First round of the 2024 Euro Challenge

The first italian round of the 2024 Euro Challenge held last weekend in Arco, on Lake Garda, was a total success, with an amazing number of 171 young skippers from 10 different countries, near-perfect weather conditions, top quality organisation and high tension in the U15 class that went right to the wire of the final race. All that alongside a Euro-meet for the Aero discipline.

The idea behind the Euro Challenge is to allow all the O’pen Skiff skippers a series of events run at the same standard as a World Championships, so that they can get used to the level, competing regularly against their peers, helping them progress more quickly. The Euro Challenge is also a place for making connections and helping establish the class everywhere possible, especially in the developing countries. 

171 racers from 10 countries, 3 days of warm sunny weather with light to moderate winds, you could not have wished for better to get the season started. It all took place under the watchful eyes of the Italian Sailing Federation, in collaboration with the International O’pen Skiff and Aero classes. It was a week of friendly and high-quality rivalry, which is very much the DNA of both classes. Many thanks to all the volunteers from the Arco sailing club who’s energy and support made sure the event was a success and an unforgettable experience for all the young racers.  

And a big up to CJ Perez, who made the journey to Arco and a return to source, paying homage to the little boat that helped launch her career in the big world of top level competitive sailing. The 2017 O’pen Skiff World Champion has been on an incredible journey since that victory. She’s been racking up successes on many of the most prestigious racing boats in existence today, including the American SailGP team. She was present for the whole week, giving precious tips and advice to help all the young racers improve their skills and make rapid progress. 

The best racing winds were on Friday (10-15 knots), when all the categories were able to finish three rounds of competition. Temperatures increased steadily through Saturday and Sunday, unsettling the Lake Garda wind machine. The southerly wind became much more volatile and only two more rounds were possible each day. The end result was positive though, giving the competitors a wide range of conditions to deal with, and some vital preparation for the 2024 World Championships taking place at the same spot at the end of July.

The young Samuele Pintoni gave the home club a deserved victory. He quickly forgot his false start in the first race, racking up four wins and two second places in the next six rounds. He took the top honors ahead of two fellow Italians. Fabio Serra (LNI Sulcis), a podium regular, stayed in second place through the whole competition, finishing 8 points ahead of Gabriele Lizzulli (Circolo Nautico e della Vela Argentario), followed by the young Poles Francisez Sowa and Aleksander Grygolowicz. Congratulations too to Bianca Gorgerino, 6th in the overall rankings and the highest placed girl. 

For the first two days it was the New Zealander Ewan Brazle blazing a trail with impressive speed and good tactical awareness, carrying him to the top of the leader board. The only blemish was a DQ (disqualification) for an early start in the third race. But it was the penultimate race that proved fatal for his hopes, with a second DQ for exactly the same reason. Which meant that, after the discards, he found himself demoted to 15th place overall…. France’s Charles Ganivet was the biggest benficiary, his consistent results (3-3-6-2-4-3) enabling him to claim overall victory and the top podium spot. He was followed home by Italy/Sardinia’s Gianluca Pilia (CN Arbatax) and his compatriot Angelo Mario Di Vita (CV Sferracavallo), then Poland’s Mikolaj Glowa. 

In the Under 17s, Poland’s Hubert Staron took top spot, the most consistent of the leading trio. He finished 7 points clear of Italy’s Federico Poli (CN Rimini), then India’s Anandi Chandavarkar, who recovered well from a DQ for an early start in the very first race. The Indian team has a mounting presence at international events with increasing success in the rankings. Fourth place went to Italy’s impressive Vittoria Cartelli (CN Rimini), the top placed girl, and fifth to Hungary’s Zsolt Szlalay.