French Men and Spanish Women Stamp the Day – Burling Tuke Extend

49er Frenchmen Julien D’Ortoli and Noe Delpech scored a 3, 1, 1, to win the day and in the process moved all the way up to fourth place overall. Showing their best form since mid-2013, the were able to bring one of their best performances to the biggest stage and will now be in position […]

Champs Rounding Into Form

2012 Gold Medalists Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen (AUS) have won the final warm up regatta before the 2016 Olympic games.  The 2016 South American Championship was only a 2-day regatta, but the whole Olympic fleet and a few training partners showed up for the last test before the games.  Outteridge and Jensen won the […]

Both 2015 European Champions Poised to Repeat

It was a scramble for both Gold fleets on Day 5 of the European Championships as few teams managed consistency through the day due to the inconsistent winds.  Back on shore as teams discussed the racing, mostly befuddled, the old boys coaches union brought out expressions like “Barcelona Banana” from the days of the 1992 […]

Spaniards on a Roll – An Armada In the Making

Tamara Echegoyen emerged as an afterthought in London to claim the Gold medal in the women’s Match racing in 2012.  The pundits all promoted their favorites, some of the biggest names in the sport of sailing but Echegoyen was unflappable and beat them all to claim gold.  Teaming up with Berta Betanzos, a 470 World […]

On the Bubble to Gold

It was a stressful final day of qualifying for the 72 boat 49er fleet, only 25 of whom can make gold fleet.  With seven of ten scheduled races completed there were still more than 20 teams on the bubble hoping to sail well enough to keep their hopes alive.  The conditions were a combination of […]

Sunsational Start to 2016 European Championship in Barcelona

The super competitive 49er fleets lined up and stretched their legs as racing got under way from the world class Barcelona International Sailing center. Just up the Mediterranean beaches from where the 1992 Olympics were held, the 2016 Olympic fleet and the rest of the world chasing skirmished in the opening races. The 49erFX raced […]

Burling and Tuke bounce back from disqualification to win the Europeans

Burling & Tuke win the Europeans

Pete Burling and Blair Tuke have won the 49er European Championships, after dominating the final day of competition on the huge Atlantic swell off the coast of Portugal. The Kiwis went into the day in 3rd overall, after coming off worse from a protest by Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen the previous evening. The Aussies […]

Will this be the day Tuke and Burling get Beaten

It’s been almost an entire quadrennial since Peter Burling and Blair Tuke stood anywhere but the top of the podium after a regatta.  They stood second in London, joyful of their Silver Medals but determined to improve the result. Since then it’s been 17 victories in a row, a record for any 49er sailor of […]

Conti and Burling jump to the top

Giulia Conti and Francesca Clapcich have moved into pole position in the FX women’s fleet with one day day to go in Porto at the 49er European Championships. Meanwhile, with two days to go, Pete Burling and Blair Tuke have made their customary big move with three very solid race results that puts them at […]

Soft breeze and big shifts upset some of the big beasts

Rodolfo and Gonçalo Pires from Portugal win a race

Very light airs made for a tricky fourth day at the 49er and 49er FX European Championships in Porto. After a long wait ashore for the breeze to fill in, the 49erFX sailors were sent home without any gold fleet finals racing today. By late afternoon a light breeze was blowing out to sea, and […]