Ibiza JoySail brushes off weather and competition remains high

The organisers of Ibiza JoySail have been forced to cancel racing on the third day of the superyacht event held at Marina Ibiza following storm warnings for the early afternoon, but while there was no racing on the water, onshore a table football competition between all the teams ensured that the competition remained high.

Early on Sunday morning, the local emergency services activated a Severity Index 1 due to rain and storms in Ibiza and the Balearic Islands, and accompanying strong gusts of wind, estimated at times between 70 and 120 km/hour. The Race Committee announced at the morning briefing a first postponement, which was followed a few hours later by a definitive cancellation of racing until tomorrow, Sunday.

However the competition resumed shortly after the cancellation, with a table football championship amongst the crews of the eighteen super yachts gathered at Marina Ibiza, which was won by Viento!

Race Director, Nacho Postigo commented:

“It is a real shame that we have been unable to race today.  We have had a couple of great days racing, and looking forward to the storm passing, so that we can get a good final day of racing tomorrow, Sunday.”

As was evident from the atmosphere in the main hospitality marquee, the lack of racing was not about to stop the teams enjoying the event and they took advantage of an excellent brunch served with the old town of Ibiza, Dalt Vila, as a backdrop albeit shrouded in cloud.

“This regatta is not just about the on water action, there is a great combination of on water and on shore activities, and people seem to really like it.  We have had a couple of evening events, which have been a great success, and there is a great interaction between the boats.”

“Our ambition is that we maintain this relaxed approach and by having Ibiza JoySail is an invitational event limited to some 20 boats.  We can then keep the mixture of competitive racing on the water and a healthy programme of onshore activities.” Adds Postigo

Over half the fleet at Ibiza JoySail are Corinthian entries, further underlining the relaxed mix of on water competition and a busy onshore social programme.

“This Corinthian element is very important to us,” continues Postigo.  “At the first Ibiza JoySail four years ago,  we had four entries and one of those, Dark Horse, had never taken part in a regatta before.  For some of these owners, taking part in some of the bigger superyacht events can be very daunting and the strong Corinthian spirit that we have here underlines what we set out to do at the start of Ibiza JoySail.”

But Ibiza JoySail is also attracting some of the world’s leading sailors with, amongst others. Spanish double Olympic medalist Luis Doreste joining the Italian flagged Morgana as tactician.  While Corinthian entry Ammonite are competing in an event for the first time but have experienced sailor Campbell Field onboard who is helping to coach the owner and the regular Ammonite crew. 

Meanwhile back in Marina Ibiza, the crews took advantage of a day onshore to carry out small jobs on board the boats, enjoy the hospitality provided by the Ibiza JoySail organisers, before the traditional Pirate Party later this evening.