2004 Eurocup - Fraglia Vela, Malcesine, Italy (28th July - 1st August)
15 ISOs travelled from the UK to Fraglia Vela Malcesine on Lake Garda for the ISO Eurocup on 27th of July to 1st of August. Early practice prior to the event saw Mike Lillywhite in Team Rooster sustain a broken nose caused by his crews elbow, which prevented him from sailing in the event. The first race got underway in a steady force 3 breeze.
Team RWO sailed by Pete Lindley & Annie Smith, lead to the first mark, but failed to hold onto the lead down the run, allowing Ian and Katie Keam-George in Smartnav and the rest of the fleet through, with SmartNav taking first, followed by Ian Moss and Tim Berriman in Team Wet & Windy, with Bob Ladell and Luke Draper taking third. With the Garda wind increasing to a force 4 for the next 2 races, Smartnav continued their dominance with former national champion Andrew Gould and Simon Keam-George taking second, and Graham Shaw taking third in both races.
The second day was with similar conditions and continued the dominance of Smartnav taking all 3 races. The second and third places were being hotly contested by Andrew Gould, Ian Moss (Team Wet & Windy), Graham Shaw and Pete Lindley (Team RWO) with all of them in with a chance of second. The end of the second day saw Smartnav first Andrew Gould second and Ian Moss third.
Day 3 saw the strongest winds with a good force 4 throughout, again Smartnav led the way taking all 3 races. The race for second was getting closer with Andrew Gould taking a fifth and a second, Ian Moss a second and a third and Graham Shaw a third and a fifth leaving them within 3 points of each other.
Day 4 saw the final day of Eurocup racing and with a slightly earlier start there were lighter winds. With the lighter winds we saw the only hiccup on the Smartnav dominance with Ian Moss in Team Wet & Windy leading from the start and extending the lead throughout the race. Second place went to Andrew Gould to leave them equal on points for second place going into the final race. With the wind starting to fill in the final race saw the return of Smartnav first, Graham Shaw second and Andrew Gould third enabling him to secure second place overall from Ian Moss.
The RWO Marine sponsored pro-am series, where the first boat is paired with the last boat, second boat with second to last etc., saw some of the best improvers picking up prizes, with Steven Bell & Declan O’Keeffe paired with Bruce Bowler & Steve Harniman taking the first place with second place going to Richard and Simon Lewis paired with Tim Warner and Mark Sheldrake. Third place in the Pro-Am series went to Bob Ladell & Luke Draper, paired with local sailors Paola Galli & Michele Favaretto.
Our thanks to Fraglia Vela Malcesine for hosting the Eurocup event for the second year, as well as the Pro-Am series sponsors, RWO Marine.
Full Results Here....
