Sailing Switzerland

The outcome of the 2010 Open 470 European Championships, sailed in strong and gusty winds, remained in the balance until the final leg of the races. Series leaders Emmanuelle Rol/Helene Defrance struck a windward mark during the women’s medal race and had to take a penalty turn, but managed to stay ahead of their rivals and finish third, winning Gold by 18 points over Giulia Conti/Giovanna Micol ITA and Ingrid Petitjean/Nadege Douroux FRA, who took Bronze while Camille Lecointre/Mathilde Geron FRA slipped from second to fourth overall. This is Emmanuelle Rol's most important success. Swiss Olympian in 2008, Emmanuelle reached the top of 470-women's sailing in only two years after having changed to the professional training structures of the French Federation. Stéphanie and Romy Hasler SUI are on the good 14th place. The women's results.
Just five points separated the top six men’s 470 teams going into the medal race contest. Panagiotis Mantis/Pavlos Kagialis GRE then once more proved their prowess in these conditions, scoring another bullet to secure their first European championship, at the same time condemning Gideon Kliger/Eran Sela ISR to second in the race and overall. It was Kliger’s third time as a runner up in the Europeans. In third place Luke Patience/Stuart Bithell GBR, who led the fleet after into the medal race, but sailed a high-risk strategy (including a port start) that failed them. Finishing fifth, they were happy to secure Bronze.
Earlier in the day the remainder of the 92 competing teams completed one final fleet race. Best of the rest were Matthias Schmid/Florian Reichstaedter AUT finishing 11th. Youth European Champions Sofian Bouvet/Jeremie Mion FRA secured victory in the Silver fleet. Yannick Brauchli/Romuald Hausser SUI finished 11th (= 38th overall). Erni/Sprecher SUI and Gremaud/Gremaud SUI follow on the ranks 40 and 45.
The www.470.org/content.asp?id=2237 ]report[/url], all results and the gallery..
The Léman Sailing Team is already on the way to the 470 Swiss Championship at Steckborn / Lower Lake Constance, beginning on next Thursday.

A late-summer weekend with sun, flucky winds on Saturday and a light North-Easterly breeze on Sunday for the 75 youth sailors from the Lake Geneva region. Four races were completed with W. Van Cauvenberghe winning in the Optimists followed by Kilian Wagen, the best Laser Radial sailor was Valentin Bovay ahead of Jonathan Schopfer with the same number of points, Nils Theuninck as first in the Laser 4.7 class, and Clement Clivaz/Tim Saal winning in the 420s. The short report.

The famous windsurf beach of Almanarre in Hyères FRA is the site of the fourth and last event in the women's PWA Slalom World Cup. Alas thus far only three heats were sailed on opening day (Sat.) due to lack of wind. Ahead with three bullets is Valérie Ghibaudo-Arrighetti FRA, followed by Karin Jaggi SUI, who leads the World Cup overall standings. She need s a second here to ice another title. Details on the PWA tour site, including videos and an interview with Jaggi in the daily report. Forecast promises Mistral for tomorrow.

Sun and on Sunday also a light north-easterly breeze secured an attractive regatta weekend on Lake Zurich over the last weekend. In the Corsaires, Rolf and Lilian Uhlmann SCSee were the winners after 4 races. the beste Yngling sailors were Colin Nussbaum/Thomas Huber SCH and in the Oldtimers, Willi Hardmeier/Andreas Kocher SCSG were first with their 15 m SNS.

Good sailing conditions on the third regatta weekend of the SC Oberer Walensee. Sailed as a yardstick regatta with cangoroo start had Jürg Meier on his Laser winning ahead of Maurer/Maurer/Müller with their 'Albin Express'. The results.

Four races were sailed on Lake Uri at the RV Brunnen 'Herbstpreis', part of the 'Vierwaldstätter-See-Cup' annual event. Philipp Steiert with his Surprise is the winner in the ORC-5-rankings, Manuel Ingold is first in both the Platu 25 and ORC-6-classification, in the Yardstick-rankings, Patrick Imhof on his Soling took the victory, Lorenzo Orler on a Sta 32 was the best cruiser and Corinne Meyer ranked on top of the Onyx. All results.

The 21st Classique of the 6.5m on Lake Geneva was sailed with three races. D.Bugnon on his 'Aramis' was the winner one point ahead of 'Ondine' and P.Monachon. The results.

It took some doing on the last and windiest day of the 2010 Laser World Championship, but Tom Slingsby AUS, who also turned 26 yesterday, clinched his third title in four years, as he capsized in the 23 kn breeze in the last race. Somehow he got back up in a hurry and fought his way back to 14th, which sealed the win and a mega-cushion of 36 points. That’s because his closest rival in the overall standings, Nick Thompson GBR, also elected to run his capsize drill, which turned a possible top-three finish into a discard. In the end he had to be content with the crown prince’s honors, ahead of Andrew Murdoch NZL who had a strong day with 8/1 to return to the podium when it mattered and secure bronze for the second year in a row.
In the Junior World Championship Thorbjoern Schierurp DEN posted a third at the end to hold off Francesco Marrai ITA and Alex Mills-Barton GBR who took Silver and Bronze, respectively. Lauri Kalkkinen SUI is on rank 78 of the 119 participants. The report, and the RYA video page with the day’s summaries (and an interview with Finn world champion Ed Wright).

With just the medal race remaining, the outcome of the 2010 Open 470 European Championships is far from clear. Two races in the gusty and shifty waters of Istanbul reshuffled the order of the men’s fleet, and now just 5 points separate the top six teams. Luke Patience/Stuart Bithell GBR, 5/1 yesterday, reclaimed the first place ahead of Gideon Kliger/Eran Sela ISR, Pangiotis Mantis/Pavlos Kagialis GRE and Sime Frantela/Igor Marenic CRO. In the Silver fleet Sofian Bouvet/Jérémie Mion FRA have a 9-point lead over Dubbini/Dubbini ITA. Yannick Brauchli/Romuald Hausser SUI had their best day, advancing to rank 9 (= 36th overall) vor. Erni/Sprecher SUI and Gremaud/ Gremaud SUI follow on the positions 41 and 45.
In the women’s fleet, Emmanuelle Rol/Helene Defrance FRA now hold a 10-point advantage over Camille Lecointre/Mathilde Geron FRA and 14 over Giulia Conti/Giovana Micol ITA. Stéphanie and Romy Hasler SUI advanced on rank 14.
The final fleet race for everyone outside the Top 10 at 11 am local time with the women’s medal race following at 3 pm local and the men’s at 3:45 pm local. The reportreport, all results and the live tracker.

43 youth sailors enjoyed the excellent thermal breeze conditions on the Lago Maggiore with 10-13 kn on Saturday and up to 18 kn on Sunday. Six races were sailed with Giona Renggli YCAs winning in the U-12 and Michele Bianda CVLL in the U-15. The report and the results.

28 Optimists and 15 Lasers participated in the Youth Championship of Central Switzerland on Lake Zoug over the last weekend. Despite of the difficult wind conditions, the Opimists could sail 4, the Lasers 5 races. Camillo Casco SCC ahead of Janina Zeder SCC in the Optimists and Christian Birchler YCSe ahead of Lorenz Schobinger SCC in the Lasers dominated the fleets. The report.

Light winds and an Indian-Summer-like sun prevailed for the 14 teams at the Summer Club Regatta of the SC Aegeri. Röbi and Peter Güntert with their Star were the overall winners. Louis Körbel was first with the Optimists. The report and the results.

The Finn Gold Cup 2010 in the Frisco Bay - a windy and rough event - ended on Saturday with the outstanding victory of Ed Wright GBR also in the Medal Race. Silver and Bronze went to Rafael Trujillo ESP and Giles Scott GBR - here the final results and the official final report.
The media coverage was also excellent: All races with interiews are available on video clips. The individual races can also be reviewed by means of GPS-tracking.
Read also the enthusiastic report of the only Swiss participant despite of the fact that he never had a chance to follow the top cracks.

The Boating Industry is confident about a coming upswing of the economy in general and its own business outlook. The INTERBOOT open from September 18 to 26, 2010 demonstrates this with the attractive products on exhibition. The new motor-boats are speed and fun oriented, and also in the sailing yachts, performance boats including comfort in the cabin prevail. A preview (PDF).

The larger version of the popular and successful Esse 850, the Esse 990, which had been shown to the public at the Friedrichshafen Boat Show, is for sale at a 20-percent discount off list price, which includes aluminum trailer, carbon mast and boom and 3DL North sails. The boat is lightly used as it was sailed in a few long-distance races on the Jura lakes in Switzerland. See the detailed equipment list and specs. More information at info@boatcom.ch.

Sun and a 2-3 bft thermal breeze prevailed on the last day of the H-Boat Swiss Championship on Lake Thoune where the races nbr 6 and 7 were sailed yesterday. Thanks to the higher number of race wins, Walter Pulz/Robert Huber/Manuel Bume GER defended their title from the previous year ahead of Knut Viehweger/Sabine Viehweger/Heinz Kirchhoff GER with the same points result. George Kugler/Peter Graf/Steven Kugler SUI/RVB are on the 3rd place. The results and the final report.

Good sailing conditions prevailed yesterday off Geneva on day two of the Cup La Réserve of the D35-cats, where another three races could be completed. Ernesto Bertarelli with his 'Alinghi' succeeded to replace the leader of the first day Alain Gautier FRA with his 'Foncia' on top. With two race wins, Pascal Bidégorry FRA ('Banque Populaire') advanced on the 3rd place. The results and the report.
With this outcome, the first multis of the overall rankings have come even closer: Before the 8th and last act of the Annual Cup mid-September, 'Banque Populaire' is 1 pt ahead of 'Foncia' and 3 pts in front of 'Alinghi'.

Three shortened races were sailed off Constance over the last weekend in a very low breeze. Erick Buck GER defeated the 17 Lacustres ahead of Jan Eckert SUI/ZSC and Robbi Montau GER. Silvio Schobinger GER and his team were first with the 45 National Cruisers. The report of the Lacustres and the results.

Ed Wright GBR, adding another bullet in the medal race yesterday in mellower conditions than usual, his 5th in 11 races at the 2010 Finn Gold Cup, is the outstanding World Champion 2010, 31 points clear of Rafael Trujillo ESP, who was lucky to hold off Giles Scott GBR and win Silver. With his best result of the Championship - rank 53 - Franz Bürgi SUI finished on the 71st place of the 86 participants. The event website, the final standings, the chopper shots and the YouTube Channel.

Tom Slingsby AUS is two steps removed from his third Laser World Championship after scoring two bullets yesterday on another English summer day in 15-16 knots of breeze. He has a 32-point lead in the Gold fleet standings on Nick Thompson GBR, followed by Jean-Baptiste Bernaz FRA, who benefited from a mixed day for the Kiwis and scored 15/3 to move up to 3rd. The Silver fleet has Dave Wright CAN in the lead followed by Clay Johnson USA. Christoph Bottoni SUI is on rank 16 (= 69th overall).
Thorbjoern Schierup DEN is now in the leader’s position in the Juniors rankings after the first two final races, which he both won. Behind, but tied on points is longstanding leader Francesco Marrai ITA. Alex Mills-Barton GBR is third. Lauri Kalkkinen SUI is on the 11th place of the Silverfleet (= 71st overall). Die report, all results and the video summary.

In the men’s fleet, Piotr Myszka POL had to come back from dead last to win the medal race and beat out his compatriot Przemyslaw Miarczynski. Third place for Nimrod Mashiah ISR. Richard Stauffacher SUI finished the Championship on rank 23. Remains to be seen whether he will be able to catch up the backlog until London 2012 after his two year's absence from the Olympic circuit. Equally exciting was the women’s medal race, where Blanca Manchon ESP won the medal race and pipped 40-year old Alessandra Sensini ITA in the post, who finished sixth thus losing her bid for a fourth world title by a mere point. In third Charline Pichon FRA. No Swiss participants. The report, the final results and the YouTube channel.

Light and patchy breezes on the penultimate day of the finals at 2010 Open 470 European Championships appeared tailor made for two French teams in the women's division. Emmanuelle Rol/Helene Defrance FRA got two thirds and moved into the lead, one point clear of their team mates Camille Lecointre/Mathilde Geron FRA, who had two seconds. Defending champs and Friday’s leaders Giulia Conti/Giovanna Micol ITA are in third. 8 pts off the lead. Stèphanie and Romy Hasler SUI advanced on the 15th place.
In the men's division, Panagiotis Mantis/Pavlos Kagialis GRE are the leaders, carding two 5th to extended their advantage over Gideon Kliger/Eran Sela ISR to 6 pts and another 2 pts ahead of Panagiotis Kampouridis/Theodoros Polychronidis GRE.
In the men’s Silver fleet, the points remain very tight with Joonas and Niklas Lindgren FIN holding on to the lead by a single point from 470 Junior World and European Champions, Sofian Bouvet/Jeremie Mion FRA. Yannick Brauchli/Romuald Hausser SUI, day ranks 6 and 8, did regain some of the ranks lost the day before yesterday because of a damaged boat. They are now on rank 12 (39th overall). Erni/Sprecher SUI and Gremaud/Gremaud SUI (yesterday with a 3rd rank) follow on the positions 42 and 44. The daily report, all results and the gallery.

Sunshine and a perfect Séchard breeze for the 12 D35-teams during the first four races of the 'Cup la Réserve' off Versoix yesterday. Alain Gautier FRA with his 'Foncia' is the clear leader with 3 bullets ahead of 'Alinghi' with Ernesto Bertarelli SUI and Arnaud Psarofaghis SUI with the 'Ylliam'. Today, 4 more races are on the program. The event-website and the daily report (PDF).

