Gaastra PalmaVela at Real Club Náutico de Palma - Day 3
by RCNP 4 May 2014 11:46 BST
30 April - 4 May 2014
The third day of the Gaastra PalmaVela started on time. Divided into four race courses, at 12h00 CET the Race Committee gave the start of the coastal race to the Wally, Mini Maxi, Classic and Vintage fleets while the remaining classes sailed windward-leeward races. The wind was stronger today in the Bay of Palma although at the end of the day it dropped so the final race in ORC 0, 1 and 2 had to be cancelled.
Duel for the victory in the Wally class
The 28-mile coastal race held today in the Wally class leaves their overall in the Gaastra PalmaVela red hot heading into the final day tomorrow. While "Magic Blue" remains at the top of the podium, "Magic Carpet Cubed" is getting dangerously close and is just a single point behind the coveted gold.
"J One" is holding onto third place, but looking closely to their rivals: Tom Bscher's "Open Season", one point behind, and "Galma", a further two points back.
With these results, the final day will decide the name of the winner of the Gaastra PalmaVela in the Wally class. There will be only a single race held tomorrow, another coastal course, and the discard will also come into play, so there still might be changes.
"Rán V" is ready to win the Gaastra PalmaVela
For third day in a row Swedish "Rán V" remains leader of the Mini Maxi class after winning today's coastal race. But behind them there is still a lot to be decided, as there are only three points separating second to fourth. Therefore, Roberto Tomasini's "Robertissima III" still has the provisional silver while Sir Peter Ogden's "Jethou" is third again.
Tomorrow "Alegre" will seek a new opportunity to climb to the podium. Andres Soriano's team still has a chance: the discard, which could lead to a change of positions among the pursuers of Niklas Zennström's boat.
"Provezza 7" first in IRC
Two races were sailed today which boosted TP52 "Provezza 7" to the top of the podium in the Gaastra PalmaVela in IRC. The Turkish boat won both races today and is now three points ahead of the Brazilian "Phoenix" and the Emirati "Platoon", who are now second and third respectively, tied with seven points each. Both crews will look to get into a hard battle tomorrow from which the crew of "Provezza 7" could benefit substantially.
"Earlybird" takes the lead in Soto 40
The Soto 40 fleet completed three races resulting in a change of leader in the class. The European runner-up, Hendrik Brandis' "Earlybird", took the lead and is one point ahead of Portuguese Pedro Mendonça's "Bigamist". Today third place went to "Glen Ellen XXII" which lasts another day on the Mediterranean podium.
"Bribon Movistar" remains at the top among the J80 fleet
The J80 class today completed three more races, so a discard was applied. Marc de Antonio and Sofía Bertrand's "Bribon Movistar" is for the second day in a row at the top of the J80 ranking with only five points on the leader board after two firsts and a third place today. A top result for them. The fleet is experiencing a change of positions: "HM-Hotels" moves up to second place with "Opera Season-Team RCN Palma" one point behind.
Surprises in the ORC divisions
A single race today in ORC 0, ORC 1 and ORC 2 classes left surprises in the overall standings. German Christian Plump's boat "Elena Nova" is leading ORC 0; Czech Milan Hakej's "Three Sisters" is also leading ORC 1 after winning today's race. In ORC 2, Felix Comas´ "Pinyol Vermell", sailing for the C.N. Arenal, now commands the classification.
The ORC 3 and ORC 4 classes completed two races in the Bay of Palma. RCN Palma's boat "Yabadaba" climbed up to first place in ORC3, and did "Andrea" from C.V.P. Andratx in ORC 4.
"Enterprise" and "Samurai" keep their options for gold
Albert Kusak's "Enterprise" holds its lead among the Vintage boats after taking a victory today in the waters of the Bay of Palma. Following him is Tim Liesenhoff's "Maringa", also from the RCN Palma, who after a second place in the coastal race today rises to second place overall, although tied on points with Monaco's boat "Moonbeam IV" with Mikael Creach at the helm.
Among the Classic Boats, "Samurai" remains one more day on top of the podium, placed two points ahead of "Margarita Estalindalamar" and four of "Rosendo".
Debut for the Lateen Sail and Disabled
Today was the debut for the Lateen Sail boats in the Gaastra PalmaVela. In Bot division, Rafael Carrillo's "Regio" is in first while in Llaüt there is a triple tie between "Pandora", "Savanna" - both from the C.N.C. Gamba- and "Annika" from the R.C.N. Palma.
In the disabled sailing, there were two races sailed today. Violeta del Reino, winner of the last two editions, is leader in her class. Silver for today went to Maximiliano Domínguez while third place goes to Jana Mestre.
"Gecko" continues to rule in Flying Fifteen
Michael Clough's "Gecko" remains leader of the Flying Fifteen fleet in the Gaastra PalmaVela after completing three new races. The Musket Cove Yacht Club's boat is leader with eight points, five points ahead of "Olive Oyl" who is second after racing today. The provisional bronze goes to Spanish "Flyinghigh" who tomorrow, in the last day of competition, could move up to silver, as they are just one point behind.
No changes in the Dragon class
The three races sailed today didn't bring any changes in the Dragon class. "Aphrodite" is securing its lead with just five points on the leader board. Only four points behind the team from Mallorca there is "Dragonera" with the provisional silver while "Young Tiger" is third.
Tomorrow, final day and prize giving
Tomorrow will be the final day of this year's Gaastra Palmavela. It will close with the prize giving ceremony. In total there will be 35 rewarded crews, 17 of which will be the winners of the 2014 regatta. The ceremony will take place on the main terrace of the Real Club Náutico de Palma.
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