Radial Sailors Must 'Expect Anything' in the Sound

by Sailing Intelligence

With the first race of the Women’s European Laser Radial Championship about to take place this Saturday in Copenhagen, the competitors are wondering what the breeze will bring and how it will play to their particular sailing strengths and weaknesses.

Danish sailor Sarah Gunni has done plenty of racing out of Skovshoved Yacht Club, the venue for the regatta which is set to take place from 10-16 July in Charlottenlund, a few kilometres to the north of Copenhagen. “If there is a high pressure system over Denmark, it’s going to be really light and shifty,” says Gunni. “We almost never get a sea breeze here, because Denmark and Sweden are so close. But if there is some kind of system passing Denmark, it can be windy and cold here.”

It’s certainly been windy this past week, as the Finn sailors have been discovering on the other side of Copenhagen in Vallensbaek, where the Olympic heavyweight men’s class is holding its World Championship, the Finn Gold Cup. Currently vying for the lead in that event is Zach Railey, the 2008 Olympic Silver Medallist, whose sister Paige Railey is about to compete in the Radial Europeans. Asked if her elder brother’s success might be considered a good luck charm for her own prospects, Paige said: “It’s great to see my brother doing so well there, so yes, I hope that’s a sign of things to come for me.”

Many of Railey’s competitors consider her to be one of the favourites going into the Radial Europeans, although as an American she is eligible for the Open Championship, but not the European title. The former ISAF Rolex Sailor of the Year dominated Kiel Week in Germany at the end of June, and she has been a top performer throughout 2009. “It’s very nice to hear people talking about me as one of the favourites. I’ve been away from the sport a while, so to be considered as a front runner again is good. My preparations have been good, and I feel in a good mindset for the racing.”

Based on the shifty conditions that she has experienced in training out of Skovshoved, Railey is anticipating a high-scoring regatta, where patience and consistency are likely to be rewarded. “I’ll be taking each race as it comes, sailing in the ‘right now’ rather than thinking too far ahead.”

Railey is in a relaxed frame of mind, having been enjoying herself going out in Copenhagen with friends. “It’s a fun city, and there are a lot of sailors here. I’ve been there with my team mates at the Laser Youth Europeans [about to conclude at Skovshoved this week], and I’ll be there for the Finn Gold Cup prizegiving too.”

Sarah Gunni has found it frustrating having to look on at the Youth Europeans and not being able to take part. “I was a youth sailor last year, and I’m really sad that I can race in that fleet anymore. But apart from that, it’s really cool to see the harbour filled with sailors all the time, and it has made it a lot more fun to be training here.” For a local sailor, Gunni says she has done surprisingly little sailing on The Sound - the stretch of water between Denmark and Sweden - over the past couple of years. “I’ve been at other events overseas, so for me it’s still hard to predict what is going to happen with the weather, but I do think I know a few tricks from my time sailing here.”

Gunni’s strongest conditions are in the light to medium airs, whereas Finnish competitor Sari Multala is very confident in the breeze, having won last year’s Laser Radial Europeans in big winds in Belgium. Multala is one of the most experienced and decorated competitors on the Olympic circuit, having been actively campaigning in the women’s singlehanded class since 1997. She won the World Championships in the Europe class in 2001 and was runner-up in the 2007 Worlds in the Radial. Despite her pedigree, Multala does not rate her chances of successfully defending her European title particularly highly. “I have not done much preparation up to this event, and while it would be nice to defend the title I’m not expecting it. Others like Paige Railey, Evi Van Acker and Veronika Fenclova will be strong.”

With more than a hundred entrants, and talented sailors representing 40 nations, predicting winners in the Laser Radial class is no easier than trying to predict the wind.

The Laser Radial Europeans is one of a number of high profile sailing regattas taking place in Denmark this summer as part of wider festival of different sports, called Denmark’s Year of Sport. To do their utmost to ensure that their events are held to the highest possible standards the Danish Sailing Association is working with the support of the insurance company CODAN (part of Sun Alliance Group), to provide TracTrac tracking during the Laser Radial Europeans, Finn Gold Cup, EUROSAF Match Racing Europeans and 470 World Championship. The Danish Sailing Association has purchased 150 state of the art GPS tracking devices, allowing races to be followed in real time over the internet.

Skovshoved Sejlklub - Laser Radial Europeans