Europeans @Barcelona Day 1: Report by Piet Saarberg / Vision Team

Report by Piet Saarberg (Vision Platform /Saarberg Mast) from day 1 at the Europeans. More info at http://www.catamaranparts.nl/news/

"The first day of racing. Getting into the water with 90 boats is a challenge o its own. The area was facing land so the boats must get upwind with the direction of wind coming from the south. Most sailors were aware and let in time. The wind was 12-15 knots, but the waves were washing machine like. Surprisingly there was a tide running pushing the boats to the start line, so it took 4 starts to get racing, 2 of those were black flagged, taking a few top guns out like Bob Baier from Germany. Also the line was shortish so the toll was high. The combination of the wind and waves made it a challenge with several capsizes. The field was quite stretched at the end.

The second race was a repeat of the first, with 2 starts, one black flagged and the waves had built in the time past, the wind was going down a bit. The best sailors were found in front.
It was a tiring day with 5 hours on the water. The return to base was regulated by a dinghy with a red flag outside at sea to stop overcrowding from the launching area. So damage was minimalized. By the results you can tell a number was not too happy. No comment on my results as I felt like the old man and the sea, but came through inscaved.

Tomorrow less wind predicted with less waves. The tide was not normal, but I have done a lot of Championships and never it was normal. Always something was out of the ordinary."
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Two more races scheduled for tomorrow
Top 15 below. Full Results at http://www.vela.cat/bisc/ClassA/130624_clas_PROV_1i2.pdf