(Palma Mallorca, Spain)- The Copa Del Rey Audi Mapfre is one of the
premiere European regattas held every summer in Spain's most famous
sailing venue- that glorious mountain island of the international
sailing jet set- Palma Mallorca. Hosted by the gracious members of the
Real Club Náutico de Palma, the 38th edition of the event will be sailed
from July 27th to August 3rd.
So
far the sailors have been challenged by the unusual NE’ly wind
direction, with tacticians having to search their memory banks to recall
the best strategy for what ultimately proved to be an excellent opening
contest for Spain’s showcase annual regatta. The day started with a
gradient northwesterly breeze, between 15 and 16 knots, that gave the
race committee the opportunity to hold a fiercely-fought and spectacular
race. However, the breeze gradually died in the afternoon as the
gradient and the local thermal were canceling each other out.The J/80 one-design class, always a popular boat at Copa del Rey, has a field of fourteen teams that includes several of the top five J/80 teams at the recent J/80 World Championship in Marseilles, France. At the top of the list is Hugo Rocha sailing TURISMO DO ALGARVE from Portugal-- the current 2013 J/80 World Champion. He will certainly be challenged racing in Spanish home waters-- as the local teams include Carlos Martinez on DELTASTONE and Jose Maria Van der Ploeg on FACTOR ENERGIA (the 2012 J/80 World Champion)!
Sailing in the ORC 1 handicap class are the J/122 NOISY OYSTER from France sailed by Olivier Parchet and the J/111 BLACK BULL from Italy skippered by Pietro D'Ali from Yacht Club Italia. Sailing photo credits- Jesus Renedo/ Sailingstock.com. For more Audi Mapfre Copa del Rey sailing information
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