420 and 470 Junior Europeans - Leaders retain control on day 2

by International 420 Class Association on 15 Aug 2014 Rain gave way to an overcast day with patches of blue sky on race day two at the 420 and 470 Junior Europeans in Gdynia, Poland. Two races for all fleets in a 14-17 knot north-westerly breeze and flat seas. Conditions were a bit shifty, influenced by the passing storm, which meant those at the front had to control the fleet, as any team that found the gusts accelerated away.

The 2013 and 2014 470 Junior World Champions, Jordi Xammar/Joan Herp of Spain continue to set the pace in the 470 Men fleet, claiming their fourth successive race win after race 4.

A 3,2 scoreline for Germany’s Malte Winkel/Matti Cipra moves them into second overall, with Italy’s Giacomo Ferrari/Giulio Calabro moving into third overall from their 4,3 scorecard.

Italy’s Matteo Pilati/Francesco Rubagotti, who only made the switch to the 470 last year, finished just behind the Spanish in race 3, following up with an eighth to sit to leap up fourth overall from 10th on the leader board. Just last year, the Italians competed at the 420 Worlds where they finished as top team aged 16 or under, placing eighth overall, and won the silver medal at the 2013 ISAF Youth Worlds – a smooth transition for them.

Four back to back race wins don’t come easy and Xammar acknowledged their scoreline as a career first, 'We haven’t done this before. But it doesn’t mean anything and we were lucky. All the races we were close from behind and the competition is hard. If someone looks at the results, they mustn’t think it is easy, because it is really close competition.'

'Our speed in downwind in these conditions is a bit better than the rest of the fleet, so we are more comfortable then,' added Herp. Putting their performance into context, Herp continued, 'We weren’t leading all of the races. On the second race we were second and we only passed the Germans on the last downwind.'

470 Men - Results after four races
1. Jordi Xammar/Joan Herp (ESP-44) - 7 pts
2. Malte Winkel/Matti Cipra (GER-13) - 17 pts
3. Giacomo Ferrari/Giulio Calabro (ITA-757) - 23 pts
4. Matteo Pilati/Francesco Rubagotti (ITA-27) - 32 pts
5. David Charles Vila/Alex Charles Vila (ESP-1) - 33 pts
6. Matthes Waack/Matthias Rummel (GER-31) - 39 pts
7. Francesco Rebaudi/Matteo Puppo (ITA) – 43 pts
8. Kamil Cesarski/Beniamin Waszkiewicz (POL-50) – 44 pt
9. Fabrice Rigot/Guillauume Rigot (SUI-2) – 50 pts
10. Julian Patrunky/Max Schumann (GER-48) – 54 pts

A similar scenario in the 470 Women, as Anna Kyselova/Anastasiya Krasko from the Ukraine continue to dominate the leaderboard and established a helpful 12 point margin over the chasing pack. Cecilia Zorzi/Bianca Caruso (ITA) leap up from sixth at the start of today to second overall aided by their win in race 3, with Israel’s Noya Bar-am/Rimon Shoshan in third.

A more upbeat performance for the Ukrainians and defending 470 Junior European Champions here at the Junior Europeans compared to the Junior Worlds back in June, along with a totally different fleet dynamic and racing conditions.

'The racing conditions are really different from Italy. The wind is really shifty and changes all the time so here you have to start and just keep checking the fleet,' said Kyselova.

Reflecting on their performance at the Junior Worlds, Kyselova continued, 'We started well at the Junior Worlds, but then our problems began. We had so many problems,' as she referred to their three penalty scores from two disqualifications and an OCS, which saw them finish in ninth overall.

'Here we are trying not to risk too much and we have learnt from Italy and are going for consistency and just sailing our best. We really want to defend our title.'

Krasko continued, 'In the races we won the fleet was not too close to us. We didn’t have to work too hard to win. Sometimes the wind was really strong and we felt good.'

Racing for the 470 fleets is scheduled to get underway at 1100 hours on Echo course, with the 470 Men racing first, followed by the 470 Women. The 470 fleets are racing a single series of 10 races, with the top 10 advancing to Monday's Medal Race.

470 Women - Results after four races
1. Anna Kyselova/Anastasiya Krasko (UKR-93) - 6 pts
2. Cecilia Zorzi/Bianca Caruso (ITA-20) - 18 pts
3. Noya Bar-Am/Rimon Shoshan (ISR-11) - 24 pts
4. Jess Lavery/Megan Brickwood (GBR-838) - 28 pts
5. Lena Stueckl/Franziska Maege (GER-50) - 29 pts
6. Frederike Loewe/Anna Markfort (GER-26) - 32 pts
7. Jeanine Speelman/Marchien Speelman (NED-75) – 37 pts
8. Fabienne Oster/Alexandra Lauber (GER-95) - 40 pts
9. Eva Peterneij/Valentina Baruca (SLO-18) – 40 pts
10. Anna Pirigova/Anzhelika Cherniakhovskaia (RUS) – 41 pts

Top 10 finishes for series leaders Hippolyte Machetti/Sidoine Dantes from France who continue to control the leader board in first overall with 10, three finishes.

Ewa Romaniuk/Katarzyna Goralska move up into second on the leader board from more solid results with a 10,5 performance and rank as the top placed girls team. Seven points behind are the USA’s Will Logue/Bram Brakman in third overall.

At the 2013 420 Junior Europeans Romaniuk/Goralska faltered after a strong start, but they are determined to use the past years’ experience, including their career best of a bronze medal at the ISAF Youth Worlds, to finish on the podium at the 2014 420 Junior Europeans.

'We have grown up since last year and gained more experience,' commented Romaniuk. 'We have trained hard over the past winter to prepare for this year’s Championship.'

The team’s bronze medal at the ISAF Youth Worlds was a perfect execution of race delivery and controlling nerves. They went into the final race in fifth overall, and with many other teams able to secure silver and bronze, the won the race and finished their second ISAF Youth Worlds appearance on the podium.

Joining the Polish as the only girls teams in the top 10 are Greece’s Aikaterini Tavoulari/Fotini Koutsoumpou in seventh and Clara Addari/Arianna Perini (ITA) in ninth.

Eight nations are represented in the top 10 as the leaderboard changed hands several times today.

Two more races are scheduled on Friday 15 August to complete the qualification stage for the 2014 420 Junior European Championships. Results after tomorrow’s racing will see the 108 boat fleet split into gold and silver, with 54 boats in each fleet, for the final series of six races. The discard kicks in after race 5 tomorrow, so some changes in the top 10 are expected. Racing for the 420 fleets is scheduled to get underway at 1130 hours on Delta course, with the yellow fleet racing first, followed by blue fleet.

420 - Results after four races
1. Hippolyte Machetti/Sidoine Dantes (FRA-55096) - 17 pts
2. Ewa Romaniuk/Katarzyna Goralska (POL-55326) - 25 pts
3. Will Logue/Bram Brakman (USA-55175) - 32 pts
4. Russell Clarida/Henry Fernberger (USA-54068) - 37 pts
5. Thomas Ponthieu/Quentin Paturle (FRA-55095) – 38 pts
6. Kilian Wagen/Gregoire Siegwart (SUI-52967) – 40 pts
7. Bart Lambriex/Philip Meijer (NED-54005) - 44 pts
8. Aikaterini Tavoulari/Fotini Koutsoumpou (GRE-54484) – 45 pts
9. Frederik Eichhorst/Julius Erbach (GER-52784) – 49 pts
10. Robert Dickson/Sean Waddilove (IRL-54417) – 52 pts