29er EuroCup 9 at Lake Lipno, Czech Republic
by International 29er Class 19 Jun 2024 17:56 BST
7-9 June 2024
Lake Lipno in the Czech Republic provided an unforgettable long weekend of sailing as the best young sailors representing Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy and Slovakia gathered to compete for medals at the Czech 29er Eurocup. A wide variety of wind conditions and sunny weather ensured exciting racing and great experiences on and off the water.
The 29er Eurocup alongside of the 49er & 49erFX Junior European Championships, brought an exciting 4 days of intense racing to the Lake Lipno for over 140 competitors from 18 nations. The event was held under the auspices of the President of the Czech Republic Mr. Petr Pavel. On Thursday, despite a favourable forecast, there was only one race in the 49er and 49erFX classes as a storm thwarted the plans of the race committee. The 29er fleet took the opportunity to explore the specifics of the local racing area and trained on the lake. However, the opening ceremony on the iconic Windy Point beach brought smiles to the faces of the competitors. The event was opened by the Principal Race Officer and International 29er Class President Mr. Peter Lübeck.
On Friday, the fleet of 29ers joined the racing along with winds gusting up to 22 knots. Lake Lipno was full of colourful spinnakers of Olympic and Junior skiffs flying from Dolní Vltavice to Cerná v Pošumaví. Saturday's conditions were almost identical to Friday's and the race committee succeeded in adding 4 more races. The competitors returned to the shore exhausted, but quickly regained their energy thanks to the support of the regatta partners - Bohemia Apple, Pekárna Srnín and CEPS. Although the forecast for Sunday promised almost no wind, around 11 o'clock waves began to appear on the water, together with light to medium stable wind. The race committee managed to finish all the remaining scheduled races and the sailors were shattered, but very happy with a great weekend of racing and fun!
Overall Results: (top three)
Women's Teams
1st Victoria Demurtas/Caroline Karlsen
2nd Livia Farese/Vanda Paigerová
3rd Nela Višcorová/Anna Koštálová
Men's Teams
1st Martin Zarandy/Csekovszky Mor
2nd David Rohde/Schwarz Jakob
3rd Náray Ágoston/Göblyös-Sztrókay Bátor
Mixed Teams
1st Marla Feichtenschlager/Leo Uebelhör
2nd Keno Pulte/Eva Truttenberger
3rd Karolína Lojková/Petr Pelnár
U17 top Mixed Team
1st Karolína Lojková/Petr Pelnár
U17 top Men's Team
Oliver Brestovský/Tomáš Babincák
U17 top Women's Team
Zuzana Zimáni/Tamara Brestovská
Full results at www.sailing.cz/vysledky/241301
Throughout the competition, competitors were provided with great catering services from the bistro "Na Lžíci" from Ceské Budejovice. While waiting on the shore, all the participants could also relax in a chill out zone with music and refreshments from the regatta sponsors or view excellent photographs taken by Pavlína Marecková Soukupová. In addition, in cooperation with the "Sailors Clean" organization, alongside the 29er Class commitment to 'Sailors for the Sea Clean Regattas", a beach cleanup was held, which was attended by a large number of competitors.
"We care deeply about preserving the pristine nature of Šumava and ensuring that Lake Lipno remains a beautiful and clean environment for everyone. It's our responsibility to protect this natural treasure, and we're grateful for the enthusiastic participation of all the sailors in this important effort. I am pleased when sailors themselves come up with their own initiatives that help us preserve the environment for future generations," said Václav Brabec, director of the event.
We extend our heartfelt thanks to the sponsors of the event: South Bohemian Region, National Sports Agency, Czech Sailing Association, companies CEPS, Milan Král Group, Srnín Bakery, Windy Point, Bohemia Apple, VT Project, Hydrotechnik Praha, Tschöpl & Partner and Marais.