Reigning World 29er Champion, Clementine Van Steenberge (National Yacht Club) who, at last week's 2023 EuroCup Final in Italy, was joined by Royal St. George's Jessica Riordan, showed their promise as a new team achieving 7th place overall and top Women's team. It wasn't the only Irish success either as Irish reigning European Champions, the Irish pair of Ben O'Shaughnessy (Royal Cork) and Ethan Spain (NYC), were second overall.
France and Italy prevailed at the EuroCup. Hugo Revil and Karl Devaux (France) won the overall Eurocup series title, while local sailors Alex Demurtas and Giovanni Santi (Italy) took the event win.
Despite the challenging conditions, local Italian sailors Alex Demurtas and Giovanni Santi rose to the top of the results of the 2023 Ovington 29er EuroCup Final - organised by Fraglia Vela Riva and participated in by over 170 crews arriving on the Lake Garda representing over fifteen Nations.
Racing at the 2023 EuroCup Final on Lake Garda, Italy
The Fraglia Vela Riva duo, considered among the favourites on the eve by virtue of the excellent results achieved over the last few seasons, lived up to the predictions, winning the final race and prevailing overall with a seven-point margin over the best of their pursuers, the crew composed of the reigning European Champion O'Shaughnessy and Spain. The third step of the podium, just nine points behind the leaders, went to the Frenchmen Hugo Revil and Karl Devaux who did enough to become the overall Ovington 29er EuroCup 2023 Series champions, which took place over eleven events throughout Europe in 2023.
Securing the event win put the Italians Demurtas and Santi in Second place in the overall and Men's EuroCup series 2023 ahead of Jocelyn Le Goff and Jules Vidor from France, who took third overall in the series and Top U17 Men's team.
Among the Women's fleet, success did not escape the hands of the reigning World Champion, Van Steenberge and Riordan, taking 7th place overall and top Women's team.
Second place went to Hong Kong team, Emily Polson and Tiffany Mak who were 11th overall and top Women's U17 team and the third placed Women were Sarah Jannin and Fleur Babin from France in 14th overall.
In the Overall Ovington EuroCup Series, the Women's Gold went to sisters Boróka Fehér and Szonja Fehér, placing 8th overall. Silver went to Alicja Tutkowska and Alicja Dampc from Poland also Top U17 Women's team while Mathilda Schäfer and Lisa Hofmann from Germany took Bronze.
While the prize reserved for the best mixed team went to Italians, Camilla and Leonardo Ceruti, Italy. Second was Tjebbe Warmerdam and Zeilteam Zeeland from Holland and third by just one point was Emilia Salvadore and Pietro Zandri also from Italy.
In the mixed category of the Ovington 2023 Eurocup Series, Gold went to Petr Pelnár and Katerina Šlechtická from Czech Republic, followed by Lucie Kosatova and Vojtech Cibulka also from Czech taking Silver. In Bronze position was Danish team Yanne Broers and Gustav Åsholm-Bradley.
The 29er EuroCup Final ended with a total of eleven races, five qualifying and six final, despite a constantly evolving weather situation which forced the Regatta Officials, excellently coordinated by Domenico Guidotti and Ezio Pozzengo, to work overtime.
The international competitive season of Fraglia Vela Riva came to an end with the Ovington 29er EuroCup Final; with their next event planned in 2024. For the International 29er fleet this event marks the end of the 2023 racing calendar, however with the Youth Sailing World Championships fast approaching in December, Brazil, many teams will be spending the coming months training hard in preparation for this unique, elite event on the World Sailing calendar. The International 29er Class wishes everyone preparing and competing the best of luck - with racing amongst the 29er fleet closer than ever in 2023, it promises to be a spectacle to watch.
With the 2024 Ovington 29er Eurocup series announced to the international fleet, all sailors can now start to focus their attention on their future goals - with Palamos, Spain, to host the first of a 12-event series spanning nine countries.
