September 7, 2019
Sharifa means “Beloved”
In Gargnano on the Italian lake Garda, the first official continent championship in the L30 class – EUROSAF L30 class European championship 2019, held under the auspices of the European Sail Federation, ended. The results are brought by Elena Otekina:
© Elena Otekina
All three races planned for the final day were held in perfect sunny weather and with a southerly wind of 8-10 knots, and the championship leader – German Sharifa Rasmus Topsch – became the first European champion in the history of the class, posting two first and one third arrivals in three races of the day .
The crew of the Belgian Jonas Jerkens and the Frenchwoman Sophie Fage Volvo Sailing Academy won silver medals with two second and one third finishes.
Bronze last year’s champion class – Hungarian Present Perfect Peter Tenke. Peter acted with his son as a geek-shot, and this experienced family crew was able to win the last race of the championship, taking 2nd and 4th places in the first two.
For three days of the regatta, 6 participating teams from five countries were able to test their boats in a variety of wind conditions – from 20 knots to almost complete calm. The monotypic fleet made the races very tight, sharp, and the reliability and ease of operation of the L30 allowed amateur teams and crews who first got on this yacht to quickly get comfortable and fully enjoy the fight against rivals.
According to the winner, Rasmus Topsh, Sharifa in Arabic means “Beloved”, and the yacht received such a beautiful name in honor of the dog – the Sharif hound. Even the gray color of the hull of the boat was chosen for her suit. Rasmus got into sailing at the age of five and has come a long way from the Optimist to large boats and participation in the Olympic campaign in the Tornado class. According to him, the most attractive feature of the L30 is its versatility.
“You can go non-stop 500 miles together in a race – or go on a cruise with your family. The boat is easy to transport by yourself, and it's cheap. On the one hand, she has excellent driving performance, on the other – she is safe. It is easy to manage, although walking on it quickly is not so easy. This victory was not easy for us, the Belgian team grew stronger day by day, plus the Hungarian crew tried to repeat their success last year: Peter is especially strong in light winds and performed very well. We believe in the future of the class and plan to continue participating in the events of the next season. "The fleet will grow, and there will be something to see, since racers like Jonas join the class!”
According to silver medalist Jonas Jerkens, the L30 is a very good boat to prepare for the offshore regatta of the 2024 Games. In order to participate in the Olympic campaign, the Sailing Federation of Belgium will acquire L30 for them, and the guys are going to participate in all class regattas starting this year.
For the triple participant of Mini Transat and Route Du Rhum Jonas, it was the first regatta on the lake in life. “There are completely different feelings, but this is a very useful experience for me. Chasing this boat is a pleasure. We have only known her for a week and now our task is to participate in the L30 in October in Venice in the offshore European Championship L30 in mixed doubles, and the main goal is to be at the offshore World Sailing World Championship in 2020. "
After the award ceremony, the creator of the yacht and the L30 class, Olympic silver medalist Rodion Luka, noted that he was pleased with how the yachts on Garda showed themselves. “This regatta was a test before the offshore European Championship, which will be held exactly one month later. We are preparing a fleet there, and two yachts from it were present here. We tested them in various wind conditions. One of these boats won the local Gorla race with the Belgian double-handed crew before the championship. So far they really like the boat, and they have already begun their Olympic campaign. "A lot of work, we are trying, I hope – something will work out!"
According to Slovenian Andrei Justin, L30 yacht designer, he is very inspired by the new offshore Olympic class. “Mixed offshore deuces are a great new class in sailing, it will attract a lot of attention and will be very competitive. Mixed deuce is a great combination. Women are more resilient, while men are strong and persistent, so that they complement each other perfectly. This also works in marriage, but even better – on a boat! ”Andrei was pleased with the championship, both with the venue and with the way the boats showed themselves. Once upon a time on Garda, he, along with Russell Kutts, conducted the first test of the RC44 yachts he created, so it was impossible to find a better area for checking the new fleet.
“Great place! We had a good wind every day, and the boats showed themselves as expected. The yachts were created to effectively chase from almost zero wind – to the storm. Initially, these yachts were created for offshore, but they cope very well with any conditions. The class has big plans, and given Rodion’s high involvement in the process, these plans are gradually becoming a reality. There is more work, the class is developing very well. The boats themselves are being improved, now they are of very good quality, everything has been taken into account for offshore racing, there are all kinds of sails, autopilots, and electronics. In the monotypic fleet, there is a lot of work to ensure that everything works as it should, and we are happy that the international sailing federations and organizations have noticed and appreciated these efforts. ”
The president of the European Sailing Federation, Joseph Pla, honored the championship distance with his personal presence and noted both the place itself and the wind conditions, as well as the excellent organization of the regatta. “Everyone was very involved and tried to do everything possible so that everything worked well. The club, the organizers, the Racing Committee, the coastal program, including a gala dinner – everything was done so that the participants had an excellent regatta. The boats proved that they are very good in the changing wind conditions that were here. And also, importantly, the yachts have shown that they are suitable for amateur crews who stayed on par or close to the professionals. A monotypic fleet provides very close races, and teams race against each other, and not with themselves. “Here I saw a great combination of pleasure from communication and competition, and this is sailing!”
Among the 6 participating yachts, 4 were private, and two were the first boats of the new charter fleet, which is now being built in Ukraine by order of World Sailing for the upcoming offshore mixed doubles world championship in 2020. Now they are building the 9th hull, and only a year later 21 boats should be built. The World Sailing World Cup will be held in Malta during the Rolex Middle Sea Race 2020 and will be the starting point for the mixed doubles on their way to the 2024 Olympic Games.
An important test for double crews will be the first offshore European mixed doubles championship, which the class will organize together with EUROSAF a month later in Venice. On October 8, a port race will take place in front of St. Mark's Square, and the 9th fleet of 8 brand new yachts will go to a two-day offshore to Trieste. The finish line of the race is planned the day before the start of the famous Barkolana, and then the fleet will be available for participation in this most massive regatta in the world.
171 September 7, 2019 # 9446
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