Volvo 49er, 49erFX, Nacra 17 European Championship 2019 - Day 4: GBR team report
by British Sailing Team Media 16 May 2019 11:33 PDT
13-19 May 2019
John Gimson and Anna Burnet on day 4 of the Volvo Nacra 17, 49er and 49er FX European Championship © Nick Dempsey / RYA
The headlines:
- First day of final series racing sees action heat up
- John Gimson and Anna Burnet (Nacra 17) go top by a point thanks to a 1, 2, 6
- Ben Saxton and Nikki Boniface take a swim while leading Nacra 17 day 4 opener, finish twelfth. Pair sit sixth overall
- Dylan Fletcher and Stuart Bithell (49er) move onto 49er podium, sit third behind Kiwi Olympic champions and Spanish rivals
- Fellow 49er pair James Peters and Fynn Sterritt stay in contention in fifth
- Charlotte Dobson and Saskia Tidey (49erFX) bounce back from U-flag disqualification with 1, 4; remain third overall
- Young guns Hannah Bristow and Emily Covell score first senior race win with 49erFX silver fleet victory
- Two days of fleet racing now follow to decide Sunday's medal race top ten
- Live broadcast continues tomorrow from 11am at www.britishsailingteam.com
What they said:
Stuart Bithell, 32, Rochdale, Greater Manchester (49er):
"We had a lovely breeze out there in the bay although it felt like someone had a switch on the windspeed, it was so up and down. We had a solid day with three counters so we're happy. There are plenty of teams in this regatta who could win and there's a long way to go yet so we're just focused on our own racing at the minute. For now it's head down and just go for it. The weather is going to get worse over the next few days and we said before the event that the rainier and colder it is the better for us! We hope the Spanish and Kiwi lads struggle with the proper British summer."
Ben Saxton, 28, Cambridge (Nacra 17):
"We've had a pretty good week so far, we've been sailing well. We had a chance to move up a few places today - we were winning the first race - but then I jumped out the side of the boat on the last run which was a pretty stupid manoeuvre. We sailed well after that and came back with an 8, 5. We'll look to move up over the next few days and keep doing our best."
Hannah Bristow, 20, Macclesfield, Cheshire (49erFX):
"We had a great day - we were really consistent and we finished it off with a race win. That's our first race win in an international fleet so we're really happy. We hugged each other when we crossed the line, we were so happy. It was a nice feeling crossing the line in front. We've been improving every day so we're just going to keep that going."
Emily Covell, 19, Emsworth, Hants (49erFX):
"We have had a pretty difficult winter - we put in a lot of hours but we've struggled at events lately - so to come here and not only have consistent results but also a little race win gives us that extra confidence boost to show we're on the right track. We've got two days left of racing so we're going to focus on our processes. We're not really focused on results, we're just going to try to keep this momentum going."