Youth semis ahead

It was a day when the brightest youth sailing talent on the planet announced their arrival into the big league after an outstanding day of racing at the UniCredit Youth America’s Cup that saw a total of six races completed in superb Barcelona conditions.

To the delight of the hometown supporters cheering from ashore, Sail Team BCN not only sealed their place in the Semi-Finals but did so in style with an emphatic last race win just when it mattered. This young team, led by the supreme talents of Martin Wizner and Conrad Konitzer, have shown incredible improvements through the regatta, with terrific communications aligned with slick boat handling skills.

The Spanish team joins Swedish Challenge powered by Artemis Technologies and Andoo Team Australia in the Semi-Final as the top three teams – a fair outcome, as these three crews were a class apart throughout their eight-race series, always vying for the lead and showing incremental improvements race after race. How they will fare against the America’s Cup teams remains to be seen but, for certain, they are all excited for the challenge.