Valérian Lebrun leads Stage 1 of 2021 Art of Racing OK Dinghy Euro Series
by Robert Deaves 10 Aug 2021 12:30 BST
Valérian Lebrun, FRA © Circolo Vela Arco
Valérian Lebrun, from France, tops the leader board after Stage 1 of the 2021 Art of Racing OK Dinghy Euro Series.
Following the cancellation of all major OKDIA championships for two years, the freezing of the World Ranking list and the postponement of the Euro League, it was decided to run a one-off Euro Series to cover the major European events during 2021 to provide some focus and publicity for the class and the sailors and to basically have some fun.
The series includes:
- Arco International Regatta, Lake Garda, Italy
- Kieler Woche
- Autumn Trophy, Bandol, France
- All national championships in Europe from July to October
The series has been split into three stages, each containing one of the international events.
Stage 1 has just concluded and includes the Arco International Regatta and the British Nationals.
Stage 2 will include nationals in Sweden, Denmark and The Netherlands and ends with Kieler Woche.
Stage 3 will include the German, Belgian and Polish Nationals and the Autumn Trophy in Bandol.
Each event will be allocated points based on its grading and the number of competitors, using a similar system to that used for the world ranking list. National events will be graded as 1.0 and the three international regattas graded as 1.5. A sailor's four best results will count.
After two events in Stage 1, Lebrun leads from Germany's Sonke Behrens and Denmark's Bo Petersen on the basis of the higher graded Arco International Regatta.
The British Nationals at Weymouth attracted the largest UK fleet in more than a decade, but with probably the worst weather in memory. With two days lost due to extreme winds, the two days sailed were just plain windy. The UK fleet is attracting a number of high profile sailors in readiness for the 2023 World Championship in Lyme Regis, and it was former British Sailing Team Finn sailor, Henry Wetherell who took four bullets to win the title. He sits in 11th overall after Stage 1.
There are also big numbers expected at many of the upcoming events with the sailors keen to return to competition. While Kieler Woche has a limit of 50, and there are a few spaces left, the Danish Nationals is looking like being the largest event of the year with more than 80 entries to date.
The final international event of the year is the Autumn Trophy at Bandol, from 14-18 September. Located on the Mediterranean, it is a hugely popular and welcoming venue which hosted a fabulous European Championship in 2018. The early entry deadline closes on September 1.
The OKDIA events website will be kept up to date after each event, while Stage 2 results will be published after Kieler Woche.
See full results here...