Tightening up at the Top
A light and tricky final day of fleet racing has really mixed up the Nacra 17 leader board and made it an almost out and out battle for the top spots going into tomorrow’s medal race. Only 12 points separate the top 6 boats meaning anyone of them could come away with the win, but equally come away missing the podium altogether.
An incredible late surge from Ben Saxton and Nicola Boniface (GBR), clearly loving the lighter winds at the tail end of this week’s competition, have brought them right into contention for the medals having been hanging just outside almost all week. They scored a 1,2 today winning the day and putting leapfrogging themselves into second, only 4 points behind the leaders Ruggero Tita and Catarina Banti (ITA), who struggled a little today in the really light conditions scoring a 23, 11 but still doing enough to stay at the top.
Further down the pack with a brilliant final day of a 4,5 and just scraping into the medal race in 10th is Olympic gold and silver medallist Nathan Outteridge, sailing with his sister Haylee Outteridge (AUS). Fairly new to the Nacra 17 fleet but clearly getting to grips with the boat quickly – we wouldn’t expect anything less from this pair. But they’ll need to start ramping things up quickly with a tough battle on their hands to qualify themselves for Tokyo 2020 as their rival, Australian team mates and Rio Olympic silver medallists, Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin – not here this week due to an injury for Jason – have managed to win the last 3 Nacra regattas they’ve sailed in, showing incredible form and consistency.
With the points so tight at the top, it’s going to be a nail biting medal race for the top 10 in the Nacra fleet. With Olympic Test Event spots up for grabs, a European title on the line and many teams wanting to stamp their authority on the fleet as we begin to look towards the final year to the Olympic Games in Tokyo. Tomorrow’s medal race will surely be a key indicator as to which of the 6 top teams can keep their nerve and perform under huge pressure when it really matters.
Regatta information
Venue:
- Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy, Osprey Quay, Portland, Dorset, DT5 1SA
Contacts:
- Will Carson, Event Media Manager – +44 (0) 7769 505203 or will.carson@rya.org.uk
- Dimitris Tsakiroglou, TV Production Manager +306944352961 – dtsak@icarus-sports.com
- Ben Remocker, 49er and Nacra 17 Class Manager – ben@porttackracing.com
Schedule:
Wednesday 8 May 1700 Beach Clean
Monday 13 May 1055 Qualifying Races
Tuesday 14 May 1055 Qualifying Races
Wednesday 15 May 1055 Qualifying Races
Thursday 16 May 1055 Fleet Races
Friday 17 May 1055 Fleet Races
Saturday 18 May 1055 Fleet Races
Sunday 19 May 0955 Fleet Races
1500 Medal Races
TBC Prize giving
Photography:
49er & 49erFX – https://49er.org/event/2019-european-championship/#photos
Nacra 17 – https://old.nacra17.org/events/2019-european-championship-2/#photos
Live Broadcast:
- From May 16-19 a live show including coverage of the racing will be broadcast via the 49er class Youtube channel and the Nacra 17 class Youtube channel. The presenters are Genny Tulloch, Andy Rice, Stevie Morrison, and Hannah Mills.
1. 49er Sailing – Gold Fleet Day 1 – 2019 Volvo European Championship
URL https://youtu.be/b3fsnwNGyqQ
2. 49er Sailing – Gold Fleet Day 2 – 2019 Volvo European Championship
URL https://youtu.be/7pxYk7L_Q54
3. 49er Sailing – Gold Fleet Day 3 – 2019 Volvo European Championship
URL https://youtu.be/OGd_TQC3qEY
<iframe width=”480″ height=”290″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/OGd_TQC3qEY” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture” allowfullscreen></iframe>
4. 49er Sailing – Gold Fleet Day 4 – 2019 Volvo European Championship
URL https://youtu.be/rxrV_BLsZ_k
<iframe width=”480″ height=”290″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/rxrV_BLsZ_k” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture” allowfullscreen></iframe>
5. 49er Sailing – Medal Races – 2019 Volvo European Championship
URL https://youtu.be/XBxlZofvxPc
<iframe width=”480″ height=”290″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/XBxlZofvxPc” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture” allowfullscreen></iframe>
Highlights, Interviews & VNR:
- Between May 16 and 19, Icarus
Sports will be producing:
- A daily two-minute highlights video
- VNR and interviews for news
- Footage can be downloaded from the Icarus portal – https://portal.icarus-sports.com/
- Please contact Will Carson to request interviews
Results:
Results will be posted race by race, as they happen
- 49er https://49er.org/event/2019-european-championship/#49erresults
- 49erFX https://49er.org/event/2019-european-championship/#49erfxresults
- Nacra 17 https://old.nacra17.org/events/2019-european-championship-2/#results
Venue:
- Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy, Osprey Quay, Portland, Dorset, DT5 1SA
Contacts:
- Will Carson, Event Media Manager – +44 (0) 7769 505203 or will.carson@rya.org.uk
- Dimitris Tsakiroglou, TV Production Manager +306944352961 – dtsak@icarus-sports.com
Ben Remocker, 49er and Nacra 17 Class Manager – ben@porttackracing.com
