Topcat Catamaran World Championships – Day 1

by Robert Pirović on 30 Aug 2016 After a great opening party for 250 guests at the Ilirija Aquatic centre on the weekend and lively training sessions in winds up to force four and five, the 70 participating vessels were ready for Monday's start.

The first racing day started rather relaxed, waiting for the afternoon Maestral wind. Under for two and three conditions, two exiting races were took place with the results as follows:

Overall results:
K1
1.Matthias Equiluz AUT
K2
1.Robert Zank GER
K3
1.Eike Schmid GER

The International Topcat Class Association (ITCA) together with Yacht Club Biograd will be hosting the Topcat K1 World Championship and the TOPCAT K2/K3 International Championships in Biograd, Croatia from 27.08 – 02.09. 2016. Topcat is an official World Sailing/ISAF recognized Class, and 124 sailors will be competing on more than 70 vessels.

The Topcat K1 Catamaran is considered to be the fastest sport-catamaran without a daggerboard, so the action will be fast and furious. The previous World championships were in Lake Neusiedl, Austria in 2014, and the Adriatic Sea will be a new challenge for most of the competitors. The racing will take place over five days beginning on Monday, August 29th, and finishing on Friday, September 2nd, in a sailing area just south of Biograd.

The opening and closing ceremonies will be held at the outdoor Olympic size aquatic center owned by Ilirija d.d., while a mid-week beach party will be held in their Campground Soline, which should contribute to a very special atmosphere for this event.

Yacht Club Biograd is the host of this event, and this is the first World Sailing/ISAF Class World Championships to be hosted by the club. Biograd is proud to host the world’s largest international yacht racing calendar with more than 40 races hosted for international race organizers, most of which are for cruising yachts. The club has taken on this event to promote “grass roots” catamaran racing in Croatia. Catamarans have become a dominant force in the world of racing as evidenced by their use in the America's Cup and World Match Race Tour.