Teams sailed four races Friday on the third day of the J/24 European Championship, having accomplished eight races in total. It was a busy day, not only in race numbers but also in number of protests, so the international jury was kept busy as well. Farkas Litkey (Pelle Nera) took over the lead though tied on points with second Keith Whittemore (Furio), while Balazs Tomai (Jenesis) sits at third after Rauschenberger Miklos (Jukebox) was disqualified from race 8 by the technical committee for faulty sailing. The top league has reorganized, competition is tight and spots on the podium are still up for grabs. The day started out with shore postponement. After a short wait, the fleet headed out to the course area. The fleet sailed Race 5 in 6-8-knot easterly winds. Leading Miklos Rauschenberger (Jukebox) won Race 5, followed by Frank Schönfeldt (Henk). Greek Anthimos Nikolaidis (Evniki) finished third though due to being over the line early they earned a BFD, therefore Peer Kook (Bockdrauf) moved up a notch to third, and Balazs Tomai (Jenesis) could claim fourth. Winds dropped by Race 6 though it was an even 5-6 knots at the beginning. Winds dropped further during the race forcing the RC to shortened the length of the second upwind leg. Race 5 finished with five Hungarian teams occupying the top five league. Order of finish: Farkas Litkey (Pelle Nera), Robert Sarina (Jbond), Balazs Tomai (Jenesis), Robert Bakoczy (FGF Sailing Team), Gabor Sallai (iJroncat). Race 7 was preceded by a lengthy on-water postponement as the Race Committee decided to move the course southward in hope of more steady winds. The new course was set, and Race 7 started in an 8-knot northeasterly. The start for Race 7 had to be repeated due to a general recall three teams, including leading Jukebox collected a BFD. The second start for Race7 was clear. Swedish For Fun rounded the upwind mark first, followed by Vitesse and iJroncat. The order somewhat shifted by the downwind mark which was rounded first by FGF Sailing Team, followed by Furio and Evniki. FGF ended up winning race 7 by consistent sailing. Vitesse came in second, Furio third. Greek Evniki finished fourth while Hungarian Jinge fifth. The wind dropped to 5-6 knots by Race 8 while keeping its direction, so no course change was needed for the last race of the day. Teams really had to be alert and decide which side to choose that would bring them fresh breeze. Balazs Tomai on Jenesis opted for the left and rounded the first upwind mark first, beating Vitesse and Pelle Nera. At the end of the first lap, Jörn Harms took over the lead with Vitesse overcoming Balazs Tomai (Jenesis). Vitesse held onto his leading position until finish. Farkas Litkey (Pelle Nera) finished second, Keith Whittemore (Furio) came in third, Jenesis landed fourth, while FGF Sailing Team nailed the fifth spot. The winner of the day was definitely Farkas Litkey whose consistent sailing paid him with taking the lead in the regatta. Litkey told us after the races, “We sailed four races today out of the total eight. Successful four races for us. I am satisfied with all races. There are light winds which benefit us as we are fast in light winds. We have enough speed there to stay among or ahead of the best. The regatta organization is fantastic. It is incredible that there are 48 boats. I’m truly impressed. Shore events are perfect. New videos, edited every night, the day’s photos displayed is really unique. I haven’t seen this at any other regattas. This is the best organization, I’ve ever seen.”Opening Ceremony: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7YmCso-mo8
First racing day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HT4b1eqop8
Second racing day:https://www.facebook.com/hunj24class/videos/1574942895896260/
Results: http://j24europeans2017.hu/results/
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