A Class Europerns Winner Aussie Andrew Landerberger

Sorry a little late but better late then never.

A-Cat European Championship 2012 - Final report and wrap-up

2nd Chris Field GBR / 1st Andrew Landenberger AUS / 2nd Brad Corlett AUS

First, let's talk about the location: Lake Garda, Arco and CVA proved to be an excellent place to organize the Euro. The wind conditions were excellent, hence the planned program could almost be followed to the letter. With winds in the 10-22 knots range and waves, Lake Garda is certainly a challenging location, but as well an exciting playing field for sailors of all levels.

Then, looking at the CVA club: the measurement certificate checks at the beginning of the week was perfectly organized, and the watering of 100 boats within one hour is certainly not an easy task, but it was well organized by the club and worked as expected. On the water, the race committee did a very good job with the start line and buoys placement, and the sailor had no wait time between the races. Roberto Vuilleumier did an amazing job at picturing the event. Back on shore, every hungry sailor found excellent Italian food.

Now looking at the sailors and their hardware: the top sailors at this event were on several different designs. In the top-5 list, one can find 4 distinct combinations of platforms, masts, sails. Exactly 10 years after Peter Tobler won the 2002 Europeans in Marseille on a yellow Scheurer, Landenberger was again successfull on a "G6" boat from the Swiss shipyard of Andy Scheurer. DNA, Vision and Nikita are equally well represented on the starting line, and no single platform showed a clear weakness. This shall once again show how our class is in excellent health, with many good sailors joining us from other classes. The development of vibrant designs, new masts, new sails, wingsails, appendices and new hulls is a tribute to our success.

Every nation is well represented on the ranking list, but the Australians are clearly the leaders. Only Chris Field could break their dominance with his 2nd rank. Scott Anderson had won the world title in this exact place in 1986, and is now 4th overall, while being Great Grand Master. This is a true achievement and we wish Scott a lot more years in sailing ! The European Championship was until now never fought so hardly, which is once again a sign of excellent health for the class.

On the sailing technique front, it now appears that trapezing downwind is the only way to keep up with the top of the fleet. The best sailors are mastering this new way of going down faster. When the boat sinks, the figures can be spectacular, but no one has been seriously hurt so far. 

It is now time to thank the organizers: Carlo Pompili president of the CVA, his office with Laura, Antonella, Sylvia, Tristano, and all the people on the water and shore who ensured a successful championships. On the SACA side, we had Yves, Franco and Dominik working behind the scene until everything was polished and nailed.

Thanks again to all who helped and participed, we wish you fair winds for your next races !

Charles Bueche, SACA president

All the news, results, videos, pictures and interviews will be available on the event website: www.acateuro2012.ch.