
28 Oct Wind drops and tension rises among contenders at the European Flying Dutchman Championship
The Bay of Cadiz satiates the desire to sail at the halfway point of the championship
Five crews are within 4 points of each other in the fight for the title, with a new lead in the hands of the World Champions, the Germans Ludtke and Schafers.
The crews of Ginés Romero and Álvaro Moreno and the ‘Timón de Roche’ of Fran Martínez and Pepe Ruiz take their place in the top 10.
24 October 2024 – The wait was worth it today in the Bay of Cadiz, where on Thursday another race was completed – the fourth – of the European Flying Dutchman Championship organised by the CN Puerto Sherry. The strong easterly storm forced us to be patient for another day, but today, unlike the previous day, the wind eased, allowing us to start and complete an impeccable course between four and half past five in the afternoon, marked by winds of 125 and 12 knots of average intensity.
What is being experienced this week in Cadiz waters is sailing in capital letters, with a spectacular and imposing boat due to its rigidity and speed that does not allow the slightest slip-up on board, and that only athletes of the stature of those who have gathered in El Puerto de Santa María could crew. Given the demands of one of the fastest monohulls in the world, the difference in level between the participants does not divide between good and bad, there are simply those with more or less experience in a fleet that combines experience and youth.
Among the favourites, the standings are compressed with five crews within four points of each other. Impressive has been the head to head battle for the victory in the fourth race between the current world champions, the Germans Kay-Uwe Ludtke and Kai Schafers, and the Dutch Enno Kramer and Ard Geelkerken, between which the former have won with a victory that is enough for them to take first place, while the Dutch move up one place to fourth tied with the German crew of Killian Koenig and Johannes Brack, third with a 5th place today.
Second place with only one point more than the Germans is occupied by the Italians Nicola and Francesco Vespasiani, a crew that loses first place with a 6th today but saves the furniture to keep their options intact thanks to the rents. The fifth place with one point more than the Dutch and Germans is occupied by the Hungarians Szalbolcs Majthenyi and Andras Domokos, who lost one place by the slightest difference with a 3rd today.
In the demanding top 10 are the Spanish crews of Ginés Romero and Álvaro Moreno from the RCN Torrevieja, moving up one place to eighth with the same score in today’s race, and three places up the ‘Timón de Roche’ of Fran Martínez and Cadiz’s Pepe Ruiz, already in tenth place with the same place in the order of finish in the fourth race.
Although everything seems to indicate that the top five crews will include the champions of Europe 2024, there may still be surprises with the first discard that will come tomorrow with the fifth race and two more days ahead to conclude the championship. Everything indicates that the conditions will be favourable and the race committee will surely take advantage of them to recover races. For the moment, two or three more races are scheduled for this Friday from midday onwards.
On Wednesday evening, participants and staff enjoyed a dinner at the restaurant ‘Timón de Roche’, owned by Pepe Ruiz, participant and one of the architects of the organisation of the European and World Race Flying Dutchman 2024/25, a global event that will run from October 2024 to April 2025, with a series of regattas that will culminate with the World Championship of the class next spring. The finale to the celebration was provided by the Cadiz music group ‘Los del Fondo’.
The European Flying Dutchman Championship is a regatta organised by the CN Puerto Sherry in collaboration with the international secretariat of the class, with the support of the Royal Spanish Sailing Federation and the Andalusian Sailing Federation, the support of the City Council of El Puerto de Santa María, the sponsorship of Yuasa and Timón de Roche, and the main sponsorship of Puerto Sherry.
The photographs are by INGRID CARNERO
With no further evidence to add, the standings remain as they were. RANKINGS
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