The 2021 EUROSAF Platu 25 European Championship in Odessa, Ukraine, finished in style with two decisive races held on the last day. The BLACK SEA PIRATES, UKR62, skippered by Rodion Luka took the gold medal over UKR999 KONTRAMARKA. Thirty-five boats from six nations competed in the regatta hosted by Odessa Racing Yacht Club and Black Sea Yacht Club.
As with many championship regattas, winds were nothing like the prevailing conditions. From the very first racing day of the Europeans, warm sunshine had given way to the fresh easterlies that brought an unpleasant chop. Difficult conditions prevailed for the whole regatta and resulted in three masts lost and other minor damage. Luckily all crews are safe.
Even in the challenging conditions, racing was tight at the top. The BLACK SEA PIRATES dominated the regatta with no finish lower than second except for when they disqualified from the second to the last race for starting prematurely. If that race result had stood, they would have had another first place and would have won the regatta by more a single point over KONTRAMARKA.
After winning the series, Rodion Luka said, “After we realized that we had UFD in the second-to-last race, we were shocked and it was hard to concentrate. Everything seemed to go wrong. But thanks to my fantastic team, we stayed focused and managed to win the championship”.
Luka also gave credit to his UK Sailmakers sails for helping him to win the championship, “We spent some time working with UK Sailmakers Ukraine in developing the sails for the Platu 25. The set we used are the fifth generation sails from UK Sailmakers. One Sails used to dominate the class, but we worked hard to get the main right over the full range of conditions as well as fine-tuned the J1 and J2. Now it seems that UK Sailmakers has the best sails in the class over the full wind range.”
Rodoin Luka is a past member of the Ukrainian Olympic sailing team and the developer of the Luka 30 One-Desgin that is a 30-foot trailerable racer-cruiser that was chosen for the premier mixed doublehanded ISAF World Championship. In 2022, there will be a fleet of boats available for charter at major regattas around the United States – including at Charleston Race Week. For more information email Alexander Ivanov at ai@l30class.com
For results of the 2021 Platu 25 European Championship, click here.
I wish I was still sailing. The pictures are fantastic and remind me when I was sailing J/24s on Port Phillip Bay, Victoria about 15 years ago.
I wish I was still sailing. The pictures are fantastic and remind me when I was sailing J/24s on Port Phillip Bay, Victoria about 15 years ago.
Nice. But it was a cold and "swell" . The weather was "for the profies". So, they won )))
Nice. But it was a cold and "swell" . The weather was "for the profies". So, they won )))