Dutch Take Early Lead in Europe

as Summer Series is Entertained in Valencia

Dutch Take Early Lead in Europe as Summer Series is Entertained by Valencia
May 4, 2018 Mattias Dahlström

Valencia, Spain (April 30, 2018) – The 2018 M32 Series Europe began its summer calendar this past weekend under the glorious Mediterranean sun. Valencia delivered right from day one as six races were completed in a steady 9-12 knots of breeze.

 

Teams were testing the new Kwindoo tracking system where friends, families and fans could track racing remotely from anywhere in the world using the Kwindoo app.

Swiss based team Section 16 skippered by M32 International Class Association President Richard Davies took the early lead as just three points separated the top three boats, and just twelve points splitting the fleet.

Drama was ruling the middle of the fleet as Andrea Lacorte was awarded two penalty points and Guido Miani one, both for the same incident making contact at the windward mark. These penalty points kept the Italian and Monegasque teams in mid-fleet but hungry to crawl back up the leaderboard going into day two.

The action continued into the night as M32 crews and invited guests were treated to a match racing show and guest onboard experiences inside Port Americas Cup, all within view of the M32 party hosted at High Cube restaurant and lounge which protrudes out into the harbour. Good music and good food opened the night up for some well deserved R&R before day two commenced.

As crews took to the water for the second day of competition, mother nature was not on their side. The anticipated thermal breeze never emerged and despite best efforts, PRO Mattias Dahlström only managed to get one race in the bag. With Richard Davies winning the solo race of the day, his lead over the field was extended heading to the final day of racing. Making up for the lack of racing, teams were greeted by traditional Spanish hospitality with a night of Paella.

The Dutch Sailing Team NL, skippered by Olympic Finn star Pieter-Jan Postma came out flying on the final day as they took back-to-back victories in the first three races.

After holding the lead right from race number one of the weekend, Section 16 now found themselves being challenged for the top spot. As has become custom in the M32 Series, it all came down to the final race. Section 16 got off to a flying start and held the lead, doing all they could to retake the top spot on the leaderboard and close out this regatta. With Postma down in fifth place after a shaky start it looked to be going the way of the Swiss. However, on the final leg of the race, Postma and crew managed the overtake and slotted themselves into third to take this regatta by just one point.

“It was great to see that under the pressure we had on us on the last day that we performed. We had a lot of points to make up to Section 16.” Said Postma. We started this event to win it. We kept our cool, kept the faith and kept fighting all the way. Its so nice to see when the pressure comes on that we stepped up. All together it has been a real treat to be at the Marina Valencia with the high quality racing we have seen over this event and the winter series.”

Closing out the podium this weekend was Italian team Vitamina Veloce. The team were fighting hard and challenging for a top two finish, however skipper Andrea Lacorte suffered an injury leading into the final day which held the team back from performing to their full potential. Next month the Italian will be on home soil as the fleet move on to Italy for stage two of the M32 Series Europe.

After hosting the M32 Valencia Winter Series, this was the final time for the teams to enjoy the beautiful Port Americas Cup and the fantastic hospitality provided by the people of Valencia. May 25-27th the summer circuit heads east along the Mediterranean to Pisa, Italy where the Dutch will be defending their lead on top of the Series Leaderboard.

 

M32 Series Europe 2018 is organised by Sailing Series. See www.sailingseries.eu for further details.

RESULTS

Daily Results

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Day 2

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Day 3

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Event Leaderboard

 

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