J/70 EM 2021

It has been a European Championship blessed with exceptional weather and four days of world class racing in Copenhagen, Denmark. Seventeen nations competed for the title of European Champion, but there can only be one winner – and this time that winner came from Spain. José María Torcida Seghers sailed a stable Final Series with top-10 placements in all six races, claiming gold with 21 points, four points ahead of British Paul Ward who took second place. American Michael Goldfarb took third place with 43 points, just ahead of Denmark’s Jens Christensen who looked to take home the third spot to his local club and host of the European Championship (Royal Danish Yachtclub). But the final race of the day ended badly for the Dane with a 34th place, missing the podium by just three points.

Top 5, Gold Fleet:

1. ESP 961, José María Torcida Seghers (21)

2. GBR 1451, Paul Ward (25)

3. USA 202, Michael Goldfarb (43)

4. DEN 1318, Jens Christensen (46)

5. SUI 1043, Victor Casas (56)

Spain also claimed first place among the Corinthians where Luis Bugallo Arriola on ESP 1283 took the title, with Germany’s Ole Nietiedt in second and Great Britain’s Charles Thompson in third.

Top 5, Corinthians:

1. ESP 1283, Luis Bugallo Arriola (63)

2. GER 880, Ole Nietiedt (66)

3. GBR 1572, Charles Thompson (72)

4. ESP 1122, Juan Calvo Boronat (79)

5. RUS 1484, Inna Balashova (81)

The best female skipper was three-times European Champion Claudia Rossi from Italy who finished 10th place overall. The best female team was Rikst Dijkstra from the Netherlands. In the Silver fleet, Russia’s Andrey Bratan took first place, with Germany’s Jacob Ahlers and Sweden’s Kasper Nordenram in second and third. In the one-pro division, where one professional sailor is allowed onboard, Swiss Victor Casa claimed the first spot with 54 points, followed by Brazilian Renato Faria at 76 points, and in third place was Patrik Forsgren from Sweden with 86 points. Ninety-eight teams competed from August 31-September 4. Complete results may be found at https://www.manage2sail.com/…/4370a799-5fa9-4a8e-b853….