F16 Euro Challenge Comer See 2010

Race Update F16 Euro Challenge Day 4
Date: 22 July 2010
Location: AVAL-CDV Centro Vela Alto Lario - Gravedona, Lake Como, Italy

Race 10.
A Blade won the first race of the day!!!!
The fleet left the beach in zero wind and a few were wondering why we were leaving the beach at all and then wooshka the breeze hit on the way to the start. We went from 2 to 20 knots but shifty.

Foto: 2B Sailing

The usual suspects lead at the first mark with Thijs Visser and Diemer Feenstra leading and a swarm of boats gybing down the first downwind. The right hand side of the course was working again and the breeze began to drop on the third upwind and get very shifty and patchy. The first 4 boats rounded the offset mark for the final time and headed right and while the locals Riccardo Ceriani and Elia Mazzuccchi continued straight on to the left hand side. As the first 4 boats gybed for the lay line a massive increase of pressure hit forcing all the boats well below the layline. They all had plenty on with spinnaker flapping and all had to drop the spinnakers early and reach back to the gate mark. Carolijn Brouwer and Liz Wardley firmly planted their Sojasun Viper straight onto the final mark with the buoy stuck between their bows and quickly went from 2nd to 8th after doing a penalty turn. Riccardo Ceriani and Elia Mazzucchi sailed in comfortable on the layline to break the Viper domination and racked up the first win for the Blade.

Race 11.
The second race the wind had settled before the start to a constant 12 knots. The Lara and Silvia Sicouri led on the first mark after getting a nice line of pressure up the middle of the course. The majority of the fleet favoured the right hand side. Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin was 3rd around the first mark and quickly made their way to the lead closing heavily on the leader and the bottom marks and pounced into the lead on the second upwind. Froukje Feenstra and Darren Bundock were in 5th position most of the race and under tacked the leader for the last upwind mark and just squeezed into 3rd position at the top mark. Carolijn Brouwer and Liz Wardley passed Feenstra/Bundock on the final down wind only to discover they had been OCS¹ed.

Race 12.
Race 12 started in similar conditions to race 11 and it was once again Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin that was out in front leading Christa Van Helden and Brett Goodall and the Sicouri sisters. The racing was extremely close with the lead changing between them. Froukje Feenstra was lurking just behind the leaders in 4th and made their move on the final upwind to under tack the leaders once again on a very nice pressure line. The leaders crossed Feenstra/Bundock and continued another 200meters but Feenstra/Bundock were in pressure and lifted heading straight to the top mark. By the time the leaders tacked they were left with out pressure and pointing straight back at Feenstra. Feenstra/Bundock had a comfortable lead at the top mark over Jason Waterhouse/Lisa Darmanin and the Sicouri sisters. With Feenstra/Bundock gone it was a gybing battle between Waterhouse and Sicouri to the finish with the girls coming out on top.

The youngest team of the fleet Jason Waterhouse (18yrs)and Lisa Darmanin (18yrs) now have a comfortable 7 point lead going into the final day.
Top 10 results

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