News

Good conditions yesterday at the start of the ILCA 6 Junior European Championship in the south of Portugal. Both fleets sailed two heats each in winds of 12-15 knots at first, then freshening up to 20 knots for the second race. In the women's category - 102 participants, 2 groups - Hermionie Ghicas GRE won both races in her group; the Greek won the U17 title last year. 3 points behind her, Ainhoa Gomez ESP, Sierra Wright IRL and Gaya Datshiavili ISR share 2nd place on equal points. The title defender Alina Shapovalova UKR, who lives in Switzerland, follows in 10th place with 11th/4th places. The best Swiss is Yara Roth SUI in 44th place, followed by Ava Wilson SUI in 51st. In the men's race - the huge fleet sails in 4 groups - Tim Lubat ESP won both heats of his group, followed one point behind by Cédric d'Hondt BEL. Ulysse Raison SUI as the best Swiss is in 51st place of the 258 participants. The rankings and the report and the photos.

The fleet of 15 Mini 580s has now been sailing in the Pacific towards Fidji for 20 days. Along the equator in the Doldrums, the fleet has been making slow progress for a long time. Now, in the southerly trade winds, the 5.80-long Minis are reaching 24-hour distances of up to 155 miles ! Renaud Stitelmann SUI, already the winner of the first leg, has once again pulled away at the front with a lead of 110 miles. A third of the 6,500-mile leg has now been completed. The race tracker, the event website and the Facebook page with videos and pictures.

Yesterday, the first Grade 1 Dragon Grand Prix ended in Cascais with another 3 races. There was an upset at the top: Pedro Andrade POR and his team took victory with a one-point lead over the equal-scoring duo of Jan Eckert SUI and Sam Gilmour SWE in an extremely close decision. Christoph Toepfer GER follows in 4th place. François Bopp SUI improved to 12th place, Dirk Oldenburg SUI followed in 16th place among the 34 teams. ----- The rankings and the Facebook page with video and pictures.

Yesterday, another race was sailed on Lake Geneva in light winds. ----- Eric Monnin SNG and his team won again, relegating Bruno Engel SNG to second place, one point behind, while Michel Vaucher CVG remained on rank three out of the 15 teams. ----- The ranking list.

The Capman Cup was sailed in 4 races on Lake Thun at the weekend. ----- Peter Kilchenmann TYC secured victory ahead of Rudolf Baumann TYC and Michael Beyeler TYC. ----- The results and the report.

Yesterday there were another 5 races on Lake Constance at the Finn training weekend. Stefan Stähli maintained his lead, with 3 race wins Jürg Wittich SVB moved up to 2nd place - 9 Finns at the start. The results.

Another 4 races were sailed yesterday on Lake Lucerne. Eckhard Kaller GER and his team won with a 2-point lead over Beat Frank SYH and Jarmo Wieland SYH, who were tied on points. The results.

There were 12 races for the J/70 on Lake Biel at the weekend. Emmanuel Müller YCB and his team won ahead of Lorenz Müller SRS. The results.

There was a good participation and 5 races each on Lake Lugano at the weekend. Riccardo Bolgiani won the Opti, while Aaron Blasko CVLL on his ILCA 6 was clear winners in the dinghies - mostly ILCAs. Andrea Colombo CVLL and his team won all races in the racers (Corsa). Gian-Carlo Soldati CVLL and his Jeanneau Tonic came out on top in the cruiser category. The rankings.

The Stare opened their regatta season in 4 races at the weekend. In a close decision, Ueli Ammann/Urs Joss SCH won with a one-point lead over Dieter and Emanuel Weber SCH. The results.

The two Lausanne clubs opened their season with a first race on Saturday. Patrick Mégroz CVV won the larger yacht classification (Lesté A) with his 6.5m, while Alain Kälin CVL won the Lesté B classification with his Surprise. The results.