22 H-Boats have been sailing for the Swiss Champion title on Lake Thoune since last Thursday. Up to now, the thermal breeze was mostly weak to lacking, but nevertheless, 5 race could be completed. In the morning of the last day, the situation is very close as the first 3 teams - Walter Putz GER, George Kugler SUI and Knut Viehweger GER - are separated by 4 pts only, Two races are on the program today. The results and the daily report.

Despite of a BFD on the first day of goldfleet racing yesterday, Tom Slingsby AUS remains on top, as the defending champion Paul Goodison GBR and Michael Bullot NZL committed the same error. Andrew Maloney NZL is now 2nd 13 pts behind. Nick Thompson GBR, who used a 4/2 to move from 7th into 3rd (tied for 2nd) Christoph Bottoni SUI in the Silverfleet lost some places and is now 13th (= 66th overall). The rankings.
Franceso Marrai ITA finished the qualifikation heats with two bullets. His adavantage onf Thorbjörn Schierup DEN is now 10 points. The new 3rd is Alex Mills-Barton GBR. Lauri Kalkkinen SUI destroyed his chances for the goldfleet with his worst result so far, dropping on rank 66 in the Juniors' rankings. The report of the day and the videos of the day.

Ed Wright GBR underscored his title ambitions at the Finn Gold Cup on San Francisco Bay winning the day with a third and a first, which was his fourth bullet in 10 races. Before today’s medal race he holds a 13-point margin in the overall standings over Rafael Trujillo ESP and Giles Scott GBR on 3rd 5 points behind the Spaniard. Thanks to a 65th place, Franz Bürgi SUI climbed on the 72nd position. The gallery and the YouTube channel.

After one more qualifying race and the first two races of the finals after the split into gold and silver fleets, the leaders in the men’s division at the 2010 Open 470 European Championships in Istanbul TUR are Panagiotis Mantis/Pavlos Kagialis GRE one point ahead of defending champs Sime Fantela/Igor Marenic CRO and Gideon Kliger/Eran Sela on 3rd. The Silver fleet is led by Joonas and Niklas Lindgren FIN. Yannick Brauchli/Romuald Hausser SUI who missed the qualification for the goldfleet by 7 pts are on the 39th place as they left out the first two races of the silverfleet. Lukas Erni/Christian Sprecher SUI and Olivier and Adrien Gremaud SUI follow on the ranks 42 and 48.
In the women’s, Giulia Conti/Giovanna Micol ITA holding a 10-point lead over Henriette Koch/Lene Sommer DEN who moved up to 2nd overall with a solid day and Emmanuelle Rol/Helen Defrance FRA. Despite of the not much appreciated fresh breeze, Stéphanie and Romy Hasler SUI defended an 18th position among the 31 teams.
The championships conclude with the medal race on Sunday. The report, the results, the gallery and the race tracker.

Light winds prevailed yesterday for the first time after a rather windy initial phase of the RS:X Worlds 2010 off Kerteminde DEN, and the program had to be reduced to one heat per fleet. The leaders in both the men's and women's fleets to book high two-digit results. The men's Thursday leader Dorian van Rijsselberge NED arrived on position 38 only and dropped on rank 8 overall. The new leader is Piotr Myszka POL one point ahead of Przemyslav Miarczynski POL and four points on Nimrod Mashiah ISR, followed by Tom Ashley NZL, Julien Bontemps FRA and the day best Toni Wilhelm GER. Richard Stauffacher SUI descended on the 24th place after sailing his worst result so far. The results, the videos and the event-website.

At the end of a sparkling summer day with moderate easterlies from 8-11 kn, accompanied by decent swell, Tom Slingsby AUS leads before the decisive final phase at the Laser Worlds in Hayling Island GBR, where the fleets are now split into gold, silver and bronze. Olympic and defending world champion Paul Goodison GBR is 2nd, ahead of the two top Kiwis Michael Bullot NZL and Andrew Maloney NZL. After a bad day, As 57th of the 159 boats' fleet, Christoph Bottoni SUI will most probably miss the goldfleet. Christian Steiger SUI and Silvan Hofer SUI did not compete. Lucien Cujean SUI, 135the, will be in the bronzefleet.
After a layday, the Junior World Championships resumes qualifying with two more races before their four-race finals commence Saturday. In the lead here is Francesco Marrai ITA ahead of Thorbjörn Schierup DEN. Lauri Kalkkinen SUI, 54th of the 119 participants, will probably be in the goldfleet. The report, all results and the video channel.

Three more qualification races were sailed off Istanbul yesterday in a fresh breeze of up to 20 kn. With the discard result coming into effect, there were major changes on top of the rankings. In the 470 women, Giulia Conti/Giovanna Michol ITA took the lead with two bullets. Emmanuelle Rol/Hélène Defrance FRA follow on rank 2, Petitjean/Douroux FRA are 3rd. The light-weights Stéphanie and Romy Hasler SUI lost some rank and are now on the 17th positition.
Masterfully the new leaders in the 470 men: With an OCS and 3 bullets, Luke Patience/Stuart Bithell GBR are now on top ahead of Fantela/Marencic CRO and Kliger/Sela ISR. A very bad day for YannickBrauchli/Romuald Hausser SUI as they explain in their blog. With the ranks 20 and 17, they descended on the 34th place. Gremaud/Gremaud SUI and Erni/Sprecher SUI follow on the ranks 42 and 43.
The event-website.

After another two windy races, the top five at the Finn Gold Cup in San Francisco maintain their relative positions, but leader Ed Wright GBR who scored 2/5 and Rafa Trujillo ESP who does not go quietly and scored 1/2, increased their points cushion over the rest of the fleet in the . Giles Scott GBR hangs onto third place after placing 3/6, with Thomas Le Breton FRA and Zach Railey USA not far off. In his daily report, Franz Bürgi SUI (rang 75) explains the difficulties of a lake sailor with the rough conditions of the Frisco Bay. The [url=wxw.yachtscoring.com/event_results_cumulative.cfm?eID=342]results, the video-report and the report of the day.

A more stable breeze between 10 and 18 knots has shuffled the standings in favor of the specialists for breezier conditions. After the two races in the men’s gold fleet finals at the RS:X Worlds in Kerteminde DEN, Dorian van Rijsselberge NED maintains a two-point lead over Piotr Myszka POL and Nimrod Mashiah ISR. The only Swiss Richard Stauffacher SUI is on the 21st place. The silver fleet is led by Albert Lopes de Carvalho BRA.
The report and all results, plus the tracking page.

With a fresher breeze filling in, Tom Slingsby AUS made his move to the top of the overall standings in the senior division, with a score line that shows three bullets in six starts. Josh Junior NZL as one of four Kiwis in the top eight is 2nd, tied with Paul Goodison GBR, the reigning Olympic and World Champion in 3rd overall. The Swiss did loose places: Christoph Bottoni on 37 is still on a Goldfleet track. The last two qualifiers will be sailed today. Christian Steiger SUI, 25th at the 2009 Worlds, is on rank 104, Lucien Cujean SUI is 127th and Silvan Hofer SUI had to abandon the serie after two races.
In the Juniors, Francesco Marrai ITA did regained his overall lead after a 5th and a 3rd, followed closely by Thorbjörn Schierup DEN and the tied Keerati Bualong THA and Antony Munos FRA. Lauri Kalkkinen SUI advanced to the 54th place thanks to a 9th race rank. The report and the video summary.

It was a crazy, confusing day at the 2010 Open 470 European Championships in Istanbul, yet somehow Gideon Kliger/Eran Sela ISR emerged from their side of the men’s qualifying with two first places, followed by Sime Fantela/Igor Marenic CRO, scoring two 2nd places, and in 3rd Yurii Zhuralov/Pavlo Matsuyev UKR. A good beginning also for Yannick Brauchli/Romuald Hausser SUI on the 20th place (day ranks 7 and 14). Gremaud/Gremaud SUI and Erni/Sprecher are on the positions 40 and 43 of the 54 boats.
On the women’s side, the former Swiss Olympian Emmanuelle Rol FRA scoring 1/3 together with Hélène Dufrance FRA, demonstrated once more her talent in light winds. Camille Lecointre/Mathilde Geron FRA and Henriette Koch/Lene Sommer DEN follow on the positions 2 and 3. Stéphanie und Romy Hasler SUI had a remakable first day with the ranks 4 and 24 binging them on the 12th place overall. The report and the complete results, the gallery, plus the tracking page.

After five flights, the lead belongs to Adam Minoprio NZL with a 4-1score tied with Ian Williams GBR and Björn Hansen SWE. In fourth is Ben Ainslie GBR at 3-2, the same score as Mathieu Richard FRA. Chances to qualify also for Eric Monnin SUI (2-3). Jérôme Clerc of the CER Geneva however, for the first time in an WMRT event, is without victory for the moment.
The report, the results and the gallery.

Light winds and sunshine on the second day of the Laser-Worlds on Hayling Island. Luka Radelic CRO is now on top, thanks to the discard in effect since yesterday, allowing him to drop the 42nd place in one of yesterday's races. Josh Junior NZL and Michael Bullot NZL as best of a strong Kiwi team are on the positions 2 and 3. Paul Goodison GBR follows on 4, just ahead of Andreas Geritzer AUT. Christoph Bottoni SUI (yesterday 27/8) continues to deliver good results, defending his 15th rank overall. The standings and the daily report.
Magnus Kaeldso DEN, best of yesterday, is the new leader in ther Laser Junior Worlds, sailed simultaneously with the Seniors event. The former leader Francesco Marrai ITA is on 2, followed by Thorbjörn Schierup DEN and Lukas Feuerherdt GER. Lauri Kalkkinen SUI is now on the 64th place of the 120 participants. The standings.

Two physically demanding races were sailed yesterday In a fresh up to 22 kn breeze. The man of the day with two bullets, Ed Wright GBR, advanced on the 3rd place of the cumulative rankings, only two points behind the leaders Thomas Le Breton FRA and Zach Railey USA with the same number of points. Franz Bürgi SUI is on the 74th position. The report of the day, the videos and the event-website.

Two races yesterday for men and women at the Olympic RS:X windsurfers' World Championship in Denmark. Thanks to the discard in effect after 6 races, Dorian Van Rijsselberge NED - yesterday ranks 1 and 5 - took the lead, followed by Piotr Myszka POL and Tom Ashley NZL. Richard Stauffacher SUI descended on the 22nd position after a bad second heat (13/31) yesterday.
Also a change on top of the women's fleet, where Maja Dziarnowska POL and Charline Picon FRA (yesterday 4/1) replaced the two Chinese girls Sun Sasa and Li Ling on top. No Swiss racing. All results and the event-website.

No chance to go afloat yesterday on the Bosporus for the 92 teams, who could enjoy the very hot windless summer day ashore, an opportunity to discuss the equipment changes proposed by the Class Association to make sure that the 470 will stay olympic. More details in the official report. See also the blogs by Yannick Brauchli/Romuald Hausser SUI and the two teams of the Léman Sailing Teams, sweating in the heat.

Mike Bullot NZL (rank 1/2) is the leader after 2 races ahead of the defending champion Paul Goodison GBR (1/3), Karl-Martin Rammo EST (1/3) and Luka Radelic CRO (2/2). Christoph Bottoni SUI had an excellent first day in 'his' conditions and is on 14 (5/11). Christian Steiger SUI, 60th, had only one good race, Lucien Cujean SUI is on 89., Silvan Hofer SUI follows on rank 148 of the 159 participants. The results.
Francesco Marrai ITA leads in the Lsers Juniors (up to age 20) just ahead of Lukas Feuerherdt GER and Thorbjörn Schierup DEN. Lauri Kalkkinen SUI on rank 46 (34/18) is in the middle of the 119 boats' fleet.
The daily report.

Rafael Trujillo ESP (ranks 1/2) is the clear leader after 2 races ahead of Zach Railey USA. On 3rd position Giles Scott GBR and Jonas Hoegh-Christensen DEN with the same number of points. telle. Franz Bürgi SUI is on rank 73 (70/72) of the 87 participants in the overall rankings. The event-website.

Today at noon, the start to the first qualifications races of the 470 Europeans 2010 will be given. The entry lists contain 56 men and 35 women. The Swiss participants are Yannick Brauchli/Romuald Hausser SUI, the Léman-Sailing-Team with Olivier and Adrien Gremaud and Stéphanie and Romy Hasler as well as the veterans Lukas Erni/Christian Sprecher. Favorites are the French teams with Pierre Leboucher/Vincent Garros FRA, 470 men, and IngridPetitjean/Nadège Douroux FRA and Emmanuelle Rol/Hélène Defrance FRA, women, but notg to forget the English team in the men's competition. A preview.

Remarkable fleets and a fresh Northerly breeze at the Coppa Roda on Lake Lugano over the last weekend. The winners were: Jonathan Kruisinga (Optimist A), Michele Sagramoso (Optimist B), Lorenzo Grigorov (Laser 4.7), Sacha De Micheli (Surprise), Andrea Zambarda (Laser Yardstick dinghies), Giancarlo Soldati (Jeanneau Tonic 23, Yardstick cruising yachts) and Renato Scascighini (UFO22, Yardstick racers). The ranking lists and the report (Ital.).

Li Ling CHN and Sun Sasa CHN are clearly on top of the RS:X-women. No Swiss participants. The Olympic Champion Tom Ashley NZL is first of the men's fleet followed by the days' best Jon-Paul Tobin NZL auf Rang 2 tied with Byron Kokalanis GRE and Przemyslaw Miarczyinski POL. With the ranks 10 and 12 in his group, Richard Stauffacher SUI, the only Swiss in the event, has gained some places. He is now 15th of the 110 participants.
The results and the report. All races can be review with the GPS-tracking files. During the day, some videos might be available on Youtube.

We reported yesterday about the windy weekend on the Walensee where the Fireball Swiss Cup and the Dart Cat Weekend regattas were sailed. Here now in addition the results of the Dart 18s. In absence of the World Championship participants, Markus and Denis Gysi SCC were the winners ahead of Sonderegger/Haller and Binswanger/Binswanger. The report with the results.

