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Since the start of the week, Lolie Osswald and Jules Fortunati have been battling it out at the helm of their Ilca6 on the waters off Vilamoura, Portugal, as part of the European Youth Championships. The young sailors from Saint-Barthélemy, both residents of the Pôle Espoir Voile in La Rochelle, had mixed fortunes.
Aged 16, Lolie is competing in the under-17 category. A challenge worthy of her talent and ambitions. Of course, the competition is tough, and Lolie is not happy about the weather conditions. This was true from the very first day, Monday April 14. "There was a lot of wind, not really my conditions, but I managed to get some good places," comments the teenager. Indeed, in a fleet of 102 competitors, Lolie came 14th, 9th, 22nd and 30th in the first four legs. Not that she was satisfied, of course, even though she was in 23rd place overall on Wednesday. It wasn't great," she says, "because there were 20 to 30 knots and the wind was very unstable. "Nevertheless, the competition continues until this Saturday, and her motivation is at an all-time high. "Friday, on the eve of the last races, she was in 35th place.
On his Ilca6, Jules Fortunati is sailing in the under-19 category. And he's made an excellent start to the championship for his second selection to the French national team. Having made it into the Top 22 in 2024, Jules is now showing that he's reached a new level. "My objective is the podium," says the sailor. He's close to it, since after two days of qualifying he was in fourth place. We had a lot of wind, with varied, unstable and irregular conditions," Jules points out. That's when you see, in quotation marks, the real sailors, with the feeling. "
Lolie Osswald intends to redouble her efforts to begin her climb up the rankings. Meanwhile, Jules Fortunati has started the finals in the boys' category. Under the tricolor banner and with the Saint-Barth coat of arms in a corner of his head and heart.
