Paul Darmanin and Lucy Copeland (AUS) sailing the SL16 at the 2012 ISAF Youth Worlds – photo credits David Branigan
David_Branigan
David_Branigan
Wednesday 10 July 2013 – Over 350 sailors from 61 nations are gearing up for the 2013 Sail First ISAF Youth Sailing World Championship set to be held in Limassol, Cyprus from 13-20 July 2013.
Twenty nine 29er teams and 15 SL16 teams will take to the start line when racing commences on 15 July.
29er
The Open 29er will feature 58 sailors across 29 teams with the 2012 silver and bronze medallists’ helms returning with new crews.
French silver medallist Lucas Rual will be sailing with Emile Amoros having taken second spot in 2012 with Thomas Biton who has since stepped away from the 29er.
“Lucas is a great skipper, ” said Amoros, “We have trained really seriously and have already won Eurocups this year in Spain and Cavalaire. These regattas are the best training. We have sailed together since September and my former skipper was too old and his [Rual’s] crew Thomas stopped so we naturally sailed together and it’s really great.
The French 29er team at the 2012 ISAF Youth Worlds – photo credit David Branigan / ISAF Youth Worlds.
“We are really excited as this regatta is our main goal. Lucas is bringing me a lot of things because he has already done this regatta, he has told me that it is really intense and I can’t wait to discover this different regatta with a smaller fleet.”
Like Rual, the Argentinean bronze medallist Klaus Lange brings a new crew into the event. Lange’s 2012 crew Mateo Majdalani is too old to compete meaning Ignacio Varisco will crew with Lange and the French see them as potential rivals, “We think for sure the Argentineans will be tough competitors, ” added Amoros.
“Germans, British, Australians and the Americans are good also. This regatta is going to have a really good level.”
Coming into the event with good form is Brazil’s Antonio Aranha and Philipp Essle. The pair recently won under 18 gold at the South American 29er Championship in Rosario, Argentina and finished fourth overall to put them in a good place ahead of racing on 15 July.
The Brazilians make a return to the Sail First ISAF Youth Worlds having finished 22nd in 2012 and are hoping for an improved performance, “My expectations? I don’t know… It’s difficult because we don’t have other 29ers to train here but I would like to finish in the top half better.
“We have been training in Ilhabela in the sea and in Sao Paulo in the lake; we have been training almost every weekend since the start of the year.
“I loved the Youth Worlds last year and I am really looking forward to doing it all again this year.”
With highs of 33 degrees forecast the climate is considerably different to what Dublin Bay, Ireland had to offer last year and Aranha is looking forward to that, “We are pleased with the weather in Cyprus because I think it is like what we have here in Brazil.”
Also returning to stake a claim for the medals will be Quinn Wilson and Dane Wilson (USA), Great Britain’s Benjamin Batten who moves to crew with Mimi El-Khazinder as helm, Poland’s Konrad Lipski and Michal Zak as well as Ireland’s Sean and Tadgh Donnelly.
SL16
The Sail First ISAF Youth Worlds will be Australian multihull sailor Paul Darmanin’s last Youth Worlds after he first made a winning appearance at Istanbul 2010.
Darmanin won gold as crew with Chase Lurati in 2010 before a tenth at Zadar 2011 as helm with Alexander Vucic. After the selection of the mixed multihull event for the Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition Darmanin teamed up with Lucy Copeland for Dublin 2012 and the duo marked it by winning silver. Now, in 2013, they are hoping to take one step up on the podium.
“We know what to expect and we know how good it feels to win a medal, ” said Darmanin. “I think it will make us both hungry to go one better this year so we can get the same awesome satisfaction. For myself it is my fourth and last Youth Worlds, I would like to round off the Youth Worlds saga the same way it started in Turkey. Fingers crossed.
“We’re feeling excited and well prepared for the Youth Worlds, ” added the Australian. “We’ve been training hard on a Viper F16, a high performance catamaran that has allowed us to greatly excel relative to the training on the Hobie 16.”
Whilst their short term aim is clear, their longer-term aim is even clearer, “Lucy and I have a Nacra 17 coming that should be in Australia shortly after we get back. We are really excited to jump on this new Olympic catamaran and sail against Lisa [Darmanin, Paul’s older sister] and Jason [Waterhouse]. Our first regatta will be in Melbourne.”
Darmanin and Copeland recently came through in ninth at the SL16 Worlds in France whilst Great Britain’s James Henson and Olivier Greber were the only Youth Worlds sailors to medal, giving them an edge over their competitors before racing commences on 15 July.
