J/70S AND WOMEN J/80 TEAMS INVITED TO COPA DEL REY MAPFRE!

(Copa del Rey, Spain)- The 39th Copa del Rey MAPFRE, organized by the Real Club Náutico de Palma (RCNP), will be held from 31st July to the 7th of August, 2021. Racing will take place on the Bay of Palma in front of the historic and incredibly picturesque waterfront of the city of Palma on the island of Mallorca. 


For the first time the European J/70 class is invited to participate as well as women's team to sail on supplied J/80s from the local Palma J/80 fleet. Sailing in Palma for most sailors ranks as a "bucket list" event, such is the notoriety of the region for fun in the Mediterranean sun!

Generally, the regatta is nothing short of spectacular. For four straight days, the competitors can expect clear blue skies in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea with the noon-time sea breezes building from the southwest into the 8 to 15 kts range...at least that's what the local chamber of commerce claims on their brochure! No question, that part of the Med is famous for its remarkable weather in August and is a reason why Palma is notoriously famous amongst the world's "glitterati", with numerous famous super yachts often parked inside the marinas.  Treat yourself to an amazing experience. Click here and learn more about the Copa del Rey MAPFRE.Add to Flipboard Magazine.

ANNOUNCING THE SPANISH J/80 SAILING SERIES!

(Barcelona, Spain)- The Spanish J/80 class is considered one of the best in the world; after all, amongst their teams they account for nearly a dozen J/80 World Championships (forget the fact they are several Olympic sailing Medallists amongst them). Building on that strength (a somewhat scary thought for the rest of the world), the Spanish class of more than 145 teams and 1,000+ sailors has created a new summer sailing series that will enable them to pursue their great passion for sailing in all of the most beautiful, iconic sailing venues throughout Spain. 

The Spanish J/80 fleet hopes to get sailors of all ages, women's teams, youth teams and masters together. Clearly, they are a class that adapts to the times and promotes values as important as equality and sustainability amongst their ranks of sailors.

J/80 Spain Sailing Series
The 2021 J80 Spain Sailing Series calendar is made up of two major national events; the Spanish Cup to be held in June at the Real Club Marítimo del Abra and the Spanish J/80 Championship to be held in the waters of Cádiz, specifically at the Real Club Náutico La Linea in September.

In addition to these two national qualifying races in the ranking, one regatta per fleet will be added; Canary, Andalusian, Balearic, Basque, Cantabrian and Galician regattas, such as the Prince of Asturias Trophy and the Princess Alexia Trophy. All these regattas will be the scoring events to make the national ranking. The top ten best of the year will come out of this ranking with their direct pass to the Super Final, the J/80 Sailing Finals!

The Spanish J/80 Super Finals
The top ten teams by ranking at the end of the circuit will go to the Super Final. It will be a competition of champions that will be held for the first time in the month of October. The chosen venue has been the amazing natural amphitheater of Santander, and the host Real Club Maritimo de Santander will undoubtedly offer an extraordinary nautical show!  For more Spanish J/80 Sailing Series regatta informationAdd to Flipboard Magazine.

J/80 TROFEO MRS SEGUROS DE CRUCEROS SERIES STARTS

 

(Santander, Spain)- The Real Club Maritimo de Santander (RCMS) is hosting the 2020 edition of the Trofeo MRS Seguros for the Spanish J/80 class off Santander, Spain. Long a hotbed of J/80 talent, it's not surprising to see some of that local talent atop the series lead after the first weekend of sailing in the three-weekend series.

The fleet sailed in westerlies ranging from 275 to 295 all weekend long. Sailing the most consistent regatta so far is multi-J/80 World Champion Jose Maria "Pichu" Torcida with a 2-1-3-2 tally for 5 pts net.  Fellow club members of RCMS are currently filling up the podium. Sitting in second is David Madrazo with a 6-4-5-3 record for 12 pts net. And, rounding out the podium is Jaime Yllera Secades with a 3-7-6-5 scoreline for 14 pts net. 

