The Official
Website of the
International
Sailing Federation

Two windward leeward courses were set inside the protected waters of the bay. The regatta leaders all started at the pin to head for the left side of the course, where there were smaller waves and less current. Two boats tried out the right side on the first beat, but the boats on the left came out ahead, led by Nerone and Nela, then Sylphea. Those three put distance on the fleet during the run. The entire pack of 17 boats went up the favored left side of the next beat. There was a close battle between Nerone and Nela for line honors, and the lead changed several times with Nela emerging as the victor, surfing just a half boat length ahead. Madina and A Bit of a Coup surfed over the line with Madina barely a second ahead in fifth place in a classic photo finish.

The wind increased to the higher end of the range for the second race, and shifted to the left. There was a big puff across the start line during the sequence, but it was a clean start, and the tightly knit pack of boats headed off to the left side of the course. The German boats led around the top mark, Nela in first followed by Struntje Light. They had a fantastic ride downwind planing on the waves at 17-21 knots of boat speed. Their bow waves were white plumes of spray as they flew to the leeward mark. Nela and Struntje Light split at the gate, and Slyphea edged into second place on the beat. It was another wild ride down to the finish on a course flecked with whitecaps. Struntje Light's 7 and 3rd place finishes were enough to keep them in the lead, but they only have a three point margin on countrymates aboard Nela.

Racing for the European Championship continues Saturday with the final eight mile race. Four boats are clearly leading the fleet, with any one of those boats able to claim the championship title.

No report yet available from Friday's racing.

Provisional results after Thursday;s racing
boat owner tactician points total
Struntje Light - W. Schaefer/I. Percy - 3, 3, 1, 7, 3 - 17
Nela - M. Illbruck/J. Kostecki - 8, 2, 7, 1, 2 - 20
Nerone - M. Mezzaroma/V. Vascotto - 10, 1, 3, 2, 4 - 20
Sylphea - A. Signorini/G. Benussi - 2, 11, 6, 3, 1 - 23
Atalanti - G. Andreadis/R. Haines - 1, 7, 9, 10, 7 - 34