Swedes enjoy Day 1 of the 2020 Forward WIP European Championship

Inspired by the most enormous rainbow over Attersee in the dwindling daylight, Tina Lutz and Susann Beucke sailed a stellar first day in very different conditions to those in which they won a breezy Kiel Week a couple of weeks ago. Newly qualified to represent Germany at the Olympics, Lutz and Beucke are proving themselves very adaptable to all kinds of breeze if today’s performance is anything to go by. The Germans opened their account with a 5th and then two first places on their side of the qualifying split. Julia Gross and Hanna Klinga also put together a very strong opening two races with a 3,1, but then slipped down the rankings with an 18th in the last race of the early evening. The highlight for the Swedes was holding the lead in their second qualifying heat. Already leading by a comfortable margin, a private gust came along and lifted their boat on to the plane down to the finish. The private gust gave them a winning margin of about 500 metres while the rest of the fleet drifted downwind.

Another Swedish team, Klara Wester and Rebecca Netzler, put together a more consistent set of scores to finish the day in third overall, on equal points with second-placed Norwegians Helene Næess and Marie Rønningen. The reigning World Champions from Spain, Tamara Echegoyen and Paula Barceló, are well in the hunt and sit in sixth overall. Despite a disappointing day, somehow the 2018 and 2019 World Champions from the Netherlands, Annemiek Bekkering and Annette Duetz, were able to laugh off their 22nd overall.

NACRA 17 FOCUS: Three Whacky Races

Sinem Kurtbay and Janne Jarvinen held the lead for most of the first race, only to fall into a wind hole as the 2019 World Champions from Italy, Vittorio Bissaro and Maelle Frascari, swept past for the victory followed by Sweden 44, Järudd and Jonsson.

Sweden 44 then followed that second place opening score with a bullet in the next race. This time it was the other top Italian team, the 2018 World Champions Ruggero Tita and Caterina Banti, who were up near the front, coming second with Argentina’s Santiago Lange and Cecilia Carranza Saroli climbing back from a poor first leg to take third by the finish.

The wind was blowing anywhere between 5 to 15 knots from a south-westerly direction over the top of – and around the sides of – a small mountain near the northern tip of the lake. Sifting out any kind of regular pattern in the breeze was almost impossible. For the line-up for the final of today’s three Nacra races, half the fleet took their traditional positions on starboard tack while the other half took up a very unorthodox port approach behind the starboard starters. Among the port-tackers were the Argentineans who sailed towards the picturesque shore and found a good path up to the top mark. Lange and Saroli overtook the Finnish crew on the first downwind but Kurtbay and Jarvinen returned the favour on the final downwind, Finland taking the winner’s gun ahead of the reigning Olympic Champions with the Danish crew – Natacha Violet Saouma-Pedersen and Mathias Bruun Borreskov – taking third.
Sign up to our newsletter to ensure you’re fully up to date with the action.