More racing will take place for the extremely competitive fleet of a dozen boats from the greater Cantabrian region. For more J/80 one-design class sailboat information.  For more J/80 Trofeo MRS Seguros de Cruceros Series sailing information.Add to Flipboard Magazine.

NOTICIA Dominates Villalia J/70 Open de Espana

 

(Vigo, Spain)- The Real Club Nautico de Vigo hosted this year's edition of the Villalia Open de Espana for an incredibly competitive fleet of eighteen boats, a fleet riddled with numerous Spanish Olympic, World, and European champions of various classes. It was an intense three days of sailing. As they say, the fleet experienced four seasons in one regatta! Rain, no wind, lots of wind, snow flurries, lots of sun, hail!  Winds from every quadrant of the compass.  


The teams came from all across Spain; from Valencia, Andalusia, Madrid, Palma in the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands, Asturias, Catalonia, Cantabria, Barcelona, Santander and from all of Galicia. 

After a fiercely fought nine-race series, it was pretty clear the class act of the regatta was a boat led by two former J/80 World Champions.  Needless to say, a seriously hard combination to beat when even Spanish Olympic Gold Medallists acknowledge they are some of Spain's best sailors.  Starting out by leading on the first day, the duo of skipper Jose Maria "Pichu" Torcida and tactician Rayco Tabares on Team NOTICIA never looked back and kept extending their lead. With such enormous talent, no one was surprised they were runaway champions. Their eight race counters consisted of all podium finishes, but only winning two races. Such consistency was indicative of their fast, but conservative approach to winning the regatta...no corner shots! Pichu and Rayco's team included Luis Martin Cabiedes, Francisco Palacio, and Pablo Santurde. 


For the balance of the podium and top five it was like a battle amongst equals. None of them had any particular advantage over the other. And, their scores reflected the "roller coaster" nature of sailing against very strong, equally matched teams. In the end, it was Luis Albert Solana's PATAKIN that grabbed the silver based on their very strong performance in the last two races. Solana's crew included Alfonso Domingos, Karlo Hmeljack, and Andre Kemp. Taking the bronze medal was Alfredo Gonzalez's EUROFRITS-AVIKO TEAM just one point back. His team consisted of Daniel de la Pedraja Yllera, Jon Larrazabal Lallana, Alberto Padron Torrent, and Alejandro Prego. 

Rounding out the top five was Luis Bagallo Arriola's MARNATURA 1. Starting out the regatta with two bullets, they could only manage top 10 finishes to take fourth place. Taking fifth position was Luiz Martinez Doreste's MERCEDES BENZ SAILING TEAM.  For more Spanish J/70 Championship sailing information

J/80 Women's Cup Smashing Success!

 

(Getxo, Bilbao, Spain)- The inaugural International Women's Cup recently took place off Getxo, Spain on their gorgeous azure blue waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Hosting the event for the dozen J/80 women sailing teams was the Real Club Marítimo del Abra, sponsored by Euskadiko Kirol Portuak. Originally, the regatta was scheduled to be held at the end of March 2020.  But, like everything else, it had to be postponed due to the pandemic and sailed last weekend.

After hosting the Spanish J/80 Cup in 2018 and the J/80 World Championship in 2019, the Club de Las Arenas wanted to promote women's sailing and teamwork. Finally, after working with Basque authorities, they were given permission to host the event at Real Club Maritimo del Abra. The regatta was held over the three-day weekend of October 9th to 11th. The event started off with a teamwork/ training session on Friday; which was greatly needed by all!


“It is with great satisfaction to present this important sporting event, which represents a great step in the objective that EKP has within its strategy of promoting and contributing to equality between women and men in all areas. The hope is to grow women's presence in sailing as skippers, crew, and boat owners," said Edurne Egaña, Executive Director of Euskadiko Kirol Portuak. 

The Biscayan J/80 sailor- Carmen Galdós- commented that, “women have been sailing for a long time, with an increasingly higher percentage of female sailors participating in recent years. Now, with the support of the Spanish J/80 Class, there is even more interest; the women like the J/80 for its sailing qualities and ease-of-handling.”


