7th European Spring A-Class Catamaran Championship at Circolo Vela Arco
by Elena Giolai 6 Jun 2019 10:51 BST
1-2 June 2019
Two days ended in Garda Trentino in which adrenaline, speed, but also technology made the European Spring Catamaran Championship Class A, an event organized by the Circolo Vela Arco, which saw the participation of almost 50 helmsmen representing eight nations
Two days to say the least perfect with sun, warm and fair south wind on 12-14 knots characterized the seventh edition of the European Spring A-Class Championship, an event that is attracting more and more participants, fans of this technological single catamaran, who in the last three years it has had an important evolution, with the adaptation - as happened in many other classes - to foils, the appendages that allow the hulls to rise from the water, giving the feeling of flying and thus reaching impressive speeds.
From a technical point of view it was in fact very interesting to observe the adaptation of the class and competitors to the new foil trend: three years ago the flying hulls could be counted on the fingers of one hand, last year they were about half and this year it is It was a real boom, with only 3 Class A in the classic version. It is also true however that the fleet is still very heterogeneous, with wide technical differences, which have influenced not only in the final classification, but above all in the abyssal detachments in the regatta: naturally flying and maintaining control of these challenging catamarans is not easy and who he has been training for a long time in surfing foil has practically doubled his opponents.
It was so for the Dutch Mischa Heemskerk that in addition to putting six victories on six races, from time to time he has inflicted impressive gaps on his opponents; a technique his that in these two days did not give any chance to the other competitors, who brought their hulls in flight and therefore at the maximum speed much less frequently, remaining more and more backward as the laps of the race were completed. The Greek Trigkonis, who with the last three races managed to recover some points and take the second step of the podium, has kept a series of regular tests. Also the French Dodè Emmanuel on the second day took more confidence with the vehicle and with two thirds and a second managed to improve those two positions that earned him the podium, exchanging his ranking with the Argentine Sergio Mehl (ARG 1), dropped to fifth place.
The Italian Paolo Penco (AN Sebina) remained in the top ten, tenth. With regards to the "Classic" classification, Alberto Farnesi won the overall twenty-third place, followed by Fernando Zara and Klaus Rocholl. Satisfaction for all the staff of the Circolo Vela Arco, which thanks to an always precise and close-knit FIV Race Committee, has also completed this event in its full program, which attracted enthusiasts of speed, technology, evolution, characteristics in which the Sailing Club Arco recognizes itself more and more, proposing for most of its events regattas reserved for "fast boats" and for all ages. And the next FIV national regatta will be dedicated to the very young of the O'pen Bic - Open Skiff, scheduled at the Circolo Vela Arco at the end of June: a regatta in which even the racing team of the same club will try to get good results, so as in these years it has always done also at international level.