On the first day of the Gulf of Riga Regatta (GoRR), the weather made all the participants fog. Due to the slow and changing wind, the start procedure had to be postponed a bit, but after two hours in the distance, the Estonian team “Sugar” was the first to cross the finish line.
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The first day of GoRR competition in the Gulf of Riga at the Bolderāja pier started with a slow wind. The first stage “Elvstrom Riga – Riga” was complicated by the high heat. It was not possible to give the start at the originally scheduled time because there was no wind. After about an hour and a half, the wind turned from the south and intensified to 10 knots or 5 meters per second.
The largest boats of the ORC1 group started first, then the ORC2, then, with the wind blowing up to 5-6 knots (2.5-3 meters per second), the boats of the LYS1 and LYS2 groups started. The final starts were given to the teams of GoRR’s newly formed ORC Cruiser group. However, about ten minutes after all the boats had covered 10 to 13 nautical miles (18 to 15 kilometers), the wind turned 180 degrees north.
Video: Mārcis Pļaviņš, Sky Route Films
As Kristīne Kanska, GoRR organizer and race secretary, explains, sailing in such a light and changeable wind becomes a lottery for many, and the success factor is more often taken precedence over mastery. It cannot be generalized. She cites the Sugar team as an example, which is also last year’s champion in the ORC group. In the competition of nine strong teams on the first day of the competition, they managed to win not only their group, but also the first of the whole fleet to cross the finish line.
“Yesterday was a difficult weather with changing winds. We managed to wrestle the boat accordingly and gain speed,” team captain Alari Akerman shares the team’s success factor. Kanska also pointed out that this team always stands out with its stable performance and masterful sailing in all weather conditions.
The ORC2 group won:
1. Sugar (EST 774) – captain Alari Akermann (Estonia, Pärnu Yacht Club)
2. “NidaA III” (LTU 1111) – captain Arūnas Burkšas (Lithuania, Vētrungis Yacht Club)
3. “Jazz” (EST 935) – captain Risto Riim (Estonia, Saaremaa Sea Sports Society)
In the ORC1 group, in which Latvia is represented by four teams, the winners of the first day of the competition were the yacht “Cafe Sailing” from Estonia. After the recalculated time, it was ahead of the Lithuanian team “Arabela” by 33 seconds. Meanwhile, the third place was won by the team “Next” from Lithuania. The Latvian teams ranked from fourth to seventh and the best performance was demonstrated yesterday by Arnis Remes’ team “Nicole”, which was separated from the first place a little over five minutes after the recalculated time.
ORC1 group winners:
1. “Cafe Sailing” (EST 703) – captain of Eero Pank (Estonia, Kalevi Yacht Club)
2. “Arabela” (LTU 2399) – captain Raimondas Šiugzdinis (Lithuania, Easy wind yacht club)
3. “Next” (LTU 2362) – captain Marius Ambrulaitis (Lithuania, KJBk Yacht Club)
The newly formed “ORC Cruiser” group has the smallest number of teams this year, but the spirit of the competition is as great as in other groups. And in the first stage, the victory was won by the team “Confetti”, which was less than two minutes ahead of its Estonian rivals – the yacht “Heleena”. Meanwhile, “Pina Colada”, captained by Walter Roman, finished in third place, just five seconds behind second.
In a conversation with the representative of the winning team of the first day, Gati Rozenfelds revealed that “Confetti” continues to master the boat while sailing and is happy with the result. However, in addition to the sporting competition, they consider it one of the main priorities in this regatta to demonstrate to other Latvian teams that it is possible to participate in ORC groups with similar types of older cruise yachts. Confetti wants to encourage others to start GoRR next year, not in the LYS group, but in the ORC, which, according to the race organizers, differs mainly in its international and fully transparent boat scaling approach, according to which each yacht is given a sports benchmark.
