Winners not yet decided at the 19th PalmaVela

Light, variable winds played a most significant role on the penultimate day of racing on the Bay of Palma. Out of the fourteen classes due to race eight were able to add to their scorelines. There are no outstanding class leaders and so it will take tomorrow (Sunday) will decide the winners.

“Galateia”, “Stormvogel”, “Elena Nova”, “M8”, “Viking IX”, “Tres Mares”, “Flying High”, “La Orana”, “Blaumarina I”, “Little Thila”, “Marigan”, “Team Balearia RCNP”, “Mr. Nova” and “Seljm” are all in pole positon in their respective classes at the showcase early season regatta which is organised by the Real Club Náutico de Palma.

Palma (Spain), 6 May 2023

A difficult third day of racing in the Bay of Palma. Wind conditions made things particularly challenging for the Race Committee who were stretched to their limit to give decent racing to all the classes at the 19th edition of PalmaVela. Classes which were scheduled for a coastal race today (Saturday) – the Maxi A and B, ORC 4-5, Sportboat, A2 0-3 and 4-5, Vintage and Spirit of Traditio proved to the the only fleets able to compete in today’s event, organized by the Real Club Náutico de Palma (RCNP).

“Galateia” in the Maxi A, “Stormvogel” in the Maxi B, “Elena Nova” in the ORC 0-1, “M8” in the ORC 2, “Viking IX” in the ORC 3, “Tres Mares” in the ORC 4-5, “Flying High” in the ORC Sportboat, “La Orana” in the A2 0-3, “Blaumarina I” in the A2 4-5, “Little Thila” in Spirit of Tradition, “Marigan” in Vintage, “Team Balearia RCNP” in the J80, “Mr. Nova” in the Dragon and “Seljm” in the 6-Metre classes are the teams entering the last day of the event from the top of the podium.

“Galateia” and “Stormvogel” leading in the Maxis on the final day
After a postponement of two and a quarter hours waiting for an improvement in conditions, the nine Maxis were finally able to complete one coastal race on the waters of Mallorca this bringing in their discard.

In the Maxi A division, “Galateia” skippered by owner David M. Leuschen, was the fastest in both real and corrected time, giving them one more win, so consolidating their lead, with a four-point advantage over perennial rivals, Sir Lindsay Owen’s second-placed “Magic Carpet” who were fourth today. Third place went to “Vera” with Nicolás González leading the crew.

A good day was also had for Andrés Varela’s “Pelotari Project,” which claimed a second place in the coastal race.

In the Maxi B class, the coastal race saw Ermanno Traverso’s “Stormvogel” recover their overall advantage at the top of the general classification. The 1961 Maxi was victorious in today’s race and are once again at the top of the podium with one point in hand over Christian Hentschel’s “Anima II,” who have moved into second. Romain Mouchel’s “Atalante” maintains their third place.

All to be decided in the ORC
Out of the seven ORC classes only the four which were on the coastal race programmed in the Bay of Palma had competition: ORC 4-5, Sportboat, A2 0-3 and A2 4-5.

In ORC 4-5 the there is a change in the leader board. With a sound race win today Juan Escandell’s “Tres Mares” were able to take first place on the general classification ahead of Scott Beattie’s “Just The Job. For them today’s fourth place, puts them second. Behind them in third place, is local Jaime Morell’s “Mestral Fast.”

In the Sportboat class, Harris’ “Flying High” maintains their top spot after second place today behind John Walker’s “Ffinally which now lies third. Second place is held by Kai-Uwe Hollweg’s “OMG.”

The A2 two handed fleet who were ready to make their debut at this 19th edition of the PalmaVela also got in a race. Divided into two groups, the A2 fleet had their first taste of racing on Saturday with a coastal race in the bay. Winner was Jordi Zaragoza’s “La Orana” followed by Jorma Nuutinen’s “Sopu Tres” and Rosie Lewis’ “Cygnet, in second and third place respectively.

In the 4-5 the win went to Miguel Roig’s “Blaumarina I.” Jesús de Miguel’s “O´Marylou” were second and Eduardo Horrach’s “Azuree” third.

The ORC 0-1, 2 and 3 teams were not so lucky. The racecourse was situated in the Bravo area of the bay and two windward-leeward races had been programmed, in the end there was just not enough wind. The Race Committee did their utmost to complete one of the races and there was a start for the 0-1 class but after two recalls conditions deteriorated and finally it was impossible to race.

Tomorrow will be definitive three divisions, with Christian Plump and Javier Sanz’s “Elena Nova” in the ORC 0-1, José Luis Francés’ “M8” in the ORC 2 and Erik Tejedor’s “Viking IX” in the ORC 3 each fighting to defend their leadership right until the end.

A blank for the One Designs
In the Alpha race area where the windward-leeward races for the One Designs were due to be held, the lack of wind also made life complicated for the Race Committee.

