March 22, 2019 - Porto Montenegro hosts the second stage of the 3rd European Match Race Tour, which is in the waters of the Tivat Bay from 22 to 24 March. The European Match Race Tour (ETMR), which consists of seven stations and a grand finale, is the new Match Race format designed to promote duel sailing and affirmation of younger sailors to compete and progress worldwide, reported from Porto Montenegro.
Of the ten participating teams, eight sailors are in the top 100 in the world ranking of sailing races. Ettore Botticini from Italy is 4th in the world, Mati Sepp from Estonia takes 6th place and Dejan Presen from Slovenia 14th. Porto Montenegro Yacht Club (PMYC) is hosting six teams that will sail for the first time in Montenegro while the other four teams have been in our waters before.
PMYC has been selected as an EMRT station because of its excellence and perfection in the organisation of the regatta, especially when it comes to two-legged sailing, excellent facilities and sailing conditions in the Tivat Bay Aquatorium.
While many of the tour stops were already hosts in previous editions, among them also Porto Montenegro in Tivat, the 2019 tour visits Italy's Lago di Ledro and Romania's black sea town Limanu for the first time. The hosts of the 2019 Grand Final will be Croatia's beautiful sailing city of Sibenik in October. Last year's Grand Final was sailed in Tivat waters.
The tour 2019 consists of the proven and well-known format as in the previous two editions. Europe's best skippers can earn points at seven qualifying events to qualify themselves for the Grand Final with double points. Besides, there are also a separate U23 ranking and U23 European Tour champion as well as a women’s only ranking list. These two ranking lists and titles shall highlight the diversity of match racing in Europe and be a stepping stone for young and up-and-coming teams into the match racing circuit.
The opening event was traditionally in Sibenik on the Dalmatian coast, where skippers had the chance to try out the conditions for the season finale. The next stage is taking place a bit further south the Adriatic coastline at Tivat's Porto Montenegro followed by the stop-over on Austria's Lake Neusiedl before heading south again to Romania for the first visit of the picturesque fishermen town of Limanu. Two events on the Baltic will follow – Gothenburg in Sweden and Swinoujscie in Poland – before the last game of round one in Italy's match race Eldorado at Ledro. The tour will finish with the Grand Final 2019 at Sibenik in Mid-October.
"We are very excited about the 2019 calendar, and we look forward to defending our title," explained Piotr Harasimowicz, the winner of the 2018 European Match Race Tour. "We believe the format is great and again many of Europe's best match race skippers will take part in it!"
European Match Race Tour Calendar:
21-23 February: Sibenik, CRO
22-24 March: Tivat, MNE
12-14 April: Lake Neusiedl, AUT
03-05 May: Limanu, ROU
25-26 May: Gothenburg, SWE
21-23 June: Swinoujscie, POL
29 Aug – 1 Sept: Lago di Ledro, ITA
Mid-October: Sibenik, CRO (Grand Final)
Source: Porto Montenegro European Match Race Announcement, European Match Race Official Website
