The inclement weather conditions that prevailed during the five-day EUROMED Malta Championships portrayed a factual occasion where circumstances really distinguished the ‘men from the boys’. Yet, on this Event the protagonists were mainly under-16-year-old sailors who once again proved that the young ones are not only smart but brave too.
Ninety two sailors, made up of 40 locals and 52 others from 11 different countries, took to the rough waters, where strong winds and cold temperatures were the order of the day, which constrained the reduction of the scheduled programme from 11 to 7 races but certainly not the determination and sailing ability of the competitors. The other countries represented at the EUROMED Malta Championship were the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Kenya, Norway, Sweden, Slovak Republic, Switzerland, Turkey, Great Britain and Israel.
In the Open Optimist Class initially it appeared that Malta’s Karl Cremona would make the podium until Gil Cohen, a girl from Israel impressed all with her skilful ability. Yet at the end the striking consistency of twelve-year-old Arin Okan from Turkey proved he was a worthy overall winner of this daring sixth edition.
Second place overall went to Gil Cohen (13 years), the current Israeli champion, with Malta’s Gabriel Pace (12) clinching third place after a thrilling contest with fellow national Karl Cremona (14) who eventually placed fourth.
Fifth place overall was attained by another Maltese participant, Wil Camilleri (14), culminating in the positive presence of three local sailors amongst the top ten placed competitors in the final overall result with the other positions won by two Italians, a Swiss and two German sailors.
In the Cadet Class, for kids aged 11 and younger, the first places for the boys and girls categories were won by Davide Cosentino (11) from Italy and Malta’s Sarah Manduca (11) respectively. The youngest competitor in the fleet was Malta’s seven-year-old Karl Miggiani. Considering these youngsters were sailing in cold and very windy conditions it is no easy feat not just for the winners but for the entire Optimist fleet made up of 67 young boys and girls.
Concurrently with the Optimist Class Championship the 2005 EUROMED also comprised a Lasers Class Regatta which attracted a further 25 16-year-olds and over competitors, all of whom were past Optimist sailors.
On this occasion the Laser contestants were divided into three groups, the lightest and youngest group sailed the Laser 4.7 Class where Liz Apap Bologna (16) sailed very consistently meriting a third place whilst local favourite Matt Fleri Soler (17) retained second, in a Class dominated by the superiority of Czech sailor Viktor Teply (16). The Radial Laser Class with 13 sailors was won by Peter Valentino Jr (20) with up and coming Christof Podesta (16) gaining second place and experienced Simon Aquilina (25) attaining third position. In the Olympic Class Laser Standard MYSC senior Zak Borg (18) delighted all by taking first place closely followed by Aaron Podesta (19) in second and Kristian Faste (43) from Norway in third place.
The majority of local sailors racing in the three Laser Classes were active members of the Malta Young Sailors Club many of whom had started with the Club on the Optimist dinghy at the tender age of 7. Jean Paul Fleri Soler, the Malta team coach, was satisfied with the Maltese youngsters’ performance which augurs well for future international participation. With such a fantastic grounding these smart and brave young ones were able to adopt without difficulty to the Laser Class and will undoubtedly soon start featuring as crew on the local yachting scene.
The success of this sixth EUROMED Malta Championship is further reflected by the involvement of an International Jury team who ran the technical aspect of the Championship. This commendable multinational panel hailing from Croatia, Italy, Holland and Malta were under the Chairmanship of Peter Valentino. Jovin Rausi was Chairman of the Organising Committee while Peter Dimech was Race Officer.