After approximately two hours’ postponement on the water, the fleet heard the first and last start gun at a quarter past two with seven knots of wind. However, conditions did not hold out for long and the Race Committee were forced to cancel the race after 45 minutes, when the wind shifted 180º.

The J80, 6 Metres and Dragon continued their wait until finally at a quarter past four the day was officially concluded.

Everything is to be decided on the last day of the event, Sunday. María Bover’s “Team Balearia RCNP” in the J/80, Jorge Forteza’s “Mr. Nova” in the Dragon and “Seljm” in the 6 Metres classes are the three teams in the lead going into the final day.

Second coastal race for the Vintage and spirit of Tradition fleets.
A second race for the Vintage and Spirit of Tradition fleets was contested. In the Spirit of Tradition class Marcus Schiermann’s “Little Thila” was able to claim the race win and now top the podium, followed by Jens Ricke’s “Legolas” in second place, and Mateo Grimalt’s “Micanga” in third. Gabriel Catalá’s “January Sails” yesterday’s leader had a breakage which forced them to retire and so slipping from contention today.

In the Vintage class, Tim Liesenhoff’s “Marigan” won and continues to hold on to their first overall for the second consecutive day. They are followed by Nelsson Hausmann’s “Le Temps Perdu.”

Final day of racing tomorrow (Sunday)
Tomorrow will be the last chance to fight for the title of the nineteenth edition of PalmaVela. The start gun is due once again at 12:00 on the three racecourses, although all will be pending on conditions.

A special and final touch to the regatta will be at the event prizegiving, to be held on the terrace of the RCNP at 18:30. As for the Offshore Race, the awards are replicas of Miguel Sánchez-Cuenca “Capi’s”, artwork, the chosen artist this year for the tenth edition of the PalmaVela Prize Collection

PROVISIONAL PODIUM. Day 3
(Position/Boat/Skipper/Positions/Points)

MAXI A

1. Galateia, David M. Leuschen, 1+1+(3)+1=3
2. Magic Carpet 3, Sir Lindsay Owen-Jones, 3+3+1+(4)=7
3. Vera, Nicolás González, 2+2+(4)+3=7

MAXI B

1. Stormvogel, Ermanno Traverso, 1+2+(3)+1=4
2. Anima II, Christian Hentschel, (3)+1+1+3=5
3. Atalante, Romain Mouchel, 2+3+2+2=6

ORC 0-1

1. Elena Nova, Christian Plump/Javier Sanz, 1 point
2. Aifos, Jaime Rodríguez Toubes, 2 points
3. Blue Carbon, Toni Guiu, 3 points

ORC 2

1. M8, José Luis Francés, 1 point
2. Modul-Laplaza Assesores, Carles Rodríguez 2 points
3. Scamp Three, Maciej Gnatowski, 3 points

ORC 3

1. Viking IX, Erik Tejedor, 2+1=3
2. Immac Fram, Kai Mares, 1+2=3
3. Santina, Thomas Rudewald, 4+3=7

ORC 4-5

1. Tres Mares, Juan Escandell, 2+2+1=5
2. Just The Job, Scott Beattie, 1+1+4=6
3. Mestral Fast, Jaime Morell, 3+4+2=9

ORC SPORTBOAT

1. Flying High, Harris, 2+2+2=6
2. OMG, Kai-Uwe Hollweg, 3+4+3=10
3. Ffinally, John Walker, 1+DNF/9+1=11

ORC A2 0-3

1. La Orana, Jordi Zaragoza, 1 point
2. Sopu Tres, Jorma Nuutinen, 2 points
3. Cygnet, Rosie Lewis, 3 points

ORC A2 4-5

1. Blaumarina I, Miguel Roig, 1 point
2. O´Marylou, Jesús de Miguel, 2 points
3. Azuree, Eduardo Horrach, 3 points

ÉPOCA

1. Marigan, Tim Liesenhoff, 1+1=2
2. Le Temps Perdu, Nelsson Hausmann, 2+2=4
3. Freda, Miguel Rigo, DNF/4+DNC/4=8

ESPÍRITU DE TRADICIÓN

1. Little Thila, Marcus Schiermann, 3+1=4
2. Legolas, Jens Ricke, 4+2=6
3. Micanga, Mateo Grimalt, 2+4=6

J/80

1. Team Balearia RCNP, María Bover, 3+1+1=5
2. Iser, Manuel de Tomás, 1+2+3=6
3. Dorsia Covirán, José Azqueta, 2+4+2=8

DRAGON

1. Mr. Nova, Jorge Forteza, 2+1=3
2. Yeahnah, Bel Kolff, 1+3=4
3. Capa, Javier Scherk, 3+2=5

6 METROS

1. Seljm, Patrick Monteiro, 1+1=2
2. Momo, Dieter Schoen, 3+2=5
3. Ginkgotoo, Jan Eckert, 2+3=5

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