Day 5, As the competitors arrived at the race site Aeolus greeted us with solid 22 knots gusting to 25, from the NNE.
Already tired after the previous day of racing, the mood in the rigging area was one of quiet concentration, as the forecast was for serious wind all day.
The race officer brought the course as close into the beach as possible.
Providing less chop and waves for us to deal with. This was a great help, however, many locals who were out for their Sunday afternoon swim were a little shocked as the whole fleet charged upwind to within meters of the beach looking for the best lay line to tack on.
Race 12, 1st LAT-23, 2nd FRA-1642, 3rd GRE-28. Edwy FRA-1642, was determined to continue his push for the podium after his good performance yesterday.
2nd in the first of the day a good start.
Race 13, 1st LAT-23, 2nd EST-347, 3rd EST-228, Janis continuing to be in a class of his own. And race 13 again showing the potential of the youth stars from Estonia with a 2nd, 3rd finish.
Race 14, was where things got interesting. LAT-23 blew the top out of his sail, and was forced to retire from the race. Right on his heels waiting to take advantage was FRA-1642 who recorded his first bullet of the championship. Into 2nd place and recording his best result of the championship so far, was GRE-19 Vassilis Solidakis. And into 3rd place
GRE-28 who from early in the morning knew that any mistakes today could cost him 2nd in the overall.
Race ……15. The last and final race of the championship, and 2nd and 3rd in the overall was still in the balance. If FRA-55 was to win the last and final race, and GRE-28 was to finish 3 or more places behind, then they would change places on the podium. With LAT-23 missing from proceedings,
FRA-55 managed to cross the finish line first with GRE-28 in second. However
FRA-55 was deemed to be OCS which handed the last bullet of the event to Nicolaos Skarlatos. Into second in the last race and a great finish to the event GRE-19, and 3rd FRA-1642 who capped of a great day.
A massive congratulations to the organizers, FWA of Greece. And in particular Nikolaos Kampouropoulos, and Christian Frey who have worked endlessly to make this event happen. Thanks to our race officer and his team for a great event in difficult conditions. And a huge thanks to all the competitors who travelled here to Greece for these championships. Without you, this event would never have been such a success.
Good winds to all, we look forward to welcoming you all here at the Golden Coast Hotel next year for the 2016 Youth and Masters World Championships.
Jason
