The debut event in Italy was created with the aim of being spectacular for the sailors and yet simple to follow by spectators. The event launched new courses, new scoring systems and new race rankings, all designed to thrill not only practitioners, but also all lovers of sailing. The RS100 and the RS Feva were selected for the Championship due to their suitability for the action packed courses requiring fast and manoeuvrable boats.
The crew Matteo Pilati and Mattia Duchi won in the Junior Class after an exciting final race against Andrea Dall'Ora-Gianluca Virgenti, who last week won the Italian RS Feva Championship. The final was raced on a one against one basis, over a parallel slalom course, the result of which determined the overall winner. "Sailing downwind in the fleet race was a lot of fun" said Matteo Pilati at the helm of the RS Feva. Crew Mattia Duchi added, "It was so exciting racing the parallel slalom."
In the RS100 fleet Karlo Hmeljak from Slovenia won the regatta. "I'm very happy to take part in such an innovative event" he said. "I think the new course and scoring systems are a good solution to help promote sailing. I have never seen so many people watching."
Marcelo Saguier from Argentina took second place, while Paul Childs from the UK finished third. The sailors competing in the Senior Class found the new format to be successful. "I think it was thrilling for the spectators who could watch boats tacking and gybing from a very short distance. I hope other similar races will be organized in the future", commented the Italian Luca Bursic who raced against Paul Childs for the third and fourth place.
The Eurosaf Freestyle Championships in RS100 and RS Feva was organized by Eurosaf, the Yacht Club Acquafresca at Brenzone and by FIV (Italian Sailing Federation), sponsored by Marine Pool, with the support of RS Sailing and Boattech, the Italian dealer of RS boats in Italy.
Summing up the event, Eurosaf President, Marco Predieri, said "We're always planning to create new innovative sailing ideas for competitors, yet that are attractive to spectators. An encouraging number of sailors from different countries, at both senior and junior levels took part into the first Eurosaf Freestyle Championship. It will be a starting point for other new events in the, especially to attract and involve young people into the sport."
