It is early in the regatta and the first day of the elimination series for the Youth Boys, but the venue in Lorient has already tested the more inexperienced sailors out there. With strong current and waves it has been tricky for some at the start line and the race committee had one or two general recalls at the beginning of racing. [more]
That is part of the game and other than that it has been perfect sailing conditions all day. We now have two races in the bag for all fleets and we’re perfectly on schedule with 12 races planned for the 6 days of racing. Sun and 12 knots of wind made pleasurable sailing not only to those racing but also for recreational sailors, who went on the water at the nearby sailing school.
312 competitors from 25 countries registered for the Techno 293 European Championships in Lorient, France. Their experience started off with a beautiful opening ceremony in Keroman Submarine Base, which was a German U-boat base located in Lorient during World War II. Now the place is home to some of the top sailing teams and on site you can see everything from Pen Duick yachts to Gitana 17, a revolutionary 100ft fully foiling oceangoing trimaran.
Racing is over two race courses for the Junior and Youth categories. The largest fleet consisting of 126 youth boys will be split into flights and their elimination series should go through to the middle of the week.