This year’s Raceboard European Championships were hosted by the Andalucian Sailing Federation Centre, Puerto Sherry, in the beautiful Spanish city of El Puerto de Santa Maria. The 41 sailors from 10 countries could enjoy some of the best sailing conditions the place has to offer, [more]as 14 races for the women and 15 for the men were conducted in winds ranging from 8 to 24 kts and temperatures of around 26oC. It’s no wonder that EL Puerto is the winter training destination for many national windsurfing teams.

The atmosphere of the class can be seen at each event, where families and friends from all around the world are competing together and against each other. The most recognizable of the Raceboard families in El Puerto would be the Manchons, with the Spanish couple Paco Manchon and Maria Antonina Dominguez and the Blinnikkas, having strong representatives in Male, Youth, Senior, G-Master and Female divisions.

It was Aleksandra Blinnikka from Finland, who came on top, winning the European Championship. “It wasn’t easy,” as she says. “When I saw the entry list at the start of the regatta, I said to myself that it would be good to be in the top 4. The competition was really hard. I’m so happy to have won,” she added. Second and third were the local sailors from Spain Maria Antonia Dominguez and Pilar Lamadrid Trueba.

In the men’s fleet it was Nicolas Huguet from France, who dominated all the way, winning 14 out of the 15 races. “It was really fun. Especially today with the strong wind,” he said. “I had the equipment before the races and I had time to prepare for the event. I could feel I was better with each start,” he said after the final race. Just as in the case of the women, the second and third places in the overall men classification went to the Spanish windsurfers. Toni Coloma was second and Alex Buchau third.

Next up for the Raceboard class is the Masters World Championships in Cagliari in October. The regatta will be held alongside the Techno293 Worlds, which will make this combined event one of the biggest held this year, with as many as 500 windsurfers expected to show up.

Raceboard European Championships classes/divisions:

OVERALL WOMEN:
1. Aleksandra Blinnikka (FIN)
2. Maria Antonia Domínguez (ESP)
3. Pilar Lamadrid Trueba (ESP)

OVERALL MEN:
1. Nicolas Huguet (FRA)
2. Toni Colomar Torres (ESP)
3. Alex Buchau (ESP)

YOUTH WOMEN:
1. Pilar Lamadrid Trueba (ESP)
2. Maria Fatou Losada (ESP)
3. Monika Veit (HUN)

YOUTH MEN:
1. Fernando Lamadrid Trueba (ESP)
2. Angel Granda Roque (ESP)
3. Bohdan Molcanyi (SVK)

MASTERS MEN:
1. Nicolas Huguet (FRA)
2. Patrik Pollak (SVK)
3. Pedro Côrte Moura (POR)

GRAND MASTERS MEN:
1. Alex Buchau (ESP)
2. Juha Blinnikka (FIN)
3. Fernando Lamadrid Rodríguez (ESP)

VETERAN MEN:
1. Patric Roelandts (BEL)
2. Jean Asia (FRA)
3. Paco Manchón (ESP)

LIGHTWEIGHT MEN:
1. Nicolas Huguet (FRA)
2. Patrik Pollak (SVK)
3. Pedro Côrte Moura (POR)

HEAVYWEIGHT MEN:
1. Toni Colomar Torres (ESP)
2. Alex Buchau (ESP)
3. Juha Blinnikka (FIN)