(Santander, Spain)- The Santander J/80 fleet is competing in the 5th
Antonio Pereda-Sealing Memorial Regatta on the Bay of Santander. In the
past weekend, the fleet was greeted by a NW wind that started out
nicely but slowly diminished during the course of the day. It was pert
clear that the right hand side of the course was the place to be along
the shore to get out of the current and play the shifts and puffs coming
off the shore, providing strong lifts on starboard tack. Conversely,
riding a puff on starboard gybe after the set to get out into the
current and gybing on a good shift to get on port to ride it hard
downwind was the best bet.Making the best "plays" of the day was past J/80 World Champ Ignacio Camino on NEXTEL ENGINEERING, now standing in first. Second for the day in this regatta was Tono Gorostegui sailing SLAM RACING and third is currently Jose Miguel Oriol on MABLE. Not too far from the hunt for the top three is another J/80 World Champion, the 2010 winner Pichu Torcida on ECC VIVIENDAS, now lying fourth and just behind him is Javier Lopez-Vazquez, a Spanish Champion, in fifth sailing BANCAJA AVIVA.
With one more weekend to go in this Memorial Regatta, anything goes for the top three as with one more race, the fleet can then post scores with throwouts and the picture will change dramatically, especially if Pichu's ECC VIVIENDAS sails consistently. It also means BANCAJA AVIVA ha a chance to finish in the top three as well. It's been close and very competitive racing in the fleet of twenty-nine boats, surely one of the most toughest gathering of J/80s in the world on a weekend basis! For more Spanish J/80 Sailing information.