6. Cecilia Zorzi/Bianca Caruso (ITA-20) - 15 pts
7. Eva Peternelj/Valentina Baruca (SLO-18) - 17 pts
8. Julia Shevlyikova/Ekaterina Guseva (RUS-119) - 19 pts
9. Benedetta Di Salle/Alessandra Dubbini (ITA-74) - 20 pts
10. Frederike Loewe/Anna Markfort (GER-26) - 22 pts

The 420 fleet sees the 108 boat men, ladies and mixed teams all racing together, to really give the chance to see who is the best of the best.

Hippolyte Matchetti/Sidoine Dantes secured the silver medal at the 420 Worlds which finished on 3 August in Germany and were the top placed team aged 18 and under, so no surprise to see them dominating the fleet here at the Junior Europeans with a 1,3 scoreline. Just one point behind are the USA's Russell Clarida/Forrest Thomas in second place, despite a discretionary penalty from race 1.

The ISAF Youth Worlds bronze medallists and homegrown Polish team of Ewa Romaniuk/Katarzyna Goralska are in third and rank as the top placed girls team. 2013 Junior European bronze medallists Bart Lambriex/Philip Meijer are in fourth overall.

Split into two fleetsthe 420s are reseeded after each day's racing, before the top 54 teams will advance to gold fleet for the 6-race final series, with the remaining 54 teams in silver fleet.

420 - Results after two races
1. Hippolyte Machetti/Sidoine Dantes (FRA-55096) - 4 pts
2. Russell Clarida/Henry Fernberger (USA-54068) - 5 pts
3. Ewa Romaniuk/Katarzyna Goralska (POL-55326) - 10 pts
4. Bart Lambriex/Philip Meijer (NED-54005) - 13 pts
5. Doruk Taneli/Sezai Bora Kutuk (TUR-54247) - 14 pts
6. Harry Whitaker/Grattan Roberts (IRL-54509) - 17 pts
7. Robbie King/Ryan Orr (GBR-52069) - 17 pts
8. Will Logue/Bram Brakman (USA-55175) - 18 pts
9. Clara Addari/Arianna Perini (ITA-55101) - 19 pts
10. Theres Dahnke/Birte Winkel (GER-55115) - 20 pts

The 420 Fleet will race on Bravo Course starting at 1100 hours with the 420 Yellow fleet starting first. The 470 Fleet will race on Delta Course with a scheduled start at 1200 hours and the 470 Women racing first.