ECC VIVIENDAS Wins J/80 Trofeo MetroMar

(Santander, Spain)- The Spanish J/80 armada are slowly gaining momentum and as the spring continues to roll-on, the top J/80 teams are beginning to get into their "groove".  As one might expect, World Champion J/80 teams like Pichu Torcidas' ECC VIVIENDAS and Ignacio Camino's NEXTEL ENGINEERING would be amongst the leaders of the regattas their teams sail in the spring.

This past weekend, the Trofeo Metromar was at stake for these hot J/80 teams, a series of races that takes place over several weekends.  The final race is atypical of many J/80 events in that it was, essentially, an offshore point to point race.  From the start, the fleet headed to  the first buoy north of Santa Marina, then to the buoy of Molinucos, then returning to finish at the original starting line.

The race started with both ECC VIVIENDAS and NEXTEL leading the fleet. The twenty-three J/80s sailed out into the bay with their spinnakers flying, making for a color picture on the first Saturday of spring. At the first mark the wind shifted to the NE at 10-15 kts.  The new breeze made the journey to the next mark fast and fun for the fleet.

After getting back to the entrance of the bay, the fleet were all carrying spinnakers to the finish line, making for a spectacular sight.  After starting in the lead, the top three were Pichu's ECC VIVIENDAS, Ignacio's NEXTEL and in third was Jaime Piris' FONESTAR.  Later, it was discovered that ECC and NEXTEL were OCS'd!  But, this did not prevent ECC and NEXTEL from maintaining their lead positions in the Trofeo Metromar series standings after discards.

The awards ceremony was very relaxing and fun.  The winners collected their trophies, with ECC VIVIENDAS taking first overall, followed by NEXTEL ENGINEERING in 2nd and Alberto Padron's MAQUECHE in 3rd overall.  Sailing well and finishing 4th was Jaime Piris on FONESTAR and in 5th was Javier Lopez-Vazquez sailing METROMAR.

Next on the Spanish J/80 schedule is the Cerveza Sol Trophy starting March 30th that will feature four days of racing spread over the next month. In addition, the weekend of April 13-14 will be the IX Trofeo Santander, the first event that counts for the Circolo Vela Montana (the mountain sailing circuit).    Sailing photo credits- ChapiFoto.com  For more J/80 Spain sailing information