The sailors from the Real Club Náutico de Arrecife have added a new international success this week, with Leonardo Armas “Nete” and Miguel Ángel Bethencourt winning the runner-up position in the Snipe class European Championship. The competition, held in the town of Vilamoura, Portugal, included the participation of seven crews from the club, and they have been fighting for the podium since day one.
The Snipe European Championship started last Tuesday, with a total of ten races scheduled over the five days of competition, although finally only seven could be held. The two races scheduled for Friday had to be canceled due to lack of wind, and on Thursday only one of the scheduled races could be held.
Nete Armas and Miguel Ángel Bethencourt were in the top of the standings from the first day, and until the last race they maintained their chances of being European champions. In the last race on Saturday, the sailors from the Real Club Náutico de Arrecife gave up the lead of the European competition to the Spaniards Jordi Triay and Lluis Más, from CM Mahón.
The sailors from Lanzarote were only six points away from the title of European champions, settling for a more than meritorious runner-up position. The victory of the competition held in Vilamoura went to the Argentinians Julio Alsogaray and Malena Sciarra, although their classification did not count towards the Snipe European Championship. In addition, Nete Armas and Miguel Bethencourt achieved the victory in the Master category.
As for the rest of the members of the Real Club Náutico de Arrecife, Miguel Ángel Lasso and Marcos Pedraza finished the competition in 24th place, and two positions below were Rafael Lasso and Alonso Pérez. Pedro de León and Oscar Pattenden were in 31st place, Miguel Ángel Naverán and Luis Hernández in 40th, Matías Garcías and Álvaro Bernal in 59th, and Fernando Domingo Hernández and Alejandro Alonso in 60th position.
The president of the Real Club Náutico de Arrecife, Julio Romero, on behalf of the Board of Directors, is “proud of the role played by our sailors in the Snipe European Championship, and especially for the runner-up title achieved by Nete Armas and Miguel Ángel Bethencourt, fought until the last race for the title of champion.”