DAY 5 REPORT OF 2023 420/470 JUNIOR EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP
09 Jul 2023French sailors Matisse Pacaud and Lucie De Gennes have secured the title of Junior European Champions in the 470 class.
Only the medal race with the top 10 crews remains to be sailed in Gdynia on Monday, but the defending champions from last year in Vilamoura, as well as the current junior world champions, have a significant advantage over their competitors and no one can take away their gold medals. They only need to sail the Medal Race.
On the fifth day of the regatta in the Bay of Gdańsk, the wind conditions were light, and only one race was sailed in the 470 class instead of the planned two. "The wind blew at a speed of five to eight knots. In the second race, the boats almost reached the top mark, but then we had to suspend the competition because the wind shifted and died down. We waited for an hour for the weather to improve, but it didn't happen. The conditions were borderline. On the committee boat, we had five to six knots, but up top, it ranged from 3.5 to 4.5," explained the Race Officer of this class, Michał Jodłowski.
Matisse Pacaud and Lucie De Gennes have won six out of the 10 races so far. On Sunday, they finished in fifth place, but still strengthened their lead. Their compatriots Manon Pennaneach and Pierre Williot, who are in second place, are trailing the leaders by 43 points, while the Israeli crew of Roy Levy and Ariel Gal is in third place with 48 points.
Levy and Gal are also leading in the under-21 category. They are followed by the Spanish team of Neus Ballester Bover and Jaime Wizner, as well as the Greek duo of Lampis Evlampios Giannoulis and Eleni Giannouli.
The Medal Race will begin on Monday at 11 o'clock. After that, the crews ranking from 11th to 35th will sail the Last Race.
Follow the championship at https://2023junioreuropeans.