The third act of the 2010 Alpine Cup wit 20 Platu-25s from 5 nations on Lake of Lucerne over the past weekend was not blessed by good sailing conditions. Rain on Saturday killed the breeze keepting the boats in the harbour and on Sunday, a very shifty and irregular 2 bft wind made racing very difficult. However, 3 heats were sailed with Thomas Laherstorfer AUT winning ahead of the tied Günther Prummer AUT and Markus Siegrist SUI. Felix Dorn GER is on the 4th place. The rankings (PDF) and the report (PDF).

Only three teams dared to start at the forth act of the Trofeo Citta Locarno because of the heavy Northerly breeze blowing. Aaron Rossetto is first on the ranking list. Willi Kälin, Sabina Isler and Pio Villa are jointly leading in the overall rankings of the Trophy with 9 points each. The report (Ital.).

Force of nature above and under the water during the Fireball Swiss Cup event on the Walensee. 6 races could be sailed in a fresh 4-6 bft breeze, and as an additional challenge, the sailors had to avoid immense wood patches brought down from the mountains during the heavy rainfalls of the last days. Even before the first start, the favorites Claude Mermod/Ruedi Moser had their rudder blade cut-off after a collision with a rootstock. Nevertheless, the realised 5 bullets and were the clear winners ahead of Nolle/Leemann GER and Venhoda/Zaugg SUI with equal points. The report with results.
The Darts did not yet submitt their results and news.

Excellent wind conditions for the six women's teams during their matchrace off Romanshorn. With 9-1 scores both after the two Round Robins, the teams of auen-Teams vor Romanshorn. Mit je 9-1 Siegen nach den beiden Round Robins Alexa Bezel SVT and Livia Naef YCA met in the best-of-five final. Despite of a 0-2-deficit, Livia Naef could turn the leaf and defeated Alexa Bezel 3-2. The winner of the petite final was Melanie Lederer against Anja Hotz. The results (PDF).

The H-Boat Swiss Championship in the coming week brought a number of teams from other lakes on Lake Thoune, where the H-Boat-Cup was sailed in 5 races. Winners were the local matadors Dario Bischoff/Michèle Gasser/Peter Gasser TYC with a small margin ahead of Cornelia Zech RVB and her team. The results.
Among the 19 Finns, it was Christoph Burger TYC ahead of Andreas Friederich TYC and Jiri Huracek TYC who took the 'Niederhorn-Trophy'. The results and a detailed report.

Four races were sailed at the Pinguin's Cup off Veyey on the Upper Lake Geneva. In the 420s, Alex and Laurent Massard were the winner, the best Laser 4.7 sailor was Nils Theuninck, in the Lasers Radial, Valentin Bovay was first and with the Optimists (51 boats), Kilian Wagen was finally top of the fleet. The CVVT-website.

The most important solo regatta of Switzerland with 100 participants, the Translemanique in its 37th edition, was lucky with the wind conditions on the Lake Geneva, when the North-Easterly filled in about at halftime of the race. Serge Patry with his Lüthi 34 got the line honours after 10 hrs 23 min and the victory in compensated time went to Michel Rotach on a Grand Surprise. With 42 boats, the Surprise were once again the largest class with Christian Toso on his 'Séchard Express' as winner. The results arrival time (PDF) by ellapsed time (PDF) and the rankings by class (PDF).

Today is the World Championship Practice Race of the Olympic Laser Standard class on Hayling Island, where back-to-back the first Laser Standard Youth World Championship will be sailed. The wind forecasts predict rather light winds, which means that the group of favorites for the medels will be extended. 160 Standards from 57 nations and 137 Standard Juniors (up to 20 years) are on the entry lists. The largest delegations come from England (with top favorite Paul Goodison GBR), the Olympic Champion, and Germany. Switzerland will be represented by Christoph Bottoni, Christian Steiger, Silvan Hofer, Lucien Cujean and in the Juniors by Lauri Kalkkinen. The preview and the event-website.

The 2010 Finn World Championship begins today with the Practice Race on the Frisco Bay. 94 sailors from 32 nations participate, among them the favorites Ed Wright GBR, Ivan Klijakovic-Gaspic CRO, Gasper Vincec SLO, the big-breeze experts Pieter-Jan Postma NED and Jonas Hoegh-Christensen DEN as well as the lately improved Jonathan Lobert FRA and Thomas Le Breton FRA. Franz Bürgi SUI is the only Swiss representative. The event-website.

Croatia was the final winner against France on Lake Ledro, a small lake above Lake Garda, yesterday, winning the Optimist European Team Racing Championship. Winner in the petite final was Italy defeating Turkey for rank 3. Switzerland finished on the 16th place in the Silverfleet with a 1-7 score. The results and the report. Unfortunately, the teams were not presented on the websaite.

Almost two complete Round Robins were sailed yesterday in good sailing conditions with a 2 to 4 bft breeze. With only six teams racing, the participation is minimal as mostly in matchraces in Switzerland. Winner of the first Round was Livia Naef YCA with 5-0 followed by Alexa Bezel SVT, in the second Round Robin, Alexa Bezel leads 3-0 ahead of Livia Naef with 3-1. The results (PDF).

The 7th act of the Safram Speed Tour began yesterday off St-Prex with three races sailed in a North-Easterly wind of up to 20 kn at the start, but almost dropping completely at the end. 'Team 21' (Mikael Wallenberg), the overall tour leader, are ahead. The M2-website.

The 124 teams at the Dart Worlds 2010 could successfully sail three more races yesterday, making it to a total of nine heats to crown the Champion. The close race that ended finally with the victory of the young English Tornado-team Tom Phipps/Richard Glover GBR defeating the French defending champions Dode/Moreau FRA, 3rd were Norman/Rogers GBR. Michiel Fehr/Raphael Jakob SUI advanced on the 9th rank thanks to the discarded result. Oliver Stössel/Basil Süsstrunk SUI finished 54th, Robert Felderer/Bruno Elcher SUI 57th. The final report and the results.

Frank Weigelt/Christian Rusitschka GER seized the Tempest World's title yesterday ahead of the tied defending champions Philippe Boite/Régis Viateur FRA, Bronze went to Bertold Baehr/Andreas Greif GER. Mario Suter/Andreas Hochuli SUI lost one place and finished on the good 6th position. Stephan Fels/Timo Naef SUI on rank 8 and Cornelia and Ruedi Christen SUI on rank 10 completed the remarkable Swiss preformance in spite of the rough sailing conditions. The final rankings and the report.

A very close fight for the Tempest Worlds title in the last races today, as Weigelt/Rusitschka GER, loosing their advantage yesterday with a premature start, are only one point ahead of Boite/Toupet FRA. Mario Suter/Andreas Hochuli SUI defended their 5th place in the 34 teams’ fleet. Among the early starters in the heats sailed in a 13-16 kn breeze also Stephan Fels/Timo Naef SUI, descending herewith on the 9th position. Cornelia and Ruedi Christen SUI had a 3r place finish and are now on the 11th rank overall. The results and the report of the day.

The inaugural Youth Olympic Games in Singapore drew to a close yesterday with a light and shifty 6 to 8-knot breeze for the medal races that included all competitors. In the Byte CII Boys Ian Barrows ISV secured the title with a 16-point margin over Florian Haufe GER and Just van Aanholt AHO, who clinched Bronze with a win in the medal race. The light-weight Sébastien Schneiter SUI never had chance against his 10 kg heavier opponents, finishing on the 22nd rank.
Lara Vadlau AUT won her country’s first Gold at the Youth Olympics with a conservative medal race in the Byte CII Girls[/url. Behind her, Daphne van der Vaart NED won Silver thanks to a second-place finish in the medal race while Constanze Stolz GER nearly gave away Bronze with a 21st-place finish. Alexandra Rayroux SUI started with excellent results on the first days, but fell out of the top-10 in the medal race finishing on the 13th overall rank.
No Swiss participants in the Techno 293 windsurfers. The final [url=wxw.sailing.org/33892.php]report.

After two days' waiting due to no and too much wind, the 124 teams could finally start their first races yesterday on the 2012-Olympic waters off Weymouth. The still rather strong breeze kept the fleet inside the bay. Finishing 1, 2 and OCS, the defending champions Emmanuel Daude/Fred Moreau FRA are bound onto rank 30 for the moment. Three English teams are in the lead with David Lloyd/Joanna Jones GBR on top. Michiel Fehr/Raphael Jakob SUI, remarkably on ranks 7 and 15, were also among the many early starters and remain on rank 43 without discard, two places behind the other Swiss team Olivier Stössel/Basile Süsstrunk SUI. The report and the results.

After the first windy race day with one heat only, three regattas were sailed yesterday with a moderate breeze. The new leaders are Weigelt/Rusitschka GER just ahead of Boite/Viateur FRA. The two dominators of last year's light-wind Worlds on Lake Thoune SUI are again on top under these heavy conditions. The Swiss teams made some progress with Mario Suter/Andreas Hochuli SUI now on rank 5 and Stephan Fels/Timo Naef SUI on the 6th place. The results and the report of the day.

With good size swells and 15 knots of easterly breeze two races were run yesterday. After five races ‘Aluette’ (Iris Metten) SUI has the lead in the modern division over ‘Lafayette’ (Murdoch McKillop) GBR. In the classic Sira division the leader is ‘Raven’ (Richard Self/Mark Decelles) CAN. With 'Sarissa' (Ralph Reimann SUI) on the 3rd position and 'Yquem' (Guy Jones) on the 4th place, the Swiss are quite well represented in the 15 teams fleet from 5 nations. The report with results and the gallery.

Much party and little wind during the 50th Anniversary festivities of the Sailing Club Hallwil. Finally one race could be sailed on Sunday in a very light breeze with Sämi Zubler as winner on a Surprise, followed by Gogi Eisold with a New Compac and Hunziker/Nagelisen on their Star. The results and the report.

Very little wind and much traffic in the lowest part of Lake Zurich for the ‚Old Fashion Race‘, sailed on the former four buoys course just in front of the Zürcher Yacht Club’s club house. Ynglings, Lacustres and two ‚various‘ fleets, among others some beautiful wooden boats, participated. In the various boats 1, the blu26 of Beat Müller was the winner. The 5.5 m of Jörg Hotz was first in the various boats 2, Karl Nauer lead the Lacustres and Thomas Moser and his team were on top of the Ynglings. The report of the Lacustre-class.

The InWater BoatShow in and off the Bottighofen harbour, organised for the first time, attracted several thousand visitors. The presented boats, the diversity of products and last but not least, the summery weather very much enjoyed the public and the exhibitors. The report (PDF).

18 teams from Italy, Austria, Germany and Switzerland sailed a 4-nations-Class Championship on Lake Como over the past weekend as part of the 'Alpine Cup Series'. 6 races were sailed in an excellent 15 kn Breva breeze. Veit Hemmeter/Dominik Halbing GER were the winners ahead of Martin and Julia Rusterholz SUI, and Jean-Marc Cuanillon/Michael Gloor SUI. The results and the report (Ital.).

The development catamaran Sirena SL16, designed by Yves Loday FRA in 2007, demonstrated its qualities once more. At the lac Joux Bol d'Or, sailed in light winds, Lamaille/Dombre were the winners in calculated time, defeating all larger cats. This multihull, the official boat of the ISAF Youth Sailing World Championships, is in the mean-time more and more used by clubs for their catamaran youth development. Find more information oth the H2O-Sensations websate and see also the latest report.

Six races were sailed in excellent thermal breeze conditions on Lake Uri over the past weekend at the Dolphin Swiss Cup with Tom Studer CVN as winner ahead of Rico Gregorini RCO and César Sandoz CVE. The results and the report.

Light and shifty winds on Day 5 of the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore led to two more races. Top favorite Darren Choi SIN remains on top of the Byte CII Boys ahead of Ian Barrows ISV, closely followed by Florian Haufe GER. With 10 kilo less weight than the average of the participants, Sébastien Schneiter SUI has no real chance in the prevailing medium winds, and he remains on the 22nd place.
In the Byte CII Girls, Lara Vadlau AUT continues her dominant performance ahed of Constanze Stolz GER and Celine Carlsen DEN. This trio will most probably share the Medals. Still in the race for the following ranks is Alexandra Rayroux SUI, 6th, only 4 pts behind the forth ranked Natasha Yokoama JPN.
The report.

Alain Thebault, the French skipper of the world sailing speed record holder Hydroptere, on Monday unveiled a new prototype of the 'flying' yacht as a first step towards ocean-going records. The 60-foot (18.3 metre) experimental Hydroptere trimaran, which uses foils to lift itself above the waves at speed, broke the mythical 50 knot barrier (93 kilometres per hour, 58 mph) off the French Mediterranean coast last year. The "Hydroptere.ch" catamaran unveiled at Décision SA Ecublens in western Switzerland on Monday is just 35 feet (10.8 metres) long, with two main hulls instead of three used so far and will be the new testbed designed with EPFL (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne) to develop new sail and hull configurations for promised 30 metre "maxi crafts" that would attempt Transatlantic, Pacific and round-the-world speed records. The official website and the Communiqué. Btw: Décision SA and EPFL are - among others - the designers and constructors of the Alinghi mono and multihulls, the Decision 35 multihull and the Multi One Design 70.

During the past weekend, the 44th Bol d'Or for dinghies and multihulls was sailed in light winds on the 9 km long Lac de Joux. In the dinghies (68 teams), Käser/Aubert CVN on their 470 were the winners in calculated time ahead of Zoller/Zoller SNC on their 5o5 and Jean Francois Burkhalter on a OK-Yawl. The best multihull sailors (44 teams) were Lamaille/Dombre on a SL16. The Coupe of the M3-CatsM3-cats (20 participants) went to Laurent Vez CNM. The event-website.

