Results
The Junior DN & Ice Optimist European Championship concluded on Friday at the Siemianówka Reservoir in Poland.. Congratulations to all juniors who sailed in this event including Anton Didenko R166 of Vladivostok, Russia winner of the DN class and Estonia’s Andrias Sepp C3 winner of the Ice Optimist Class. Top placing female sailors were Anielke Graczyk P1581 in the Ice Optimist Class (8th) and Zuzanna Rybicka P119 in the DN Class (2nd).
Congratulations to the race organizers DN Jégvitorlás Osztályszövetség / Hungarian DN Ice Yacht Racing Class and Idniyra Europe, the race committee, and European Junior Sailing Secretary Stan Macur for running such a successful event for 80 junior ice sailors.
Photos below from the Giżycka Grupa Regatowa Facebook page.
POLAND: The 2019 Junior DN & Ice Optimist World Championships got off to what can be a typical start to an iceboat regatta – having to move from the primary site because of snow. Luckily for the 80 competitors, ice was found 3 hours away on Lake Siemianowka and the regatta began with only a one day delay.
Congratulations to Estonia’s Rasmus Maalen C-20 for his win in the Junior DN fleet and to Poland’s Zuzzana Rybicka P119 for second place. Both Rasmus and Zuzanna competed in the Gold fleet at the recent European Championship with excellent results. Rasmus won the first race of the EC and finished 6th overall while Zuzanna was the top placing female.
In the Ice Optimist fleet, there was a statistical three way tie for first with Estonia’s Andrias Sepp C3 winning the tie break over
Estonia’s Lisbeth Taggu C1 and Poland’s Mateusz Gigielewicz P89.
The European Championship races began today and will conclude tomorrow on Friday, February 7. Photos below: Olsztyński Klub Żeglarski Facebook Page
Junior World Champions
Junior World Champions
Robert Graczyk, Livia Liszkiewicz, Aniela Graczyk, and Adam Liszkiewicz.
There was no racing on Sunday because of deteriorating ice conditions and the regatta was called complete. Robert Graczyk P31 won the A fleet and Jarosław Miarczyński P355 won the B fleet. Chris Berger US5166 placed 7th in the A fleet. Interesting to note that all pictured below will be here in North America for the Gold Cup in two weeks.
From the left: R. Graczyk, Ł. Zakrzewski, T. Zakrzewski, D. Kardaś, C. Berger ,. M. Burczyński. Photo: Gwidon Liberta.
The Polish Championship is a major stop on the DN regatta circuit and attracts competitors from all over Europe. This weekend regatta started today on the Zegrze Reservoir near Warsaw. Like we saw last week at the European Championship, there’s a high level of competition at this regatta and in a few weeks, some of these ice sailors will be here for the Gold Cup. Chris Berger US5166 extended his stay in Europe to sail in this regatta. The ice looks wet, fast and racy. Robert Graczyk P31 is in first place tonight. Chris Berger is holding his own at 5th. Stay tuned for the conclusion tomorrow. Photographer Gwidon Libera has again agreed to share his photos with us for which we are again grateful. UPDATE: Gwidon’s photos are avilable for purchase here.
Bonus video below of some rush hour traffic mark-rounding from Ark Gim’s Facebook page.
This just released video of the European Championship by Kacper Libera will get your heart pounding. Next stop, North America for the Gold Cup!
UPDATE: Would it surprise you to know that this video was created by the son of the photographer Gwidon Libera? Big tip of the helmet to Kacper Libera for his filming and editing skills.
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