In addition, Lourdes Bilbao (owner of the J/80 SIEMENS GARCIA) agreed by highlighting at the press conference that, "this event is a great leap forward, and events like this promoting women's sailing gives them an opportunity to get together with friends and strangers. Plus, for many of them it was a chance to sail with Olympic-class sailors, many of them being Olympic Medallists!” 

The 100-plus women sailors could not have been more blessed with great weather and nice sailing conditions.  On the first day, the RCMA PRO managed to run three races. The shifty northwest wind of 8 to 12 kts challenged the sailors.  However, it quickly became clear the class act of the regatta was going to be Natalia Vía-Dufresne's CLINICAS DORSIA Sailing Team, closing the day with a 1-2-2 record.  Also winning races the first day were Carmen Galdós's FINGOLFIN Women’s Team and Helena Alegre's CENTROSEGUR Team. 


Much to the delight of the women sailors, the second day of racing saw more of the same sailing conditions, but with a bit more breeze-on from the northwest, blowing 15 to 25 kts. Starting where she left off on the first day, Via-Dufresne's CLINICAS DORSIA Team won the first race by a wide margin and repeated that performance by an even larger margin in the last and final race. Clearly, Natalia's team reveled in the breezy, wavy conditions, compiling a 2-2-1-1-1 tally for 5 pts and the gold medal.  Her winning team included Nuria Sanchez, Ana Pujol, Susana Romero, Clara Llabres, and Marta Garrido. 

Despite CLINICAS DORSIA domination, the second place DECOEXSA Women's Team crew was just five points back on the leaderboard with a record of 3-5-2-3-2 for 10 pts. DECOEXSA was skippered by Olatz Munoz Ortiz, with crew of Amaia Sanchez Arnaez, Paula de la Hoz San Bartolome, Patricia Alza Larruscain, Magdalena Czernick, and Marta Lizarrage Durandegui. 

Taking the bronze medal step on the podium was the well-known BIOBIZZ Women's Team with a record of 4-3-4-2-3 for 12 pts total.  Skippering BIOBIZZ was Maria Sanchez Diez with crew of Laura Fernandez Gutierrez, Lucia Gonzalez Villa, Claudia  Carpintero Borrajo, Carlota Gala Licona, and Elena Quevedo Pasarin. Thanks to Luis Fernandez for his beautiful photos of the inaugural International Women's J/80 Cup!  Add to Flipboard Magazine.

NOTICIA Wins the Villalia J/70 Vigo Winter Series

MARNATURA Takes Final Act V
(Vigo, Spain)- The Real Club Náutico De Vigo hosted the five event Villalia J/70 Vigo Winter Series. The finale was an epic one, with the fleet treated to 15 to 25 knot winds from the south to southwest all weekend long, with the RCNV PRO managing to run just four races in the somewhat extreme wave conditions.

Winning the final weekend was Luis Bagallo Arriola's MARNATURA 1 team (Gerardo Prego, Alberto Basadre and Javier de la Gándara) from the host club by posting an impressive 4-1-1-1 in the wild waters offshore. Second was two-time J/80 World Champion Pichu Torcida from Real Club Maritimo de Santander, sailing his NOTICIA team to a 2-8-2-2 tally. Then, third was determined on a tie-breaker between Gonzalo Araujo's LAGUARDIA & MOREIRA and Luis Albert's PATAKIN, with Araujo's team winning the countback. 


