Bonzio by a point

92 competitors gathered in Tuscany for the Contender European Championships

The 2008 International Contender European Championships took place at Punta Alta , Tuscany in Italy from the 31st May through to the 7th June.

The regatta was held at the PuntAla Camping Resort who catered for the 92 competitors from all over the world including Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Holland, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and the UK .

With measurement over, the practise race was held on the Monday to acclimatize the sailors and the race team to the championship ahead.

Because of the size of the fleet, the competitors were split into four groups who all sailed against each other in the initial qualifying rounds of the regatta.

Monday and Tuesday saw perfect sailing conditions but as the week progressed the wind eased making it harder for both the competitors and the race officer.

In the early qualifying races Simon Mussell was going well in the breeze, along with Andrea Bonezzi, Marcus Hamilton, Christoph Homeier, Ben Holden and Soren Andreasen.

The breeze then dropped for the remaining qualifying races and saw some different sailors move to the front. Sailors of note included Matt Aston, Peter Dives, Keith Paul, Gernot Goetz, Jan Kuhlman, Giovanni Bonzio and Luca Polenta.

At the end of this series a Gold and Silver fleet were generated with Andrea Bonezzi leading the regatta with the final two days racing left to crown the 2008 European Champion!

The final series racing kicked off on Thursday in light conditions with eventually only one race being sailed. This was won by Martin Muerner followed by Marcus Hamilton with Stuart Jones in third.

The final days sailing saw Gernot Goetz win what turned out to be the final race of the series, followed by Versari with Bonzio in third being enough for Bonzio to lift the title.

With only three points separating the top three overall, it proves just how close this championship was. In the end Giovanni Bonzio from Italy was crowned 2008 International Contender European Champion with current World Champion Marcus Hamilton finishing in Silver and ex World Champion Andrea Bonezzi in bronze.

Gear wise, Bonezzi hulls took up the majority of the top ten places with a couple of Bob Hoare fibreglass Hulls (now built by Chris Somner) in the mix. Various masts were used within the fleet with Avant Garde appearing the most popular at the top. Wavelength sails took 70% of the top ten places with Elvstrom/Sobstad as the next most popular.

The International Contender Association would like to thank PuntAla Camping Resort for running the event so smoothly, Opel auto-motive (F.lli Vivarelli - Grosseto official dealer) and Latte Maremma for sponsoring the championship.

We would also like to thank the Comitato Circoli Velici Costa Etrusca, who gathered all the sailing clubs belonging to the Etruscan Coast and finally the Comune di Castiglione della Pescaia who are the local municipality for supporting the regatta.

The International Contender fleet now heads onto the 2008 World Championships in Canada in August.

The International Contender circuit will take sailors to Denmark in 2009 for the World Championships followed by Brisbane Australia in 2010 and Weymouth in the UK in 2011 at the 2012 Olympic venue. The next European Championships will be held in La Rochelle, France in 2010.

Results:

1-ITA, Giovanni Bonzio 21pts Bonezzi hull, Avant Garde mast, Elvstrom/Sobstad sail
2-AUS, Marcus Hamilton 22pts Bonezzi hull, CST mast, Wavelength sail
3-ITA, Andrea Bonezzi 24pts Bonezzi hull, Avant Garde mast, Wavelength sail
4-GBR, Gary Langdown 31pts Bonezzi hull, Avant Garde mast, Wavelength sail
5-DEN, Soren Andreasen 34pts Bonezzi hull, Avant Garde mast, Elvstrom/Sobstad sail
6-GBR, Stuart Jones 39pts Bob Hoare hull, Wavelength mast, Evolution sail
7-GBR, Matt Aston 41pts Bob Hoare hull, Avant Garde mast, Wavelength sail
8-ITA, Marco Versari 42pts Bonezzi hull, Avant Garde mast, Wavelength sail
9-GBR, Graham Scott 43pts Bonezzi hull, Wavelength mast, Wavelength sail
10-GER, Christoph Homeier 62pts Bonezzi hull, CST mast, Wavelength sail