Tornado Europeans at Watersportvereniging Warder, Holland
by Andrew Dowley 7 Jun 2012 09:30 BST
2-5 June 2012
Team Redbull unbeatable again
The 2012 Tornado European Championships were held between the 2nd and 5th June in Warder, Holland. 13 boats arrived to try and knock the Greek team of Iordanis Paschalidis and Trigonis Konstantinos off their perch and prevent them from winning their 5th European Title in a row.
Day one provided the sailors with perfect conditions, a force 3 breeze with gusts. As with any championships the sailors started a little keen with some people over the line on race one. Race two was made more interesting for the sailors with very different wind conditions across the course with plenty of shifts.
At the end of day one there was a surprise with the other Greek team of Niklos Mavros and Alexandros Targarpolous taking the lead with two bullets from the races.
In the evening the team at Warder Sailing Club put on a fantastic BBQ and a good social in the sunshine.
Day two's weather conditions changed dramatically when the rain, cold and strong winds arrived which caused a postponement at the start of the day. By 12pm the fleet were on their way out to the start area with three races scheduled. Although wet the wind conditions were excellent for the sailors with some interesting battles and changing of positions throughout the three races.
Team Redbull managed to pull back in front with 3 race wins which put them on top of the fleet at the end of day two.
What looked like a light breeze on day three quickly built to 15 knots creating similar conditions and sailing to day two. In race two and three the wind dropped slightly for the sailors. At the end of day three the Greeks had added another three bullets to their scorecard and were on their way to winning another European Championships.
That evening the sailors all met at the local pub for dinner and drinks along with the organisers and race officials.
Warmer conditions were in store on day four but unfortunately the sunshine killed the wind, there was just enough to start and complete one race which was to be the last of the 2012 Tornado European Championships. No prizes for guessing who took the race victory.
A big thank you to Warder Sailing Club and the race organisers for putting on some great racing.
Overall Results:
1. Iordanis Pachalidis & Kostas Trigonas
2. Nikos Mavros & Alexandros Tagaropoulos
3. Roland & Nahid Gaebler
4. Markus Werner Betz & Nikolas Betz
5. David & Adam – Czech Ocean Team
6. Arndt Meyer & Manfred Syrowy
7. Dieter Mauer & Maren Odefey
8. Thomas Weindl & Birgit Klaunig
9. Klaus Rocholl & Sven Rausch
10. Michaela & Andrew Dowley
11. Robert de Held & Joris van de Kreeke
12. Barry Arnison & Nicole Davy
13. Jim Mundy & Kevin Lott
www.tornadochampionships.com