The summery weekend brought the thermal breeze back on Lake Uri and the 20 Onyx Yachts could sail 6 excellent races for their Class Championship 2010. Ralf Plänkers/Philipp Gradmann/Christian Müller ZYC were the winners 3 pts ahead of Corinne Meyer SCH and Patrick Stöckli SCMd. The report and the rankings.

The Optimist Swiss Championship on Lake Thoune ended yesterday with 3 races sailed in a 1-3 bft breeze. With the day ranks 2/1/2, Marvin Frisch GER gained the Swiss title after his victories in the German and Austrian Championships, and this with a clear advantage on the defending Champion Victor Casas CNV, who – in spite of his handicap of being at age 15 one of the ‚biggest‘ participants – showed an excellent performance in the 8 races sailed mostly in light winds. The Bronze medal went to Romain Defferard CNV as best of the new Optimist talents, who will be the leaders in the coming years. On rank 6 already follows Tanguy Ruleau FRA, who – as best of the group B (U-11) – being a light-weight was at ease with the prevailing conditions, loosing the place on the podium only because of a premature start disqualification in the heat he won. Sébastien Aubord CVVT on the 8th place and Florian Mortier GER on 29 complete the U-11 podium. Gesa Bornemann GER, 7th overall is the best girl, ahead of Carla Gerlach GER (rank 9) and Raphaella Schobinger SCC (rank 13).With 166 participants from 6 nations, the 2010 Swiss Championship event was the most attended one ever. The final rankings and the event-website, where all races can be reviewed with the GPS-tracking files.

'The Race' was sailed last Saturday on the Lucerne arm of the Lake Lucerne in two heats. In the Platu 25, Markus Siegrist SKM was the winner, in the ORC-rankings, Jan van den Broek SCT with his Inferno 29 was first, Thomi Stalder YCSe on a Streamliner took the first place in the Sportboat-rankings and Heinz Marty RVB with his Juwel 34 was on top of the yardstick-classification. The photos.

After a windless Saturday, a light 3-6 kn Séchard filled in on Sunday afternoon and the Open de Crans could be validated with 3 races. Ernesto Bertarelli and his 'Alinghi' had a strong comeback after a rather mediocre season, ahead of the surprising 'Nickel' of Fred Moura and 'Banque Populaire' of Pascal Bidégorry FRA, the overall leader in the annual rankings. The defending Challenge Champion Alinghi is thanks to this Crans victory now on the 3rd place with a 5 pts backlog. The report.

The 29er Class Championship was sailed over the past weekend in good conditions on the Major Lake of Locarno with Lavinia Tezza/Paoloa Bergamschi ITA as the superior winners with three bullets. Sandra Giovanoli/Franziska Wild SCStä were 2nd, Ivo Jenni/Daniel Vettiger SUI 3rd. 27 teams from 4 nations participated, half of them from Switzerland. The results, the video and the report (in Italian).

Again only a light thermal breeze arriving late in the afternoon on Lake Thoune. However, two races for both groups were completed until 19.30 pm, in spite of a dozen general recalls with a number of blackflag disqualifications. Gwendal Lamay GER and Marvin Frisch GER now tied on top could defend their leading places, but the man of the day was Victor Casas SUI/CNV with two bullets who is now on 3rd, only 4 pts behind the leaders. Romain Defferard SUI/CNV remains 4th, followed by the best girls Gesa Bornemann GER 5th and Carla Gerlach GER 6th, separated by 2 pts only. Sébastien Aubord SUI/CVVT on the 7th place is best in the B-rankings (U11), 2 pts ahead of Tanguy Rulleau FRA, 9th overall. Exciting races today for the final boys and girls champions' titles are ahead. Racing will resume Sunday morning at 7.30 a.m., again transmitted with live GPS-tracking. The results and the event-website.

The D35-cats tried yesterday in vain to restart the annual championship with the Open de Crans, as the wind was not yet back from vacations. Today Sunday is another day, but the weather forecast - a hot summer day - is not so promising. The report. 'Foncia' with Alain Gautier FRA and 'Banque Populaire' with Pascal Bidégorry FRA are on top with the same number of points n the overall rankings after 5 events.

Under the watchful eyes of IOC President Jacques Rogge, a former Finn sailor, new leaders in the Boys Byte Cll and the Girls Techno 293 windsurfing classes have emerged after Day 3 of the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore, which was raced in moderate winds but strong currents. With the completion of five races one discard is now in play. Kaarle Tapper FIN now leads the Byte CII Boys, followed by Florian Haufe GER and event favorite Darren Chong SIN while previous leader Just Van Aanholt AHO dropped to fourth. Sébastien Schneiter SUI remains on the 6th position.
No such antics in the Byte CII Girls where Lara Vadlau AUT - already 420 Bronze medal at the ISAF Youth Worlds two weeks ago - had a 1-3 day to extend her lead to 11 points over Constanze Stolz GER and Celine Carlsen DEN. Despite of constant top-10 finishes, Alexandra Rayroux SUI is still on rank 6 overall, but only 8 points from the podium, so important in Olympics. No Swiss windsurfers (Techno 293) sailing. The Saturday forecast is for similar conditions. The report and thegallery.

The combined 420/470 Junior Europeans in La Rochelle FRA ended yesterday with the 470 Medal Race and another 420 regatta. Outstanding Sofian Bouvet/Jérémy Mion FRA in the 470 with 11 wins in 12 races and a 2nd place to discard. Silver and Bronze medals went to the two German teams Tim Elsner/Oliver Szymanski GER and Daniel Zepuntke/Dustin Baldewein GER. The two Swiss entries Philippe Erni/Nicola Strehle SUI and René Ott/Stephan Ammann SUI showed some improvements finally finishing the Championship on the ranks 77 and 82 on the occasion of their first important international 470 event. The final standings 470.
In the 420s, Yoav Levi/Dan Froylich ISR clearly defended their 1st place against Antonio and Georgios Kavvas GRE. The ISAF-Youth World Champions Jordi Xammar/Joan Herp ESP jumped on the final rank 3 on the last day of the event. Ikhlef/Pequin FRA had to content themselves with the 4th position. With a small margin only, Sebastiano Baranzini/Matteo Colombo SUI at ease with the light winds in the second part of the championship finished excellent 6th. The Silver and Bronze fleets did not sail yesterday, and the final places of the Swiss are: Alexandre Massard/Jérémy Bachelin SUI 42nd, Brauchli/Thunherr SUI 79th and Mara Bezel/Fabienne Morath SUI 99th of the 120 teams. The event-website.

Overcast sky and a light thermal breeze only filled in during about 3 hours yesterday afternoon. Just one race could be completed in both groups .. with a number of general recalls. Winning their races, Gwendal Lamay GER and Marvin Frisch GER extended their lead on top of the overall rankings after 3 races, ahead of Jonathan Kruisinga SUI/CVLL, 3rd, 6 pts behind, as welle as Romain Defferard SUI/CNV and Grégoire Siegwart SUI/CNM. Gesa Bornemann GER on 6 is the best girl, Sébastien Aubord SUI/CVVT on 7 the best of the younger group B (U-11) participants. The results after three races. All past regattas can be repeated on GPS-tracking, or followed live this afternoon.

Today andd tomorrow, the dinghies and multihulls sail the 44th Bol d'Or on the Lac de Joux, a small lake in the Jura mountain chain. Light winds are expected. The event-website.

Racing got underway at around 15.00 hrs local time in a light five-knot breeze and slowly strengthening current. In the Byte CII Boys Just van Aanholt AHO defended the lead on that shifty tricky day against Goncalo Pires POR and Harald Faeste NOR. Sébastien Schneiter SUI (10/11) advanced on the 18th place. In the Byte CII Girls , Lara Vadlau AUT had a 9th and another bullet for a 7 pts lead over Constanze Stolz GER and Celine Carlsen DEN. Alexandra Rayroux SUI could not quite repeat the excellent first day's performance, but with the 9/17 places, she still hold the excellent 4th place overall.
The report.

The 470s have now completed 11 races and with 10 bullets, Bouvet/Mion FRA remain the absolute benchmark team. Elsner/Szymanski GER are now unchallenged 2nd, and their advantage on Peponnet/Lebrun FRA before the last races today is 8 pts. Erni/Strehle SUI and Ott/Ammann SUI are on the positions 77 and 82 - the 470 results.
In the 420s, the leaders Kavvas/Kavvas GRE had a bad day with a premature start and a 19th place. Levi/Froylich ISR replaced them on top with two race wins, Ikhlef/Pequin FRA follow on the 3rd place. Sebastiano Baranzini/Matteo Colombo SUI are again making progress and are now on the 12th position overall. Alexandre Massard/Jérémy Bachelin SUI are on place 2 of the Silverfleet (= 43rd overall). The 420 results and the event-website.

The first sailing school in Switzerland, the Segelschule Thunersee, celebrates its 75-years-anniversary. Everybody is invited to participate next Saturday, August 21st, as from 14 hours for the 'Fiesta' at Hilterfingen with 'Chili con carne' and cool drinks, Live-music and free sailing, starting at 14.00. At 18.00, the official celebrations will start. Hasta la fiesta! www.segelschule-thunersee.ch

160 Optimists from 7 nations participate at the 2010 Swiss Championship on Lake Thoune as from today, including the best Swiss Optimis sailors and also the German hopefuls. Marvin Frisch GER has been mentioned as the favorite, but anything can happen in the 160 boats fleet, and there are a number of Swiss with high expectations. The announcement of sunny weather will hopefully bring back the thermal breeze on Lake Thoune. The entra list.

See the overall presentation of the ISAF World Sailing Rankings for 18 August 2010 in our International Section. Most top-five rankings for Great Britain (6 events), France (5), USA and Spain (4). Nathalie Brugger SUI made a big jumb ahead on the 5th place in the Lasers Radial. The best-ranked Swiss remain Flavio Marazzi/Enrico De Maria SUI as 2nd in the Starboats. Visit the ISAF World Sailing Rankings homepage to view the full Ranking lists.

Tomorrow will be the opening of the first InWater-BoatShow, taking place from August 20 to 22 in- and ouside of the Bottighofen harbour on Lake Constance. A number of well-known boatyards present their product lines, sailing and motor yachts, technical equipment and accessories. Official opening tomorrow at 10.30.

On day 1 of the Starboat Swiss Championship, the local TV channel Tele 1 was present for some impressionss of the light-wind race on the Lake Gersau arm of the Lake of Lucerne. Replay from the report in the Friday August 13 news.

Light airs in the morning caused a delayed start to racing on the first day of the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games. But in the afternoon two races were held back to back as scheduled. In the Bytes CII Girls, Constanze Stolz GER (3) leads Lara Vadlau AUT (6) and - as a very positive surprise - Alexandra Rayroux SUI (6). In the Bytes CII boys however, Sébastien Schneiter SUI had a bad first day and with the ranks 22/21, he is on the 24th place only. Just van Aanholt AHO (3) had a 2-1 score to lead Gonzalo Pires POR (9) and Kaarle Tapper FIN (11).
The report and all results.

The local Maloja wind showed signs of life and made the 85 competitors fly over the waters. After three races Scott Babbage AUS leads reigning world Champion Simon Payne GBR and Bora Gulari USA. The best Swiss are on 4 (Arnaud Psarophagis), 6 (Jean-Pierre Ziegert) and 7 (Matthias Renker). Chris Rast USA/SUI is in 12th. Rast was crew on the Swiss 470 at the 1996 Savannah Olympics for Jean-Pierre Ziegert SUI, the organiser of the event, who's also our French editor and 6th overall in the standings. Go Chris! Go JP! However the man of the race was Nathan Outteridge AUS - 49er Worldcup winner in Weymouth/Sail for Gold 2010 last week - with two bullets and an abandoned race due to gear failure. All results and the report.

On the first day of the finals yesterday, the sailing conditions were for the first time moderate with a max 9 kn breeze during the afternoon. After 9 races of the 470s, the defending champions Sofian Bouvet/Jérémy Mion FRA remain the sole and lonely leaders with 8 bullets and a 2nd place to discard. Their fiercest opponents Balzeau/Fountaine FRA were out of competition yesterday due to illness, and dropped on rank 23. The new tied 2nds are now Peponnet/Lebrun FRA and Elsner/Szymanski GER, closely followed by Zepuntke/Baldewein GER. Annika Bochmann/Anika Lorenz GER on rank 30 are the best girl's team. The two Swiss teams Erni/Strehle and Ott/Ammann remain at the end of the rankings on the 76th and 83rd positions.
The situation of the 420 is not clear, as the consolidated overall rankings have not yet been published, and on the individual race results of yesterday are available. Winners of the only (?) heat were again the overall leaders Kavvas/Kavvas GRE. Sebastiano Baranzini/Matteo Colombo SUI, only Swiss in the Goldfleet, are on the goo 6th place. The race results of the Gold-, Silver- and Bronze-Fleets. Check the event-website during the day for the consilidated rankings. The official report and a more detailed article in sail-world.com.

Some spectacular capsizes happened during the 2010 'Rumfass Regatta' sailed on Lake Morat over the past windy weekend. See the gallery. Winners in the yardstick rankings after 5 races were in the Jcenterboard dinghies (22 boats) the RS800 of David Holenweg/Laureline Chevalley CVE ahead of Phileas Monteventi AVP on a Laser 4.7 and the H-Jolle of Urs Rusch/Jörg Klausen SVK. In the Yachts (7 teams), the Surprise of Anne Blatter SCM was first.

After the modifications at his Open 60, now sailing under the name of his new sponsor 'Mirabaud', Dominique Wavre SUI and Michèle Paret FRA sailed the first tests off La Rochelle during the past week Here the nicely prepared video. Last Friday, they left France for a 2000 miles training to Gibraltar and back. The report.