Light winds also characterised the final day of the Finn European Championships in Naples. Valérian Lebrun FRA was able to narrowly defend his lead, Federico Colaninno ITA put the pressure on again with 1st and 2nd place and closed the gap to 5 points. Bronze went to Deniss Karpak EST. Christoph Burger SUI was a good 11th, Valentin Bovay SUI remained in 22nd place. 111 participants from 20 nations took part. The ranking list and the Facebook page of the Swiss Finns with numerous videos.

The Dragon GP of Cascais continued yesterday with 2 races in moderate winds. Sam Gilmour SWE and his team held on to the lead, with Werner Fritz GER and his team moving up to 2nd place as the day's best (2/4). The winners of the day also included Jan Eckert SUI/Torvar Mirsky AUS/Federico Melo POR, who moved up to 5th with 4th and 3rd of the day. François Bopp SUI (with Ed Wright GBR) improved to 13th place. The rankings and the Facebook page with the video of the day and pictures.

After a fast race in ideal conditions, the fleet of the 72 Minis reached the finish line on Friday evening. After 24 hours 33 minutes, Caroline Boule/Benoît Marie FRA with their foiling Proto ‘Nicomatic’ had a 2 hour lead over Alexandre Demange/Thaïs Le Cam FRA - the leaderboard of the Protos. The best series mini was Paul Cousin/Marie Zugolaro FRA in 6th place, while Alicia Pfyffer/Damien Cloarec SUI were the best of the 3 SUI teams in 8th place in the fleet of the 48 series minis - the ranking list series mini.

The 1st round of the Annual Championship of the 6m began yesterday with two races on Lake Geneva. Eric Monnin SNG and Bruno Engel SNG are tied at the top with their teams. Just one point behind is Michel Vaucher CVG. The ranking list.

Good wind conditions and sufficient water - Lake Constance currently has a record low water level - were the order of the day yesterday in Kreuzlingen, with the 9 participants finishing 4 heats each. Ignaz Stähli and Stefan Stähli tied at the top. The results.

Good conditions yesterday also on the Alpnach tip of Lake Lucerne, 4 races were completed. Jarmo Wieland SYH, Eckhard Kaller GER and Beat Frank SYH are tied at the top with their teams. 10 Longtzes are at the start - the ranking list.

There were light winds yesterday for races 7 & 8, Valérian Lebrun FRA has now extended his lead to 16 points ahead of today's final day. Federico Colannino ITA has moved up to 2nd place thanks to two race wins, followed one point behind by Deniss Karpak EST in 3rd place. Christoph Burger SUI has improved to 8th place, Simon Bovay SUI is now 22nd. Laurent Chappuis SUI is the third Swiss in the top half of the rankings in 56th place. The rankings and the event website.

There were light winds yesterday in Cascais at the start of the 1st Grand Prix of the year. The fleet was able to finish two races. The first leader is Sam Gilmour SWE and his team, Joao Leitmann POR and Klaus Diederichs GBR are the first chasers. The best of the three Swiss teams is Jan Eckert SUI (with Torvar Mirsky AUS) in 11th place. 34 teams are at the start. The rankings and the Facebook page with video and pictures.

Yesterday, Peter Burling NZL, helmsman of America's Cup holder Team New Zealand, announced his retirement earlier this week. The report.

Moderate seabreeze between 10 and 15 knots made two races possible again yesterday on the Bay of Naples. ----- Valerien Lebrun FRA was again at the top yesterday, with 1st and 3rd place on the day. He is now 3 points ahead of Arkadij Kistanov ITA. Deniss Karpak EST follows in 3rd place. Thanks to a 3rd rank in the second race, Christoph Burger SUI moved up to 11th place, and Simon Bovay SUI also improved to 21st place with a 7th place in the race. ----- The ranking list and the report.

The start of the Plastimo Mini, the season opener for the Mini class, took place yesterday in Lorient. There were 48 mixed teams at the start. The 250-mile race runs from Lorient along southern Brittany to the island of Yeu and back. ----- The first team rounded the island this morning: Caroline Boule/Benoît Marie FRA are 7 miles ahead of Carlos Manero ESP/Margot Chanceaulme FRA with their Proto. ----- The race tracker (unfortunately without rankings) and the report.

