Riccardo Simoneschi Victorious At Swiss Open
For the second time the Swiss Open was hosted by Segler Vereinigung Kreuzlingen - 13 boats signed in but 2 boats had to withdraw due to some illness of crews. Any way 11 boats are not so bad as the Swiss Class is just starting to set up their own events. A littel disapointing that there was just one boat from Bavaria and even some boats from Lake Constance didn't find time to participate.
The crews which decided to participate didn't regret it as the weekend presented the full range of weather you may expect: Summer, Sun, strong wind, light wind and some rainfalls as well. This have been challenging conditions and finally the best teams were to be found on the top of the results list.
On Friday 2 races were sailed in light winds with max. 9 knots and in the third race wind picked up to 15 knots and some good reaching was guaranteed.
The races on Friday were won by SUI 382 (race 1 + 3) and ITA 783 (race 2).
On Saturday the day started grey but still dry and with winds up to 12 knots - later the day it began to rain and it was really a wet business to sail the Melges24, steady winds with 9 - 12 knots helped to keep the crews happy. But by the afternoon the sun was back and the temperatures rose again but the wind died to a light breeze with 5 knots. The teams which know how to change the boat's setup fast and efficiently did have a good advantage.
The best performance and boat of the day was Riccardo Simoneschi's "Audi powered by Q8" (ITA 783) winning 4, 5 and 6. Race 7 was won the locals on "Sonnenkönig" (SUI 684) helmed by Stefan Stäheli and owned by Armin Schmid.
For Sunday 3 more races were scheduled but these had to be cancelled due to a lack of wind - craning in bright sunshine started 12:00 and was finished on 13:00 to be followed by the prize giving ceremony.
The TOP 5:
- ITA 783 "Audi powered by Q8" Riccardo Simoneschi - 8 points
- SUI 382 "ZeroEigth" Michael Good - 18 points
- GER 672 "Pearl" Peter Göckel - 25 points
- GER 640 "Ka Nalu Nui" Günter Tzeschlock - 25 points
- SUI 684 "Sonnenkönig" Stäheli / Schmid - 27 points
A very warm applause during the price giving was dedicated to the volunteer team of SVK. Organisation was excellent and the teams enjoyed the dinners on Friday and Saturday night very much. Not a big surprise as Peter Fritschi was co-organizing the event - Peter is crew-member of "Sonnenkönig" but this weekend he decided to work for the club. Many thanks to Peter and his team.
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