Based on the Saturday/Sunday results of the Starboat Swiss Championship races, a separate ranking list of the Star Trophy Urnersee, the original event planned before the resail of the Championship was decided, has been established. After three races, Urs Hunkeler/Oliver Fuchs are the winners ahead of Kurt and Markus Scheidegger and Michel Niklaus/Serge Pulfer. The results.

Last weekend, the 'St. Moritz Children's Grand Prix', organised jointly by the CV Lage di Lugano and the SC St. Moritz on Lake St. Moritz, was sailed in cold temperatures and partly also with a northerly breeze. Jonathan Kruisinga CVLL was first followed closely by Janina Zeder SCC and Theresa Dietrich GER. The report.

Favorable west wind conditions also for the Lasers on Lake Neuchâtel who could complete 5 races at the Coupe de Neuchâtel. In the Lasers 4.7 (15 boats), Benoît Lagneux CNV was the clear winner, the best Radial sailor (42 boats) with for bullets was Valentin Bovey CNP and in the Standards (28 boats), Andreas Kyburz SCMT was first ahead of the two 5o5 specialists Florian Stauffer CVN and Philippe Jacot CVN. The results.

With 6 races in two days, the 420 had completed their qualifications yesterday and had their lay day. The 470s sailed their last two qualifiers, and the defending champion Sofian Bouvet/Jérémy Mion FRA completed his flawless row with two more bullets. Balzeau/Fountaine FRA are uncontested 2n ahead of Sivitz/Farneti SLO, Zepuntke/Baldewein GER and Peponnet/Lebrun FRA all with the same number of points on the 3rd place. The two Swiss teams lost again some ranks: Philippe Erni/Nicolas Strehle SUI dropped on 70 after a premature start, René Ott/Stephan Amman SUI follow on rank 82 of the 86 teams. The 470 standings.
In the 420s, Kavvas/Kavvas GRE are the leader before the final races beginning today, followed closely by Ikhlef/Pequin FRA. Sailing in the Goldfleet will also be Baranzini/Colombo SUI (rank 22) and most probably also Massard/Bachelin SUI (rang 48). The report of the day.

Despite of her worst result (23rd) in Weymouth, Nathalie Brugger SUI remains with the 9th place in the top-10 of the World Cup 2010 final rankings, her best result so far. After finishing her university studies in September, she will fully concentrate on sailing until the Olympics 2010. In her latest newsletter, she informs about her plans.

The 2010 World Championship of the J/24 class with 54 teams from 14 countries got under way yesterday in Malmö SWE with the first two races. Matias Perreira ARG (3) scored a cool 1-2 to lead Tim Healy USA (6) and Stefan Karsunke GER (7). Björn Thielcke SUI is 45th. The overall standings.

The French Sportboat Longtze becomes more and more popular in Switzerland and shows off with excellent rankings in many regatta events. The objective of the recently founded Class Association is the promotion of this boat, actually with a unbeatable price/performance ratio, in Switzerland and to foster the national and international racing activity. Additional information: Beat Frank, president@longtze-class.ch.
The Longtzes had a spectacular entry at the Cowes Week with its windy conditions a few days ago. Eckehard Kaller GER was the winner followed by Jarmo Wieland SUI. The report. Next on the program is the Trofeo Gorla on Lake Garda.

Last Saturday, the first Youth Olympic Games in Singapore were initiated with an Opening Ceremony almost of an Olympic Games level - see the photos. The first Medals have already been awarded. Tomorrow, the first races of the Bytes CII single-handers with 32 nations will be started with 32 girls and 29 boys of 14-16 years age, among them Sébastien Schneiter and Alexandra Rayroux representing Switzerland. In the Techno 293 windsurfers, 18 girls and 21 boys will participate. The event-website.

Sun and a 15 kn seabreeze again at the 470 Junior European Championships with three races for the 420s and two races for the 470s. In the 470s, the French teams continue to dominate: Bouvet/Mion FRA again with two bullets yesterday and Balzeau/Fountaine FRA are on top after 4 races followed by Kavas/Orfanos GRE. The Swiss Philipp Erni/Nicolas Strehle follow on rank 62, Ott/Amman SUI are 83rd.
The 420s, split in three groups, sailed already 6 races. Alessandro and Georgios Kavvas GRE are the new leaders just ahead of Clement Ikhlef/Clement Pequin FRA and Oulkeroglou/Zografos GRE. The best Swiss are Sebastiano Baranzini/Matteo Colombo on the 22nd position after a 4th race rank yesterday. Improved also the ISAF-Youth Worlds Medalists Alexandre Massard/Jérémy Bachelin SUI with a 14/5/6 series now on the 48th place. The official report (e+f) and the weblog of Mara Bezel and Fabienne Morath SUI, reporting about difficult race days.

A last race, started with a light thermal southerly breeze yesterday, brought the decision at the 2010 Starboat Swiss Championship in favor of the local specialists Hunkeler/Fuchs. A massive shift on the first upwind towards the Axen rocks and the westerly wind driven by a rain front filling in during the second upwind did split the fleet in winners and loosers with no hope to catch up places. Urs Hunkeler/Oliver Fuchs YCTi/SKS, in the leading pack right from the start, finished 2nd and took with this the Champions' title. 15 years ago, Urs Hunkeler got his last title at the same venue. With a successful last race, Kurt and Markus Scheidegger TYC jumped on the 2nd rank, the former leaders Hans Stöckli/Urs Spahr SCMd had to content themselves with the Bronze Medal, as the sailed their discard race yesterday. Rotermund/Hollweg GER terminated the last race on top, advancing on rank 4. The results (PDF).

In spite of rather weak wind conditions and rain, over 40 boats participated at the Semaine du Soir on Lake Thoune during the last week, among them the ISAF Youth World Champions Linda Fahrni/Maja Siegenthaler. Winners of the overall rankings were Lukas Erni/Angelika Siegfried on a 470. The report and the results by class.

The westerly breeze from the Swiss midland was finally filling in on Lake Aegeri as well with up to 4 bft and the races 4-6 could successfully be sailed on the last day of the Championships. Martin Kubovy/Roman Rocek CZE maintained their lead on top of the 29 Fireballs, four points ahead of Verner/Mapravnik CZE. Two bullets on the last day brought Claude Mermod/Ruedi Moser SUI on rank 3.
Stephan Fels/Timo Naef SUI realised also two bullets with the Pirates, bringing them on tie with Nicolas and Pascal Maire, but thanks to better individual results, the Maire brothers from Basle are the Swiss Champions. Bronze went to Felix Wüst/Felix Maire. The final rankings and the daily report.

A light north-easterly on Saturday and a 5 bft westerly on Sunday brought the first real windy 470 weekend of the season on Lake Morat. After 7 races, the oldies Stefan Seger/Dominik Liener TYC were the clear winners followed by Alexa Bezel/Lukas Erni SVT/RCO and Eggimann/Wagner RCO. The report with results.

Good racing also on Lake Thoune with the westerly breeze filling in last Saturday for the Wendelsee Cup, the 4th od 5 events of the regional Yardstick- TBSV-Cup. The winners were in the 'up-to-handicap 99' category the Schären-30 SUI 48 followed by the two Dolphins SUI 35 and SUI 71 (the names of the sailors have not been indicated), in the 'over-100'-rankings, the Yngling SUI 386 is first. Best centerboard dingy was the Spanker SUI 43, and in the multihulls, the 18HT-cat SUI 02 was on the first position. The results and the report.

The Junior Europeans began yesterday with two 470 and three 420 races off La Rochelle FRA, with the French team dominating the 470s. Sofian Bouvet/Jérémy Mion FRA took the lead with two bullets followed by Berenger Balzeau/Mathieu Fountaine FRA. The two Swiss teams are on the positions 52 (Philippe Erni/Nicola Strehle) and 78 (René Ott/Stephan Ammann). The 470 standings.
In the 420s, the leading boats are closer together with Mike Wood/Hugh Brayham GBR taking the lead ahead of Kavvas/Kavvas GRE and Oulkeroglou/Zografos GRE. The best of the six Swiss teams are Sebastiano Baranzini/Matteo Colombo on rank 23. Brauchli/Thurnherr SUI follow on position 61. The 420 standings and the official report.

Despite of the overcast sky, a light thermal breeze filled in on Lake Uri, but a very tricky one with shifts of up to 60°. Three races were sailed, and Hans Stöckli/Urs Spahr SCMd were the only ones to finish three times in the top-10, taking the overall lead, three points ahead of Daniel and Beat Stegmeier TYC. The local matadors Urs Hunkeler/Oliver Fuchs YCTi are making more and more progress after a long absence from competitive sailing, and are now already on the 3rd place with a 10 points' backlog. Closely behind them is a group of chasers and the two races left for today will most probably modify the final outcome of the Championship. The rankings (PDF).

The inconstant westerly wind allowed for only one shortened race per class yesterday. In the Fireballs, the leading trio is very close together with Martin Kubovy/Roman Rocek CZE leading with three points after another bullet. Kurt Venhoda/Sonja Zaugg SUI are 2nd narrowly followed by Milan Cap/Eva Skorepova CZE.
In the Pirates class, Nicolas and Pascal Maire SUI have now a clear lead as their main competitors Stephan Fels/Timo Naef SUI had to accept a premature start disqualification. Up to now, three races were sailed and the discard is not yet in effect.
One more race today is necessary to validate the two Championships. The rankings and the results.

The first pre-olympic test event with the world's best sailors was not very friendly to the Swiss Team. The Swiss Olympic campaigners with hopes for the Medal Races did not succeed on the last day of the qualifiers. With their weakest day and the ranks 20 and 30, Marazzi/De Maria SUI descended on the 16th place in the Star class. Nathalie Brugger SUI lost all her chances in the Lasers Radial with a premature start, dropping on the 23rd position. Richard Stauffacher SUI terminated the RS:X-men event on rank 19. Christian Steiger SUI finished on the 59th place in the Laser Standard Goldfleet, whereas the other Swiss in the Silver- and Bronzefleets are ranked as follows: Christoph Bottoni SUI (with a race win yesterday) 2nd in the Silverfleet (=63rd overall), Silvan Hofer SUI and Lucien Cujean SUI in the Bronzefleet 21st (=141st overall) und 30th (=150th overall). In the Lasers Radial, Manon Luther SUI terminated on the 7th place of the Silverfleet (=53rd overall), Thomas Gautschi is 41st in the Finns. Yannick Brauchli/Romuald Hausser SUI had a conciliating last day in the 470 men‘s Silverfleet. With the day ranks 3 and 8, they advanced on rank 6 (=36th overall), Olivier und Adrien Gremaud SUI finished on rank 53. In the 470 women, Stéphanie and Romy Hasler SUI are 34th.
Much work ahead for the Swiss Olympic candidates ! The wind and current conditions of the Olympic venue 2012 are very challenging.

The H-Boat Worlds in Norway ended tied after 9 races: Thanks to three race wins, Steffen Stegger DEN and his team were declared World Champions ahead of Michael Collberg SWE with the same number of points. Bronze went to Henrik Demann SWE. The two Swiss teams finished the Worlds on the ranks 26 (Christian Gut) and 30 (Jürg Ganz). 45 teams from 7 nations participated. The final results and the event-website.

The Youth European Championship of the 420 and 470 classes began yesterday with the official Opening and the Practice Race. The event-website presents the top-5 of the 420 tune-up race with Lassart/Davisard FRA as winners. In the mean-time, the 420 entry list had been added with 120 teams, among them 6 Swiss boats, with the ISAF Youth Worlds Bronze winners Alexandre Massard/Jérémy Bachelin SUI. Mara Bezel and Fabienne Morath report from La Rochelle in their weblog. In the 470s, 88 teams are registered.

Overcast sky and no thermal breeze on the Lake Uri arm of the Lake of Lucerne, but a light westerly on the Gersau arm of the lake, initially around 2 bft, allowed to start the first and only race of the day. But the regular wind calmed down on the last down-wind, and the race winners Stegmeier/Stegmeier SUI crossed the finish line just before the time limit, ahead of Merkelbach/Kling GER and Kappes/Rutz GER. 40 teams from Germany and Switzerland participate. The ranking list has not yet been posted on the event-website.

Bernard Gianola/Michael Dixon, leader during the past three days, could defend their lead and finished the 5-days'-race with an advantage of 40 (!) seconds, and this after over 700 km sailed. Jean-Pascal and Francine Chatagny followed on rank 2, Olivier Beck/Cédric Galetto are 3rd. The report, the race-viewer and the last interims positions. The final rankings will be published this afternoon.

The Race Committee grabbed the chance for a second race shortly after midday when the sky cleared up and a light 1-2 bft westerly breeze filled in. The shortened race was won in the Fireballs by Kubovy/Rocek CZE, followed by Zaugg/Venhoda SUI and Mermod/Moser SUI.
Maire/Maire SUI repeated their Thursday win in the Pirates again followed by Fels/Naef SUI.
The flucky, shifty conditions did not permit to sail any further races. The Czech teams are still in the lead in the Fireball overall rankings: 1. Kubovy/Rocek CZE, 2. Skorepova/Cap CZE ahead of the Swiss Zaugg/Venhoda (3.). With the Pirates, Maire/Maire are on top followed by Fels/Naef and the ladies' team Widmer/Widmer. The daily report and the results.

No wind for the final two races of the 2010 Melges 24 World Championship in Tallinn, Estonia means that Lorenzo Bressani ITA ‘Uka Uka Racing’ took the crown with a cushy 28-point advantage over Kristian Nergaard NOR on ‘Baghdad’ with Harry Melges USA on crew and Alberto Bolzan ITA on ‘Hurricane Murphy & Nye’. The Swiss 'Blu Moon' of Franco Rossini SUI in on the ungrateful 4th place, Jean-Marc-Monnard SUI and his 'Poizon Rouge' is on 10. In Corinthian Division, Oyvind Peder Jahre NOR on ‘Storm Capital Sail Racing Team’ won the title, ahead of Tonu Toniste EST on ‘Lenny’ and Marco Schirato ITA on ‘La Besa’. Sönke Boy SUI and Michael Good SUI follow on the positions 14 and 15. The event Web site, the full report, the final results and the Corinthian standings.

