Disabled Sailing

Sail Melbourne, the first of the big winter regatta weeks in Australia, starts today in Melbourne. The Olympic classes 470, ILCA 7, ILCA 6 (with Anja Von Allmen SUI and Pia Corradi GER), iQ-Foil-Windsurf and Formula Kite will be at the start. The junior classes 29er, ILCA 4 and Optimist as well as the Paralympic classes 2.4m and Hansa 303 are also taking part. ----- The entry lists. The event Facebook page.

The Dutch 2.4m Championship was sailed in 9 races on the Zuidlaadermeer over the weekend. ----- Ben Van Cauwenberghe BEL won by a clear margin of 8 points ahead of Urs Infanger SUI. Martin Koller GER was 3rd. 31 participants from 6 nations took part. ----- The ranking list.

There were good conditions on the final day of the Swiss Paralympic Hansa 303 Championship on Lake Constance, held for the first time, and two more races were sailed. ----- Patrick Maurer/Christian Hiller SUI took the title with a 3-point lead over Cécile Menuat/Maxime Schwartz FRA. Bronze went to Jeremy and Danny Lenaerts BEL. ----- The results.

The Disabled Swiss Championship on Lake Constance continued yesterday with another race. With a race win Patrick Maurer/Christian Hiller SUI took the lead, Jeremy and Danny Lenaerts BEL are now 4 points behind in 2nd place. The results.

The first ever Swiss Disabled Sailing Championships began yesterday on Lake Constance. It is sailed in teams of two on the Hansa 303, the first two races were sailed yesterday. Jeremy and Dany Lenaerts BEL lead the classification by one point ahead of Patrick Maurer/Christian Hiller SUI. There are 17 teams from 4 nations at the start. The results.

A short film from Hong Kong shows the qualities and challenges of disabled sailing.

No more racing in Kiel yesterday. ---- After 9 races, Heiko Kröger GER won his third World Championship title. Urs Infanger SUI finished 19th of the 85 participants. ----- The ranking list and the report.

There were three races again yesterday in Kiel. ----- Heiko Kröger GER extended his lead with two more race wins. Christoph Troemer GER and Megan Pascoe GBR follow behind. Urs Infanger SUI moved up to 19th place. ----- The rankings.

Three races were also completed on the second day of the 2.4m World Championship in Kiel. ----- Although Heiko Kröger GER had to admit defeat for the first time, he continues to lead the classification with a commanding lead. Megan Pascoe GBR, who like Kröger also took part in the last Paralympics, has moved up to second place. Urs Infanger SUI, who struggled on the first day due to damage, got going yesterday: with 4th and 6th place, and he moved up to 25th place out of the 84 participants. ----- The ranking list.

The 2.4m World Championship began yesterday in Kiel with three races, in which, as always, the Paralympic cracks are also taking part. Heiko Kröger GER led the way with three race wins. Christoph Trömer GER and Megan Pascoe GBR are the closest rivals. Urs Infanger SUI had to struggle with an damage and is currently in 34th place of the 85 participants from 18 nations. The ranking list.

The good conditions on Lake Geneva continued on the final day of the Inclusive Cup, with a total of 10 races completed. Jazz Turner/Adam Billany GBR narrowly held on to the lead: with a strong final day, Pedro Cancio/Guilherme Ribeiro POR moved up to the winners in terms of points. Philippe Echivard/François Naef SUI finished 5th. The ranking list and the Facebook page.

The Inclusive Cup continued yesterday with 4 races on Lake Geneva. ----- Thanks to two race wins, Jazz Turner/Adam Billany GBR maintained their lead. Ange Maragon/Olivier Ducruix FRA are tied in 2nd place. Philippe Echivard/François Naef SUI have dropped back to 5th place. ----- The rankings and the Facebook page.

On Lake Geneva, the new disabled class RS Venture started its Inclusive Cup with two races. The first leaders are Jeff Turner/Adam Billany GBR with two race wins. A trio with François Naef SUI shares 2nd place on equal points. 8 teams from 7 nations are competing! ----- The results.

On Sunday, three more races were sailed in light winds in the Adriatic. After two race wins for Urs Infanger SUI, the final race was decided in favor of Antonio Squizzati ITA, who has Paralympic experience. Urs Infanger SUI follows two points behind. The best-ranked woman was Karin Hofmann GER in 6th place out of 32 participants from 5 nations. ----- The report with ranking.

With one race for the Hansa Double and two races for the Singles, the class championship came to an end in Neuchâtel yesterday. ----- Rory McKinna GBR won the Singles clearly ahead of Markus Widmer SUI. 16 participants from 5 nations were at the start. ----- In the Doubles, Patrick Maurer/Christian Hiller SUI remained on top, followed by Marine Clogeuson/Nicolas Rondouin FRA in second place. ----- The event website.

With two races, the class championships of the handicap class Hansa 303 started yesterday on Lake Neuchâtel, with 15 two-man teams from 3 nations at the start. Patrick Maurer/Christian Hiller SUI won both races, followed by Denis Christen/Britta Altenhoff SUI on rank 2. The results.

With two more race wins yesterday, Heiko Kröger GER secured the title before today's final race. Megan Pascoe GBR 5 points behind can no longer catch him up. Jan Forsbom FIN is already 25 points behind in third place. 57 participants were on the starting line. ----- The ranking list.

6 races have been sailed so far at the 2.4m World Championships in Finland. ----- With 4 race wins, Heiko Kröger GER is clearly leading 8 points ahead of Megan Pascoe GBR - both are from the Paralympic circuit. There are 59 competitors from 10 nations and 3 continents at the start. ----- The ranking list and the event website.

