‘Uncharacteristically lacking’ starts cost Oakville sailor at European championships
Published March 20, 2023 at 6:02 pm
Oakville’s James Juhasz and Liam Bruce had to battle through tricky conditions at the 2023 ILCA 6 & 7 Sailing Senior European Championships held recently in Andora, Italy.
In ILCA 7, Juhasz was the top Canadian among the eight who were in action and was the country’s lone sailor in the Gold Fleet, as he finished in 58th place.
“We had tricky conditions throughout the week,” said Juhasz. “Lots of waiting around for wind, but luckily, we were able to complete 10 races over the week.”
After a penalty in his opening race of the regatta, Juhasz
managed to finish off qualifying with some solid scores, including his first-ever top 10 finish at a major international regatta.
“I carried that into Gold Fleet racing sitting in 42nd place overall,” said the Bronte Harbour Yacht Club member. “Over the final three days of competition, we managed six races in varying conditions, but my starts were uncharacteristically lacking, which unfortunately saw me slide to 58th out of 186 sailors.
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“I have taken away a lot of important learnings which I am looking forward to putting to use at the upcoming Princess Sofia Regatta, as I look to qualify for the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games.”
Bruce, a member of the Port Credit Yacht Club finished 129.
The Canadians in ILCA 6 and ILCA 7, as well as sailors from other Olympic classes, will now look towards the 2023 Princess Sofia Regatta, to be held April 3-8 in Mallorca, Spain.
The competition will serve as a Canadian qualifier for the for the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games and 2023 Sailing World Championships. Those in turn will both serve as quota spot qualifiers for countries for Paris 2024, as well as for the 2024 Olympic Games Test Event.
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