ILCA 4 NEWS
European Championships
The Eurilca European Championships took place last week in Travemuende, Germany.
It was a huge fleet, with 250 competitors in the boys division, and 125 girls. This meant the boys were split across four flights, with the girls in two. Unfortunately, most of the GBR team were unable to participate due to Germany’s pandemic travel restrictions for UK residents.
Max Steele, who had been training in Poland since May, was the sole flag bearer at the event. He did very well through the qualification series, at one point being near the top of the gold fleet, and with very low scorings, in medal contention. However, after a day of no wind, and no sailing, the final series got underway in a very strong wind day, in which only the gold fleet was allowed out.
For Max, an unlucky capsize in a forty knot gust, followed by an equipment failure in the following race, lead to him dropping approximately 35 points in the one-discard event. He still however managed to end the event in the top 50 – well within the gold fleet.
Reduced sailing opportunities in North Europe showed, with the top half of the leader board dominated by Mediterranean countries. Congratulations to Athanasios Kyfidis of Greece, who won the event ahead of Massimiliano Antoniazzi of Italy and Alexandros Eleftheriadis also of Greece.
Full results - manage2sail Report (eurilca.eu)
World Championships
With the curtain raisers in Tokyo and Travemunede behind us, attention draws to the World Championships to be held in Dan Laoghaire Dublin 7 – 14 August.
After much uncertainty again about travel restrictions, the GBR team participating consists of:
We wish them all good winds; we will be watching you closely.
UK Nationals and ILCA-fest
With only one day gap for travel, the international team will be joining the rest of the UK fleet to compete for the UK nationals in Weymouth 16 – 18 August, at our ILCA-fest. Newcomers to the fleet will be assigned a buddy from the more experienced sailors to help them with their transitioning into the fleet. The experienced sailors will be asked to provide advice on a wide range of matters such as rigging tips, settings, boat handling and wind conditions at Weymouth. Mentor buddies will be drawn from a hat based on their ladder results and participation at international events.