2020 Laser Senior Europeans in Gdansk, Poland - Day 5
by Agustin Arguelles 12 Oct 23:39 PDT
6-13 October 2020
2020 Laser Senior Europeans in Gdansk, Poland day 5 © Thom Touw /
www.thomtouw.com
There was cold weather on the fifth day, wit three races were added to scores on Women's Gold and Silver fleets, and two races in the Men's and Radial Men's competitions.
Racing started with 6-8 knots breeze from land on this second day of the Final series, rising to 12 knots for the last races. The forecast announces a windy day on Tuesday for the last races so hiking will be back for crowning our new 2020 Senior European champions!
Race Day 4 - Laser Standard
The Brit squad conquered the Laser Men's podium in full today, with Michael Beckett GBR (24-22) retaining the leadership with 59 points, but now closely followed by Elliot Hanson GBR (6-19) just 2.3 points behind. Third place is now for Lorenzo Chiavarini GBR (18-3) with 73 points.
"I forgot my jacket today so first of all I have to thank Chris (my coach) for letting me use his between races on what must have been the coldest day's sailing for a while! It was another tricky offshore day where it was hard to remain consistent. It's tight at the top but great to be up there with both Enzo & Micky. Tomorrow should bring something different with a windy onshore breeze, it's been a while since we've been hiking so I can't wait!", said Elliot Hanson.
"It was a hard day as always in a Laser Gold fleet with some nip and tuck racing out there. Tomorrow's the last day and I'm enjoying the moment", said Lorenzo Chiavarini.
Places four to ten are pretty tight now with all six competitors separated by 13 points. Russian sailor Sergey Komissarov RUS (13-27) heads this pack with 90 points, followed by William De Smet BEL (9-29) and Filip Jurisic CRO (20-4) with 92 and 95 points respectively.
"Today was about controlling the damage. I made a big comeback in the last race. Tomorrow will be the big show down. A second discard comes in to play which will mix up the results massively. The only thing I can do tomorrow is sail at my very best and bring my A-game", said William De Smet from Belgium.
Charlie Buckingham USA (3-16) continued to show a great consistent sailing and climbed to 4th place overall with 83 points.
Race Day 4 - Laser Radial Women
It was a terrific day's sailing for reigning 2019 European champion Anne Marie Rindom DEN (2-9-6), leading the championship from the beginning. She's heading the fleet with 22 points after 10 races and has a 20 points lead on the next competitor.
Reigning 2020 World and 2016 Olympic champion Marit Bouwmeester NED is in second (55 DNC-4-1), scoring her first race win today and a 4th after waiting aside during the first race due to Yellow flags received yesterday. Sailing conditions will be different tomorrow, although both sailors are Masters in all of them.
In third place is the ascendant Vasileia Karachaliou GRE (9-1-11) with 51 points, only 9 points behind Marit.
"My goal for today was to try to be in top 10 and then try to climb up from there. I was really happy to be able to come back from a mid-fleet position in the last race today. It was another really hard day, which I am happy that I managed to survive. Thoughts for Tuesday are to try to stay calm and warm for tomorrow's last day of championship", said Vasileia Karachaliou from Greece.
Local sailor Agata Barwinska POL (16-17-23) couldn't repeat yesterday's great performance, dropping from 2nd to 4th with 53 points. Svenja Weger GER (3-12-25) is fifth with 67.
Canadian sailor Sarah Douglas CAN is the best non-European sailor, holding the 6th place overall with 72 points.
Race Day 4 - Laser Radial Men
Dutch sailor Paul Hameeteman NED (13-12) put some spice today in the Radial Men's championships, scoring his worst two races but still on hold of the first position, although now only 4 points ahead of second Oskar Madonich UKR (6-9). 30 points for the Dutch and 34 for the Ukranian.
"I had a terrible day today. The wind pressure was all over the place and I just didn't get I right. I'm looking forward to some good waves and hiking on the final day!", said Paul Hameeteman from The Netherlands.
The 2020 Laser Senior European Championships & Open European Trophy will finish on Tuesday with the last two scheduled races. The first warning signal for the Laser Radials will be at 11:00, and 11:30 for the Laser Standards. The coaches/Team Leaders online meeting will be at 09:00.
Full results from the regatta can be found here.