As a result of the final weekend's results, it was Torcida's NOTICIA that was proclaimed the Villalia J/70 Vigo Winter Series Champion! The balance of the podium included Bugallo Arriola's MARNATURA 1 in second and Araujo's LAGUARDIA & MORERIRA in third. The rest of the hotly contested top five included Luiz Perez Canal's ABRIL VERDE in fourth place and Albert's PATAKIN in fifth place. Note that Rayco Tabares from the Canary Islands (himself a two-time J/80 World Champion) was crewing on ABRIL VERDE and Hugo Rocha (a Spanish Olympic Gold Medallist) was crewing on Albert's PATAKIN...not many "shrinking violets" in that fleet!  For more Villalia J/70 Vigo Winter Series sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

FREDO Wins J/80 Mundialito Regatta

(Santander, Spain)- The Real Club Maritimo Santander in Santander, Spain hosted the 2019 J/80 Mundialito Cup Regatta off their famous setting in front of Spain's Pyrenees on the northeastern shoreline of Spain, located on the Bay of Biscay.  The fleet was treated to good racing when the breeze was over the weekend, but it was not without its challenges for the RCM Santander's PRO!


In the end, it was a past J/80 World Champion- Jose Maria "Pichu" Torcida-Seghers that won the regatta on the fabulous FREDO!  Taking second was Alfredo Gonzalez's EDIFICIO and rounding out the podium was Jose Azqueta-Arrue's BIOBIZZ that took the bronze medal.  The balance of the top five in this always hyper-competitive fleet was determined by a tie-breaker at 10 pts each; winning that countback was Rafael Malo's HATUEY in fourth place and Ignacio Camino-Rodriguez’s ESP 899 in fifth place. For more J/80 Mundialito Regatta sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/80 Copa de Espana Preview

(Coruna, Spain)- This coming weekend, the Spanish Cup begins in Coruña, the second act of the Abanca Week at the Real Club Náutico de La Coruña. Sailings are twenty J/80 teams from different points of the peninsula; Galicia, the Cantabrian and the Basque, Catalan, Andalusian and Valencian. The regatta is the finale of the Spanish J/80 season series. Eight windward-leewards of about six miles each are scheduled.

The great oceanic veteran, the Vigués Javier de la Gándara, is apriori the best prospect for the Galician J/80 fleet for absolute victory. No one can miss that the “Okofen” of the Monte Real Yacht Club is one of the powerful teams in the class. They complete the southern representation; along with Luis de Mira’s NAMASTE, Nano Yáñez’s CANSINO, PAZO DE CEA and MIUDO.

The strongest from the Galician region is ATLANTIC 3D PRINTING from the Royal Yacht Club of La Coruña. Other top crews from the same club include MAXIMINO, SINGING BOY, GALERA, and PUNTA HERMINIA.

Iñigo Jáuregui is sailing on board ENBATA 80. The SIEMENS GAMESA team of Lourdes Bilbao is sailing with an all women crew, one of the top teams from the Basque region.

There will be three J/80s from Euskadi and three other Cantabrians: Peru Mujica at the helm of the HATUEY, Alex Diez’s FREDO ESTRELLA DEL NORTE from the Royal Maritime Club of Santander, and Castro Urdiales’ MATRAKO from Real Nautical Club of Castro Urdiales.  For more J/80 Copa de Espana sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

OKOFEN Wins Trofeo Principe de Asturias

(Baiona, Spain)- A fleet of two-dozen J/80s sailed the 34th edition of the historic Prince of Asturias Trophy, hosted by the Monte Real Yacht Club and the Naval Military School, with the sponsorship from ABANCA. The sailing took place off Baiona, Spain and the fleet was blessed with beautiful weather and strong winds over the first two days of the three-day event.

Winning the J/80 SOLVENTIS Class was Javier de la Gándara’s OKOFEN. On the first day of racing, OKOFEN started the regatta in third place. However, the perfect sailing conditions on Saturday enabled OKOFEN’s fast team to score three bullets to leap to the top of the podium by the end of the day. Sunday dawned with little winds and after a three-hour postponement; the “AP over A” flag was flown, marking the cancellation of races and the end of the regatta. As a result, la Gándara’s OKOFEN was proclaimed the winner, followed by Diogo Costa’s MIUDO in second place and Cristina Gonzalez Cominges’ PAZO DE CEA in third position. All three teams hail from the host club- Monte Real YC.

