As good as it gets

The Laser 4000 Europeans were won by Italians, Scarselli and Gandolfi on Lake Garda

Lake Garda, the amphitheatre of sailing, and a huge favourite amongst the UK sailors. Famous for its stunning scenery and strong thermal breezes. Well the scenery is always stunning but the weather is never quite as consistent as everyone would like it to be – especially this season. However the 40 Laser 4000s from England, Scotland, Italy and France were treated to the best the Lake has to offer for six amazing days at the European Championship. This was a very special event that will be remembered as such not just by the first timers but also by those who have been many times. Having sailed 11 races in no less than 15 knots and sometimes more than 25 knots the fleet returned home very tired but also very exhilarated by the experience.

There is a great vibe within the 4000 class at the moment and with a strong Italian fleet now fully developed this only adds to the atmosphere at a championship which is now so much more that 'Brits on tour'.

Based on previous experience the UK fleet went out confident, assuming even that it would be one of them who would come home with the title. Well, they were in for a shock! Francesco Scarselli and Michele Gandolfi from Florence simply blew the brits away with some incredible boatspeed, solid starting and a good understanding of how best to tack your way up the cliffs. With seven race wins from the eleven races and some huge winning margins no one else even came close. Garda is an unusual place with some unusual demands but the manner of this victory will certainly give the UK fleet something to think about regarding their settings and sailing modes – especially in the breeze. On every level this shake up can only be a good thing.

Ex 4000 national champion and 470 class Olympian Pete Nicholas sailing with wife Lisa performed with their usual blend of speed, guile and never say die attitude to finish second. Starting their week with a 12 and a dnf they had no margin for error for the remaining races but thereafter scored one first and four seconds and were never worse than sixth.

Third overall were Hugh Watson and Susanna Bickford who combined some great starting with their usual consistency to put together a solid series. They never looked like they had the pace to win a race in the big breeze but a string of top five results kept them on the podium.

It is often said that Garda is all one sided and there is no tactical skill required but a look at the results of the boats from fourth to tenth will tell you that it is very difficult to be consistent. The devil is in the detail and although you need to head for the cliffs there is a real art to getting in a good position off the start line to be able to get a good lane in. And tacking up the cliffs is an art in itself. All six boats in this group had at least a second place to count but also had results in the teens. Mark Richards and CC Williamson made a comeback to the fleet to take fourth overall, followed closely by Mark Heather and Doug Horner who sailed better by the day. For Duncan Reaney and Andy Watkins who have been sailing the 4000 for the last couple of seasons this was a breakthrough event and they added some consistency to the strong form they have been showing recently to take sixth overall.

Great venue, great winds, great event. See you there next time.

Results:

