| TAVRIA, PORTUGAL-(19-8-2006) The 420 European Championship had a bitter ending for the Portuguese Matos Rosa and Francisco Lacerda. They have ended in 8th on the overall score after being disqualified on the 11th regatta. The Israelites, Amit Brokman and Moshe Appel, won the 420 European Title, and the British, Luke Patience and Twiggy Grube, conquered the 470 gold medal.
Luke Patience and Twiggy Grube are the new 470 European Champions. The British sports sailors were pleased with themselves but also not surprised with the victory. Patience states they did not come to win bronze or silver. They were aiming for the gold medal and they got it.
“We were not tired, we did some great sailing and it paid off”, Patience remarks. Grube also states: “It was a well challenged Championship but we did well in the qualifying series and clawed our way to the title, point by point”.
The second place goes to the Croatians Sime Fantela and Igor Marenic, followed by the Greek Georgios Vasilas and Evangelos Mitakis. All first three places were spectacularly well contested right until the end of the last regatta.
The Portuguese double-hand team, Tomás Silva and Ricardo Schedel, finished the championship in 12th. Emanuelle Rol and Anne Sophie Thilo conquered the Ladies European Championship Title, leaving the Portuguese team, Piedade Colaço and Mariana, in 15th, on the overall score.
Regarding the 420 class, establishing places was somewhat complicated due to the considerable number of protests. However, the Israelite, Amit Brokman and Moshe Appel, took the gold medal, seconded by James e Daniel Ellis, from United Kingdom, and by the french Vincent Berthez e Thibault Heurley, in third.
On the Ladies 420 class, the 2005’s champions, Hanna Mills and Peggy Webster, defended and kept their title. As for the national team, Ana Rocha and Ana Oliveira, arriving on 17th of the Silver Fleet, they were the best ranking Portuguese in their class.
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