Squalls of 25 knots and 35 national titles as the Polish Sailing Championships continue in Puck

Nine classes, three courses

The fleet covered ILCA 6 men, Finn, OK Dinghy, Omega Standard, Omega Sport, Micro, Nautica 450, 505 and Korsarz. Outside ILCA 6, the average age in most fleets was around 30 to 40, but the range was far wider. In the Finn fleet, 77-year-old Błażej Wyszkowski of Chojnice Sailing Club, who represented Poland in the class at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, took silver in the Legend category. The Micro fleet included Piotr Tarnacki, a multiple world championship medallist, whose crew from 77 Racing Club won the Micro Open classification.

Two university crews from the Tricity area took the Omega titles. Filip Jarosiewicz, Wiktor Kreft and Tytus Czajkowski of Gdynia Maritime University won Omega Standard, while Marcin Styborski, Oliwia Jekiel and Franciszek Borys of the Gdańsk University of Technology sports club defended their Omega Sport title after a decision that went to the final race and the protest room.

Conditions that tested the fleet

The first day brought gusty winds of 10 to more than 20 knots, with direction and strength shifting as clouds moved across the bay. All classes completed three races, and sailors described conditions that swung within minutes from full trapeze work to sitting in the middle of the boat.

The wind built further on the second day, reaching around 25 knots in the squalls. After two races the race committee cancelled the third for the Nautica 450, Korsarz and OK Dinghy classes, while the remaining fleets completed their schedule. Capsizes were common in the Korsarz fleet, and support crews spent much of the day righting boats and towing damaged dinghies back to the marina.

Jakub Micewski, judge on one of the courses, summed up three days of racing.

– We finished the second part of the Polish Championships in nine classes on three courses. The wind over the three days was quite demanding for the sailors. There were many capsizes, but I think also a lot of fun, and we managed to sail many races – said Jakub Micewski.

The final day began with rain and a passing front. The forecast promised stronger wind, but racing went ahead in the low to mid teens, and the front only crossed Puck after the closing ceremony.

A twelfth national title in the 505

In the 505 class, Jakub Pawluk and Marcin Józefowski of KS Sailing Legia Warszawa became Polish champions after winning six of the nine races sailed. For Jakub Pawluk it was his twentieth Polish Championships, his seventeenth medal and his twelfth gold.

– We won the Polish championship, six of nine races. The conditions were great, full planing. Puck never disappoints, a regatta in fine style – said Jakub Pawluk and Marcin Józefowski after racing.

In ILCA 6, Wojciech Wójcik of TS Kuźnia Rybnik won both the overall and the under-19 classification, while Szymon Mocarski of Yacht Klub Polski Gdynia took the under-17 title. Bartosz Szydłowski of Masters of Sailing Club won the Finn national classification.

The championships move straight on to a third part in Puck, starting on Wednesday, with women's ILCA 6, ILCA 7 and the 470 class.