2008 Snipe Europeans - Gran Canarias

LOCALS RULE

2008-12-09T10:11:00.000-08:00

Locals dominated the 2008 Snipe Europeans with Gustavo del Castillo & Felipe Llinares winning the Championship follwed by Fernando Leon & Antonio Castillo-Olivares moving into 2nd in the final results.

The RC was able to squeeze off 2 more races in the last day, but was 1 short to include a discard.

Manu Hens/Bart Janssens won the first race moving them into medal contention, but an OCS in the last race sealed their fate and they finished 9th. The only other non-Spaniard to break the top 10 was Portuguese Pedro Barretto and Diogo Lopes finishing ahead of Hens/Janssens.

Jordi Triay & Borja Llopis wan the last race and the Spaniards took 8 of the top 10 to show their European dominance.

Castillo/Llinares (ESP) will join Bethlem/Bianchi (BRA) as the 2 auto-entries into the 2009 Snipe World Championship to be held in San Diego, CA USA next September.

Congratulations to host club Real Club Nautico Gran Canaries for an excellent run Championship and great hospitality during the event. Congratulations to Castillo & Llinares, 2008 Snipe European Champions!

Got Wind?

2008-12-07T07:03:00.001-08:00

It's 3pm here in Las Palmas and the boats are still on shore with little to light breeze on the course. If yesterday was any indication, the wind seems to completely go away around 3:30 or 4pm during the winter, so chances of the fleet getting any races in today are dismal. We'll update the post if they are sent out.

We Have a Championship

2008-12-06T11:37:00.000-08:00

It didn't look so promising this morning with the forecast for lighter winds than yesterday. But patience was key and the RC was able to get 3 races off in the lighter winds, which actually were more than yesterday and we now have the minimum to count a Championship.

The wind was a steady 5 knots throughout the day with big swells and chop as well as shifty conditions which didn't make the sailing easy - but then again, this is the European Championships.

No surprise that the Spanish hold the top 4 spots on the leader board, led by local Canarians Gustavo del Castillo & Felipe Llinares. Their 8-1-1 gives them a nice consistency where further down the results many teams had good & bad scores mixed in their results. Always fast Rayco Tabares & Gonzalo Morales follow in 2nd with a 5-3-3 and Jordi Triay and Borja Llopis in 3rd with a 1-13-4. Olympian Fernando Leon and Antonio Castillo Olivares are 4th with Manu Hens & Bart Janssens of Belgium rounding out the top 5.

Tomorrow the RC will attempt 3 more races and again on Monday. Full results at www.rcngc.com.

No Wind - No Sailing

2008-12-05T09:49:00.001-08:00

The first day of the Europeans was abandoned due to too little wind. As a high pressure systems moved over the islands, the wind has diminished including forecasts for the rest of the weekend.

The RC sent the fleet out and after a postponement, a brief increase in the wind to 5-6 knots allowed the race to start. But at the weather mark it had dropped to a dismal 3 knots and after the first lap, the race was abandoned. Above is a photo of race leaders Gustavo del Castillo & Felipe Llinares Pascual of Spain moments before the abandonment flag was flown.

Tomorrow we'll try again - keep your fingers crossed for a little more breeze.

All on-the-water photos courtesy of George Szabo.

Opening Ceremonies - Opening Day

2008-12-04T05:35:00.000-08:00

With registration and measurement about to close, the 2008 Europeans take center stage. Gathered are approx. 50 boats with many National & European champions in the mix. The Spanish armada will be 14 boats, a mix of juniors, women, reigning champions and highly qualified teams. Paco Sanchez, Nano Negrin, Alvaro Martinez, Pablo Fresneda, Alejandro Fresneda, Rayco Tabares and Jordi Triay are among the skippers to watch helped by top Spanish crews. But don't discount Fernando Leon, Tornado Olympic medallist who will give the Snipe a try in his home waters.

Matching the Spanish are the teams from Belgium. Only a few in numbers, but dominating the European regattas. Floris Mortelamans & Hens Manu each have recruited top Belgian skippers as their crews: Giovanni Galeotti & Bart Janssens.

The Norwegians ha

ve imported George Szabo as their coach and he's been putting the team through the paces. Likewise the Italians are out in force with strong contenders as well. Poland, Denmark, Germ

any, France, Portugal and Finland also could be strong contenders.

The practice race and Opening Ceremonies are being held today - racing begins tomorrow.

Snipe Europeans Set to Begin

2008-12-03T08:40:00.000-08:00

Although the registration & measurement process is still in progress, the 2008 Snipe Europeans look to be another tough Snipe event.

Several teams have been practicing on the water in 15-20 knot winds and 3 meter waves. Photos to come later...

The Club is turning themselves out to prepare a great event. Measurement is proceeding well with the measurement team strict but fair and the sailors are all making last minute decisions on equipment and sails.