Yachting Australia

After mixed conditions throughout the 49er European Championship in Laredo, Spain, final races were sailed on day six in Northern winds of 6-7 knots.

Three time 49er World Champion Chris Nicholson (NSWIS), with crew Gary Boyd (NSWIS) were Australia’s top sailors, moving up one place on the final day of racing. The pair finished with a 1^st in race five, leaving them 5^th overall, after a continuous upwards surge throughout the regatta.

With Olympic Nomination points up for grabs, Nicholson and Boyd managed to overcome a slow start, where they were placed 20^th early on in the regatta.

In the silver fleet, three races were sailed on the final day and Australia’s Mark Turnbull (VIC) and Nick Partridge (VIC) finished the top Aussies. Chasing a top 30 spot (to gain Olympic Nomination points), the pair put in the hard work to finish with a 1^st, 12^th and 5^th.

Unfortunately, the Victorian pair missed the top 30 by just three points, with their overall position sitting on 31^st.

Just below Turnbull and Partridge were fellow Victorian’s and training partners Ben and Marcus Tardrew. The Victorian brothers finished 35^th overall, after a great start to the championship, but the inconsistent weather and cancellation of races made it hard to produce consist results.

Overall, the last day of finals in the Gold fleet brought changes to the overall standings. With a total of 16 races sailed and 2 discards, German crew Marcus Baur/Max Groy became the European Champions followed by British team Chris Draper/Simon Hiscocks and third went to Spanish crew Iker Martinez/Xabier Fernández.


Final results:

1. Marcus Baur/Max Groy (GER) 55pts
2. Chris Draper/Simon Hiscocks (GBR) 67pts
3. Iker Martinez de Lizarduy/Xabier Fernandez (ESP) 69pts
5.Chris Nicholson/Gary Boyd (AUS) 84pts
31. Mark Turnbull/Nick Partridge (AUS) 81pts
35. Ben Tardrew/Marcus Tardrew (AUS) 101pts
47. John Harris/Euan McNicol (AUS) 128pts