Three sailing world champions crowned in Kinsale

In the three-man sonar class, it was Frenchman Bruno Jourdren and his crew Eric Flageul and Nicolas Vimont-Vicary who emerged victorious.

Three new world champions were crowned during the weekend in Kinsale, Ireland at the IFDS Sailing World Championships.

In the three-man sonar class, it was Frenchman Bruno Jourdren and his crew Eric Flageul and Nicolas Vimont-Vicary who emerged victorious.

In the two-man SKUD 18 fleet, Alexandra Rickham and Niki Birrell from Great Britain deservedly took the honours, while the Netherlands’ Guus Bijlard scooped gold in the largest of the fleets, the 2.4mR class.

Three-person keelboat

Jourdren and his crew proved unstoppable in the sonar fleet. They led the regatta from the first day’s racing and never relinquished pole position.

The trio finished second and fourth in the first two races and then won the final race and the overall championship with an impressive 13-point lead.

Udo Hessels from the Netherlands sailed consistently for the nine-race regatta notching up six top three finishes including two bullets. He and his crew created a substantial 11-point gap between themselves and their Australian rivals to take the silver.

Also sailing well and securing all top-10 results for the duration, Colin Harrison from Australia claims the bronze.

Two-person keelboat

In the SKUD 18 fleet, Rickham and Birrell were the runaway winners. They won both of their two races on the final day, bringing their total race wins to six out of seven.

This left Italy’s Marco Gualandris and Canada’s John McRoberts to battle it out for the silver and bronze medals.

Throughout the week, these opposing sailors have been jostling back and forth, both never finishing a race outside of the top three.

But in Race 6 it was Gualandris who finished ahead of McRoberts, giving him a healthy four-point cushion. Although McRoberts went on to beat Gualandris in the final race, it wasn’t enough and so he returns to Canada with the bronze medal, while Italy claimed the silver.

One-person keelboat

The seventh and final race for the 2.4mR class on the final afternoon was thrilling. Heiko Kroger from Germany and Guus Bijlard from the Netherlands were tied on equal points at the top of the 45 boat fleet and only four points behind them was Damien Seguin from France.

The prestigious world title came down to the final race. The three sailors were neck and neck, chasing each other ferociously around the course. But ultimately it was Bijlard who just beat Kroger to the finish line and to the title. Damien Seguin sailed in behind for a third in the race and also in the championship.