Volvo Estonia ORC European Champs - 65 competitors ready for action

by ORC on 15 Aug 2015 Under clear but cool blue skies, the 65 competitors from eight countries at the Volvo Estonia ORC European Championship left the dock one hour early today on the hope that race managers could get one race finished in the morning before the northerly was predicted to die off before transforming to a westerly seabreeze.

A valiant effort was made in five - six knots of wind and flat water, with Class A-B getting off the start and heading upwind to the first mark before it was Class C's turn at the line. This Class was more aggressive, prompting a General Recall, followed by a black flag for the second try at a clean start. But even after this starting tool was successful at controlling the crowd, the breeze shifted and died enough to prompt Principal Race Officer Alfredo Ricci to hoist code flags N, indicating an abandonment and re-sail of the race.

A few hours later proved the wait was worth it once a gentle westerly filling in by mid-afternoon, allowing a course to be set and one race to run in the ideal flat-water conditions of Parnu Bay. A clean start for each class got them off and around their courses in eight - ten knots, making for close tactical racing and some new race winners to help re-arrange the overall standings in each class after four races, the minimum needed to validate the event as a European Championship under ORC rules.

Martin Estlander's X-41 Xini Freedom from Finland won the test event to this regatta, the Danske Bank ORC Estonian Championship, and showed some of that same talent today by winning the 8.1-mile race by 42 seconds in corrected time over the new runner-up in the overall standings, Priit Tammemagi's X-41 sistership Premium from Estonia. After a rough start to the series with a 16th place in the Garmin Offshore Race, the Finns have been steadily improving, with a sixteen – eight – four - one scoreline.

'We were good in today's light winds,' said a very happy Estlander. 'It was great to win the Estonian championship, and this event is fantastic for all the excellent organization, but the competition here is really difficult. We hope this is the start of a better trend for us.'

For winning today's inshore race, Xini Freedom wins the City of Pärnu daily race award for Class A-B, with Premium in second, and Jaak Jögi's X-41 Forte from Estonia in third. Awards were presented by Romek Kosenkranius, the Mayor of Pärnu. Forte still leads the standings after four races on ten points, eight points over Premium, with Vesa Sarkikangas's Sinergia 40 Nissan Arita Airport in third on a score of 24 points.

In Class C a new inshore race winner has climbed up through the standings to assume new leadership of the class. On the strength of both a race win and a re-scoring of races due to a slight measurement infraction by Garmin Offshore Race winner Brigitte-X, Patrik Forsgren's modified First 36.7 Team PRO4U from Sweden has taken the lead from Ott Kikkas's NM38S Sugar from Estonia, skippered by Sandro Montefusco. Sugar 2 remains in second place by one point, while Samuli Leisti's X-35 Audi Ultra from Finland is a distant 10 points back in third place in the standings.

Like Xini Freedom, Team PRO4U also won their class in the Danske Bank Estonian Nationals a week ago.

'We were here last week where the competition was really strong and it's much stronger at the Europeans now,' said Forsgren. 'We are the leader now and we are looking forward to what comes in the next days. We are ready for the tough battle!'

For winning today's inshore race, Team PRO4U wins the City of Pärnu daily race award for Class C, with Andres Laul's X-35 My Car from Estonia in second, and Audi Ultra in third.

After what will be a long evening at the City of Pärnu daily awards, followed by a Sailor's Dinner, and then a rousing musical act under the big tented venue at Pärnu YC, racing is planned to resume tomorrow at 1300 local time. Three more inshore races are scheduled in the championship, with the first discard applied after tomorrow's Race five.