RS:X European Windsurfing Championships
Leading up to this RS:X European Windsurfing Championships, the thermal breeze has switched on at 1300hrs or thereabouts and quickly built to 15 knots and then some. Race day one was no exception
Champagne racing conditions in bright sunshine and three races were completed in all fleets. It really was pedal to the metal. The men were tracking along the top reach from buoy 1 to 2 at 25 knots. The women at 21 knots.
This race site is one of the best we’ve found… Long sandy beach, shallow entry into the sea, so no surf and a wide open race area just offshore with a perfect onshore breeze. The sailors are impressed !
In the RS:X Men’s fleet, world champion Piotr Myszka (POL82) and Byron Kokalanis (GRE8) in the orange fleet had a ding dong battle all day. Byron with a 1-1-2 and Piotr with a 2-2-1 are now just one point apart. Back in 3rd overall, Nimrod Mashiah (ISR21) leads the blue group with a 4-1-1.
Richard Stauffacher (SUI31) and Pierre Le Coq (FRA77) also in the blue group are 4th and 5th tonight after a good day ‘in the office’
Sadly Joao Rodrigues (POR75) cannot say the same. OCS’d in race one, DNF in race 2 and DNS in race 3. Joao has retired to his hotel feeling very much under the weather with a tummy bug. Let’s hope he recovers quickly.
Over in the RS:X women’s fleet, Lee Korzits (ISR1111) has a perfect score having stamped her authority on a ‘class’ fleet including Sofia Klapecka (POL8) – 2nd, Bryony Shaw (GBR94) – 3rd, Blanca Manchon (ESP1) and Marina Alabau (ESP5).
