Silver success for GBR sailors in Kiel

Great Britain claims 49er and 2.4mR medals plus EUROSAF Series top nation prize

The curtain came down on the 2014 EUROSAF Champions Cup series in Kiel on Wednesday (25 June) with silver successes for the British Sailing Team in the 49er and 2.4mR events, and with Great Britain securing the series’ top nation trophy for the second year.

Dave Evans and Ed Powys held on amid some tight light wind 49er ‘theatre style’ racing on the final day of the Olympic and Paralympic Classes competition at the German venue, and in doing so added Kiel Week silver to their victory on home waters at the Sail for Gold Regatta earlier this month.

Welshman Evans admits it’s a timely boost ahead of their two main competitions this season – the European Champions at Helsinki in a week’s time, and the ISAF Sailing World Championships in Santander in September.

“It’s a massive boost for us – every team relies on confidence and I think for us it’s nice to know we’re going well and racing well,” the 28-year-old explained.

“Last year we set off well but tailed off a little bit, and this year we’ve realised what we need to peak for.  It’s all about the Worlds and peaking for that. It’s nice to get some medals nailed in the build-up, and we’ve got the Europeans in a week’s time so it’s going the right way.”

It was a testing week for all fleets at the 1972 Olympic venue, with a mixed set of conditions to contend with.  With some races lost either due to too much or too little wind, Evans maintained it was important to make every point count in the races that were held. The duo went into the final three-race day for the skiff fleet in overall second place behind the host’s Erik Heil and Thomas Ploessel, but a tough first race of the three left them close for comfort and with little room for error in the points standings for the final two races.  

“There were a few incidents in the first race which we felt the jury called wrong which put us back and made things harder for us.  There was a port-starboard going upwind and the jury flagged us but we felt we were clear across in front of the other boat,” Evans explained. 

“That would have put us in front of the Germans for that race and put a bit of pressure on them but unfortunately we had to do turns so it gave them a bit of a lead then and a bit more breathing space.”

“The third race also was a bit tight.  We came out from the pin end really well and thought we’d done well, but we lost to guys on the left and the right. Luckily we pulled through to fourth which was enough. “We didn’t really have anything that went our way today – we didn’t catch any lucky gusts or shifts or anything, but we were coming out of manoeuvres quickly so that meant when we were in the pack we’d pop out ahead.”

A solid final day for Helena Lucas in the Open 2.4mR fleet saw her improve from her overnight position of third to claim the silver medal behind local sailor and fellow Paralympic gold medallist Heiko Kroeger.

Lucas, who claims her fifth podium finish of the year in Kiel, was especially pleased with her final day performance, and says that Kiel’s shifty racing conditions have helped her address some key areas ahead of this August’s IFDS World Championships in Halifax, Canada.

“The first few days were really tricky – north-westerly winds off the land and our course has seen 35-40 degree wind shifts.  For the first couple of days we were seeing between 10 and 20 knots across the race course.  Those are definitely not my strongest conditions so it was a challenge, but it was also really good practice in a way.   

“It was really pleasing to finish on a high today and check in with my light wind speed, which at the moment seems to be pretty awesome.   

“I don’t really know what the conditions will be like in Halifax, but if it is wacky races and shifty then I feel like I’ve started to get quite a handle on that this week.  If we do have some wacky days I’ll feel a lot more confident with it all.”   

The British Sailing Team’s Podium Potential Laser sailors Jack Wetherell and Lorenzo Chiavarini were also in final day action, having both qualified for their first medal races at EUROSAF or World Cup level. 

Snaith’s Wetherell started and ended the day just outside of the podium spots in fourth, finishing ninth in the final race, while Chiavarini, from Lochgilpead, improved two places on the final day to end his regatta in fifth overall, thanks to a fourth place in the medal race.

Podium Potential 49erFX pairing Vikki Payne and Steph Orton continued to build their experience in the new women’s skiff class, finishing 28th overall. Click here for full regatta results. 

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