2013 470 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS KICK OFF IN STYLE WITH PERFECT CONDITIONS
2013 470 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS KICK OFF IN STYLE WITH PERFECT CONDITIONS
A stunning opening day of racing at the 2013 470 European Championships in Formia, Italy with blue sky, sparkling sea and a perfect breeze across the race course. Racing got underway in a stable breeze of 15 knots, building to around 18 knots.
110 teams from 35 nations are competing at the 470 Europeans in Formia, Italy for what marks the first 470 Championship of the new Olympiad and the most significant gathering of 470 sailing talent since the 2012 Olympic Games and last year's 470 World Championships. The 470 fleet continues to grow, with many new faces who have made the transition from junior to senior fleets looking forward to pitting their skills against the more experienced teams.
470 WOMEN Headlining the 470 Women are 2012 Olympic Gold Medallists Jo Aleh/Polly Powrie from New Zealand. Their post-Olympic break gave the pair some respite after four years of intense training and preparation, and so far has only served to fire them up, and they didn't disappoint today with two straight race wins.
Aleh was looking particularly happy today, and not just because of her race wins. "Loving coming off the water and being warm," she laughed, referring to the freezing conditions they faced in Holland a couple of weeks ago.
Aleh/Powrie are being supported at the Europeans by their coach Leslie Egnot, the 1992 Olympic Silver medallist. The pair won the first race from start to finish, to cross the line well over a minute ahead of the pack, but had a bit more of a battle in the second race. Aleh explained, "It was good to get back into racing. The first one we had stretched it out a bit, but the second race we had to fight for a bit more. Awesome racing though. We had pretty good speed and didn't make too many mistakes with the tactics."
Powrie added, "It was beautiful out there. Perfect breeze, warm water and sun - pretty perfect."
Defending 470 European Champion, Great Britain's Sophie Weguelin teamed up with 19-year-old Eilidh McIntyre at the beginning of 2013, and so far the new partnership has shown great potential with podium finishes at two ISAF Sailing World Cup events. Today the pair posted a 2,5 score, which was more than enough for Weguelin. "Everyone wants to win, but as a new team we are here to gain experience going into the rest of the year. For us the 470 Worlds will be the biggest event and we have only sailed together since January, so there is still lots of learning and the more time in the boat the better."
On their new partnership, Weguelin continued, "It is really good and we are really enthusiastic. We have a steep learning curve, but it is really exciting."
Mcintyre, who is the daughter of 1988 Star class Olympic Champion Mike McIntyre, added, "It was a good solid day for our first day and there were glamorous conditions out there. Breeze was up, which was a bit different to anything we have had in our pre-Championship training, which was a bit of a shock. It was really good fun and really good racing. It was close which made it more exciting."
Post-Olympics there is an influx of younger teams stepping up from the junior ranks to now make their mark on the senior fleet. Amongst many of the younger athletes to watch is Chile's Nadja Horwitz, who at 17 years old is already a veteran of the ISAF Youth Sailing World Championships, securing a 4th overall last year. Horwitz will be making her third appearance at the ISAF Youth Worlds this year in Cyprus, when she steps back into the 420. Horwitz claimed the silver medal at the 2012 420 Ladies World Championship, and then made her debut 470 appearance at the 2012 470 Junior European Championships in Italy, with the 2013 470 Europeans marking her first senior 470 Championship - so watch this space.
Satisfied with racing today, Horwitz said, "Today was just perfect, a really nice day. We were learning about the boat and not looking for results. We are just trying to get the boat speed that we need."
470 Women - Top 10 Overall 1. Jo Aleh/Polly Powrie (NZL) - 0 pts 2. Camille Lecointre/Mathilde Geron (FRA) - 6pts 3. Sophie Weguelin/Eilidh Mcintyre (GBR) - 7 pts 4. Annina Wagner/Elisabeth Panuschka (GER) - 9 pts 5. Tina Mrak/Veronika Macarol (SLO) - 9 pts 6. Agnieszka Skrzypulec/Natalia Wojcik (POL) - 12 pts 7. Afrodite Kyranakou/Anneloes Van Veen (NED) - 13 pts 8. Lara Vadlau/Jolanta Ogar (AUT) - 15 pts 9. Cassandre Blandin/Charlotte Mery De Bellegarde (FRA) - 21 pts 10. Anna Burnet/Flora Stewart (GBR) - 26 pts
