The 470 European Championship 2016 was concluded yesterday with the Medal Races.
Lara Vadlau/Jolanta Ogar AUT, premature Champions before the last race, confirmed their role as favorite for the Olympic regatta winning also the Europeans after the World Championship victory. However, probably the strongest opponents Jo Aleh/Polly Powrie NZL did not compete in Palma. Silver and Bronze went to Afrodite Kyranakou/Anneloes Van Veen NED and Fernanda Oliveira/Ana Barbachan BRA. Annie Haeger/Briana Provancha USA on 4th remained 10 points behind the podium. In the European rankings, the Bronze went to Tina Mrak/Veronica Macarol SLO.
Matthew Belcher/Will Ryan AUS started to the Medal Race with a 12 points lead, and this was good enough to add another Championship victory to their impressive palmares. Winning the Medal Race, Sofian Bouvet/Jérémy Mion FRA moved up on rank 2 and are herewith the European Champions. McNay/Hughes USA confirmed their excellent results during the past months and finished 3rd. Fantela/Marenic CRO on 4th win the European Championship Silver, Sivitz/Farnienti ITA on 6th the Bronze Medal.
All results, the final report and the videos.

The Final Series of the 2016 470 European Championship ended yesterday with two races for men and three races for women. Today, beginning by noon CET, the Medal Races are on the program.
The 470 women European title went prematurely to Lara Vadlau/Jolanta Ogar AUT, the reigning World Champions, who start to the Medal Race with a 21 points' lead on Kyranakou/Van Veen NED. 13 points behind the Dutch girls are Oliveira/Barbachan BRA on rank 3, but Haeger/Provancha USA are only 4 points back.
The men's title will most probably go to Matthew Belcher/Will Ryan AUS who are 12 points ahead of Fantela/Marenic CRO. McNay/Hughes USA on 3rd are already 18 points behind. Only 2, respectively 3 points behind the US-team are Bouvet/Mion FRA and Calabreses/De la Fuente ARG.
All results, the daily news and the video of the day.

The 470 Europeans on Mallorca continued with three Final Series races in each of the Gold- and Silverfleets, and in a 12-14 kn seabreeze, the favorites have consolidated their leading positions.
Matthew Belcher/Will Ryan AUS, day ranks 1/3/2 are now on top of the 470 men with a 3 points' advance on Fantela/Marenic CRO. Another 4 points behind are Sivitz/Farneti ITA. McNay/Hughes USA, with a race win in yesterday's last race, on 4th remain strong contenders for the podium. Two more Final Series races are on the program today, to select the 10 best for the Medal Race. Jacob+Graeme Saunders CAN are 41st.
The 470 women's title might well be decided prematurely this evening already, as Lara Vadlau/Jolanta Ogar AUT keep on dominating and have now a 24 points' lead on Kyranakou/Van Veen NED. Kondo/Yoshida JPN follow on rank 3. Haeger/Provancha USA on rank 6 are on a good way to the Medal Race. Bolger/Shevitz USA did not compete yesterday and descended on rank 48 overall. Surrette/Ten Hove CAN are 50th.
All ranking lists, the daily news and the video of the day.

The weather on Mallorca was 'back to normal' on the third day of the 470 Europeans with sun and a 12-15 kn seabreeze for the conclusion of the Qualification Series.
The 470 men sailed already their first Final Series regatta. A big wind shift on the first upwind caught some of the favorites on the wrong foot. Lucas Calabrese/Juan De la Fuente ARG defended their first place inspite of a 27th race rank. Dahlberg/Bergström SWE remain on the 2nd position 2 points behind. New on the 3rd place are Fock/Dackhammar SWE. McNay/Hughes USA had their worst day of the Championship, dropping on rank 8 with the day ranks 13 and 18 with a 10 points deficit on rank 3. The ranks 1-10 are separated by 15 points only. The Sanders bros CAN sailing in the Silverfleet are on position 36 overall.
The 470 women sailed the last three Qualification heats. Lara Vadlau/Jolanta Ogar AUT continued with top-10 results and consolidated their first place, but Oliveira/Barbachan BRA reduced the backlog to the leaders on one point thanks to two race wins. Kyranakou/Van Veen NED remain on the 3rd position. Best of the day were Lecointre/Defrance FRA finishing 1/1/3 who moved up on the 4th place. Haeger/Provancha USA are on rank 6 with a 4 points' backlog on Bronze, while Bolger/Shevitz USA missed the Goldfleet after a DSQ in the second race of the day and will - as 31st overall 3 points behind the cut - continue the Championship in the Silverfleet. Surrette/Ten Hove CAN are on the 46th place.
All results, the daily news and the videos.

Various storm systems rolled across the race course on Friday, forcing postponement on the water, as the breeze swung to the west, rain filled in, visibility dropped and the breeze kicked up at the 470 Europeans on Palma Bay. The last Qualification Series races have been planned for today before racing continues tomorrow split in Gold- and Silverfleets.
Lara Vadlau/Jolanta Ogar AUT in the 470 women and Lucas Calabrese/Juan de la Fuente ARG in the 470 men are the interim's leaders after day one. The ranking lists, the daily news and the video of the opening day.

The 470 European Championship on Palma Bay began yesterday in a light, at the end very shifty, seabreeze. Three races were completed in the men's category while the women finished two heats. Today, the Qualification Series for the Gold- and Silverfleet split will be concluded with 5 races validated.
With the day ranks 2/6/1 in their Group, Calabrese/Delafuente ARG took the overall lead in the 470 men, the discard in effect. One point behind follow Dahlberg/Bergström SWE, McNay/Hughes USA and Xammar/Herp ESP. Jacob+Graeme Saunders CAN are 39th.
Clear leaders in the 470 women are Lara Vadlau/Jolanta Ogar AUT winning both heats of their Group. Oliveira/Barbachan BRA follow 4 points behind. Mas-Depares/Barcelo ESP are on the 3rd place. Haeger/Provancha USA, day ranks 11 and 2, follow on the 7th position, Bolger/Shevitz USA are 31st, and Surrette/Ten Hove CAN 40th.
All results, the daily news and the photos.

Light winds have been forecast for the first races at the 470 European Championship on Palma Bay with 57 women and 80 men teams on the entry lists, among them the defending champions Stu McNay/Dave Hughes USA and the women's teams Annie Haeger/Briana Provancha USA and Sydney Bolger/Carly Shevitz USA dueling for the Rio Olympic berth. Canada is represented by Jacob+Graeme Saunders and Allie Surrette/Ali ten Hove. Racing can be followed on the live ticker of the event website.

The 470 men and women European Championships begin today with the Practice Races on Palma Bay off El Arenal. Most teams participated already in the Trofeo Princesa Sofia on the same waters, but some of the top teams joined the fleet only now, such as the World Champions Sime Fantela/Igor Marenic CRO or Calabrese/De La Fuente ARG and Bouvet/Mion FRA in the men's category or Lara Vadlau/Jolanta Ogar AUT and Camille Lecointre/Hélène Defrance FRA in the women.
This Championship marks the largest event for teams in the final countdown to the Olympic Games, with over 250 sailors on the starting lines. The defending 470 men European Champions Stu McNay/David Hughes (USA) lead a stellar line-up of 70 teams from 28 nations. 57 from 24 nations are competing in the 470 women fleet, which is the final selection event to determine the US representative at the Rio Games. Annie Haegar/Briana Provancha, third at the 2015 Europeans, hold a slight edge over teammates Sydney Bolger/Carly Shevitz. Read the extensive preview in Scuttlebutt.
The entry lists and the official preview.