Sills shines again for silver at Bic Techno Europeans
Rising star Sam Sills secured his second top class podium finish of the year as he kept his focus to take silver at a severely wind affected 2008 Bic Techno 293 European Championships in Italy.
Having got his year off to a perfect start with Techno 7.8 class gold at the IV Bay of Cadiz New Year Regatta, Spain, Sills settled for Europeans silver at Civitavecchia as heavy winds saw all but one of the scheduled four days’ of racing cancelled.
With no racing on days one or two, Sills, the reigning Bic Techno 6.8 World champion, sealed a men’s Bic Techno 7.8 series record of 1-2-11 when racing eventually got underway in torrid conditions on Easter Sunday.
And with the wind once again forcing the organisers’ hand on Monday, the 14-year-old schoolboy from Launceston, Cornwall was left to collect the silver medal that Sunday’s results had earned him.
Meanwhile, 13-year-old Kieran Martin, from Stoke, was awarded a third place and bronze medal for his exploits in the two men’s 6.8 fleet races that were completed but as not enough races were sailed in that class to constitute a series, the Championship title was not awarded. Twickenham’s Joanna Evans, 15, claimed the most notable result for the RYA Team GBR girls, finishing fourth in the women’s 7.8 class.
Sills, a member of the RYA Techno National Junior Squad, headed a team of 12 RYA Team GBR youngsters in Italy.
RYA Team GBR will be hoping for more favourable conditions when they travel to Poland for the Bic Techno World Championships in August, where Sills will be looking to add the Under 17 World crown to the Under 15 title he won in Spain last year.
2008 Bic Techno 293 European Championships (Civitavecchia, Italy) RYA Team GBR results:
Men’s Techno 6.8
3rd Kieran Martin
6th Stuart Hards
9th Joe Bennett
12th Jack Plummer
Men’s Techno 7.8
2nd Sam Sills
14th George Bowles
15th Matthew Brown
27th Connor Bainbridge
50th Jack Brooks
Woman’s Techno 7.8
4th Joanna Evans
14th Becky Plummer
18th Sophie Bailey (DNC)
