Kiwis in top trio after Day 1 of RS-X Europeans

by Ben Barger on 9 Jun 2007 Day one of the 2007 RS:X Europeans Championships has gone off without a hitch, and leaders Przemyslaw Miarczynski (POL) and Barbara Kendall(NZL) showed that experience has won the day.

Today’s breeze was a bit shiftier and cloudier than the commonly cloudless Cyprus, with the breeze turning right close to the shore, it was a race to port, with speed and timing defining characteristics of the day. Two fully planning races were held sharp at 11 AM then another one was held after lunch, giving competitors time to retune and prepare for the changing lighter winds for the third race.

On the men’s course the race was to the right and in group yellow, 'Pont' Przemyslaw (POL) led the charge with a great start on the first race securing the bullet to the end. On the blue group tough fighting was being delivered by Nikolas Kaklamanakis (GRE), JP Tobin (NZL) and João Rodrigues (POR). Nikolas comments that he was having a tougher morning as it wasn’t the 'typical wind of Cyprus' but still was able to pull a, X and Y. JP Tobin says he was, 'dicing it out' with the rest of the close group that landed him a bullet in the second race. Staying very consistent was João with a 2 and 4 in the morning races, choosing to go hard right both races, with a great start the first race made him leading to the top mark. Gal Fridman, (ISR) 2004 Olympic Champion, was happy with his day staying in the top five, he’s recently lost a bit of weight and now explains how he is 'passing people much faster downwind.'

The clouds were building inland and finally let loose by late afternoon to give way to typical clear skies. However for the third race the wind decided to back off a bit to around 10 knots, leaving half of the fleet track forward. But the leaders were able to barely get planning and slowly pull away from the rest of the fleet. Nikolas Kaklamanakis led the charge in the lighter winds, winning the third race but hot on his heals was another veteran João Rodrigues, coming in a close second. The yellow fleet also had the track forward versus track back question, but again the leaders powered around the course almost the entire time track back. RACE THREE WINNERS HEER

On the women’s side, experience blended with new blood, leading by one point is Barbara Kendal (NZL) over Marina Alabau (ESP). Barbara was 'very happy with her day' winning the first race in style, follow by second position on the next race then followed by a third. Marina explained, 'well I am happy with today, I went close to the shore upwind, and had great speed, without too much work.' Marina won the last two races hands down, and made them look easy. Other favorites, Bryony Shaw (GBR) was close but still with work to do to make it back on the podium, with her five and ten finishes, making her XYZ overall. Toni Frey also had a great second race bringing herself in third, and very close to second place, NAME..

Tomorrow calls for more 10-15 knot sea breezes and two races are on the schedule, leaving one more race to be sailed before the group splits into gold and silver fleet for the men. Many sailors relished in today’s planning conditions, while other light wind specialists might have to wait another day or two before they can show off their expertise. A close race now for sure, so stay tuned and look for continued reporting and pictures at www.rsxclass.com

RS:X EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP 2007 Day One Mens Results (Top 20)

Rank		SailNo	Helm	Race 1	Race 2	Race 3	Total	Net
1		POL 126	PRZEMEK MIARCZYNSKI	1.0	1.0	4.0	6.0	6.0
2		NZL 151	JON PAUL TOBIN	1.0	2.0	4.0	7.0	7.0
3		POR 75	JOAO RODRIGUES	2.0	4.0	2.0	8.0	8.0
4		FRA 115	NICOLAS LE GAL	7.0	2.0	1.0	10.0	10.0
5		ESP 7	IVAN PASTOR LAFUENTE	3.0	3.0	5.0	11.0	11.0
6		POL 82	PIOTR MYSZKA	4.0	1.0	6.0	11.0	11.0
7		ITA 110	FABIAN HEIDEGGER	5.0	4.0	3.0	12.0	12.0
8		GRE 1	NIKOLAS KAKLAMANAKIS	6.0	6.0	1.0	13.0	13.0
9		SUI 31	RICHARD STAUFFACHER	6.0	5.0	2.0	13.0	13.0
10		UKR 19	MAKSYM OBEREMKO	5.0	5.0	3.0	13.0	13.0
11		FRA 6	JULIEN BONTEMPS	2.0	8.0	6.0	16.0	16.0
12		ISR 18	GAL FRIDMAN	12.0	3.0	5.0	20.0	20.0
13		GRE 8	BYRON KOKALANIS	4.0	11.0	8.0	23.0	23.0
14		POL 729	MAKSYMILIAN WOJCIK	8.0	9.0	7.0	24.0	24.0
15		FRA 8	NICOLAS HUGUET	11.0	6.0	9.0	26.0	26.0
16		ISR 21	NIMROD MASHIAH	10.0	7.0	13.0	30.0	30.0
17		GER 319	TONI WILHELM	3.0	14.0	15.0	32.0	32.0
18		FRA 1	FABRICE HASSEN	11.0	8.0	14.0	33.0	33.0
19		FRA 13	NICOLAS GUYADER	7.0	11.0	16.0	34.0	34.0
20		USA 1	BEN BARGER	12.0	13.0	9.0	34.0	34.0

RS:X EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP 2007 Day One Womens Results (Top 20)

Rank		SailNo	Helm	Race 1	Race 2	Race 3	Total	Net
1		NZL 15	BARBARA KENDALL	1.0	2.0	3.0	6.0	6.0
2		ESP 5	MARINA ALABAU	5.0	1.0	1.0	7.0	7.0
3		GRE 1	ATHENA-ANTONIA FREY	3.0	3.0	4.0	10.0	10.0
4		ESP 1	BLANCA MANCHON	11.0	8.5 RDGa	6.0	25.5	25.5
5		ITA 25	ALESSANDRA SENSINI	10.0	16.0	2.0	28.0	28.0
6		POL 4	MARTA HLAVATY	2.0	4.0	24.0	30.0	30.0
7		GER 61	ROMY KINZL	20.0	5.0	9.0	34.0	34.0
8		ISR 1111	LEE-EL KORZITS	4.0	9.0	22.0	35.0	35.0
9		ITA 11	LAURA LINARES	7.0	15.0	15.0	37.0	37.0
10		POL 8	ZOFIA KLEPACKA	9.0	11.0	17.0	37.0	37.0
11		UKR 9	OLHA MASLIVETS	13.0	6.0	19.0	38.0	38.0
12		AUS 911	ALLISON SHREEVE	8.0	7.0	25.0	40.0	40.0
13		ITA 1	FLAVIA TARTAGLINI	22.0	12.0	10.0	44.0	44.0
14		GRE 3	ANGELIKI SKARLATOU	23.0	14.0	8.0	45.0	45.0
15		FRA 9	FAUSTINE MERRET	15.0	17.0	14.0	46.0	46.0
16		GBR 94	BRYONY SHAW	6.0	30.0	11.0	47.0	47.0
17		ISR 10	MAAYAN DAVIDOVICH	25.0	19.0	12.0	56.0	56.0
18		POL 200	ANNA GALECKA	14.0	24.0	20.0	58.0	58.0
19		GBR 95	LUCY HORWOOD	16.0	10.0	34.0	60.0	60.0
20		FRA 24	LISE VIDAL	30.0	27.0	5.0	62.0	62.0