Volvo 49er, 49erFX, Nacra 17 European Championship 2019 - Day 5: GBR team report
by British Sailing Team Media 17 May 2019 08:49 PDT
13-19 May 2019
Day 5 of the Volvo Nacra 17, 49er and 49er FX European Championship © Nick Dempsey / RYA
The Headlines:
- Lighter, shifty winds test sailors on second day of final series racing
- John Gimson and Anna Burnet (Nacra 17) slowed by weed in day 5 opener, recover with a third in final race to sit third overall
- Ben Saxton and Nikki Boniface (Nacra 17) close points gap with trio of top results; sitting fifth overall
- Rupert White and Kirstie Urwin (Nacra 17) knocking on door of top ten
- Three counters including race win for Dylan Fletcher and Stuart Bithell (49er) keep them in third
- James Peters and Fynn Sterritt up to 4th as podium battle intensifies
- Charlotte Dobson and Saskia Tidey (49erFX) slip to fourth, one point off podium
- One full day of fleet racing now follows to decide Sunday's medal race top ten
- Live broadcast continues tomorrow from 11am at www.britishsailingteam.com
What they said:
Anna Burnet, 26, Shandon, Scotland (Nacra 17):
"It was a really different day to the rest of the week - we were inside the harbour and it was really shifty. We got pretty unlucky in the first race - we got a massive clump of weed on the board and couldn't get it off in time. It was a bit of a disaster but we pulled through, kept fighting and got a third in the final race of the day. It's a really long event and we're taking every day as it comes."
Nikki Boniface, 25, Eastbourne, East Sussex (Nacra 17):
"We had a better day than yesterday. Inside the harbour we were doing three laps instead of two, so it was all a bit faster, closer and shiftier so it was all quite exciting. Today was all about finding the pressure on the water."