The Final Day in Aruba

In the Seniors it first seemed that Gollito Estredo was going to have a fantastic day as the lighter competitor flew through the race area with the best exits at the marks during the first heat.  However, this heat was destined to be re-sailed due to big wind lulls in the first attempt.  The race committee decided to wait, hoping conditions would improve, but the winds remained light.  Although on the edge, racing was re-started.  Gollito Estredo won the first heat and Ethan Westera was back in top form winning the second heat.

The Finals was a very exciting one as Ethan flew towards the first mark securing himself in front of his rival Mateus Isaac who was also fighting for that second podium position behind the event leader Taty Frans. Gollito Estredo, the talented freestyler, gave all he had and took the second place in the last event elimination but, unfortunately, missed out on a podium position by just 2 points.

In the Youths there was another exciting battle for first place.  Both Mack Van Den Eerenbeemt and Alessio Botteri secured a position in the Final and then after the Juniors – who sailed in tricky conditions, but with no real effectiveness on their results – and the Masters – where things got tricky at the first mark between Uwe Dreijer and Sergo Mehl.  A protest left the door open for Constatino Saragoza as Sergio Mehl was disqualified.

The Youth Finals became a victim of the unfamiliar weather conditions with super light winds and even bigger wind lulls. The first start attempt got cancelled as too many sailors were floating right after the starting signal. On the second attempt the time was eventually up and with the poor winds and two competitors with a premature starts including the last warning signal according to the Notice of Race it simply came to an end 1 min after the scheduled time. The End

For full reports on all the action plus full results and photos visit the IFCA Class event page