In addition to rewarding the winners of the respective categories, during the trophy ceremony the club also awarded the Mary Woodward Trophy for the best J/80 of the season- the happy recipient was Javier de la Gándara’s OKOFEN!  For more J/80 Trofeo Principe de Asturias sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

GRUPO GARATU Triumphs @ Copa del Rey

(Palma Mallorca, Spain)- A class win at the famous Copa del Rey MAPFRE, the Mediterranean’s annual summer showcase regatta, can elude even some of sailing’s top teams for many years. Others seem able to impose themselves year on year in their chosen classes. Nevertheless, the 132 boat, 11 division, 38th Copa del Rey MAPFRE closed today with the battles finally settled for the ultra-competitive J/80 one-design class.

Following the recent J/80 World Championship that took place on Spain’s northwest resort in Getxo (Bilbao), the Herbalife J/80 fleet were more than prepared to compete in the 38th Copa del Rey MAPFRE. Coming back to Palma to race were several J/80 World Champions in the gorgeous waters and Bay of Palma.

"The Copa del Rey MAPFRE and the J/80 World Championship are the two big events on our sailing calendar,” explains Iker Almandoz, skipper of GRUPO GARATU. “The J/80 World Championship was tough, but for this event, we are going to make a few modifications that we believe can greatly improve our performance. I will be handing over helm to Eric Brezellec (third in the World Championship with COURRIER ECOLE NAVALE) and I will be tactician on board.” That team turned out to be the winning combination for the regatta.

As defenders of the Copa del Rey MAPFRE title, Marc de Antonio’s crew on BRIBON MOVISTAR were fully aware that a third consecutive victory would be no easy task.

Similarly, José Arqueta’s BIOBIZZ returned to the Mediterranean regatta after a well-earned fifth place in the J/80 World Championship, alongside Ignacio Camino’s SOLINTAL team who were sixth. In short, for such a small fleet, the competition was truly world-class.

After six races, it was Juan Vasquez’s GRUPO GARATU that took the J/80 class win with all podium finishes. In fact, they won with three 1sts and three 2nds for a remarkably dominating win over other J/80 World Champions.  Second was another J/80 World Champions- Marc de Antonio’s BRIBON MOVISTAR with a tally of three 2nds and three 3rds! Remarkable that synchronicity between the top two boats. In a full-on battle for the final spot on the podium were two formidable competitors; Ignacio Camino and Armando Gutierrez’s SOLINTAL and Russia’s Alexei Semenov and Spain’s Toni Cruz on NEW TERRITORIES. In the end, it was SOLITAL’s crew that sealed the deal in the final race.

The 38th Copa del Rey MAPFRE was organized by the Real Club Náutico de Palma and the Real Federación Española de Vela (Spanish Royal Sailing Federation), and was sponsored by MAPFRE.  For more MAPFRE Copa del Rey Regatta sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Spain’s Santurde Crowned J/80 World Champ!

(Getxo, Bilbao, Spain)- The Real Club Marítimo del Abra hosted the 2019 edition of the J/80 World Championship that started on July 13th off Bilbao, Spain. Eighty teams battled hard on the Cantabrian Sea; twelve nations were represented from across the world (Canada, Spain, France, USA, Russia, Portugal, Cyprus, Ireland, Great Britain, The Netherlands, Belgium, and India).

The fleet sailed nine qualifying races to determine the Gold fleet in the first three days of competition.  Thereafter, the final two days were scheduled for six more. But, the weather Godz would not cooperate.  The first championship day saw just one race sailed due to light airs. As a result, the grand finale on the last day saw three more races sailed to determine the 2019 J/80 World Champion.  Winning in the end was Pablo Santurde’s Spanish crew on M&G TRESSIS.

The exciting final day had spectacular weather, sun, cool, and a northeaster of 18 to 20 kts, enabling a total of thirteen races to be sailed with one discard race for the final scores.

The battles were epic all week, especially between the top two nations that have continuously been at the top of the world in J/80 events for over a decade- the French and the Spanish.

