The final day of the 2019 Volvo European Championships began with one final Gold fleet race for the 49er Men, their 20th race of the week! After a short postponement, the fleet was off in a light Southwesterly in the inner harbour. GBR’s Dylan Fletcher and Stuart Bithell, who’d moved up into 2nd on the penultimate day of racing, clearly wanted the pin and the left-hand side, and were rewarded for their local knowledge with a top spot at the top mark. The other two podium teams, NZL’s Burling/Tuke and ESP’s Botin/Marra were well deep at the top mark, with plenty of work to do to catch up during the race to stay in medal contention.
Back in the pack, the kiwis were able to do their work, climbing steadily throughout the race from a deep 22nd (which would have put Fletcher/Bithell into the overall lead), all the way back to 9th by the finish line, staying on top of the overall podium. Fletcher/Bithell won the race to maintain second overall, while last year’s World Championship bronze medallists, Germany’s Fisher/Graf, snagged a second second place in a row for the gold fleet racing, but it wasn’t enough to move them into the medal race, showing just how tight and close the racing this week has been.
A 5th place in this race for the other Brits Peters/Sterritt moved them into bronze position overall, as the Spaniards weren’t able to recover past 17th, and had to eat their previous throwout. The battle was then set for a final medal race showdown between these four teams: the kiwis in the lead, followed by the two Brits and the Spanish.As the last in the lineup for the medal races for the day though, it was not to be. They were sent out at 4pm after the FX and Nacra medal races, but the breeze died to nothing and ultimately, the scores from the morning remained. 2016 Gold Medallists, NZL’s Pete Burling/Blair Tuke, shortly upon return to the class have thus won the 49er European championship and the Open European title, with GBR’s Fletcher/Bithell chomping at their heels in second place and the first Europeans, and Peters/Sterritt coming away with bronze. The home country should be happy with their teams’ performance, and the battle is set for a good fight to see who wins British 49er Olympic selection.
Regatta information
Schedule:
Wednesday 8 May 1700 Beach Clean
Monday 13 May 1055 Qualifying Races
Tuesday 14 May 1055 Qualifying Races
Wednesday 15 May 1055 Qualifying Races
Thursday 16 May 1055 Fleet Races
Friday 17 May 1055 Fleet Races
Saturday 18 May 1055 Fleet Races
Sunday 19 May 0955 Fleet Races
1500 Medal Races
TBC Prize giving
Photography:
49er & 49erFX – https://49er.org/event/2019-european-championship/#photos
Nacra 17 – https://nacra17.org/events/2019-european-championship-2/#photos
Live Broadcast:
- From May 16-19 a live show including coverage of the racing will be broadcast via the 49er class Youtube channel and the Nacra 17 class Youtube channel. The presenters are Genny Tulloch, Andy Rice, Stevie Morrison, and Hannah Mills.
1. 49er Sailing – Gold Fleet Day 1 – 2019 Volvo European Championship
URL https://youtu.be/b3fsnwNGyqQ
2. 49er Sailing – Gold Fleet Day 2 – 2019 Volvo European Championship
URL https://youtu.be/7pxYk7L_Q54
3. 49er Sailing – Gold Fleet Day 3 – 2019 Volvo European Championship
URL https://youtu.be/OGd_TQC3qEY
4. 49er Sailing – Gold Fleet Day 4 – 2019 Volvo European Championship
URL https://youtu.be/rxrV_BLsZ_k
5. 49er Sailing – Medal Races – 2019 Volvo European Championship
URL https://youtu.be/XBxlZofvxPc
Results:
Results will be posted race by race, as they happen