Pos	Helm/Crew	Sail Number	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	R9	R10	R11	Tot
1	SCARSELLI FRANCESCO, GANDOLFI MICHELE	ITA 4697	-6	1	1	3	-7	1	1	1	1	6	1	16,0
2	NICHOLAS PIETRO, NICHOLAS LISA	GBR 4477	-12	(dnf)	2	5	2	2	6	2	3	1	3	26,0
3	WATSON HUGH, BICKFORD SUSANNA	GBR 4536	-13	2	4	6	5	3	4	3	4	-11	9	40,0
4	RICHARDS MARK, WILLIAMSON CC	GBR 4552	1	3	9	4	4	-15	8	(dnf)	6	2	8	45,0
5	HEATHER MARK, HORNER DOUG	GBR 4637	8	7	7	2	9	5	3	(dnf)	(ocs)	4	4	49,0
6	REANEY DUNCAN, WATKINS ANDY	GBR 4448	2	-8	6	7	3	-18	7	6	5	7	6	49,0
7	POWELL HUW, BARNARD KEVIN	GBR 4597	-17	5	10	10	-12	12	5	4	2	5	2	55,0
8	GOULD CHRIS, MOODY BONNIE	GBR 4516	3	4	-12	12	1	6	10	10	7	-13	10	63,0
9	COTGROVE MARK, GOTTS IAN	GBR 4	-23	6	3	1	6	9	9	7	(dnf)	18	5	64,0
10	MCPHAIL SAVOY, MARSHALL ANDY	GBR 4601	9	-15	8	9	-16	10	2	8	8	10	11	75,0
11	BOYDE MARTIN, LINNELL TOBY	GBR 4492	11	11	5	13	-27	13	11	5	-22	3	7	79,0
12	MONZINI MICHELE, CIAPESSONI GIOVANNI	ITA 4649	-14	-18	13	8	10	4	12	12	11	9	12	91,0
13	WARBURTON JOHN, CLAPHAM JAMES	GBR 4271	5	9	14	15	14	-19	-28	11	13	8	15	104,0
14	HODGSON ALISTAIR, OGG SUSAN	GBR 4518	7	12	-16	11	11	11	15	13	12	-16	13	105,0
15	MODRAL JON, DAKIN MIKE	GBR 453	-30	10	-22	17	8	8	13	16	19	14	14	119,0
16	ALP NICK, MORRISON JO	GBR 4052	4	13	-25	14	19	17	16	9	14	19	(dnf)	125,0
17	FLANDERS PETER, HOYLE NICI	GBR 4350	19	14	19	22	18	7	18	24	(ocs)	17	-28	158,0
18	LEGER REUNAN, MASSUS YANNICK	FRA 4550	-27	20	-28	16	15	20	24	19	9	27	18	168,0
19	GIFFORD FRAN, ANGELL CHRIS	GBR 4202	20	19	20	18	13	-23	19	17	21	-23	21	168,0
20	FERRARI ANNA, CAVAGLIERI ANDREA	ITA 4538	-28	16	11	21	21	14	25	15	27	(dnf)	20	170,0
21	CARABELLI VINCENZO, TRONCONI GIANLUCA	ITA 4683	10	-30	-33	24	23	22	22	26	17	15	17	176,0
22	KILBY TONY, SCHAEFER CLAUDIO	GBR 4646	31	23	18	(dnf)	22	25	14	14	10	20	(dnf)	177,0
23	HOLDEN GEOFF, HOLDEN BERNICE	GBR 4266	-34	(dsq)	17	27	30	24	20	23	18	12	19	190,0
24	RADICE LORENZO, GUFFANTI MICHELE	ITA 4337	25	21	27	29	-34	16	(dsq)	21	15	22	23	199,0
25	TAYLOR PETER, TAYLOR CHERYL	GBR 4709	29	24	-31	19	20	21	21	(dnf)	25	24	26	209,0
26	MASTROLUCA GIUSEPPE, PAOLO BATTINI	ITA 4461	22	26	26	23	17	26	(dnf)	22	23	-32	29	214,0
27	STROMMER LAURA, GAGNOLO GABRIELE	ITA 4577	24	-32	29	26	31	32	(dnf)	20	29	21	16	228,0
28	GABORIAUD YANNICK, GABORIAUD LOIC	FRA 4591	21	-35	(dnf)	25	25	28	30	28	16	25	31	229,0
29	GIACHETTA ANNALAURA, ANNARATONE CARLO	ITA 4548	-37	29	23	-32	26	30	17	27	24	28	27	231,0
30	WARNER JODY, WARNER EMMA	GBR 4625	18	25	24	-31	28	-31	27	29	30	31	24	236,0
31	HEFFERNAN NEIL, HEFFERNAN CHARLOTTE	GBR 4343	16	27	21	33	(dnf)	(dnf)	dnf	31	20	29	22	237,0
32	PICOLLI ATTILIO, IMPEDUGLIA CHRISTIAN	ITA 4240	-33	22	32	20	-33	33	29	25	26	26	25	238,0
33	SUMMERHAYES MINI, ALLISON JONATHAN	GBR 4566	15	17	15	34	24	(dnf)	(dnf)	dnf	dnf	dnf	dnf	257,0
34	RIGOTTI FEDERICO, STAGI ETTORE	ITA 4385	26	33	30	28	32	29	23	18	(dnf)	(dnf)	dnf	257,0
35	PAYNE ROB, PAYNE IAN	GBR 4327	-36	34	34	-35	35	35	26	30	28	33	30	285,0
36	BOZZATO LUIGI, DEL VITTO SILVIA	ITA 4513	32	28	(dnf)	30	29	27	(dnf)	dnf	dnf	30	dnf	290,0
37	HEATH ADRIAN, MORGAN CAROLYN	GBR 4094	35	31	35	(dnf)	36	34	31	32	(dnf)	dnf	dnf	310,0