After the first three days of qualifiers, the two leaders were tied on points at 23 each, the Frenchman Laouenan Pierre’s COURRIER ECOLE NAVALE and the Spaniard Pablo Santurde’s M&G TRESSIS. Going into the one and only race of the Gold flight on Thursday, both teams had bad races; having to ultimately make them their discards- Pierre had a BFD and Santurde a disappointing 22nd.

On the final day, Santurde’s M&G TRESSIS crew sailed brilliantly, posting a 2-2-1 to win the regatta with 28 pts net.  Meanwhile, Marc de Antonio’s Spanish crew on BRIBON MOVISTAR sailed equally as well, posting a 1-1-3 to leap into the silver spot. The flying Frenchman could not keep the pace with the top Spanish crews, posting a 6-3-4 in the finale for 36 pts net to take the bronze.  Rounding out the top five were Rayco Tabares’ HOTEL PRINCESS YAIZA from the Canary Islands in 4th and Jose Asqueta’s BIOBIZZ taking 5th place.

“We have done very well on the last day. We were not first until this final day, but we have been very consistent and never gave up on anything. We are very happy with this outcome. We have competed against the World’s best and sailed at a higher level than we expected,” said a satisfied and much relieved Pablo Santurde.

In addition, the best Women’s Team was that of Eva González's OPTICAL IVF CANADIO CENTRAL from the Royal Maritime Club of Santander.

The “J80 WORLDS 2019 GETXO” crew from the José Luis de Ugarte Sailing School (R.C.M.A.-R.S.C.), took the world title in the Youth Team category, after having also recently been champion of Spain.

The prize for the best Corinthian Team went to the Ignacio Camino’s SOLINTAL.  The best Mixed Team was the French NAVIGATLANTIQUE skippered by Anne Phelipon, while TROCADERO MARBELLA Team skippered by Juan Luis Páez took the Masters Team category and SLIGHTLY STEAMY skippered by the Englishman Nick Haigh won the Over-60 Team category.  Follow the J/80 Worlds on Facebook here  For more J/80 World Championship sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/80 World Championship Update

(Bilbao, Spain)- The Real Club Marítimo del Abra has been hosting the 2019 edition of the J/80 World Championship that started on July 13th off Bilbao, Spain. Eighty teams have been battling on the Cantabrian Sea from twelve nations across the world (Canada, Spain, France, USA, Russia, Portugal, Cyprus, Ireland, Great Britain, The Netherlands, Belgium, and India).

The battles have been epic so far, especially between the two top countries that have continuously been at the top of the world in J/80 events for over a decade- the French and the Spanish.

As a reflection of that fierce competition, tied on points at 23 each are the Frenchman Laouenan Pierre’s COURRIER ECOLE NAVALE and the Spaniard Pablo Santurde’s M&G TRESSIS. The balance of the top five are all Spanish, including two former J/80 World Champions, and they are all within 6 pts of the lead! The final two days of competition promise to be epic and full of anxiety as the five teams duel to the end.  Sitting in third is Jose Asqueta’s BIOBIZZ, fourth is Rayco Tabares’ HOTEL PRINCESA YAIZA, and fifth is Marc de Antonio’s BRIBON MOVISTAR.  Follow the J/80 Worlds on Facebook here   For more J/80 World Championship sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/80 World Championship Preview

(Bilbao, Spain)- From July 13 to 20, the Real Club Marítimo del Abra will host the 2019 edition of the J/80 World Championship. Eighty-seven teams will battle for the title on the Cantabrian Sea from twelve nations across the world (Canada, Spain, France, USA, Russia, Portugal, Cyprus, Ireland, Great Britain, The Netherlands, Belgium, and India).

There is no question the biggest battles will be fought between the principal protagonists of the class in Europe- the host nation Spain and their counterparts just across their border to the north- the French.  Familiar names will be in the thick of the battle for Spain, such as past World Champion Rayco Tabares Alvarez on HOTEL PRINCESA YAIZA from the Canary Islands; past World Champion Marc de Antonio on the famous BRIBON MOVISTAR; and IBO.ES with Francisco Javier Chacartegui on the helm.

