Moonsund Regatta held inshore races in Pärnu bay | 21 Jul 19, piret.salmistu

The inshore races of the sixth leg of the Moonsund regatta were competitive and fast. All teams participated in upwind-downwind races requiring lots of manoeuvring and putting both the teams and their tactics to test.

According to the principal race officer Andres Talts, the conditions were perfect: “If the last days have been hard because of windlessness, then today there was enough of everything - sunshine, warmth and wind. It was obvious that all sailors were enjoying themselves!”

In ORC I the competition was so tight that after two races the first three teams ended up with an equal amount of points (4). A race win was decisive for Olympic from Yacht Club Dago, who is now the overall leader with eleven points. Postimees Sailing Team from the same club is just two points behind them and Matilda 4 from Haapsalu Yacht Club is third with 17 points.
 
Olympic’s helmsman Tiit Vihul said they hadn’t seen such an active an exciting day since many races. “Inshore races are always more interesting than long and passive crossings. Today there was enough wind and the more competitive teams won. Good start was more crucial than choosing the position. However, we had to look out for the groups ahead of us, as to some extent they held us back – sailing behind them we had to look for clear air and best wind. It helped that we had a good start and made it to the first race mark ahead of the others. It was good practice as the exact same crew will participate in the ORC Europeans in Sweden in August. We sailed both races without any mistakes and we couldn’t have done anything better or differently.”

ORC II group winner was My-Car from Kalev Yacht Club by winning both races. Katariina II from Pärnu Yacht Club was second leaving Evelyn III from Saaremaa Marine Sports Society/ Kalev Yacht Club third. Katariina II is the overall leader with 13 points. Evelyn III is second with 15 points and Adele third with 18 points.
 
The triumphant helmsman of My-Car Harles Liiv was overjoyed. “Today’s variable wind sometimes changed direction three-four times during one tack. It was important to get going in the right direction /…/ Our tactics worked so well in the second race that we got ahead of the others in two minutes …/ If you get a good start and you have a good team, you will be unbeatable.” He added: “We are very happy with our result considering the competition in our group. Katariina II has set very high standards and any win is very valuable!”

The winner in ESTLYS II was also very appreciative of the weather. Risto Riim, skipper of Centaur, Saaremaa Yacht Club: “The weather was ideal. Such inshore races are rare, we enjoyed every minute of it. The crew was hiking their asses off.” After six races Centaur is second overall, just behind Tessa.


These are the top three of the SILMALASER-ESSILOR Pärnu inshore races by group:

ORC I
I Olympic, EST463, Yacht Club Dago, skipper Tiit Vihul
II Postimees Sailing Team, EST850, Yacht Club Dago, skipper Sven Nuutmann
III Tuule, EST408, Pärnu Yacht Club, skipper Mati Sepp
             
ORC II
I My-Car, EST535, Kalev Yacht Club, skipper Harles Liiv
II Katariina II, EST646, Pärnu Yacht Club, skipper Aivar Tuulberg
III Evelyn III, EST477, SMS/KJK, skipper Kristen Pugi

ORC III
I Kvartet, RUS297, Neva, skipper Vasilii Alekseev
II Lagle III, EST554, HJK/SMS, skipper Ülari Velviste
III Astrid, RUS0295, SPb RYC, skipper Sergei Gribin

ESTLYS I
I Project A1, LAT424, Usma, skipper Ricards Omanbriedis
II Katarina Jee, EST464, Saaremaa Marine Sports Society, Mart Tamm
III Merion X, EST710, Kalev Yacht Club, skipper Ain Pomerants
 
ESTLYS II
I Centaur, EST371, Saaremaa Marine Sports Society, skipper Risto Riim
II Tessa, EST324, Kalev Yacht Club, skipper Alar Ivanson
III Fanatic, EST239, Kalev Yacht Club, skipper Ain-Eke Jalasto
 
ESTLYS III
I Lote, EST460, Saaremaa Marine Sports Society, skipper Rando Salu
II Edelweiss, EST723, Kalev Yacht Club, skipper Raido Notton
III Black Bird, EST574, Haapsalu Yacht Club, skipper Tarmo Polli
 
Folkboot
I Lind, EST32, Kalev Yacht Club, skipper Tiit Riisalo
II Linda, EST42, Kalev Yacht Club, skipper Rimo Timm
III Tee Chee, EST38, Kalev Yacht Club, skipper Peeter Välkmann
 
Open 800
I Globus, RUS250, SPb RYC, skipper Andrei Nikandrov
II Vostok, RUS1800, Vodnik, skipper Aleksei Borisov
III Alaska, RUS298, MBU SC Primorsk, skipper Ivan Tokarev


All results