Melges 24 European Championship

The 2005 Melges 24 European Championship got underway the first day with two classic light airs races that kept the 50 competitors from 10 countries on their toes and left several of the favorites feeling decidedly off the pace.

In the overall standings, Jamie Lea (UK) and Team Barbarians took the lead with 5 points from Andrea Racchelli (FRA) in Altea on 6 points. Thomas Rouxel (FRA) in Cotes d'Armor Sail de Mere was third, Philip Ligot's Partner & Partners Sailing Team, helmed by Francois Bernac, was fourth and Stuart Rix, with Quentin Strauss's Team Gill, lay fifth.

The second day of the championship brought three more great races and some interesting changes to the scoreboard. Racing for the 50 competitors got underway on time, in 7 knots from the southwest and under cloudy skies. However, as the day wore on, the sun broke through and the wind gradually picked up to 12 knots, allowing some serious close racing to take place on the course.

The shifting wind, combined with a strong and turning tide, was merciless and demanded 100% concentration. The fleet was constantly over-eager at the start and the black flag was used frequently to keep the start under control. The mark roundings were equally hectic with several contact incidents for the judges to rule on, and plenty of protests back ashore. Overnight leader Jamie Lea, sailing Stuart Simpson's Team Barbarians, had a mediocre day, scoring 31, 29, 4, which pushed him down to 9th overall. On the other hand, fellow Brit Stuart Rix, helming Team Gill for Quentin Strauss, had an excellent day and their 7, 3, 1 gave them a three-point lead over Italy's Andrea Racchelli, who sailed consistently for an 11, 8, 3 scoreline to hold second overall.

Today's racing brought more very tricky conditions. There was a short delay in starting as the wind filled in from around south-southwest and its strength then varied constantly between 4 and 8 knots. Three more races were sailed today, making eight of the twelve scheduled, and just three points separated the four leading boats. Stuart Rix, helming Gill for Quentin Struass, and Gabrio Zandona, helming Joe Fly for Giovanni Maspero, tied for first place on 40 points. Andrea Racchelli, sailing Altea, was on 42 points and Francois Brenac, sailing with Phillipe Ligot's Partner & Partners Sailing Team, was on 43.

"Like the most difficult game of snakes and ladders you could possibly imagine," was how Stuart Simpson of Team Barbarians described today's racing. "Big-fleet Melges 24 sailing is as tough as it gets, particularly in these light conditions. The boats accelerate rapidly and if you miss a shift or mess up a manoeuvre you're history," he continued.

Racing on the penultimate day of the championship was as challenging and hard fought as ever and tomorrow's final race will decide the winner in this hugely competitive and high-scoring regatta. The day opened with more light airs from the south-southwest, but gradually the wind built as the sun burnt off the haze. By the final race, it was up to 10-12 knots with everyone fully powered upwind but not quite able to plane downwind.

It was all change on the scoreboard as crews battled the shifts, the tides, and each other. Overall Andrea Racchelli, sailing Altea, moved into the lead on 55 points with Gabrio Zandona, helming Joe Fly for Giovanni Maspero, snapping at his heels on 56 points. Stuart Rix, helming Gill for Quentin Strauss, dropped down to 3rd on 62 points while Alba Batzill, sailing for Eddy Eich aboard No Woman No Cry, moved up into 4th and continued to lead the Corinthian Division with 72 points.

The final race of the championship was the most exciting yet in what has been an absolutely gripping regatta. Three boats were in serious contention - Andrea Racchelli sailing Altea (55 points), Gabrio Zandona sailing Joe Fly for Giovanni Maspero (56 points) and Stuart Rix sailing Gill for Quentin Strauss (62 points) - and from the opening moments we knew we were in for a battle royal.

For the first time all week, the wind was up to around 14 knots from the west and by the start initial rain had given way to broken sunshine. PRO Peter Rumbelow and the Royal Torbay's excellent race committee got the 50 competitors away at the first attempt and from the gun it was Gill that took control. Altea had a terrible start and their grip on the title was disastrously loosened from that moment. Joe Fly again went for the conservative approach and managed a moderate, though not glowing start.

In the overall standings, Gabrio Zandona and Giovanni Maspero's Joe Fly Team took the Giorgio Zuccoli European Championship Trophy with Stuart Rix, helming Gill for Quentin Strauss 2nd and Andrea Racchelli of Altea 3rd. 4th place overall and the Corinthian (all amateur) Trophy went to Alba Batzill helming No Woman No Cry for Eddy Eich, with Francois Brenac of Phillipe Ligot's Partner & Partners Sailing Team 5th. Other podium slots in the Corinthian Division went to Antoine Albaret of Cotes d'Armour Perros Guirec 2nd and Jerome Aubert in Au Planning 3rd.

FIN-476, Team Suunto finished 20th with a series 41-7-24 -32-12-23-15-51-14-19-11-8 in the twelve races sailed.

After a week of 12 races, and at least three times as many restarts, the verdict on the new Suunto M3 wristop computer is that it proved to be an excellent tool for its purpose - getting a good start. It's simple to use, the numbers are easy to see, and the repeat function works especially well in a big fleet where you don't always see or hear the signals from the starting vessel and the time between restarts is short.