No exploits by the Swiss yesterday. With a 10 pts deficit on the 10th place, Nathalie Brugger SUI and Marazzi/De Maria SUI are still in reach of a Medal Race spot, but both Olympic graduands have to excell to achieve a top-10 place at the end of the day. On rank 18, Nathalie Brugger would have to jump 9 places in the Lasers Radial, the direct opponent for Marazzi/De Maria in the Star class - the former World Champions Szabo/Strube USA and Rohart/Ponsot FRA, the European Champions Polgar/Koy GER and Mendelblatt/Von Schwarz USA as well as Negri/Voltolini ITA were all superior yesterday. Richard Richard Stauffacher SUI remained on the 18th place yesterdayand the 38 pts deficit on rank 10 will hardly be to compensate. Positive that Christian Steiger made the Gold Fleet in the Laser, but apart from a remarkable 26th place yesterday, he had to register a premature start, that sums up to a 58th position overall. Christoph Bottoni realised a bullet in the Silver Fleet where he is on rank 9 (=70th overall). Yannick Brauchli/Romuald Hausser SUI sailing in the Silver Fleet of the 470 men had their best day so far, and with the day ranks 5 and 12, they advanced on the 10th place (=40th overall). As stated in the report of the Léman-Sailing-Team - Stèphanie and Romy Hasler, 470 women, defended the 32nd position among the 46 teams. Still in the race for the Overall World-Cup victory is the Swiss Olympian Emmanuelle Rol, now sailing for France: On position 5, she, together with her crew Hélène Defrance FRA, is only 4 pts behind Petitjean/Douroux FRA. All results.

Three races were sailed yesterday in sunshine and light winds - see the gallery. Considering the discard in effect, some changes in the rankings ocurred: Steffen Stegger DEN has taken the lead, jointly with Jan Gustafson SWE, and only 3 pts ahead of Michael Collberg SWE. Harald Wefers GER dropped on position 8 and also the two Swiss teams lost some ranks: Christian Gut SUI is now on the 29th place and Jürg Ganz SUI follows on the 31st position. The results and the event-website.

After four turns around Lake Geneva and 635 kilometers, the finish of the 5-days'-race will be very close today. Bernard Gianola/Michael Dixon were only 55 seconds ahead of Jean-Pascal and Francine Chatagny this morning off Rolle ! The rain fronts brought for the first time a fresher breeze yesterday. The standings, the race-viewer and the daily report.

29 Fireball and 21 Pirate teams started yesterday the Swiss Championship 2010 on Lake Aegeri on a grey and rainy day. The announced rain front with a breeze arrived on time, but lasted for one single race with 1-3 bft only. In the Fireballs, 4 teams from Czech Republic were ahead of the favorites Zaugg/Venhoda and Mermod/Moser from Switzerland. with Eva Skorepova/Milan Cap CZE on top.
Thrilling races also in the Pirates, where Maire/Maire just made it today ahead of Fels/Naef. The results and the event-website.

Mixed fortune for the Swiss yesterday: While the Olympians Marazzi/De Maria, Nathalie Brugger and Richard Stauffacher all made some progress and qualified for the Goldfleets, the two Swiss Lasers missed the top groupa, annoying for Christian Steiger at equal points on the last place of the Goldfleet, and therefore as first in the Silverfleet today. Manon Luther SUI missed the Laser Radial Goldfleet with two points only. Thanks to a 5th place yesterday, Flavio Marazzi/Enrico De Maria SUI moved up to rank 12 in the Starboats, and the top-10 for the Medal Race of Saturday come closer. Nathalie Brugger SUI achieved also a top-10 race with a 6th place and progressed on rank 22, 12 points behind a Medal Race qualification. After the flop in race 1, Richard Stauffacher SUI continuously sailed one-digit results in his group, and starts the final races as 18th in the Goldfleet. Yannick Brauchli/Romuald Hausser SUI and Olivier and Adrien Gremaud SUI terminated the 470 qualifications on the ranks 42 and 56. Stéphanie and Romy Hasler SUI are on position 32 with the 470 girls with a encouraging 6th race rank yesterday. The report of the Léman-Sailing-Team. Thomas Gautschi SUI remained on the 44th place in the Finn class. All results, the daily report and the video of the day.

Only one race yesterday at the H-Boat Worlds in Norway. With a 3rd rank, Harri Roschier FIN is now the sole leader, followed by Jan Gustafson SWE and Staffen Stegger DEN. Jürg Ganz SUI progressed on the 22th place of the 44 teams. Christian Gut SUI remained on the 28th position. The results and the event website.

The 35 teams are on their third turn around Lake Geneva, approaching the last 24 hours of the 5 days' regatta in a pouring rain. At present, Bernard Gianola/Michael Dixon lead with a 23 minutes' advantage on Jean-Pascal and Francine Chatagny. The rankings, the race-viewer and the daily report.

Looking out of the window promises bad luck for the Swiss Championships of the coming weekend for the Starboats at Brunnen and the Fireballs and Pirates at Aegeri. Already today, 30 Fireballs from Czech Republic, Germany and Switzerland and 21 Pirates will start for their first races on Lake Aegeri. The event website.
In the Starboats - first start tomorrow Friday - the number of registered boats did increase to 42 boats in the mean-time. The weather forecast and the wind predictions.

Richard Stauffacher SUI demonstrated his fresh breeze skills, finishing 10/8/8 in his group yesterday, despite of a two-years' interruption of his international activity. With these results, he is now on the 23rd position in the overall RS:X-rankings and will progress further, when the discard comes into effect. All other Swiss had difficulties with the 15-25 kn breeze: Marazzi/De Maria - 20th yesterday - dropped on the 13th place in the Starboats, Nathalie Brugger SUI was twice on the wrong side of the first beat in the Lasers Radial and is now on the 26th position. Christian Steiger and Christoph Bottoni, 44th and 45th yesterday will fight for the Goldfleet (best 45 overall) today in the Lasers Standard. Thomas Gautschi shares for once the thrills of the Olympic World Cup circuit in the Finn class, occupying the 42nd rank of the 50 participants actually. The two men 470s Brauchli/Hausser and Gremaud/Gremaud will continue in the Silverfleet, as do Stéphanie and Romy Hasler in the 470 women. Consult the report of the Léman Sailing Team, reporting on capsizes as does the weblog of Manon Luther. See also the official Swiss Sailing Team AG report with a one-day delay.

27 Lacustre yachts met last week for the 'Dolce far niente', an event almost without racing stress. During five days, a number of lake Constance ports were visited, and the program ashore and on the water was full of special activities. Only the passages from port to port were sailed as regattas, but the finishing order was of minor importance. The report.

Last weekend, the forth and last regatta of the Trofeo Quattro Laghi was sailed on Lake Garda with the following results: The winners of the Arco event were Pirrone/Duchi ITA in the 420s (20 teams from ITA and AUT), in the 420 overall rankings, Antonia Lembcke/Lea Mardeis GER are first. The ISAF Youth World Champions Linda Fahrni/Maja Siegenthaler SUI not competing on Lake Garda finished 5th of the 83 teams. In the Optimists Juniores, Mattia Duchi ITA was first ahead of Stefan Scharnagl AUT. Janik Doswald SUI, the best Swiss, finished 8th in the 88 boats' fleet from 6 nations. In the 4-Laghi-overall rankings, Michael Quendler AUT took the lead in front of Jakob Fürst AUT, the best Swiss Dominik Müller SUI finished 15th of the 166 participants. In the younger Cadetti category, Jana Germani ITA is on top. Adrien Schaer SUI is on the 25th place.

Light winds prevail on Lake Geneva also after 72 hours for the 35 Surprise yachts spread over the entire lake. Consult the race-viewer. At the last passage off Vidy-Lausanne, Thierry Langenberger/Thierry Penseyres were first with a 5 minutes' advantage on the ladies team Elodie-Jane and Justine Méttreaux. The standings and the daily report.

The H-Boat World Championship in Norway began yesterday with three races. As expected, the Scandinavian teams are in the lead with Harri Roschier FIN and Jan Gustafson SWE and their teams holding the top at equal points. The two Swiss teams are in the middle of the fleet: Jürg Ganz SUI is 24th, Christian Gut follows on the 29th place of the 44 teams. The results and the event-website.

In spite of the rather light conditios, the 35 teams passed the mark off Bouveret for the second time shortly before midnight. Bryan Méttreaux/Auràlien Beck were first, one minute ahead of Beck/Galetto. The 3rd Gianola/Dixon followed half an hour later. The standings, the race-viewer and the report.

Weymouth 'Sail for Gold' World Cup event is a must for all Swiss teams running an Olympic campaign for 2012. The only one still fighting for World Cup medals is Nathalie Brugger SUI on the 6th position in the Lasers Radial. Of special interest will be the performance of Flavio Marazzi/Enrico De Maria SUI in the Starboat class testing their new boat in fresher winds on a sea course for the first time in competition. A premiere also for the Olympic windsurfer Richard Stauffacher, for the first time back in a World Cup event since Qingdao 2008. In addition to the Laser Radial (Erika Frederikson SUI and Manon Luther SUI are also on the entry list), Star and RS:X men, Swiss teams will participate in the 470 and Laser Standard events. All entry lists.
There is still a chance for a half-Swiss World Cup title: Emmanuelle Rol SUI/FRA and Hélène Defrance FRA are actually on the 2nd place in the 470 women's event only one point behind their Equipe de France collegues Petitjean/Douroux FRA. To be seen whether the fresh breeze trainings of the past weeks is already paying dividends. During the Worlds in the Netherlands, the Swiss-French duo had some difficulties in strong winds.

Thanks to a earlier start on 16 p.m. already, almost all 42 participants had the benefit of the termal breeze prevailing during the lake up-and-down race. The night-part of the event was obsoliete. Res Bienz and his team on a Longtze were the winners ahead of the Asso of Carlo Lazzari and Eric Monnin on a mOcean. The finishing order and the ranking list by class.

The thermal breeze, not up to its reputation, was light and very shifty on Saturday, but nevertheless, three races were completed for both classes. Sunday was rainy without wind. In the Dragons, Andy Herrmann GER and his team are on top ahead of Martin Knapp TYC and John Ulbrich TYC. The best 5.5 m team was once more Menzi/Stampfli/Gaume TYC.

23 solo-sailors participated in the Solitaire of the SN Rolloise disputted in a light westerly breeze. 'Epoxy Affair' was the winner ahead ot 'S'Presso' and 'Fou d'amour'. The names of the skippers have not been unveiled in the Regatta report.

The 35 two-person teams have been under way since almost 20 hours on their 5-days'-race on Lake Geneva. After the start off Lausanne, the most Eastern mark off Le Bouveret was rounded around 22 p.m. last night, and at present, the fleet is sailing in the direction of Geneva. on the opposite end of the lake. At Le Bouveret, Ludovic Noverraz/Matthieu Stalder were on the first place. The race-viewer indicates the actual positions. The event-website with the daily report.

The Melges 24 World Championship began yesterday with two races sailed in a light and shifty breeze off Tallinn EST. Finishing 1/2, the defending champion 'Uka-Uka' of Lorenzo Bressani ITA (with Jonathan McKee USA calling tactics) has already taken the lead, followed by the surprising Corinthian team of Oyvind Jahre NOR (3/4). Carlo Fracassoli ITA is on rank 3. Admittedly, all four Swiss teams are positioned in the first half of the fleet so far, but none of them is playing a determining role. Franco Rossini SUI with his 'Blu Moon', day ranks 13 and 16, is on the 11th position, Jean-Marc Monnard SUI is 20th, Michael Good SUI and his 'Zero8-Sailing-Team are on the 28th place and Sönke Boy SUI is 33rd of the 79 teams. The results and the report of the day.

The thermal breeze, not up to its reputation, was light and very shifty yesterday. Nevertheless, three races were completed for both classes. In the Dragons, Andy Herrmann GER and his team are on top ahead of Martin Knapp TYC and John Ulbrich TYC. The best 5.5 m team are once more Menzi/Stampfli/Gaume TYC.

35 two-person-teams will be on the starting line of the Surprise class 5-days'-race on Lake Geneva this afternoon. The winning boat is the one with the best mileage next Friday at 2 p.m. sharp. The race can be followed with GPS-tracking. We shall report daily. A preview by the Tribune de Genève and the event-website.

The Lake Garda wind machine was working full power once more yesterday and three excellent races could be sailed with both classes. In the H-Boats, Thilo Beust GER is now leading after 8 races and 2 discards tied with Walter Pulz GER. The best helmswoman Cornelia Zech SUI and her team did loose one place and are now on the 8th position. Christian Fierz SUI follows on rank 15.
In the Tempest class, Frank Weigelt GER is the leader. The leading helmswoman Cornelia with husband Ruedi Christen SUI follow on the 4th place of the 11 teams.

Next Thursday is the first day of the Starboat Swiss Championship on Lake Uri, a resail of the early June event on the Lago Maggiore where no race could be sailed during four days because of missing wind.
In spite of the short preparation time, the organisers around Lorenz Zimmermann succeeded to assemble an interesting program and attract a quite large fleet. Up to now, 40 teams from Germany and Switzerland have registered. late inscriptions are possible until Thursday.

Alberto Roemmers ARG and ‘Matador’ in IRC B and the Judel-Vrolijk designed Mini Maxi ‘Ran’ owned by Niklas Zennstroem GBR in IRC A are in good positions to win their categories. In the RI-1-class, Rolf Aufdermaur SUI descended on the 24th place. The report.

