DN ice yachts. Supplied image.
by Lynn Fitzpatrick
Argo Challenge's Karol Jablonski is the God of Ice! Jablonski added his third DN European Championship victory, in Saaremaa, Estonia, to his record eight World Championship titles. He has been runner up at the Europeans and the Worlds twice and four times, respectively and is the most decorated DN iceboat sailor in history.
Jablonski left his mark on the ice boating world in the 1980s. After taking eight years off from championship iceboat racing, he followed his passion, donned his helmet, sharpened his blades and returned to the DN. The ice and winds were ideal during the opening day of racing in Saaremaa. By Jablonski's estimates, the winds were 14-18 knots and he skittered along at 120 -140 knots in his sled.
Jablonski surprised himself and the rest of the 155-sled fleet by dominating the first day of racing in A Division with a 1,1,3,1,6. Light air followed for the remaining heats during the next two days. Jablonskis scoreline in the middle of the regatta included two mid-fleet finishes that were discarded. He was on fire at the end of the regatta, finishing it off with a sizzling 2,2,1,1 and a total score of 18 points in the 11-heat regatta.
Jablonski, still overwhelmed by the performance, commented, "It's fantastic! It's crazy! I surprised everybody, even myself. This was a really nice comeback after eight years of not participating in the Worlds or the European Championships. I'm very happy."
Jablonski went into the regatta with a great attitude. He was well prepared and he had agreed to join the Argo Challenge, a prospective Americas Cup team that includes able-bodied sailors, the likes of Jablonski, and extremely talented athletes with disabilities such as Lars Grael, twice Olympic medalist in the Tornado Class who lost a leg in a boating accident in 1998.
Jablonski is a top America's Cup helmsman and Grael has the best record as a skipper at the 2009 and 2010 Star World Championships. The two plan to surround themselves with talented athletes, designers, engineers, management and sponsors as they prepare Argo Challenge for the 34th Americas Cup that will be held in multihulls in San Francisco Bay in 2013.
2011 DN European Championship
Series Standing - 33 races scored - Final
(Entries=155) DN FLEET A | DN FLEET B | DN FLEET C
Division: DN FLEET A (54 boats) (top)
Pos Sail Skipper 1A 2A 3A 4A 5A 6A 7A 8A 9A 10A 11A Total
1 P 36 Jablonski, Karol -1 ,1, 3, 1, 6, [23], [23], 2, 2, 1, 1 - 18
2 P 31 ROBERT, GRACZYK 5, 3, 1, 4, [12], 4, 1, 3, 5, [17], 7- 33
3 P 155 Zakrzewski, Lukasz 4, [11], 4, 5, 1, 1, [12], 4, 3, 10, 2 - 34
4 P 55 Zakrzewski, Tomasz -2, 13, [14], 6, 4, 7, 9, 1, 1, [30], 8 - 51
5 P 431 RADZKI, JAREK 8, 6, 5, 2, [17], [19], 15, 8, 12, 2, 10 - 68
6 P 164 Pawel, Burczynski -7, 4, [27], 7, 16, 5, 8, 14, [20], 3, 9 -73
7 M 53 Hamrák, Péter 3, 2, 22, 10, 10, 3, 3, 10, 21, [39], [35] - 84
8 G890 Petzke, Holger -13, [21], 2, 14, 13, 2, 7, 17, [55/DNF], 14, 5 - 87
9 O311 Alvikis, Matiss 12, 17, [43], 11, [19], 9, 11, 7, 4, 7, 19 - 97
10 P 114 Burczynski, Michal -6, 15, 16, 9, 9, 13, [26], 13, 7, [21], 11 - 99
Argo Challenge