Yesterday, the International Paralympic Committee decided not to reinstate sailing in the Paralympic programme. Sailing had lost its status as a Paralympic sport after the London Games due to a lack of global coverage, according to the official reasoning. Since then, the World Sailing Federation has made great efforts, and with the choice of the Hansa 303 as the boat, the spread could be massively expanded. With Damien Séguin FRA and Jingkun Xu CHN, two disabled sailors will be taking part in the Vendée Globe 2024. World Sailing wants to further expand its efforts to promote Paralympic sailing. The report.

The World Championship of the former 2.4m Paralympic Class came to an end in Florida yesterday. ----- The disabled dominated at will: Dee Smith USA won with 4 race wins in 6 races, with Megan Pascoe GBR following just behind. In third place, the best non-disabled sailor was former Star Olympic participant Marko Dahlberg FIN. ----- There were 39 competitors from 9 nations at the start. The ranking.

On Monday, due to lack of wind, the first races of the Olympic Windsurfing World Championships in Brest were cancelled. The qualifications for the final regattas were completed yesterday on a single day with 4 races. In up to 20kn wind, 3 slaloms and one course race were sailed. ----- First leaders on equal points are Thomas Goyard FRA and Josh Armit NZL, followed 2 points behind by Huig Jan Tak NED in 3rd. Of the three Swiss, Elia Colombo SUI in 51st just managed to qualify for the Goldfleet. Matteo Benz SUI (59th) and Sebastian Schärer SUI (61st) are in the Silverfleet. ----- The women were able to finish 2 course races after the 3 slaloms. Pilar Lamadrid ESP is leading ahead of Lilian De Geus NED and Islay Watson GBR. Surprisingly, the big dominator of the class Hélàne Noesmoen FRA is behind on rank 42, but just managed to qualify for the Goldfleet. The two Swiss women Manon Berger SUI (85) and Elena Sandera SUI (98) will sail in the Silverfleet from today. ----- All rankings and the daily-report.

With a first training camp on Lake Garda, World Sailing has further intensified its efforts to bring disabled sailing back to the Paralympics - here is the report. With the promotion of para-kiteboarding, World Sailing has succeeded in bringing many new nations to the starting line. Excluded from the Paralympics 8 years ago due to lack of international exposure, disabled sailing is set to return to the Olympics in Los Angeles 2028. The report

The Hansa 303 disabled-sailing class sailed 7 races on Lake Lugano at the weekend with Alice Chirra/Johnny Conte SUI as overall winners. ----- The results.

The Hansa 303 and Hansa Liberty Disabled Class World Championships were held in Sicily with 180 participants from 25 nations at the start. ----- In the Hansa 303 Single, Violeta Del Reyno ESP won the title in the Women. In the men's classification, Piotr Cichocki POL was ahead. ----- In the Hansa 303 Double, Symonds/Klinger AUS won. ----- Vera Voorbach NED took gold in the Liberty. ----- All rankings and the report.

Despite a change of weather with rain, there was enough wind yesterday on Lake Thoune for the last two races of the Swiss Disabled Championships. ----- In the Hansa Double, Matthias Kaiser/Markus Ruf YCFL won the last two races as well and took the title. ----- In the Hansa Single, Willi Lutz YCA moved up to the top with a first and second place. ----- All rankings and the report.

Good thermal conditions made it possible to have three more races each at the championships for disabled on Lake Thun yesterday. ----- In the Hansa Single, Thierry Biemans BEL, Willi Lutz SUI and Matthias Kaiser SUI are tied at the top. ----- In the Hansa Double, Matthias Kaiser/Patrick Ruf SUI defended their lead with two race wins. ----- All rankings.

The Swiss Disabled Championships held on Hansa 303 keelboats began yesterday on Lake Thun. In the Hansa 303 Double, Matthias Kaiser/Patrick Ruf YCFL won both races among 11 teams from Switzerland and Belgium competing. In the Hansa 303 Single, Thierry Biemans BEL, Sam Van Dijck BEL and Matthias Kaiser SUI share the lead on equal points among the 13 competitors at the start. ----- The event website.

Finishing on the ranks 1 and 2 in the last races of the 2.4 metre World Championship in Genoa ITA yesterday, Megan Pascoe GBR, among the best disabled sailors for years, grasped the title 6 points ahead of Marko Dahlberg FIN. Fia Fielddahl SWE defended the 3rd place. ----- The results and the event facebook page with pictures and videos.

Finishing on the ranks 1 and 2 in the last races of the 2.4 metre World Championship in Genoa ITA yesterday, Megan Pascoe GBR, among the best disabled sailors for years, grasped the title 6 points ahead of Marko Dahlberg FIN. Fia Fielddahl SWE defended the 3rd place. ----- Stefano Garganigo SUI terminated as 75th among the 88 participants. ----- The results and the event facebook page with pictures and videos.

Damien Seguin FRA, (2.4mR), Fabrizio Olmi/Davide Di Maria ITA (RS Ventura Connect), Piotr Cichocki POL (Hansa 303 men) and Violeta del Reino ESP (Hansa 303 women) are the 2019 Para Sailing World Champions. John McRoberts/Scott Lutes CAN, winner of the RS Ventura fleet races, were relegated from rank 1 by the Italians in the winner-takes-all final race. Sailors from NOR, CAN, GBR, AUS, BRA and TPE took the remainder of the podium spots after the final showdown in Southern Spain. 28 nations were present in three single-hander and a double-hander event at this Championship.
The ranking lists, the event website and the event facebook page with photos and videos.