By: Stu Johnstone
(Barcelona, Spain)- Last weekend the fourth and penultimate event of the Barcelona Winter Series was held despite the cold temperatures. That did not stop a total of sixteen teams from the Netherlands, Germany, England, Spain, and Andorra from having some fun in the windy conditions. In fact, weather conditions were good enough that a total of 9 of the 10 scheduled races were run over the three days.
On the first day, the wind blew from the south with an intensity that did not exceed 14 knots, with good waves. Amazingly, three races were run despite the first race starting at 2:00 PM… the fleet happily returned to port at sunset! On the second day, the wind shifted towards land and the fleet had to do their best to haggle with a northerly wind with flat seas and many wind shifts that did not allow you to let your guard down at any time. With an average breeze of 12-15 knots, four races were easily run after the fleet started at 11:00 AM in the morning. On the last day, the wind was light in the morning, forcing an hour harbor postponement. Thereafter, the breeze developed into the 7-8 kts range, permitting two more races to be run on Sunday.
The racing was very tight and competitive amongst the leaders. From day one, Pablo Garriga’s TENAZ led the fleet, but he had to fight hard every race to stay in contention, no one was giving them an inch in any situation! The fight for the lead included the young man from Gran Canaria- Jorge Martínez Doreste- sailing HANG TEN, Luis Martín Cabiedes’ NOTICIA, Guti del Castillo’s CLINICAS W, and Alejandro Perez’s CAN MARLES. It is also worth noting the good racing made by new additions to the regatta, such as the German DIVA skippered by Kai-we Hollweg and the Mallorcan NAUTIA sailed by Miquel Coll.
Despite the apparent equality between the teams, and the many races with multiple-boat photo-finishes, Garriga’s TENAZ (with J/80 World Champion Rayco Tabares calling tactics) prevailed in most races and won the regatta. Four points back to earn the silver medal was Doreste’s HANG TEN and rounding out the podium in the bronze medal position was Cabiedes’ NOTICIA.
The fifth and final event of the exciting J/70 Barcelona Winter Series will be held from February 24th to 26th. To date, thirty-six races have taken place.
TENAZ remains in the provisional Winter Series overall lead with a comfortable 61 pts. They’re followed by NOTICIA with 82 pts, CLINICAS W with 103 pts, CAN MARLES with 119 pt and HANG TEN with 186 pts. A fleet of twenty or more boats is expected for the final races in Barcelona! Sailing photo credits- Óscar Torrades (Torveo.es).
