505 POL Nationals

For the three days Bay of Gdańsk has become arena of the 505 racing.  34 crews from six countries show up at the start. In addition to the Poles, teams from Germany, Australia, Sweden, Austria and Switzerland registered to the regatta. What’s important the 505 World Championships will take place in Gdynia in 2018.

Agnieszka Skrzypulec, the current world champion in the class 470, helmed for Germany representative Holger Jess. This crew predictably dominated the whole competition by winning all races. The second place was won by Anna and Axel. As you can see, women took the podium in Open category! Third place went to Polish crew Mateusz Jura and Bartek Chroł, who also won the title of Polish Champions. In this category the second place went to Przemysław Zagórski and Michał Olko. Dominik Ostrowski and Jakub Folczak finished on the third place.

The Gdansk Bay has set up a high level of racing from the beginning of the regatta. The sailors could experience almost all sailing conditions. The first day of racing brought eastern breeze of 15 to 20 knots. The wind direction caused specific Baltic chop. Waves were steep and short an also reflected off the pier. The rain and dark sky was not facilitation either. Many yachts struggled that day with difficulties. Two masts were broken.

The second day of the regatta brought slightly milder conditions. The height of waves went down, and the sky was clear and sunny. On that day four races were planned and all went smoothly. The sailors had many opportunities to fulfill their tactical goals. Weather conditions also provided the opportunity for quick and effective sailing in full throttle mode.

On Sunday, the wind speed was significantly lower and did not exceed 7 knots. In the three races the teams had to be much focused. Precise setting of the yachts for low-light conditions and the ability to sail the boat on a swell was critical. The weak wind favored lighter crews. 

The 505 Open Polish Championships was organized by Polish Yachting Association as a part of Volvo Gdynia Sailing Days festival. The President of PYA Tomasz Chamera participated in the ceremony of awarding the prizes along with accompanying persons. The nice touch of this part of the regatta was the award for the youngest participant, 11-year-old Marcin Pietrzak and Australia's oldest 74-year-old Erle Alexander!

The participation of foreign crews was related to next year's World Championships in Gdynia. The visiting sailors had a chance to get acquainted with the local waters. Some managed to get familiar with local hospitality. In many talks they talked about the great organization and the excellent atmosphere of Gdynia in July. We hope that they will become ambassadors of Poland in their countries by encouraging 505 sailors to take part in 505 World Championships 2018 in Gdynia.

Results, full gallery can be found on regatta webpage: http://505.gdyniasailingdays.org/