Hendrik Brandis, owner-driver of ClubSwan 50 leader Earlybird, has not won the class at Copa del Rey MAPFRE since 2021 but carrying a lead of 5.5 points into Saturday’s finale he has high hopes of retaining the upper hand over his German rival Marcus Brennecke who he has known and been friends with since they were teenage sailors at the same club in northern Germany.
Palma (Spain), 2 August 2024
Brennecke’s circuit champions Hatari, circuit champions and winners here last year, could not match Earlybird’s consistency today. With past 470 world champion Nic Asher calling tactics, Earlybird finished second twice in the light, shifty conditions, whilst Hatari won the first race then finished fourth.
Asher reported, “It was a tricky day. The breeze was up and down and it is did not really decide whether the left or right was best. But the boat is going well. And the key was quickly identifying what was working. It was different both races. On the second race we gybe set at the windward mark and went from sixth to second. The new format? Well it is better because before you did three days work and it was reset to just one race, effectively. We are going well and if I can get us off the start line tomorrow we should do OK.”
Brandis is up for the challenge, “We try to defend our lead and try and keep up our consistency. We have a nice rivalry with Hatari.”
Experience of more than 35 Copa del Rey regattas, including many class wins, is paying a dividend for round the world and America’s Cup racer Antonio ‘Talpi’ Piris who is guiding Josá María Meseguer’s Pez de Abril which has now established a lead of 8.5 points at the top of the ClubSwan 42 one design division. After finishing first and second, Piris recalled, “It was a fantastic day, very light. We sailed on light jibs all day and it was very shifty. We look very good on points. It is a good class, very close and although the boats are a little older, the boats are easy to manage and handle and every boat has its day. But the boats really sail nicely. This is number 42 and I am sure I have done 36 Copa del Reys missing some for racing round the world and doing the America’s Cup.”
The dominant force in Watches of Switzerland ORC 0 remains the TP52 Teatro Soho Altavista of Javier Banderas and Toni Guiu. With double Olympic medallist Luis Doreste doing tactics. They lead the King of Spain, HM Felipe, and the Spanish Navy crew on Aifos by 5.5 pts.
Banderas enthused, “We are being very consistent and our worst position throughout the week has been second, so far alternating between second and first positions. We managed to put boats in front of Aifos, which is our closest rival. Tomorrow everything will be decided, but we are going home happy.”
The tactician on Aifos Alberto Barovier explained. “It was a tough day for us. We were in a good spot at the end of the first run and then we could not make our numbers, I think we had a plastic bag on the keel, something like that as from then on we could not get up to speed. In the end on the second race we did the same thing and won the race. But we are in a tough match with Teatro, with Luis Doreste they don’t make many mistakes. And they are faster and always sailing in clear air, so we have our hands full. But we will try our best tomorrow.”
After today’s first races in the Finals phase of the regatta, each place now worth 1.5, there are five new class leaders. New at the top of the table in the Sandberg Estates J70s is the Vigo team on Kimpton Hotels/Les Roches of Enrique Freire and Pepequín Orbaneja.
Helmsman of the new leaders is Luis Bugallo who said, “The keys to the day were consistency and sailing technique. The conditions were very changeable. The wind was up, down, right, left… It was very choppy. In these conditions, if you go of course, you need to make four tacks where you shouldn’t and you’re going backwards in the fleet. The strongest teams are Patakín, some of the Americans,… the ones we see at the top. Tomorrow is just another day. We’re here with the intention of preparing for the World Championship, but if we get a good result at the end of tomorrow we will take it.”
In the Odilo ORC 1 class, Christian Plump’s Club Swan 42 Elena Nova has hit the front of the fleet with a day to go but their lead is just half a point. Julian Somodi’s Katari, an Argentine PG390, a class winner in the South Atlantic Rolex Cup ORC championship in 2023, leads Altavista ORC 2 by 7.5 pts. In Balearia ORC 3 Fala Pouco, a Dufour leads now after overhauling the German Cape 31 Meerblick. And the Real Club Nautico de Vigo lead the Women’s Cup Class.
The 42nd Copa del Rey MAPFRE is organised by the RCNP by delegation of the Royal Spanish Sailing Federation (RFEV), with the sponsorship of MAPFRE, the institutional sponsorship of the Government of the Balearic Islands and the Palma City Council, with the collaboration of the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands and the Balearic Sailing Federation.
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