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Swiss Open Championships, analysis and final report
The Swiss Open Championship took place on Lake Silvaplana from Sunday 19.8 to Tuesday 21.8. The famous Engadin sailing spot provided a lot of fun to A-Cat and Tornado sailors. The weather was stunning, with day temperatures over 25°, something you normaly not see in this heights - remember we were sailing on the altitude of 1'800 meter !
Altough a few good sailors could not make it for the event (notably Sascha Wallmer, Thierry Boisbouvier and Eugenio Calabria), 35 people came to Sils/Silvaplana to enjoy sailing in this beautiful location.
On Sunday 19.8, the wind was excellent, and even if we only went out on 13h for the first start, we could sail 4 races for each class (Tornado and A-Cat). As the lake is very small, we shored the boats between races. It might appear annoying at first, but with the low density of the air, a few sailors were very happy to get some relief between races!
On Monday 20.8, the wind was a bit late to wake up, so we could only run 3 races before our dinner on the top of the very nice Furtschellas cable car.
On Tuesday 21.8, the nord wind was blowing until very late, hence the Maloja wind could not set up before 13:45. As the latest possible start was 14:00, the race committee decided to stop waiting and closed the day without further race.
A few sailors had a very long trip to Engadin, notably Micky Todd and Juan Antonio Ladron de Guevara, both from Spain, more than 1'000 Km away ! Given the excellent reputation of Silvaplana, one could have expected more than 12 Swiss sailors to participate. Thanks anyway to the 23 competitors from Germany, Italy, England, Sweden, Belgium and Spain who joined us within the Swiss Alps.
After 7 races, Bob Baier showed a clear dominance with 6 bullets! Paolo Penco and Matthias Dietz following with both 19 points, and first Swiss was Sergio Vela (4th) with great consistency in his results. Next Swiss sailors are Benjamin Oudot (7th) and 2011 champion Hervé du Bois (8th).
Benjamin Oudot nicely collected this sails and boats combinations for the best sailors :
- Bob Baier : Landy, Nikita
- Paolo Penco : Ashby, G6-2012
- Matthias Dietz : Landy, Nikita
- Sergio Vela : Ashby, G6-2012
- Giuseppe Colombo : ?, Nikita
- Helmut Stumhofer : Landy, G6-2012
- Benjamin Oudot : Ashby, DNA
- Hervé Dubois : Landy, DNA
- Kristoffer Jonsson : Brewin, DNA
It's interesting to note the recent domination of the DNA being challenged by the new Scheurer. Beside, and as previously noted by other contributors, the Nikita is still at the top of the list ! The results of the Worlds in Florida will surely be determining for next year purchasing operations.
Our thanks go to :
- Swiss and foreign sailors who drove long distances to join us in the Swiss Alps, and showed great fairness on the water.
- Segel Club St. Moritz, with all helpers.
- Stephan Züger, master of ceremony on the water.
- The very competent and friendly jury, which did some on-the-water rescuing job.
- Our sponsor Forward Sailing, which provided us with many very nice prices : shades, gloves, harness, life-jacket, etc.
We hope to get back to Silvaplana in a few years. Meanwhile, Fair Winds for the next Worlds Championship in Islamorado/Florida !
Ch. Bueche,
SACA president
