Ireland took two top five overall results at the Laser (ILCA) World Championship results yesterday in the 'Master' categories at Barcelona, Spain.
Royal St. George's Sean Craig moved up to fourth overall in the 47-boat ILCA 6 (Radial) Grand Master fleet while George Kingston moved up to fifth in the 13-boat ILCA 7 (Laser Standard) Apprentice division.
While the Irish sailors narrowly missed the podium both were presented with coveted top five Laser 'Cube' awards at the Barcelona Sailing Centre.
George Kingston moved up to fifth in the 13-boat ILCA 7 (Laser Standard) Apprentice division.
The strong Irish international performance in the class follows Finn Lynch's runner up place at the Laser Worlds at the same venue earlier this month, when the Rio Olympian secured Ireland's best ever result in the Olympic dinghy.
Two races were completed for all the ILCA 7 divisions and the ILCA 6 Masters and Grand Masters, while the one remaining race was completed for the other ILCA 6 divisions.
Sailors went out again for a 9:00 first warning signal in about 6–10 knots, enough wind to complete the championship.
ILCA 7
In the Apprentice division, Belgium’s Wannes Van Laer secured gold, with only 14 points, over Polish Maciej Graboswki and Italian Lorenzo Cerretelli.
In the Masters division, American Ernesto Rodriguez was named champion, 27 points ahead of fellow countryman Peter Hurley, and France’s Bertrand Blanchet rounded out the podium with bronze.
In the Grand Masters division, American Robert Hallawell finished first overall, with a comfortable lead over Argentina’s Alejandro Cloosand and Spain’s Jose Maria Van Der Ploeg Garcia.
In the Great Grand Masters division, Spain’s Jose Luis Doreste claimed gold, German Wolfgang Gerz won silver, and Great Britain’s Tim Law finished with bronze.
ILCA 6
In the Apprentice division, Jon Emmett was named champion after finishing with only 12 points overall. Spain’s Arturo Reina and David Gonzalez secured silver and bronze, respectively.
In the Masters division, Sweden’s Stefan Eriksson finished first overall ahead of France’s Jean-Christophe Leydet and Spanish Monica Azon.
In the Grand Masters division, Gilles Coadou championed the fleet by 39 points, Spain’s Miquel Noguer won silver, and Belgian Pieter Van Laer finished with bronze.
In the Great Grand Masters division, American Bill Symes also ran away with gold, finishing the event with only 13 points. Canada’s Paul Clifford sailed into second place overall and Great Britain’s John Reay rounded out the podium in third.
In the Legend’s division, Americans Peter Seidenberg and Jaques Kerrest secured gold and silver, and Henk Wittenberg of the Netherlands won bronze.
The awards ceremony was presided over by Sergi Cadenas, vice president of the Catalan Sailing Federation, and Andrus Poski, ILCA representative. The championship was held at the facilities of the Barcelona International Sailing Center (BISC) and organized by the Catalan Sailing Federation, the Real Club Náutico de Barcelona, and the Real Club Marítimo de Barcelona, with the collaboration of World Sailing, ILCA, the Royal Spanish Sailing Federation, the Government of Catalonia, the Barcelona City Council, and the Barcelona Provincial Council.
Seethe event website here for full results.
