EUROSAF Youth Sailing, European Championship, 2015

by John Friend on 4 Aug 2015 Perfect conditions for sailing on the final day of competition at the 4th EUROSAF Youth Sailing, European Championship.

The EUROSAF Youth Sailing, European Championship concluded in Brest on Sunday evening. The day dawned with sunshine and southerly winds of around 15 knots and after a fun repercharge race, for those unfortunate enough to not qualify for the medals races, racing got underway promptly at the scheduled time of 14.00.

The racing area was placed in front of the Pôle France, so that the medal races could be viewed by the public that gathered in numbers along the waterfront. The first start was for the RS:X class, then a series of races were launched on the short windward-leeward course, each lasting around 15 minutes. It was, therefore, crucial to start well in order to finish as well as possible, because there was little chance to rectify any errors. Double points are awarded in the medals races, so finishing well can be important when points are tight, as they were in several fleets.

Towards the end of the afternoon, the wind increased to some 25 knots in the racing area, perfect for some, which made for some spectacular racing, particularly in the 29er fleets. All the sailors, whether winners or losers came ashore with smiles on their faces, having enjoyed the best sailing conditions of the week

The race committee did a spectacular job of managing the medals races and having started the first race at 14.00, sounded the final start signal shortly before 17.00.

A final word from the winners in each of the classes:

RS:X
Mariam SEKHPOSYAN (RUS): “The Medal Race was great, but I would have enjoyed it more with even more wind! Bérénice [FRA] took the lead straightaway, but I stuck with her because I didn’t want to let her score too many points more than me. In the end, I managed to control the race, she won the final race and I finished 2nd. I’m so happy to win the title!”

Titouan LE BOSQ (FRA): “I sailed a rather poor medal race, but not as poor as the Italians, so job done in the end. I’m disappointed with this last race, but it’s really cool to win in the end. The conditions were good for the medal race. I enjoyed the wind, but I made a few tactical mistakes by crossing the racing area a few times when I shouldn’t have. During warm up, we saw that the best route was on the left, but I wanted to keep control over the Italians. It’s always tricky to go for a win and control the opponents at the same time in order to keep the lead in the general classification. It was my first medal race and I have learned a lot. I came here this week with a podium finish as my target and who knows, perhaps the gold medal, so I am delighted to have been successful.

SL16
Charles DORANGE and Louis FLAMENT (FRA): 'It was great, we won the medal race! We started off knowing that we should not finish with more than 3 points between us and the second pair, and in the end, we won the race, so it’s even better. We did better than we hoped for, we won it all. There was a lot more wind today than the rest of the week and we perform well in these conditions, because we have a strong technique that makes all the difference, especially on short race courses like today. It wasn’t so much a question of tactics, or strategy, rather the technical performance of the boat and on that aspect, we were very good.”

420
Jessie KAMPMAN and Anaël PONTHIEU (FRA): 'We were not expecting it at all! Strong winds are not what we’re particularly good at. But we finished the race 2nd so we are really pleased. We struggled a bit at the beginning of the competition, but yesterday we climbed up to 2nd overall and everything was decided today in the medal race. We had a little technical issue during the first tack, so we were a bit stressed, but we fought really hard downwind and managed to catch up with the rest.”

Théo Carayon and Erwan Lucas (FRA): 'We really wanted to win the medal race to prove that our overall victory was no fluke. And to show that even in strong winds, we could still win. So in the end, we did it in style which is really great! The format of the medal race is quite nice, you have to be strong technically if you want to be in front. It was a enjoyable and intense race. We are quite versatile, because we showed that we can win races in various weather conditions. We did the job, so we are really proud and pleased.”

Laser Radial
Francesca BERGAMO (ITA)
“Strong wind and a lot of waves today, so it was tough for me, because I am quite light. The other competitors are really strong in these conditions, so I’m really pleased with my result in the medal race and of course, with winning the title!”

Jack COOKSON (GBR)
“It was a good medal race, with strong winds! It was important to be aware of the current. I managed to keep control over the Italians, because we were really close on points last night. But I played my hand really well, I finished ahead of them in the race and, therefore, on the podium too!


29er
Aleksandra MELZACKA and Maja MICINSKA (POL)
”We are so happy. We gave it our best and it’s great to finish like this! It was a complicated competition, conditions changed a lot throughout the week and today the wind was really strong. The medal race was really intense for us, because we had to start from the back due to a penalty, but we managed to overtake most of the fleet and make our way to 3rd position! It started off really badly, but we managed to win the title, it’s fantastic!”

Gwendal NAEL and Pierre TYDGAT (FRA)
“We had a poor start in the medal race, but we managed to climb up the fleet, because we were able to sail very fast. The Brits made a mistake and we took advantage of this to take the lead. Then we did what we had to do with our manoeuvres and made it home! We are pleased with our championship, we did well in all conditions, even when it was changing and difficult to sail.”

Nations Trophy
It was a great result for the host nation, with France winning the Nations Trophy, based on points scored throughout the series. Italy finished 2nd, ahead of Great-Britain in 3rd position.

Well done to all for the great competition and fair winds for the rest of the season!

The EUROSAF Youth Sailing, European Championship is an annual event, unique amongst youth championships within Europe, in-as-much as it brings together multiple youth classes to compete at the same time and venue. This provides invaluable experience for the sailors, because the format is similar to that they will experience as they start to compete at a senior level. A pathway to the future.

Results

Click here to see the results

http://y1h.mj.am/link/y1h/kugithq/2/UzJKceAalf-FnhrIPfcoVA/aHR0cDovL3d3dy55b3V0aC1ldXJvc2FmLTIwMTUuZXUveW91dGgtZXVyb3NhZi0yMDE1L3Jlc3VsdHMuYXNweA




Pictures

Please click the thumbnail to see the picture © Christian Chardon / EUROSAF Youth

http://media.ffvoile.fr/evenements/view-image/34532/2015-08-02-yeurosaf-medal-race-(460)

http://media.ffvoile.fr/evenements/view-image/34531/2015-08-02-yeurosaf-medal-race-(382)
http://media.ffvoile.fr/evenements/view-image/34534/2015-08-02-yeurosaf-medal-race-(114)

Videos

Please click the thumbnail to view the video

http://y1h.mj.am/link/y1h/kugithq/6/Sm1AYoR2gbBZMRXa8OQkkQ/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cueW91dHViZS5jb20vd2F0Y2g_dj1Ib25GUlloSm1nTSZpbmRleD05Jmxpc3Q9UExEM3Z3SUlFN2R5cDByblhVWkoxQllJbGpJYW9BUmR0cQ

Information

Follow the EUROSAF Youth Sailing, European Championship, 2015
Website :www.youth-eurosaf-2015.eu
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Press Contact

Marie FRALEUX – FFVoile
marie.fraleux@ffvoile.fr
+33 6 60 31 24 88

EUROSAF Contact

John Friend
john.friend@eurosaf.org
+33 7 87 00 19 39