The French are showing up in force, with teams like Luc Nadal’s GAN’JA; top woman helm Anne Phelipon on NAVIGATLANTIQUE; another top woman helm- Maxime Rousseaux’s J’RAFON; Patrick Bot on ECOLE NAVALE CD29; Simon Moriceau sailing ARMENT HABITAT; and Ludovic Gilet sailing NUMERO J.

One top American team is participating, Ramzi Bannura’s STACKED DECK from Annapolis/ Eastport YC. The Russian team NEW TERRITORIES is being sailed by Alexei Semenov.  Ireland is fielding two teams from Howth YC just north of Dublin- Dan O’Grady’s JAMMY and Patrick O’Neill’s MOJO. The United Kingdom have a pair teams from the Solent- Chris & Hannah Neve’s NO REGRETS and Nick Haigh’s SLIGHTLY STEAMY.  The Netherlands also have a pair on the starting line- Bram Adema’s NJORD and Louis Kanters’ JIP. Their neighbors in Belgium also have a duo in the frame- Jean Marc Fobert’s BAD JOKE and Lemaire Jacques & Winnie Berteloot’s SEA JOU 2.

Perhaps the most surprising development is the five-boat contingent from India’s Royal Madras Yacht Club. It will be interest to see how they perform and how quickly they learn the tricks of the trade from the best J/80 sailors in the world.  For more J/80 World Championship sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Women Lead J/80 Campeonato de Espana

(Santander, Spain)- The Spanish J/80 Championship that takes place in Santander shows the evolution of the women's sailing in both Spain and Europe; with five women's teams among the forty-three participants. The J/80 class is widely known for the large number of women sailors that participate in the class, either as members of mixed or totally women crews.

The Real Club Marítimo de Santander, cradle of great international sailors and possessor of one of the most powerful fleets of J/80’s in Spain, faces the challenge of organizing the thirteenth edition of the Spanish J/80 Championship.

"The J/80 class is the perfect showcase and clear example of the increase and presence of women's participation in sailing. The number of women in mixed and female teams has always been high, but in this Spanish Championship we undoubtedly beat all the records; I believe that there is not a one-design class where the participation of the women has been so wide and example of parity,” commented Alex Diaz, President of the J/80 Class Association.

Exclusively women crews, from Catalonia, the Basque Country and Santander, will compose five of the 43 participating teams. Those teams include Leticia Gandarias’ AVE FENIX; Julia Casanueva is the owner of GENERALE OPTICA; Carlota Massana skippers DORSIA SAILING TEAM; Olatz Muñoz is sailing DECOEXSA; and Lourdes Bilbao is leading PINTACODA.

The regatta is a “de facto” Pre-Worlds for the J/80 World Championship that will be sailed in one month’s time in Getxo (Basque Country).  That is why so many of the top Spanish teams are participating, as well as a few top European teams.

The Spanish teams are notorious for being at the top of the J/80 class. World Champions such as the Cantabrian José María Torcida with his "Aila" or Ignacio Camino with "Solintan", the Basque runner-up in the 2018 Worlds Iker Almandoz at the helm of "Grupo Garatu", the champion Jaime Piris with "Mercury", the Balearic Javier Chacartegui with "IBO.es", and Diego Botín’s “ONO M&G Tressis" (yes, part of that famous yacht design family).  Sailing Photo credits- Jesus Lastra  For more Spanish J/80 Sailing Championship Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Record Set @ CaixaBank Trofeo Conde de Godó

(Barcelona, Spain)- The prestigious regatta organized by the Real Club Nautico de Barcelona since 1974, the CaixaBank Conde de Godó Trophy, saw a new record set this past weekend. On the final day of the 46th edition of the event, the J/80 BRIBON-MOVISTAR of Marc de Antonio and Sofia Bertrand became the most successful team in the history of the event. It was the 16th victory for the BRIBON MOVISTAR team in the Conde de Godó, adding eleven titles in Offshore Racing and five in one-design classes.

