505 European Championship 2019 at Sonderborg Yacht Club
by Michael Quirk 14 Aug 2019 03:44 AEST
6-10 August 2019
2019 505 European Championships at Sonderborg Yacht Club © Hartas Productions
In a tough and tumultuous ten races, Roger Gilbert and Ben Mcgrane (GBR) have won the 2019 5o5 European Championship.
The regatta was sailed in a wide range of conditions from five knots to 25 knots. Much of the variation happening in the same race with a procession of rain squalls parading across the course.
"If it weren't for the remarkable versatility of the 5o5 we would not have been able to do some of those races" said winning helm Roger Gilbert. "Any other class would have struggled to get more than two days racing."
The rain clouds brought with them increasing wind up to 25 knots and direction changes of often 90 degrees. However the 5o5 and most of the competitors revelled in the conditions which produced interesting, challenging and ultimately very close racing. Going into the last race any of five boats could have won the series.
Overall Results: (top five)
1st Roger Gilbert and Ben McGrane (GBR)
2nd Ian Pinnell (GBR) and Carl Smit (USA)
3rd Howard Hamlin and Jeff Nelson (USA)
4th Wolfgang Hunger and Holger Jess (GER)
5th Stefan Bohm and Gerald Roos (GER)
Full results can be found here.
The regatta was very well organised by the Sonderborg Yacht Club. There were some spills, there were plenty of thrills and the video footage was "some for the best I have seen" said Class president and Australian competitor Michael Quirk.
"This is one regatta where pictures are better than 1000 words. The sometimes Armageddon weather and the excitement of a 5o5 in full flight were captured in daily videos from the water and the sky by Hartas Productions & Christian Gossmann. The footage is well worth a view. Video and photos can be can be found on the International 5o5 Facebook page. or the event website.