The harbor in Górki Zachodnie, nearby Gdańsk, Poland is filling up with boats from all over the world. Emotions are arising before the upcoming Laser Senior European Championship starting the day after tomorrow on the Gdańsk Bay!
The atmosphere among the sailors preparing for this upcoming event is visibly heated by the fact that it is the first opportunity since the pandemic outbreak to race in such a big fleet.
We’ve asked the Estonian champion Karl-Martin Rammo EST about his feeling previous to this European championships while preparing for next year’s Olympics in Tokyo;
“It’s nice to be back, cause we haven’t had a big regatta since the Worlds. In that sense, we are lucky that we even had World Championships, but it was already in February. I guess everyone is really eager to see what the others have done in the meantime. Who has trained and how hard, and who has taken some time off to concentrate on other parts of life. I have to admit that other than sailing, it’s really nice to see the guys again. To chat with them and to get to know how life has been for them really.
Personally, I am very happy that it’s in Gdańsk, which is quite near to home. It’s not very usual that big regattas are so close since I am from Estonia. The conditions are very similar to home, so I get a nice homey feeling. The weather was also very nice back home, and it’s very similar here, so I hope it will stay that way and it won’t get too cold and nasty. Everything works nicely here in the club, we are well taken care of, so I think no one has any reason to complain and we are about to start a good event”.
While waiting for the races to start, we’ve also interviewed some of local sailors to see how are they preparing for such a big event in their home waters;
Tadeusz Kubiak POL, current Laser Standard Polish champion, declared;
This is the only highly important event this season, and I am very glad it is happening on our home waters. It’s good to see everyone after such a break, especially here in Poland. We have been training here a lot and I hope we are well prepared for it. It always gives a slight advantage to race at a venue you know well. I hope for good weather for racing and for everyone to take care of themselves and stay safe in these pandemic times. I think we are going to show a prime example of polish hospitality we are famous for, and that teams that came here, will get back home with a great impression from both sailing and the country.
Jakub Rodziewicz POL, member of Polish Laser National Team, added;
It was decided that these championships will happen in Górki very recently. Luckily, it turns out that since sailing was allowed again after lockdown, National Sailing Center was our main training base. So we’ve been training here since the end of April, which is for sure to our advantage. It’s great that everyone came here, to the place where our great sailing started. We have the most important events here. I raced Laser Standard here for the first time, had my first Nationals on these waters. And Medal Races on the river in front of the harbor are already almost legendary, so it’s a very special place. I still get impressed by the fact, that so many world-class sailors came to our small Górki. I think that already we can say it’s going to be a great event.
Almost 300 competitors will take part on this 2020 Laser European Championships in Gdańsk, who will compete for medals in the olympic Laser Standard and Laser Radial classes for women and in the non-olympic Laser Radial class for men. 29 Polish sailors will stand at the starting line.
Today and tomorrow will be registration and equipment measurement time at the National Sailing Center in Gdańsk. Sailors have also taken this days to train here and learn more about the local sailing conditions. Races will start on Thursday. The 2020 Laser Senior European champions will be announced on Tuesday, October 13.
How to follow the event
Daily news and reports
Social networks: IG, FB, TW
Photo galleries
Video channel
Event Overview
Host venue website
Pingback: Swiss Laser Association – Laser - European Championship 2020 - Gdansk POL - Demain premières régates