Results / Zhik RS Eurocup Fraglia vela Riva - 26/07/2010

Photo: Paul Wyeth

A small group of 7 RS600s accompanied the less selective fleets to Garda, which was strange considering that Riva proved once again that it is the best place in the world to scream around in a 600 in the sunshine. However, with the presence of three of the top six at the last Nationals there was still plenty of proper racing action, as well as the usual repertoire of multi-dimensional capsizes in big wind and waves.

On day one Steve Birbeck pretty much showed everyone how to do it, followed by Andy Heissig and Giles Chipperfield. Paul Champion and Tig Williams swapped places behind them while Declan Clamp and Niall White got to grips with the heavy duty conditions. The rest of the week saw great racing in a belting northerly Ponale, the screaming southerly Ora and a couple of abandoned half-races in a combination of both winds. We even broke all RS protocols and started a race at 9:00am on the Friday after losing Thursday to rain. This surprised us all by being both cold, shifty and still very windy, and for once the cliffs didn't pay. It particularly surprised Paul Champion, who got out of bed too late after a big night out, but at least he did a good job upholding the fleet's honour on the social scene.

On subsequent days the pack was shuffled, and each race had its full share of place changes as we all had our moments of glory and inglory. In the end Steve Birbeck was a comprehensive winner, with Andy Heissig second and Giles Chipperfield third. All in all, a great week away in a fabulous venue.