The Rio Sail GP scheduled for the first weekend in May was cancelled yesterday by the GP organisers. After the mast breakage of Team AUS in San Francisco, structural problems of all masts were detected, which are now to be reinforced. Apparently the repairs cannot be completed in time. The report.

Two more races of the Finn European Championship were completed in Naples yesterday in sunshine and 12-15 knots of seabreeze. ----- Valeryan Lebrun FRA extended his lead in the overall standings to 9 points with two more top results (3/5). Deniss Karpak EST moved up to 2nd place, and Arkadii Kistanov ITA followed in 3rd place. Christoph Burger SUI lost a few places and is now 13th, Simon Bovay SUI improved to 22nd place thanks to a 12th place finish. ----- The ranking list and the report.

After the European Cup in Lugano, 4 of the 11 EC-series have now been sailed. ----- The Swiss dominate the intermediate classification in the ILCA 4: Leo Gossling SUI leads, followed by 7 other Swiss in the top ten. ----- Leanne Turrin SUI leads the girls' ranking ahead of Adele Ramm SWE and Svenja Müller SUI. ----- Christoph Wurm GER leads the men's ILCA 6, Lars Dittel SUI follows in 9th place. ----- The ILCA 6 girls' classification is led by Louise Debeaumont MON, Laura Noll GER is 2nd, and Viktoria Jedlinska SUI follows in 9th place. ----- Valery Kudriashov UKR leads the ILCA 7, Ennio Turrin follows in 5th place. ----- The rankings. The European Cup continues on 1 May in Maubuisson FRA (near Bordeaux).

Inconsistent offshore winds of between 8 and 15 knots made for two challenging races at the start of the Finn European Championship on the Bay of Naples. ----- Valérien Lebrun FRA took the lead with 2nd and 3rd place. Arkadii Kistanov ITA and Deniss Karpak EST follow in 2nd and 3rd position. Christoph Burger SUI also made a good start in 9th place. Simon Bovay SUI follows in 26th place of the 108 participants. ----- The ranking list and the report.

It was blowing up to 25 knots yesterday for the practice race, and only a few of the 126 participants from 21 nations used the practice race as their last training session. Things get serious today, with the first start at noon. The forecast is much more moderate at around 15 knots. ----- The daily report.

The 1 metre class, the most popular in radio-controlled sailing, is currently sailing its European Championships in Croatia. The record-breaking fleet - more than 100 participants (21 nations) did register - has completed the qualifications after 5 races. ----- Alexis Carré FRA, Robert Walsh GBR, and Robert Matulija CRO are tied at the top. Torsten Fildebrand GER is 17th, Matteo Longhi SUI follows in 23rd place. ----- The ranking list and the report.

The Finn European Championship begins today in Naples with the practice race. At the start 126 participants from 21 nations including 5 Swiss. According to wind forecasts, there should be good wind conditions today and tomorrow, after which light winds are likely to dominate. The presentation and the event website.

After two days of decent wind, yesterday's final day was characterized by calm conditions, with only the ILCA 6 just finishing one race. ----- Again, the superior Carlos Alberto ESP won (6 races/6 victories !), Miriam Carles ESP, and Nicolo Elena ITA completed the podium. Thanks to a 6th place, Jean-Luc Dreyer SUI has moved up to 36th. Lorenz Müller SUI follows in 39th place - the ranking ILCA 6. ----- There were no more races in the ILCA 7, Lorenzo Cerretelli ITA won ahead of José-Luis Doreste ESP. On 3rd follow Carlos Echevarri ESP and Roger Schulz GER, on points. Markus Ochs SUI was the best Swiss in 23rd place out of the 48 participants - the ranking ILCA 7. ----- The report and the Facebook page with videos and pictures.