European Laser Standard Senior Championship 2009
Sat 1st August 2009 - Sat 8th August 2009
SWEDEN, Landskrona
Reports courtesy of Rune Hallin.
Pictures courtesy of Mats Svensson from Borstahusbild. For more pictures please visit www.borstahusbild.se
Saturday 8th August 2009
Goodison wins title
The Laser Standard Championships in Borstahusen, Landskrona, Sweden, began and ended with thunder. But the sun was shining on the sailors for the fifth day in a row. The wind on Saturday came from south, 4 to 5 knots in average and with a 40 degrees windshift and decreasing wind at the end. The second race was cancelled when the wind died completely and the thunder was rumbling in the background.
The Olympic gold medallist Paul Goodison, Great Britain, kept his first place despite a 20 in Saturdays race, which he could discard. His series started with a BFD, but with three 1st, two 2nd and a 3rd places he won both Europen Laser Standard Senior Trophy and European Laser Standard Senior Championship 2009 with a total of 22.
Second in the Trophy, 21 points after Goodison, came Tom Slingsby, Australia. With a third place on the Saturday race he advanced from third place to second with a total of 43 points. The result is the opposite to last years Trophy when Tom Slingsby was first and Paul Goddison second. Interesting results on the eve of the worlds in Halifax.
Third place in the Trophy and second in the European Championship went to Javier Hernandez, Spain, 46 points, and third place to Pavlos Kontides, Cyprus, 54.
All participants seemed to be pleased with the arrangements on- and offshore and the small, once-upon-a-time fishing village will return to be a peaceful and quite suburb to the city of Landskrona. The Borstahusen Yacht Club would like to see all the Laser sailors back again. They were all very much appreciated visitors!
Friday 7th August 2009
Goodison goes on
The first day of the finals and brilliant sunshine for the forth day in a row. The Laser Standard Championships could't have much better conditions. The wind was 7 - 8 knots from S.E., challeging with lots of windshifts.
On the seniors course, the current was quite strong from the south. There were lots of black flags especially in the second silver race.
Paul Goodison, Great Britain, had another good day and after a 4th and a 3rd he has a total of 22 points, leading with 32.
There were quite a lot of changes on the leader board. Pavlos Kontides from Cyprus was in 10th place on Thursday but after a 1st and 6th place he is now second with 54 points. Tonci Stipanovic from Croatia is third on 57. Javier Harnandez from Spain sits in 4th place also on 57 points. The World Champion Tom Slingsby, Australia, had two 13th and slipped down to fifth place with 60 points.
Thursday 6th August 2009
Goodison increases his lead
Another day with brilliant sunshine at the Laser Standard competitions in Borstahusen on the last day before the finals. The wind was light and fickle, 3 - 7 knots at the start but soon decreasing.
The seniors had a good first race. However, the second race was cancelled when the second fleet had just started due to a wind shift of 100 degrees after which the wind died completely.
The Olympic gold medallist Paul Goodison, Great Britain, seems to have put on a hold on the first place. After a first in todays race he has a total of 15 points and has increased his lead before the finals.
In second place is still James Sandall, New Zealand, 30 points, followed by Tom Slingsby, Australia, 34. No changes in the top. In the other group Tonci Stipanovic, Croatia, was number one and has advanced to fourth place with a total of 36 points. Javier Hernandez, Spain, is still on fifth place with 38.
The Swede Emil Cedergårdh, made another good sailing coming 10th and is still 12 with 52 points.
The wheather for the two final days is predicted to be sunny with winds up to 7 knots from east to south-east.
Wednesday 5th August 2009
The Olympic champion still in top
The sun was shining over the Laser sailors and the conditions were ideal when the third day of the Laser Standard competitions started in Borstahusen. The wind was quite stable from northwest, 3 knots in the beginning increasing to 6 knots. The sailors were more disciplined and no general recall was necessay on the senior course. All in all there were very clean races and now 6 of planned 6 races are sailed.
The Olympic champion Paul Goodison, Great Britain, is showing his skill. Maybe also that it is rewarding to prepare and to check the waters in advance. Paul was practising in Borstahusen earlier this year. Today he came second in both races on his course and he is in the lead with 14 points.
Second is now James Sandall, New Zealand, with 25 followed by Tom Slingsby, Australia. He won the last race on his course and has 32 points. Javier Hernandez, Spanien, second yesterday is now on fifth place.
Tuesday 4th August 2009
After a first day with sprinkling rain the sun came out and was shining all day. The wind was light, from 1,5 m/sec and for moments up to 5 m/sec, varying from northerly directions forcing the organizers to change both courses several times before the first race. The competitors had also problems with the light wind resulting in a lot of BFD.
The gold medallist Paul Goodison, Great Britain, showed his skill with first places in both races on the green course and is now in the lead with 10 points. The same result has Javier Hernandez, Spain, after a 4th and 3rd place on the same course. Tom Slingsby, Australia, sailed the blue course and made a bad first race followed by a fifth place, and he is now on 3rd place with 11 points. The same result have James Sandall, New Zealand and Zsombor Berecz, Hungary, ranked three in the world right now.
Monday 3rd August 2009
It was a rainy start to the championship with a thunderstorm in the morning, followed by lots of clouds and drizzle throughout the day. After an initial delay, the two youth fleets started racing. The wind blew at 3 m/sec from Northwest during the first race and increased to 7-8 m/sec from North during the second race.
After the planned two races of the day, current World Champion Tom Slingsby from Australia, is in the lead on 6 points with a fifth and a first place. The scores could not be tighter at the top of the leader board with places 1 to 4 all on six points after the first day. Hungarian Berecz Zsombor and Dutch Roelof Bouwmeester are currently tied in second place, both having scored a 2nd and a 4th place in their respective fleets, while Canadian Michael Leigh sits in fourth place overall after two 3rd places.
Last year's European Champion and 2008 Olympic Gold medallist Paul Goodison from Great Britain was one of eight that got a BDF in the first race but finished 7th in the second race and currently sits 70th overall.
Saturday 1st August and Sunday 2nd August
The first two days of the championship were used for measurement and registration, followed by a practive race and an opening ceremony on the Sunday.