Rytis LTU 799 and Arnas LTU 191 way to the victory: FW Worlds summary

The last day

Sunday was the hardest racing day of my life. With the wind gusting up to 30 knots and the sea state best described as – boiling (2.5m sea swell + many different directions of wind chop), holding on to 10.7 was a challenge. Everybody who had 10 or 9.5 were using it - only me, Maciek POL 23, Nico GER 7 and Vincent GER 1 were on 11s. I have never seen so many catapults in races as I have seen on that day. Personally I was using the second chicken strap to have at least a tiny bit of control on the downwind run and I only felt once, - when I was standing in both FRONT footsraps – don’t even ask. By the end of the second race most of the guys in the fleet looked pretty much done. And that gave me a chance to rack up some better results. Even though I was on a bigger sail, due to my good physical conditioning I still had plenty of energy left for 3^rd and 4^th race of the day. So I focused up pushed through pain and discomfort of holding on to 10.7 on the upwind in 30 knots and finished 15^th and 17^th. These results allowed me to move into 23^rd spot in Overall ranking of the event.

The overall roundup

Even though my goal was to be in TOP 20 and I finished 23^rd I am more or less happy with my result. First of all, the man in front of me was Filip POL 555. A guy who was close to winning European championship last year (finished 3^rd) and I have never been so close to him in any competition – so that is an improvement. Secondly, everyone (all pros) agreed that this was the technically, and physically hardest Formula Competition they have ever done. Which for me an expert of light winds and flat water was a huge challenge. I have never been good in high winds or waves, let alone in both of them at the same time. So the conditions here really pushed me to the limits and I am happy to have survived it and extended my boundaries. Thirdly this is my best World Championship result yet and as far as I know it is the best result achieved by any Lithuanian. Last but not least, I had an amazing time during these two weeks here I don’t regret coming at all.

Thanks

First of all I want to say thanks to the organizers of the event. They did a brilliant job to ensure the comfort and security of the participants – Thanks Carlos. The next thanks and congratulations goes to my roommate Janis Preiss who not only taught me about fins and masts, but also was an endless source of jokes – the best roommate one could ask for. Then I would also like to thank Gonzalo ARG 3, Steve AUS 0 and Vincent GER 1 who taught me a lot about equipment and sailing. Last but not least huge thanks for Eric Bellande for all the wonderful pictures.