Europeans challenge awaits GBR windsurfers and skiff crews
Written by RYA | 01 July 2013
Dempsey, Shaw, 49er and FX sailors set for European Championship challenge
Britain’s sailors kick-started the 2013 European Championship medal tally last month with silver and bronze at the 470 Europeans – now it’s the turn of the 49er, 49erFX sailors and RS:X windsurfers when their European Championships get underway tomorrow (Tuesday 2 July).
Olympic silver medallist Nick Dempsey will be in action at the RS:X Europeans at Brest, France (2-7 July) in a bid to add European Championship gold at the world title he won in Brazil back in March, when he became the first man in history to win the RS:X world crown twice.
Dempsey, 32, has had a low-key 2013 competition schedule, with the Sail for Gold Regatta the only other event he’s competed in since his World Championship triumph. At the Weymouth and Portland event, he fended off the challenge from former training partner Elliot Carney to claim the top step of the podium and round off a week of what he described as “perfect preparation for the Europeans”.
He’ll be racing in a 77-strong fleet across the six day event, with Poland’s Piotr Myszka, Spain’s Ivan Pastor Lafuente and Israel’s Nimrod Mashiah among those on the entry list looking to pose a challenge for European honours.
Dempsey’s training partner Tom Squires, plus Podium Potential squad members Sam Sills, Connor Bainbridge, Joe Bennett and Ali Masters will also be flying the British Sailing Team flag
In the women’s fleet, world number one Bryony Shaw will be aiming to continue her impressive podium streak this season. Silver at the World Championships in March was the catalyst for a run of four further podium finishes at ISAF World Cup and EUROSAF Champions Cup competitions over the past three months.
Confidence will be high in the 2008 Olympic bronze medallist, although perennial rivals Flavia Tartaglini (Italy), Blanca Manchon (Spain) and Charline Picon (France) will among those looking to stop the British party, with fellow British Sailing Team member Izzy Hamilton also out to make her mark in major competition.
The RS:X Open Youth Europeans also runs alongside the senior European Championships, with RYA Volvo Team GBR’s Kieran Martin and Saskia Sills in action and looking for some last minute silverware in Brest before heading to Cyprus for the ISAF Youth Sailing World Championships later this month, where Sills will aim to defend her 2012 crown.
Meanwhile in Denmark, British Sailing Team crews will be gunning for European glory at the 49er and 49erFX European Championships in Aarhus (2-7 July).Dylan Fletcher and Alain Sign, fresh from their Sail for Gold Regatta victory, will be a looking for a repeat of their 2011 European Championship-winning efforts, while Dave Evans and Ed Powys will aim to make it four podium finishes from their five events this season.
John Pink and Simon Wheeler will be looking to continue their upward trajectory, while two-time Olympians Stevie Morrison and Ben Rhodes will be looking for a return to the podium spots after narrowly missing out at the two European World Cup events in Palma and Hyeres.
The British Sailing Team’s two newest converts to 49er sailing – two-time 470 World Champion Nic Asher, and 2012 470 silver medallist Stuart Bithell – will be hoping their rapid improvements in this high-performance class continue out in Aarhus with their respective partners Fynn Sterritt and Chris Grube.
At the first ever European Championships for the new 49erFX event, British sailors will be putting their new permanent partnerships to the test now that the period of squad rotation has come to an end.
Charlotte Dobson, winner of two circuit medals with different crews so far this year, has teamed up with Sophie Ainsworth, Kate Macgregor will race with Mary Rook, and Frances Peters will race with Nicola Groves at the six day event.
Both the 49er and 49erFX sailors will race under a further experimental knockout format at these Championships, and will face a tough challenge from local Danish sailors, strong in the skiff classes, at their home venue.
The final medal deciders at both the RS:X European Championships and the 49er/49erFX European Championships will be held on Sunday 7 July.
Follow the events at
http://europeanwindsurfingchampionships2013.rsxclass.com/ and
http://49er.org/event/2013-europeans/ with updates throughout the week on Twitter @BritishSailing