The Mapfre Euromed International Championships and EurILCA Europa Cup 2024, hosted by Malta Young Sailors Club got underway this morning in Mellieħa Bay.
Competing in Optimist and ILCA Classes, a total of 170 sailors representing 27 countries enjoyed a good start to the four day regatta with a 15-knot average breeze that made for exciting racing across all classes.
The Optimist Senior Class completed four races, while all the ILCA classes and Optimist Beginners managed three races.
The flat waters inside the bay proved ideal for the younger and less experienced sailors, offering them a manageable yet thrilling introduction to high-performance sailing. However, the shifty winds played a pivotal role in producing mixed results at the top of the provisional leaderboards.
Optimist Classes
Provisional results as at 18:30hrs
It was four races for the Optimist Senior and Cadet Classes. In the Optimist Senior Class, Andrey Zhakov (BSC), Margauc Nguyen-Min (HKG) and Sebastian Miceli Demajo (MYSC) the latter fresh from his Optimist World Championship experience in Argentina, provisionally lead the fleet.
French Lilou Backes is provisionally leading the Optimist Cadet Class. She was followed by Ahnieshka Madonich (UKR) in second place and Ethan Kodjaazliev (RMYC) in third place.
RMYC’s Tom Zhang provisionally leads the Beginners Class, two points ahead of Mia Agius and Ben Dingli both representing host club Malta Young Sailors Club.
ILCA Classes
Provisional results as at 18:30hrs
In the ILCA 4 class, Timmy Vassallo (MSYC), Anatoli Zoubovski (CYP), and Jonas Micallef (RMYC) lead the fleet after the first three races. In the ILCA 6 class, Feodor Zoubovski (CYP), Tomek Vaccaro (RMYC), and Leo Yates (GBR) hold the top three positions. Meanwhile, Oskar Madonich (UKR), Valeiru Kudrayshov (UKR), and Jeremy Moutout (MON) dominate the ILCA 7 fleet.
The 24th edition of the Euromed Mapfre International Championships is being held under the auspices of the Malta Sailing Federation and supported by Title Sponsors Mapfre, PWC and Visit Malta. The event is further supported by S&D Yachts, Rooster, Mellieha Local Council, Francis Busuttil & Sons (Marketing) Ltd., Red Cross, SportMalta, St Andrew’s Farm, Ballocco.
