Bulgaria wins first IRC2 European Sailing title

The Bulgarian crew of the yacht Ivana and Alex (Landmark 43 model) won the title in the IRC2 class at the European Sailing Championship, which took place in Corsica, France between October 7 and 12.

This is Bulgaria's first continental triumph in this prestigious class and a historic success for Bulgarian sailing, CE Report quotes BTA.

"We expected to do well, but we never thought we would win. Things turned out very nicely. We are a well-coordinated crew and we showed what we are capable of, we gave it our all. We fell just short of finishing in first place in Group A. We sailed very steadily throughout, but sailing depends a lot on the wind and other external conditions, which at one point prevented us from catching up with the Swedes from Ran Racing," one of the crew members, Krasimir Naumov, told BTA.

The championship was hosted by the city of Bonifacio on the island of Corsica. Thirty-one teams from France, Italy, the US, the Netherlands, Belgium, Romania, the UK, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Luxembourg, Bulgaria, and Bermuda participated in the competition. The crew of Ivana and Alex included Chavdar Alexandrov (skipper), Alexander Alexandrov, Ivo Todorov, Lyuben Todorov, Plamen Bozhkov, Lyuben Tenekedjiev, Mihaela Alexandrova, Ina Ilieva, Matey Sarastov, Krasimir Naumov, and Georgi Boyadzhiev.

After the first two days of competition and six races, Ivana and Alex took the lead in IRC2 and in the overall standings, overtaking the main contender Ran Racing (Sweden). The Bulgarian crew demonstrated excellent preparation, precision, and synchronization, which gave them an early advantage over their competitors.

The biggest challenge for all participants was the legendary 24-hour Tour de Corse race – a route of about 250 nautical miles (436 km) around the entire island. The competitors faced extremely changeable weather conditions – from light headwinds to strong tailwinds with gusts of up to 28 knots (52 km/h).

During the night stage, while passing by Giraglia island, the crew encountered heavy rain and strong winds caused by a passing cyclone. Despite the difficult conditions, the crew managed to maintain control and speed, showing character and resilience.

After 39 hours and 33 minutes of continuous sailing, the Bulgarian crew crossed the finish line and secured the European championship title in the IRC2 class, as well as a silver medal in Group A (a mixed group of all the more competitive classes IRC0, IRC1, and IRC2) behind the favourite Ran Racing.