Friday 20th September 2024: Ibiza JoySail continues to confirm its position as a key event in the superyacht calendar with a second day of racing in the beautiful waters off Ibiza, in the Spanish Balearic Islands.
An early morning rain squall and lighter winds meant that Race Committee divided racing into two groups. The first, made up of the Performance Cruising M, World Cruising L and World Cruising XL
classes were given a 10nm course around the island of Espardell, to the south of Ibiza Old Town, while the slightly quicker boats in the fleet, those in the Performance Cruising L
and Performance classes, had an extended 16nm course with a windward leeward leg before rounding the island of Espardell to starboard.
Once again, the fleets provided a fantastic sight and close racing in all classes. Despite the light winds forecast, they remained steady for the day in the region of 9-12knots from the east, south east. On the shorter course, Open Season finished first in Performance Cruising, L’Hippocampe in World Cruising L and Bliss World Cruising XL.
For Bliss, now at their third Ibiza JoySail, today’s win on the shorter course was just reward for great teamwork on the Corinthian entry Dubois 120.
Andy Sheltrum, Captain of Bliss comments: “We had a good day, we made a small number of errors, not as much as everybody else, but apart from that we had a blinder. We had a good upwind beat, and good rounding at the mark and then a good reach down and a nice beat at the end with a perfect drop. We had a pretty clean race and that is where our focus is.”
While on the longer course Gelliceaux, the SY 108 Hybrid, crossed the line first in the Performance Cruising L, while once again Moat took honours in the Performance class.
Clive Walker, captain of Corinthian entry Gelliceaux, commented after arriving back at Marina Ibiza: “It was a champagne sailing day – the ones that are in the brochure! We had great teamwork onboard and made some good calls. It was a wonderful day, and we got the job done.”
Fierce competition on the water is balanced with a low-key atmosphere on shore that is one of the signature highlights of Ibiza JoySail. Each evening after racing the whole fleet joins together to celebrate an exciting day on the water to relax and share stories. With nearly 300 people making up the crews cross the 18 boats and members of the organising team, the evenings offer relaxed enjoyment, and an opportunity make the most of the Ibiza ‘vibe’ after the day’s competition.
This balance between competitive racing during the day and a relaxed friendly environment on shore, has seen Ibiza JoySail grow from just four yachts in the first edition to 18 in just four years.
“Socially Ibiza JoySail is a lot of fun, especially now that there are more boats. This event has all the parts of the equation nicely together and that is why everyone is here. Everyone is enjoying this venue, and we have wind, so it is all coming together quite nicely,” concluded Walker, who has competed at every Ibiza JoySail.
For Bliss, this is their third appearance at Ibiza JoySail, Morné Otto, Safety Officer on the team comments: “This is now a full-on regatta, it has grown really well. It is a good time of the year as well, everyone is winding down before the cross [to the Caribbean] or start their winter work. It is great to get the owners out and the more boats that get involved.”
But it is not all about parties and a great social scene, with over half the fleet sailing in Corinthian mode, Ibiza JoySail, is also attracting some of the biggest names in professional racing – all keen to be competitive on the water but also enjoy the post racing atmosphere.
Racing for tomorrow, the penultimate day of Ibiza JoySail will once again, be scheduled for 0900h in the morning.
For full results click on today’s racing please see here
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