With gold in hand, Wolfgang Hunger/Julien Kleiner GER watched the many lead changes in the final race from shore. At the end, Saugmann/Ramsbæk DEN had their nose out in front to take the gun, a few yards ahead of the Bojsen-Møllers who took silver ahead of Ian Pinell/Ian Mitchell GBR. With a third place in the final race. Florian Stauffer/Philippe Jacot advanced to the 13th place of the 127 teams. Cédric Barth/Ueli Marti SUI with a 6th race rank finished the Championship on position 19 overall. The standings and the event site with the report, the gallery the videos and the GPS tracker.

The sea breeze off Palma was late, but strong enough for two more races. In the RI-1-rankings the Swan 45 of Farael Carbonell ESP is leading. Rolf Aufdermaur SUI with his Farr 40 did loose some ranks after a premature start and is now on 21. René Estoppey SUI remains on the 14th place in the RI-2-rankings. All results, the report and the videos.

After an abandoned race due to a weakening breeze, racing resumed with one race late in the afternoon in an upcoming thunderstorm with gust of up to 30 kn. Finishing 2nd, Wolfgang Hunger/Julien Kleiner GER took the World Champion title with one race to spare. Considering the points gaps, Silver for Bojsen-Möller/Bojsen-Möller DEN and Bronze for Pinnell/Mitchell GBR seem to be awarded. Florian Stauffer/Philippe Jacot SUI follow on the 14th position with a 16 points difference to the 10th place. Barth/Marti SUI descended on rank 21, Petermann/Grob SUI are 41th. All details on the yesterday's race (Video, GPS-Tracking, Fotos) on the post-race-websitee, as well as the ranking list and the report of the day.

Three races by class were sailed last Saturday in a thermal breeze filling up late in the afternoon only. In the Finn class, Christoph Wilke TYC was the winner, the best Dolphin was steered by Matthias Renker RCO and in the 420s, Lukas Huber/David Steheli RCO were on first. The short report.

Good sailing conditions and 6 races on Lake Sihl during the past weekend. In a close battle, Cornelia and Ruedi Christen TYC were first with the Tempests one point ahead of Mario Suter/Andres Hochuli SCH. Michi Fehr/Raphael Jakob YCSe were the winners in the Dart class and in the Fireballs, it is once more Claude Mermod/Ruedi Moser RCO on top. The report by the Fireballs.

Some more results and news on Swiss regattas over the past weekend have been published in the meantime. Please find them in our section Sailing Switzerland.

In IRC A Andy Soriano GBR on 'Alegre' took another bullet and now leads Niklas Zennstroem’s GBR on ‘Ran’ and Udo Schuetz GER on ‘Container’. In IRC B the TP 52s are among themselves. Alberto Roemmers ARG on ’Matador’ is unbeatable right now and leads Jose Cusi ESP on ‘Bribon’. Rolf Aufdermaur SUI with his Farr 40 'Kajsa II', did loose some ranks and is now on the 21st position of the RI-1-classification. With his best result so far, René Estoppey SUI gained one rank and is now 14th of the RI-2-standings. The www.prensarcnp.es/copa10/noticias/0031_uk.php ]report[/url].

Yesterday at the 505 World Championships had the most tactically challenging conditions yet, but Jorgen and Jacob Bojsen-Møller DEN made it look easy by finishing 2/1 and closing the points gap in the overall standings to Wolfgang Hunger/Julien Kleiner GER (5/2) with two races to go (2 discards allowed). Pinnell/Mitchell GBR are 3rd. The report, the race analytics, a video and the gallery. The two last races today (13 p.m. CET) full of suspense can be followed live on the event website. (A new java version might be required that is worthwhile downloading, as the forthcoming Moth Europeans on Lake Silvaplana will also be covered using the TracTrac-GPS-sytem).
The two Swiss teams Florian Stauffer/Philippe Jacot SUI, new on rank 11, and Cédric Barth/Ueli Marti SUI on the 16th place showed also improved results yesterday.

Yesterday was a lay day at the 5o5 Worlds in Aarhus DEN. Wolfgang Hunger/Julien Kleiner GER are in the driver’s seat with four more races to go, ahead of Jorgen and Jacob Bojsen-Møller DEN and Ian Pinnell/Ian Mitchell GBR. Best of the 4 Swiss teams are Stauffer/Jacot SUI and Barth/Marti SUI, strong especially in fresh winds. On the ranks 13 and 15 of the 127 teams, they still have good chances to finish in the top-10s. The results, the race analysis, the video and Mick Anderson’s gallery.

The 29th Copa del Rey began yesterday in the Bay of Palma with perfect sailing conditions, a 10-12 kn southerly thermal breeze. In addition to 4 handicap classes, the X-35 and X-41 monotypes are participating. In the big RI 1 - category fleet, Rolf Aufdermaur SUI with his Farr 40 'Kajsa II' is on rank 22. In the RI 2 - category, René Estoppey SUI with his Grand Soleil 40 is on the 15th position. All results and the report of the day.

Wolfgang Hunger and Julien Kleiner GER have tightened their grip on the SAP 505 World Championships with a 1st and 2nd place in two light air races in Aarhus DEN. Jorgen and Jacob Bojsen-Møller DEN ar3e 2nd, Ian Pinnell/Ian Mitchell 3rd. In the lighter breezes of yesterday, the Swiss teams had a weak day with Florian Stauffer/Philippe Jacot SUI 31/35 dropping on rank 13 and Cédric Barth/Ueli Marti SUI on rank 15. Gilles Petermann/Laurent Grob SUI were the best Swiss, advancing on rank 34 overall. The report, the results, and the gallery.

Last Saturday on Lake Zoug, the 'Barrique-Cup', a regatta for wooden boats older than 40 years, was sailed in two races with good wind conditions. The Club-website contains an illustrated short report.

Yesterday, the Laser Europa Cup Nieuwpoot BEL ended with two more races sailed in a 12 kn breeze. With 7 bullets in 7 races, Wannes Van Laer BEL was the outstanding winner with the Lasers Standard, followed by Jordi Capella SP and Lander Balcaen BEL. The Lasers Radial were dominated by the Singapore team with Scott Sydney SIN, Leong Koh-Seng SIN and Victoria Chan SIN. Gaëtan Van Campenhout SUI finished the serie on the 13th place. Valentin Bovay SUI and Blaise Fruttero SUI follow on the ranks 16 and 17 of the 49 entrants from 10 nations. The Lasers 4.7.regatta ended with a double French victory by Vitalien Affagard FRA and Arthur Meursse FRA. Marine Van Campenhout SUI finished on the 3rd place. The final report.

In the Girls’ Goldfleet, Roberta Caputo/Benedetta Barbiero ITA successfully defended their first place against Morgan Kiss/Katia da Silva USA and Cristina Celli/Silvia Morini ITA in 3rd. Linda Fahrni/Maja Siegenthaler SUI remained on the 14th position only 4 pts behind the top-10. The 17-year- old Swiss ISAF Youth World Champions sailed for the first time in the fresh seabreeze and waves conditions prevailing off Haifa. After some initial difficulties, they demonstrated their qualities several times in the Goldfleet and finished four out of 11 races in the top-6. The 14th final position is remarkable. Mara Bezel/Fabienne Morath SUI stayed on the 14th place of the Silverfleet. Here a first summary of the Swiss coaches.
In the boys’ Goldfleet, Justin Liu/Sherman Cheng SIN closed the deal for the title, 21 points ahead of Francesco Falcetelli/Gabriele Franciolini ITA and 24 better than third-place finishers Edoardo Scotti/Leonardo Cuccchiara ITA.
The class website and the gallery.

One race yesterday in a decent breeze at the 5o5 Worlds in Aarhus with Wolfgang Hunger/Julien Kleiner GER winning an taking the lead ahead of Ian Pinell/Ian Mitchell GBR and Howie Hamlin/ Andrew Zinn USA. Jørgen and Jacob Bojsen-Møller DEN finished 2nd to advance to 4th overall. The Swiss keep on sailing in the top group and stay on the good 10th (Florian Stauffer/Philippe Jacot SUI) and 13th (Céderic Barth/Ueli Marti SUI) positions among the 115 starters, btw all in one fleet with a rabbit start (see video). The results and the loaded event website.

Yesterday, on the closing day of the Laser 4.7 Europeans on Lake Hourtin near Bordeaux, the races 10 & 11 were sailed.
In the Boys’fleet, Maximilian Stein GER took the Championship title ahead of the bests of the day (2/1) Benjamin Vadnai HUN and Bartul Plenkovic CRO. Sébastien Schneiter SUI added two more top-10 rankings and finished the regatta on the excellent 6th place among the 226 entrants. With this result, he takes the Silvermedal in the U-16-rankings behind Benjamin Vadnai HUN. In two weeks, Sébatstien Schneiter will sail for Switzerland at the Youth Olympics in Singapore. The other Swiss follow on the ranks 64 (Guillaume Rigot SUI), 119 (Tim Wächter SUI) and 131 (Stefan Nae SUI).
In the Girls fleet, the title went to Sara Pisecka POL, with Sofia Toroi FIN and Antonela Kacan CRO on the Silver and Bronze positions of the podium. With an excellent 2nd rank in the last race of the Goldfleet, Alexandra Rayroux SUI advanced to the 44th place overall. Winner of the U-16-rankings was Vasilea Karachaliou GRE in front of Maxime Jonker and Nancy Fakidi GRE.
The event website. .

The Laser Europa Cup Nieuwpoort continued yesterday in a 12-15 kn breeze. In the Lasers Standard, Wannes van Laer BEL has a flawless series of 5 bullets in 5 races, leading ahead of Jordi Capella ESP and Lander Balcaen BEL. In the Lasers Radial, Scott Sydney SIN replaced his team mate Victoria Chan SIN on top. Jeroen Belis BEL follows on rank 3. Gaëtan Van Campenhout SUI is on the 12th place, Valentin Bovay SUI is 16th. Despite of a race win, Marine Van Campenhout SUI did loose one rank in the small Laser 4.7 fleet and is now 3rd. Vitalien Affagard FRA is the leader. The report.

Three more races were added yesterday at the 420 Worlds in Haifa ISR in a moderate breeze and open-ocean swell. Before the last two races today, Roberta Caputo/Benedetta Barbiero ITA remain first in the Girl's Goldfleet with an 8 pts advantage on Morgan Kiss/Katia da Silva USA and another 13 pts behind Celli/Morini ITA Kalderon/Brewer GBR with the same total score on the 3rd position. Linda Fahrni/Maja Siegenthaler SUI, now 14th, are again 2 ranks up and with a good last day, a top-10 finish is still possible. In the Girl's Silverfleet, Mara Bezel/Fabienne Morath SUI progressed on the 14th place (= 51st overall).
Singaporeans Justin Liu and Sherman Cheng continue to head the Boys' Goldfleet with a comfortable margin over Scotti/Cucchiara ITA and Falcetelli/Franciolini ITA who toppled Thamsoontorn/Chomtongdee THA from the podium. In Open Silver Villas Boas/Camelo POR have the lead
The class website and the event gallery., as well as the eblog of the Swiss team.

The positions on top of the Boys fleet before the last races today is very close, as Maximilian Stein GER, Bartul Plenkovic CRO and Benjamin Vadnai HUN are separated by 6 pts only, and their lead on the 4th placed Léo Vilboux FRA and others is at least 14 pts. Thanks to a good day, Sébastien Schneiter SUI advanced on the 10th place and will be fighting for a medal in the U-16-rankings,where he is on the 2nd position behind Benjamin Vadnai HUN tied with Niels Broekhuizen NED. Nikolaev RUS, rank 4, is 11 pts back. Guillaume Rigot SUI, sailing in the Silverfleet, follows on the 65th position. Tim Wächter SUI is 119th of the 232 participants. .
Sara Piascka POL holds the lead in the Girls’ fleet with a 9 pts lead on Sofia Toroi FIN on rank2. Ida Voutilainen FIN and Antonela Kacan CRO follow tied on the 3rd place. Alexandra Rayroux SUI and Camille Matile SUI are on the positions 53 and 55 of the 118 participants, separated by 1 pt only. In the U-16-Girls’ ranking, Vasileia Karachaliou GRE leads ahead of Maxime Jonker NED and Dewi Couvert NED.
The event website.

The SAP 505 World Championships have started with a bang in Aarhus, Denmark with the breeze gusting up to 30 knots and an avalanche of dropouts in both races. Best at this game were Howie Hamlin/Andy Zinn USA who scored two seconds for the overall lead, followed by Böhm/Roos GER and Hunger/Kleiner GER. Pinell/Mitchell GBR are fourth while the favorites Bojsen-Møller brothers DEN are 6th. The Swiss team managed the fresh breeze conditions quite well and are on the positions 9, Florian Stauffer/Philippe Jacot SUI and 13. Cédric Barth/Ueli Marti SUI The event website with the feed orgy and the results.

Andrea Bonezzi ITA did it again and is taking home another Contender European Championship trophy followed by BB Johnsen DEN and Simon Mussell GBR. The other Trophies went to Jacqueline Rufenacht SUI for the ladies win, Thomas Hooton GBR for the best junior and Stuart Jones GBR in the Masters. The Swiss Erich Ott, Volker Messerknecht and Jacqueline Rüfenacht are ranked on the positions. 67, 78 and 81. The results and the gallery.

The Laser Europacup Nieuwpoort BEL, at the same time the Open Belgian Laser Championship 2010 began with light winds. After three races, Wannes Van Laer BEL is the leader in the Lasers Standard ahead of Lander Balcaen BEL and Jordi Capella ESP. In the largest fleet with 49 boats, the Lasers Radial, a Singapore triple is on top with Glenn Scott SIN leading ahead of Victoria Cahan SIN. Gaëtan Van Campenhout SUI follows on rank 13, Valentin Bovey SUI is 20th. In the Lasers 4.7, only 4 boats sailing, Arthur Meursse FRA leads ahead of Marine Van Campenhout SUI The report.

