Spanish And Danish Teams Take 49er/49erFX Junior World Titles

Spain’s Víctor Payá and Alvaro del Arco and Denmark’s Ida Marie Nielsen and Marie Thusgaard Olsen have been crowned 49er and 49erFX Junior World Champions.

Day four of the 49er Junior World Championship was a two stage affair. The morning had two normal races for all fleets, followed by the afternoon where the top 10 from each fleet raced three Theatre Races to complete the championship.

Aarhus delivered another day of westerly unstable winds from 8-12 knots, a fitting continuation of the challenge these U24 sailors have faced all week. Much of the 49er fleet was initially focused on getting their spot in the top 10 final.

49erFX Morning

In the 49erFX fleet, the teams ranked from secont to fifth were all looking to have a good couple of races to keep Ida Nielsen & Marie Olsen (DEN) from running away with the championship.

But it was not to be as Nielsen & Olsen gained another few points on the fleet by winning race 10 while their two main rivals placed third and fourth respectively. The Danes won the 49erFX European Championship on these same waters almost exactly one year ago and took a commanding 19 point lead into the final. With only 27 points of separation possible, it was almost a certainty they would be crowned champions in front of a home crowd once more.

49erFX Afternoon

At 13:30, a sea breeze rolled into town and smiles could be seen all over the boat park and on the race officers. The course was set and the top 10 teams lined up for the first race. As the race progressed it became clear that the dream of steady winds was not to be. The wind became patchy, and quick to take advantage of it were Netherland’s Bekkering & Duetz. There were many ups and downs, but they did manage to pick up the win while rivals Nielsen and Olsen (DEN) finished in last place after getting stuck in various holes. The improbable comeback from 24 points down became a tiny bit more realistic as the Dutch team moved to within touching distance.

A second race was started, but it was soon abandoned after the wind died completely. A series of rain squalls and clouds drove the windspeed and direction in circles. With the time limit of 18:00 approaching, the race committee managed to rattle off two quick races in succession. Nielsen and Olesen won race 2 by a wide margin and completed their second straight championship title in a row on home waters. Bekkering and Blom sailed well to move into second overall, followed by the Gorge sisters from Germany who took bronze.

49er Morning

In the 49er fleet, a nervous Paya & del Arco (ESP) tried to settle things down by sticking to their routine and managed a 13, which for them was a drop. Luckily, the second place Lubeck brothers (DEN) also sailed a drop, so they held onto their 14 point lead going into the finals.

Places second through seventh were very close, with only 16 points separating them all. Bildstein and Hussl (AUT) won the 10th race, moving them up to third overall, their highest position so far in the championship. Dave Mori and Justin Barnes (CAN) moved into third ahead of the final race.

49er Afternoon

With only 30 minutes left until the racing deadline, the 49er fleet was ready to compete for what was a very close championship. The wind built but was still unstable.

As the first race got underway Botin and Turrado (ESP) came off the pin end and dominated the fleet on the first upwind, ripping around the windward mark while the local favorites, the Lubeck brothers (DEN) were stuck in a lull on the opposite side of the course. Then the wind became even more patchy, and ultimately the race was abandoned, ending the day for all.

It was a fantastic championship, crowning worthy champions Paya & Del Arco (ESP) in the 49er and Nielsen & Olsen (DEN) in the 49erFX.

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