Results / European Championhips Gravedona, Lake Como - 24/07/2017

Photos and Videos

We had photographer Alexander Panzeri at the event who has showered us with photos.  Some are below.

A video is being prepared and this will be sent to you as soon as it is ready.

Main Section: https://goo.gl/u2rHYM 

Day 5

Gallery: https://goo.gl/rNUp7m  

Slideshow: https://youtu.be/Mq5zPAUxEoM

Report

Is it real, or are we in a spectacular reimagining of The Truman Show movie? The backdrop here at Gravedona, Lake Como is so stunning it's hard to believe it's not a Hollywood fantasy.

In a recurring theme for 2017, we've had some fantasy weather too. Saturday night gave us thunderous storms worthy of both Thor and Halle Berry's X-men character. Sunday, most went racing for a practice race won by Nils Jolliffe (we only told him afterwards that winning the practice race is unlucky). He was followed in by Stewart Hawthorn. Yes, Netley SC, thats a 1-2 to you. Chairman Mark Harrison had clearly heard this unlucky-theory, coming up with all sorts of excuses for his hopeless performance. But at least he was there; your correspondent, Clive Eplett, never even made it to the start, having not got the text message that the race had been brought forward an hour.

Day One, Monday, saw more weather mis-behaviour. Again the Thor and Halle were getting it on early-doors. Then, the northerly refused to switch to the standard southerly Breva wind. We hung about. Finally the launch flag was raised in a F2. I got changed. Came out and there are whitecaps and 24 knots. Two 500s launched. Fell in. Took 10 minutes to land on the lee shore. End of. Got changed back. Wind dropped.

Tuesday, day two and things are looking better for the Breva. It's not coming out to play though. After nearly 3 hours hanging about, a raceable northerly settles and finally, the racing starts. In race 1, your correspondent leads from the off, but Mark gets the final shift right to take a lead he never relinquishes. Clive and Nils have a good tussle for the minor placings, which Clive holds.

The start of race 2 is made messy for some by the Chairman pulling the trigger too soon. Once he gets out of the way, it's Clive and Matt Sharman battling for the lead. He's not supposed to go that fast at his first event, methinks. Downwind, the rich get richer and it ends Clive, Matt, Nils then Mark, stealing fourth from Michel Rotach at the last.

In race 3 Clive again leads from the off and rounds with a decent lead from Stewart Hawthorn, Matt and Nils. Downwind, it all gets a bit weird. The first two round in the lightest wind of the day, pointing us straight at the leeward mark on starboard. When Nils arrives he brings his own personal, narrow gust band which he manages to stay in by gybing, with Clive frantically wriggling to try and find it (without success). Near the leeward buoy, it turns all light again and Clive sneaks back past Nils, whilst Harrison who was miles away at the windward had virtually planed the whole way down. Up the next beat, Clive decides the 400s are lifting more on the left middle than here on the right, opting to take the pain early. Instead it's just pain as it never comes and on the approach Nils and Mark lift past on starboard as the wind gets up to a lovely F4. Doh! At the windward, a rib is hovering, causing confusion holding up a flag we cannot see and continuously blowing a whistle. Normally that means a moved mark, but it transpires it's a shorten and the finish. It ends Nils, Mark, Clive, Matt.

Clive Eplett