Hot, sunny and light conditions on the second day of the finals at the 420 Worlds in Haifa ISR. Overall leaders in the girls’ Gold fleet are again Roberta Caputo/Benedetta Barbiero ITA, followed by Morgan Kiss/Katia Da Silva USA and Rebecca Kalderon/Katrina Brewer GBR. With the day ranks 5/19/2, Linda Fahrni/Maja Siegenthaler SUI made a junp ahead (rank 31 to 16), and a top-10 final ranking seems not impossible. In the Silverfleet, the other Swiss team - Mara Bezel/Fabienne Morath SUI - progressed by 3 places also on rank 16 (= 53rd overall).
In the boys’ Gold fleet, Justin Liu/Sherman Cheng SIN are the Untouchables, leading Mancinelli/Cucchiara ITA and Thamsoontorn/Chomtongdee.
The gallery, the website and the weblog of the Swiss team.

Two more races yesterday, sailed in a fresher breeze, completed the qualification series at the Laser 4.7 Europeans. Bartul Plenkovic CRO and Maximilian Stein GER with the same points score are leading the Goldfleet before the final races. Jean-Baptiste Guillou FRA follows on the 3rd place. Sébastien Schneiter SUI, on the 21st place actually, did loose some ranks, but he will continue the Championship in the Goldfleet, as does Guillaume Rigot SUI on the 63rd place. Tim Wächter SUI, 124th and Stefan Nae SUI, advancing yesterday surprisingly on rank 140 with the best Swiss result, a 7th race rank, are qualified for the Silverfleet. In the U-16-classification, Jean-Baptiste Guillou FRA is on top. Sébastien Schneiter follows on the 7th place.
In the Girls fleet, Sara Piasecka POL did replace Sofia Toroi FIN on the first place. Marta Biernaczyk POL follows on the 3rd position. Alexandra Rayroux SUI follows on rank 50 and qualifies for the Goldfleet together with Camille Matile SUI on 56. In the U-16-rankings, Maxime Jonker NED is the leader.
The event-website.

After an over-the-line time penalty, the key favorite Andrea Bonezzi ITA, four bullets so far, dropped surprisingly back on the 3rd place. The new leader is now BB Johnsen DEN 1 pt ahead of Simon Mussell GBR. But with a 7 pts deficit, Bonezzi still has a hand on the title in today's races. Erich Ott SUI had his best results over the last two days and is now on the 63rd place. Volker Messerknecht SUI and Jacqueline Rüfenacht SUI follow on the ranks 77 and 83. The standings.

The chips are down and the fleets were acting up at the first day of the finals at the 420 Worlds in Haifa ISR with 40 BFDs in the three opening races. Race 2 of the men had 19, while Race 3 of the women had 11 boats booted for being over early with the black flag in play.
In the women’s Gold Fleet the lead switched to Rebecca Kalderon/Katrina Brewer GBR followed by Roberta Caputo/Benedetta Barbiero ITA and Barbara Cornudella/Sara Lopez ESP. Besides two acceptable races (19/20), Linda Fahrni/Maja Siegenthaler SUI were unfortunately also among the too-early-starters. They are acutally on the 31st place, but there are still 8 races to go. In the women’s Silver Berta/Tisseli ITA are in front. Mara Bezel/Fabienne Morath SUI had difficulties with the high waves and dropped on the 19th place (= 56th overall).
In the men’s Gold fleet Asian sailors moved to the top with Justin Liu/Sherman Cheng SIN in the lead, followed by Edoardo Mancinelli Scotti/Leonardo Cucchiara ITA and Navee Thamsoontorn/Atiwat Chomtongdee THA. The men’s Silver fleet is led by Gratton/Riley GBR.
The event news ticker and the official reports., plus the weblog of the Swiss coaches Monika Meier and Franziska Dürig.

Three more races of the Laser 4.7 Europeans were sailed on Lake Hourtin near Bordeaux yesterday.
In the Boys fleet, Tora Kutoglu TUR has reclaimed the lead ahead of Bartul Plenkovic CRO advancing on the 2nd position with two day wins. Niels Broekhuizen NED follows on 3rd. Sébastien Schneiter SUI – ranks 10 and 13 yesterday – is on the 15th place. Guillaume Rigot SUI , 62nd, will most probably join him in the Goldfleet, that is to far away for Tim Wächter, rank 124, who is a candidate for Silverfleet. Stefan Nae SUI, rank 175 of the 224 participants will be in the Bronzefleet. Niels Broekhuizen NED leads in the U-16-classification with Sébastien Schneiter SUI on rank 5.
Bei den Girls fleet, Sofia Toroi FIN remained on top, followed by the two Polish girls Marta Biernaczyk and Sara Piasecka. Alexandra Rayroux SUI on the 51st place is qualified for the Goldfleet. Camille Matile SUI, 67th, and Carli Ochs SUI, 114th will be in the Silverfleet. In the U-16-classification, Vasileia Karachaliou GRE leads ahead of Maxime Jonker NED and Dewi Couvert NED.
Two more qualification races are scheduled for today. The event-website.

The excellent sailing conditions with sun and a 3-5 bft seabreeze during the first days of the 420 World Championship allowed to run the qualification regattas according to schedule with the layday yesterday before the final races begin. In the men's fleet (i.e. Open fleet, as some mixed teams are included), the situation with Vasilas/Fragiadaki GRE on top is very tight. In the Fwomen's fleet, Roberta Caputo/Benedetta Barbiero ITA are on the first place.
Linda Fahrni/Maja Siegenthaler SUI, rank 29, had difficulties with the fresh breeze, but they made the Goldfleet. The first start today is at 1 p.m., the peak time of the seabreeze. The official report.
The Swiss team did some sightseeing with a trip on the Carmel, the mountain of Haifa, and went to the beach in the afternoon. The weblogs of Linda & Maja, of Mara & Fabienne and the Swiss team.

No wind yesterday and the 52 Tornado teams from 8 nations were forced to stay ashore at the Bay of Travemünde. The decision for the title will fall today with Roland and Nahid Gäbler GER on the pole position with a 5 points lead over Iordanis Paschalidis/Konstantin Trigonis GRE. Martin Rusterholz/Simon Koster SUI follow on rank 7, Donald Beike/Michael Gloor SUI are 12th. The results and the daily report.

Sun and a lively thermal breeze around 16-18 kn brought on two more races for the 87 participants at the Contender Europeans, but also the same old result: Andrea Bonezzi ITA (5) shows a 2/1/1/1 score line so far and looks like the odds-on favorite for another title. New in second is Simon Mussell GBR (16), Sören Andreasen DEN (24) is third. The Swiss trio lost some places. Erich Ott SUI is now on the 67th place, Volker Messerknecht SUI and Jacqueline Rüfenacht SUI follow on the ranks 73 and 76. The results and the short report (in French.).Thestandings and the short French report.

Three races, sailed in an excellent up to 4 bft seabreeze, were added at the 420 Worlds in Haifa ISR with one discard now in play. New leaders in the Open group racing are Vasilias Fragiadaki GRE ahead of Ikhlef/Pequin FRA and Liu/Cheng SIN.
Tight racing also in the women’s qualifier, where the lead belongs to Caoputo/Barbiero ITA, followed by Adler/Kunze BRA and Lee/Low SIN (16). The Swiss girls have difficulties especially with the fresher breeze around noon. Thanks to good results in the lighter morning and evening races, Linda Fahrni/Maja Siegenthaler SUI nevertheless qualified for the Goldfleet as 29th. Mara Bezel/Fabienne Morath SUI, rank 41, missed the Goldfleet by 4 places and 10 points.
The sometimes instable event website, the official report and the weblog of the Swiss team.

Sunshine, 8-12 kn breeze and huge fleets for the first two races of the Laser 4.7 European Championship on Lake Hourtin near Bordeaux yesterday.
The fleet of the 232 Boys was split in four groups, and after the first day, two Laser sailors from Turkey are leading: Mustafa Onur TUR (2/1) is on top ahead of Tora Kutoglu (1/3) and Maximilian Stein GER (4/1). Sébastien Schneiter SUI follows on rank 26 (4/18), Guillaume Rigot SUI is 54th (28/4). Tim Wächter SUI on the 95th place (22/31) has to improve in order to reach the best 58 in the Goldfleet after 6 races.
For the Girls, the group rankings lists (59 boats by group) have not yet been consolidated. In the blue group, Anna Liebmann ITA (2/2) is first ahead of Sara Diaz ESP and Ida Voutilainen FIN. Camille Matile SUI follows on rank 24 (28/25). In the white group, Noora Koskiahde FIN is on top in front of Sofia Toroi and Vasilea Karachaliou GRE. Alexandra Rayroux SUI follows on rank 22.
The event-website.

The Contender European Championship began yesterday off La Rochelle FRA with two races. Andrea Bonezzi, 8 times World Champion, is already on top of the standing, however joined by Sören Andreasen DEN. Jan Van der Bank GER follows on the 3rd place. The three Swiss are actually further back on rank 62, Erich Ott SUI, rank 67, Volker Messerknecht SUI and 69, Jacqueline Rüfenacht SUI, the only woman in the 87 boats fleet from 12 nations. The results.

The 420 Class World Championship began yesterday in Haifa ISR with three races. Anna Burnet/Flora Stewart GBR in the women's fleet and Clement Ikhlef/Clement Pequin FRA in the men's fleet are the first leaders. With the day ranks 16/28/2, the ISAF Youth World Champions Linda Fahrni/Maja Siegenthaler SUI, interims ranking 27, did meet the expectations only in the third race, but their chances are good to qualify for the Goldfleet today. Mara Bezel/Fabienne Morath SUI, the second Swiss team in Israel, has a premature start disqualification to digest and is actually on the 53rd place. Unfortunately, the event-website does not display the complete results at this very moment. Here at least the preliminary women's rankings (PDF) from yesterday evening. No Swiss male participants. The top-15 are listed also in the report of the class association. In addition, here the report of the Swiss team.

Gildas Morvan FRA was the winner of the opening race, where 8 of 45 participants were disqualified under the black flag rule. Bernard Stamm SUI finished on rank 27, The results, the report and the video of the prologue.
The start to the first leg from Le Havre FRA to Gijon ESP follows tomorrow Tuesday.

A southerly breeze of 12-13 kts on the Clyde, Erika Reineke USA is on a solid path towards the title, followed by Manami Doi JPN 27 pts behind and Michelle Broekhuizen NED. Nigina Roemer SUI follows on the 9th place of the Silverfleet (=54 overall).
In the boys' fleet, Giovanni Coccoluto ITA has a 17 pts lead on Mitchell Kiss USA. Tadeusz Kubiak POL had is back to third. Valentin Bovay SUI follows on rank 63, Sydney Bussard SUI on rank 72. In the Silverfleet, Gaëtan Van Campenhout SUI is 22nd (=95 overall) of the 230 participants. The report and all results.

Big shuffle at the top of the final standings at the Laser Standard European Championship on the last day with Stuart Godwin GBR as the surprising Champion ahead of Alexios Katsios GRE and Nik Pletikosa SLO. Guillaume Girod SUI lost some ranks on the last day and finished the Championship on the 41st place. Day best of the Silverfleet, Lauri Kalkkinen SUI climbed on the 3rd position (=65 overall). The event website.

'Nouvelle Calédonie' with the America’s Cup veteran Bertrand Pacé is the superior winner of the Tour 2010 ahead of 'Courrier Dunkerque' (Daniel Souben FRA) and 'TPM-COYCH Hyères' (Fabien Henry FRA). Eclat in the Amateur-classification, with 'Ville de Genève' as winner on the water, but penalized by the Jury with 10 points as they replaced their spinnaker torn on the day before without permission of the Jury. One point behind 'Purflo - Les Thermes de St.Malo', they finished on rank 10 overall and 2nd of the Amateurs. The two teams of ’Bienne-Voile’ terminated the Tour on the positions 23 and 25. The final report, the results and the images of the day. The videothek contains some impressive clips from Friday’s race abandoned due to a too strong Mistral.

The Greek 'Modus Vivendi'-team with Mantis Panagiotis GRE, leading right from the beginning, claimed back the Worlds title they had already won in 2008 ahead of J. Pintos ESP on 'Carpantxo' and 'Iberdola' with Manu Weiller ESP. Improvement for the two Swiss teams: Markus Siegrist SUI finished the event on rank 21, Matthias Bermejo SUI on the 24th position. The final report and the results.

A steady 9-knot SSW’ly allowed the 320 sailors to finish their qualifying races. In the girl’s division (7 races, one discard) Erika Reineke grabbed the overall lead from Manami Doi JPN. In third Tiril Blue FIN. Nigina Römer SUI, rank 56, missed the Goldfleet after a premature start.
After 4 races on the boy’s side, Tadeusz Kubiak POL leads, followed by Hermann Tomasgaard NOR and Luca Antognioli ITA. The Swiss have lost places and are now on rank 52, Valentin Bovay SUI, as the only one to continue in the Goldfleet, on rank 74, Sydney Bussard SUI, and on rank 96, Gaëtan Van Campenhout SUI. Today, the fleets are split in Gold and Silver. Four more races are planed for the finals. The report, and the results page.

Rain, wind up to 18 knots and heavy chop. Still in command overall in the Gold fleet is Eifon Mon GBR followed by Nik Pletikosa SLO and Francesco Marrai ITA, U19 leader. The only Swiss in the Goldfleet Guillaume Girod SUI advanced to rank 38. Lauri Kalkkinen SUI is 7th in the Silverfleet (=69th overall), Jonathan Schopfer SUI 47th (=109). On Saturday, the last two races will be sailed. First warning signal will be made at 11 am. The report and the results.