(Patras, Greece)- This past week the Sailing Club of Patras hosted 175+ sailors and thirty-five crews from all around Europe for the 2019 J/24 European Championship. Participating teams came from Great Britain, Germany, Greece, Hungary, and Italy. In the end, it was Italy's Ignazio Bonanno skippering LA SUPERBA with his Italian Navy crew, that were declared 2019 J/24 European Champions; winning with a day to spare!
Day 1- Spectacular Windy Day
Thirty J/24s vied in three races in winds of 15-25 knots to open to 2019 J/24 European Championship, hosted by the Sailing Club of Patras in Greece. Four different nations comprise the top four: Stefan Karsunke’s SCHWERE JUNGS of Germany (5 points), Ignazio Bonanno’s LA SUPERBA of Italy (8 points), Miklos Rauschenberger’s EL NINO of Hungary and Anthimos Nikolaidis’ EVNIKI of Greece (17 points).
Bonanno’s LA SUPERBA opened the Championship successfully as the breeze started in the mid-teens. Karsunke’s SCHWERE JUNGS and Rauschenberger’s El Nino followed. Nikolaidis’ EVNIKI won race two when the winds began piping up, and both Karsunke and Bonanno kept their claim at the front end of the fleet. Karsunke capped a nearly perfect day with a bullet, ahead of Panagiotis Kampouridis’ JMania and Alexandros Tagaropoulos’ HELLENIC POLICE in Tuesday’s last race.
Day 2- A Pretty Day on The Med
Six races have been completed so far. Ignazio Bonanno’s LA SUPERBA of Italy has jumped into first place. With scores of 3,2,3 on Wednesday, and factoring in the discard race (a fourth for them), LA SUPERBA tallies just 12 net points. Anthimos Nikolaidis’ EVNIKI of Greece moved up a spot to second overall (17 points), and fellow countryman Alexandros Tagaropoulos’ HELLENIC POLICE can now be found in third (25 points).
Winds began at 5-8 knots under blue skies and increased to 10-12 by day’s end for the 30 J/24s.
Nikolaidis rattled off two bullets in the first two races on Wednesday, shadowed initially by Tagaropoulos and Bonanno, and then again by Bonanno and Dave Hale’s CACOON of Great Britain. Two German teams rocked the day’s final and windiest battle: Lynn Wolgast’s all-women's crew on DERBE KERLE won the race (photo below of bow #19) and Thomas Cramer’s JUX & DOLLEREI took second place. Bonanno placed third.
Day 3- More Breeze, More Sun!
In nine of 10 scheduled races at the J/24 European Championship, Ignazio Bonanno’s LA SUPERBA consistently placed in the top four. Factoring in one discard for the Series, that left the Italian team as the J/24 European Champions for the second time (they also won in 2012 in their home country), with one race to spare. Retaining scores of only firsts, seconds and thirds, LA SUPERBA scored just 18 pts net!
Teams battling for the balance of the podium are over 18 points in arrears. Those teams include Anthimos Nikolaidis’ EVNIKI, Alexandros Tagaropoulos’ HELLENIC POLICE, Panagiotis Kampouridis’ J-MANIA and Stefan Karsunke’s SCHWERE JUNGS. The other thirty J/24s conclude racing Friday, with just one race scheduled.
The top Women’s J/24 European Champion contender is Lynn Wolgast’s German all-women crew from the Muhlenberger Segel-Club sailing on DERBE KERLE; she sits in 9th place with 70 pts net.
Conditions were perfect again on Thursday, with breeze at 10-15 knots, sunny skies and warmer temperatures. Bonanno’s LA SUPERBA notched their second bullet of the series to start the day, tailed by two German teams— Stephan Mais’ RUNNINGMEN and Karsunke’s SCHWERE JUNGS. Kampouridis’ J-MANIA of Greece snagged the win in the day’s middle battle, while Bonanno settled for second and Nikolaidis’ EVNIKI third. Then Kampouridis’ J-MANIA went back-to-back with another victory, ahead of Karsunke and Bonanno. Sailing photo credits: Batistatos Spyros/ Chris Howell Follow the J/24 European Championship on Facebook here For more J/24 European Championship sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.
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