While the J/80 Class saw domination from the BRIBON-MOVISTAR team, the team of Pepequin Orbaneja and Rafael Lasso on LES ROCHES- CRISANDKIM TRAVEL were hot on their heels for the entire regatta to take the silver. Third was the women’s sailing team on DORSIA SAILING TEAM, skippered by Ana Pujol Puyal with owner Natalia Via-Dufresne.

In the J/70 class, the Russian NEW TERRITORIES team of Alexei Semenov, with Spain’s Olympic Medallist Hugo Rocha on board, won with comfort, without having to do the last race. Second was the Spanish “G75 Team” skippered by G. Panei and Martinez Doreste (owner- Petter Fjellstad), and the Polish team on MOONRAKER, sailed by Pawel Boksa, won two races enroute to finishing in the third place.

Organized by the Real Club Nautico de Barcelona with the collaboration of the Royal Spanish Sailing Federation and the Catalan Sailing Federation, the 46th CaixaBank Conde de Godó Trophy is sponsored by CaixaBank and supported by La Vanguardia, the City Council of Barcelona and the Generalitat de Catalunya. Collaborating companies are Gramona, Estrella Damm, Royal Bliss, VIP Style Magazine, Veri, Benfumat, Nordés and Mizuno.  Follow the Trofeo de Vela Conde de Godo on Facebook here   For more Trofeo de Vela Conde de Godo sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

NRV Tops SAILING Champions League- Qualifier I

(Palma de Mallorca, Spain)- Norddeutscher Regatta Verein from Germany took advantage of sensational sailing conditions in Palma de Mallorca to win the first of three qualifiers in season six of the SAILING Champions League. The top eight finishing clubs from Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Finland secured a place at the Final in St Moritz, Switzerland later this summer.

It was the first time the SAILING Champions League has visited the beautiful Mediterranean island of Mallorca, a mecca for grand prix sailing. Hosted by Club Nàutic S’Arenal, the sailors from 26 yacht clubs and 16 nations loved the stellar racing conditions along the waterfront.  Racing off the beach front resorts gave spectators front row seats on the incredibly fast and tight competition that took place over four days.

Florian Haufe, who skippered Norddeutscher Regatta Verein to victory in the dreamy chamber of commerce sunny and breezy conditions, commented: “We just had four days with perfect sailing conditions, really close races and very tough competition. I have a great team to sail with. It was our goal to secure a place at the SAILNG Champions League Final in St Moritz this August and we made it!” Haufe’s NRV crew included David Heitzig, Miklas Meyer, and Dorian Heitzing.

The top eight finishing teams in Palma secured a place at the Final in St Moritz, Switzerland from 15 to 18 August 2019. The eight qualified clubs are:

1. Norddeutscher Regatta Verein- Germany
2. Club Nautique de Versoix- Switzerland
3. Kongelig Dansk Yachtklub- Denmark
4. Société Nautique de Genève- Switzerland
5. Kaløvig Bådelaug- Denmark
6. WSV Almere Centraal- The Netherlands
7. Frederikshavn Sejlklub- Denmark
8. Brändö Seglare- Finland

The racing was hard fought all the way to the finish, with the 9th place finisher, Württembergischer Yacht-Club from Germany just missing out on a qualifying place by 1.6 points.

The Palma regatta was the first of three SAILING Champions League Qualifiers, with the second event due to be hosted by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda in Porto Cervo, Sardinia, from 23 to 26 May. A few weeks later it’s on to St Petersburg, Russia, from 4 to 7 July for the third and concluding Qualifier before the grand final in August.

SAP Sailing Analytics provided 24/7 statistics and data for sailors, fans, spectators and media like GPS tracking, real-time analysis, and a live leaderboard combined with 2D visualization. You can find all results here on the SAP Sailing Analytics site: http://scl2019-qualifier1.sapsailing.com!

Watch this fun, entertaining 2019 SAILING Champions League highlights video here on YouTube:

For more SAILING CHAMPIONS League sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.