The Trofeo Princesa Sofía finished with a breezy spectacle

The 52 Trofeo Princesa Sofía for racer-cruisers and keelboats concluded today in winds of more than 25 knots in the bay of Palma, conditions which prevented the Dragons and Int 6 Metres classes from sailing.

Sal (J/80), Patakin (J/70), Stella (6 Metros), Mr. Nova (Dragon), Santina (ORC 1-3), Abracadabra (ORC 4-5) and Kyo V (A2) are the champions of the 52 Trofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca by Iberostar for racer-cruisers and keelboats. Held from the 31st of March to the 2nd of April at the Real Club Náutico de Palma, it was attended by nearly 60 teams representing ten nationalities.

The strong northwesterly wind was the biggest challenge for the third and last day of competition with gusts of more than 25 knots scudding across the bay of Palma.

The 6 Metre and Dragon classes were unable to sail, safety first being chosen ahead of putting crews and boats at any risk. The J/70 and J/80s completed three windward/leeward races and the racer cruisers completed a coastal course.

Sal took victory in the J/80 class. The boat is skippered by Helena Alegre and held the overall lead from the first day. James Waugh's British Project Puffin finished second, followed by Gerhard Henssen's German Jotajuega.

In J/70 there was a great duel between Jorge Martínez Doreste's Hang Ten and Luis Albert's Patakin. The Canary Islanders took the lead by winning the first race of the day, but were fourth in the following race due to a second place finish by their rivals. Both teams were evenly matched in the ninth and final heat, in which Patakin knew how to play their cards better and took the final victory. The podium in this category was completed by Pablo Garriga's Tenaz.

The 6 Metre and Dragons were unable to sail due to the strong wind, so the classification was closed with the results of the previous day. With four races completed, Violeta Álvarez's Stella took the title in the 6 Metre class and Jorge Forteza's Mr. Nova won the Dragons.

A course around the bay

The cruisers competed in a zigzag coastal race starting and finishing in the bay of Palma. After taking an unmarked buoy, the fleet headed towards Illetas and then set course for a buoy located in front of Can Pastillla and finished the race in front of Palma Cathedral. In total, a distance of between 17 and 20 nautical miles depending on length and category.

Some yachts decided not to take the start due to the strong wind and others were unable to finish the course. This was the case of the Germans of Immac Fram, leaders of the ORC 1-3 class classification, who opted to withdraw from the race, opening the door for Thomas Rudewald's Santina to win today's race and claim the final victory.

Abracadabra, with Mark Sadler at the helm, was the best in the ORC 4-5 division. He was joined on the podium by Jaime Morell's Mestral Fast, second, and María Campins' Tres Mares, third.

The ORC A2 category saw no changes to the previous day's classification. Ana Majada's Kyo V took the final victory, followed by Antonio Arnau Ripoll's Maribel and Pedro Marí's Enero, winner of today's last coastal race.

The Sala Magna of the Real Club Náutico de Palma hosted the prize-giving ceremony for the winners of the cruiser and monotype categories. The 52 Trofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca by Iberostar goes into Olympic mode from tomorrow: 984 teams and 1,269 sailors of 66 nationalities will compete for glory in ten categories until next Saturday, 8th April.

The 52 Trofeo S.A.R. Princesa Sofía Mallorca by Iberostar is the first qualifying event for the Sailing World Cup 2023 and will be held from 29 March to 8 April under the joint organisation of the Club Nàutic S'Arenal, the Club Marítimo San Antonio de la Playa, the Real Club Náutico de Palma, the Real Federación Española de Vela and the Federación Balear de Vela, with the backing of World Sailing and the main Balearic public institutions. It is funded by the European Union Next Generation EU, the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism, the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan and the Balearic Islands Tourism Strategy Agency.