ORC Cruiser group winners:
1. “Confetti” (LAT 8661) – captain Zigis Goldmanis (Latvia, Rojas Yacht Club)
2. “Heleena” (EST 829) – captain Aivar Laus (Estonia, Saaremaa Merispordi Selts)
3. “Pina Colada” (LAT 609) – captain Valters Romans (Latvia, LJBA)
Meanwhile, a fierce battle took place in the LYS1 group of the largest boats, where a total of 12 teams start. The victory on the first day of the regatta was won by the team from Estonia “Brigita”, which is participating in GoRR for the first time. Second and third place went to teams from Latvia, representing the Latvian Sailing Training Association (LBMA) – “X-Cape” and “Spaniel” https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/. “X- After a recalculated time, the Cape lagged behind the first place by just over a minute, but surpassed the Spaniel by 20 seconds, leaving the legendary yacht in third position.
X-Cape captain Edgar Krasnikov is particularly pleased with this performance. “We are a new team. We bought the yacht” X-Cape “last year because we realized that we want to get to the finish of the regatta while the soup is still hot,” Krasnikov explains with a laugh and adds, GoRR last year and we became convinced that with more active training, it is very real. ” The new confidence has made the team set a goal in the winter – to be on the podium this year’s GoRR. “We subordinated our spring to just that and spent every week actively training. Yesterday’s performance confirms that we are on the right track and we will try to continue in the same spirit,” E. Krasnikov shares.
LYS1 group winners:
1. “Brigita” BRIGITA (EST 295) – captain Priit Jurioja (Estonia, Pärnu Yacht Club)
2. “X-Cape” (LAT 627) – captain Edgars Krasņikovs (Latvia, LBMA)
3. “Spaniel” (LAT 79) – Captain Silards Kamergrauzis (Latvia, LBMA)
Meanwhile, in the LYS2 group, which includes 13 teams, the podium of the first day was divided between the teams from Latvia. The laurels were won by Andra Zubricka’s captain’s team “Blondt”, which was just over four minutes ahead of the second place winners of last year’s GoRR LYS2 group, the yacht “Mosquito” with captain Kārlis Balgalvi. Meanwhile, losing less than 30 seconds, Uldis Lapsiņš’s team “Elixir” won the third place.
LYS2 group winners:
1. “Blondt” (ENG 315) – captain Andris Zubrickis (Latvia, Riga Sports Sailing Center)
2. “Mosquito” (ENG 580) – captain Kārlis Balgalvis (Latvia, Riga Sports Sailing Center)
3. “Elixir” (ENG 356) – captain Uldis Lapsiņš (Latvia, Riga Sports Sailing Center)
On Tuesday, the competition will continue and the entire fleet will sail on to the second Latvian port – Salacgrīva, where at 20.30 the city will welcome sailors with a special concert, performing for the group “Homeopaths”. All guests of Salacgriva will be able to enjoy the concert free of charge. However, tomorrow the regatta will go on to Estonia, to the port of Saaremaa – Koiguste, where the participants will visit for the first time in the history of the regatta. The final stage of the competition, as well as the Latvian Open Sailing Champions, the winners of the GoRR and the winners of the Livonian Cup, will be announced at the last regatta port in Kuressaare, where the competition will stop from June 30 to July 1.
However, according to the organizers, the biggest challenge of this week’s regatta is the slow wind and due to that changes in the course of the competition are possible. Those who want to follow the regatta can do so by looking at the official electronic news site of the competition and also by following the informal information on the social networks “Facebook” and “Instagram”. The regatta can also be followed remotely this year using the KWINDOO application.
GoRR takes place this year from June 26 to July 1. A total of 45 teams registered for the competition – 27 teams from Latvia, 10 from Estonia, seven from Lithuania and one team from Finland.
GoRR is the largest annual international regatta in Latvia, which usually lasts a week after Midsummer. Teams from the Baltic Sea region participate in the competition, with more active participation of teams from the Baltic States. The competition is taking place for the sixth year in a row and during it the Latvian sea sailing champions are determined and the Livonian Cup is won, which symbolizes the revival of Latvian sea sailing traditions. The regatta is organized by the Latvian Sea Sailing Association in cooperation with the Latvian Sawmillers’ Union and the Estonian partners – Saaremaa Merispordi Selts.