On their silver medal Greber said, “It’s a great confidence boost for definite beating all the other boats who we will be competing against at the ISAF Youth Worlds. The Kiwi boat had a good week and seem to be improving very fast so they maybe someone to watch out for in Cyprus, but we are definitely happy with where we are at now.”
Henson added, “This week has been good for us and we’re now very confident heading to Cyprus with the aim of bringing back a medal –hopefully gold.”
Belgium’s Henri Demesmaeker ventures into his second ISAF Youth Worlds, which is quite something for a 12-year-old multihull sailor. The Belgian was the surprise package at the 2012 edition and was unlucky to miss out on a podium finish as just two points separated Demesmaeker and Philip Hendrickx and Brazil’s Martin Lowy and Kim Andrade.
Demesmaeker will make his return with Emilie Victor in 2013.
Brazil’s Lowy has moved from the multihull to the Radial Boys fleet which has seen Andrade take the Brazilian helm allowing Antonio Carlos Lopes Neto to make his first ISAF Youth Worlds appearance.
Lowy and Andrade shared a successful partnership that resulted in gold at the 2011 ISAF Youth Worlds and a bronze in 2012 and now Andrade has an opportunity to prove himself as helm in the new Brazilian combination.
American sailor Sam Armington makes a return with new skipper Ravi Parent, “It’s really exciting to be able to compete again, ” said Armington, who finished eigth in 2012 with skipper Jeremy Herrin. “2012 was an awesome experience and I met a bunch of great sailors and coaches.
“I know what it takes to do well and what to expect at the Worlds, ” he said. “This puts a bit of pressure on us, but it’s an advantage. I can help Ravi and help us prepare.”
Racing at the 2013 Sail First ISAF Youth Worlds commences on 15 July through to 19 July in eight events.
Follow The Event
The 2013 Sail First ISAF Youth Worlds Live Blog will be following the event from 15-19 July. View it on the ISAF website here http://www.isafyouthworlds.com/editions/2013/live-blog.php.
Each course has its own Twitter account. @ISAFyw13_Alpha will be following the Laser Radials and 29er, @ISAFyw13_Bravo will be focusing on the RS:X windsurfers and @ISAFyw13_Charli will keep an eye on the 420s and SL16 fleets.
Cyprus Ready For 2013 ISAF Youth Worlds
URL – http://youtu.be/E9ZdApllADI
Embed – <iframe width=”640″ height=”360″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/E9ZdApllADI” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen></iframe>
Links
ISAF Youth Sailing World Championship
www.isafyouthworlds.com
ISAF Athlete Participation Programme
www.isafyouthworlds.com/app.
ISAF Youth Worlds Facebook site:
www.facebook.com/ISAFYouthWorlds
ISAF Youth Worlds YouTube
www.youtube.com/ISAFChannel
International Sailing Federation (ISAF)
www.sailing.org
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The ISAF Youth Worlds was first held in Sweden in 1971. The 2013 ISAF Youth Sailing World Championship in Limassol, Cyprus will be the 43rd edition of the championship.
Past notable winners include American’s Cup skippers, Chris Dickson (NZL), Russell Coutts (NZL), Dean Barker (NZL); Olympic medallists, Robert Scheidt (BRA), Amelie Lux (GER), Ben Ainslie (GBR), Iain Percy (GBR), Alessandra Sensini (ITA), Elise Rechichi (AUS) and Tessa Parkinson (AUS); Volvo Ocean Race sailors like Stuart Bannatyne (NZL) and Richard Clarke (CAN). The most successful ISAF Youth World Champions are Great Britain’s Sally Cuthbert and Poland’s Zofia Klepacka having won four successive titles in the Laser II and Mistral respectively.
Great Britain is the current holder of the Nations Trophy, awarded annually to the top performing nation at the Youth Worlds. France is the most success nation through the history of the Championship, winning the Nations Trophy on a record 12 occasions and holding a record 70 medals: 22 gold, 30 silver and 18 bronze.
International Sailing Federation
The International Sailing Federation (ISAF) is the world governing body for the sport of sailing.
ISAF is made up of over 130 Member National Authorities (MNAs), who are its principal members, and responsible for the decision making process that governs the sailing world.
There are currently more than 100 ISAF International, Recognized and Classic Yacht Classes, ranging from the small dinghy classes for young people up to 60 foot ocean racers.
Sailing
Sailing is a lifetime sport enjoyed right across the world.
The sport encompasses a massive range of disciplines and events including Olympic sailing, offshore sailing, windsurfing, match racing, team racing, fleet racing and disabled sailing.
Sailing first joined the Olympic programme at the Paris 1900 Olympic Games. Sailing was back on the Olympic programme for the London 1908 Olympic Games and has been a part of every Olympic Games since.
