Trofeo Armada Española – Final

Santiago de la Ribera, December 9, 2012. Regatta report by Nicola Gerin (who sailed the regatta with Alexandro Tinoco).

Spain in December is friendly and fun and the Real Club de Regatas Santiago de la Ribera successfully organized the trophy Armada Espanola.

Santiago de la Ribera is located in the region of the Mar Menor, where more than fifty teams of high level challenged each other.

In addition to the very numerous and always active Spanish fleet, there were Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese and Brazilian teams.

The club was able, within its large and well organized spaces, to bring sailors together in a typically Spanish atmosphere of friendship and relaxation. Much appreciated was the music in the boat park, and a snack with sandwich and fruit at check-in.

The three days before the championship a clinic was held by Damian Borras, which was attended by Jordi Triay Pons and Lluis Mas Barcelo, the current Spanish champions, and Alexandre Tinoco, current World champion, plus a dozen of other teams from Spain and Portugal.

The morning after our arrival the Mar Menor greeted us immediately with a warm sun. Then he began to warm the air, reminding us that we were in Spain and facilitating all stages of preparation of the boat.

For the clinic sailing conditions were varied but satisfactory, allowing us to try different boat set-ups before the regatta. Also, the paella was excellent after sailing!

The first day of racing was marked by a great jazz session in the morning, then the wind came around 13, thus ending the romance and music by starting the championship!

After a couple of general recalls, the first race had a big shift and a wind increase at the end. Paco Sanchez won, followed by Enrico Solerio and Matias Ros Navarro.

Given the late hour and the sun almost behind the mountains near Cartaghena, the Race Committee decided to send everyone to the club.

The second day of racing the forecast correctly predicted strong wind, slightly dropping midafternoon. The Race Committee delayed the noon start, because on the race course the gusts were over thirty knots.

The first race started with 22 knots gusting to 25, flat water. This was won by Alexandre Tinoco, followed by Diego Perez Martinez and Enrico Solerio, who was detected as OCS. The Olympic triangle course with fast reaches was a lot of fun with several changes of positions in the top ten.

The second race of the day was very similar to the first but with the wind a little less. Alberto Gomez Parron won this one, followed by Enrico Solerio. Alexandre Tinoco won third place with a great battle at the finish with the currentEuropean junior champion team Jose Guerrero Macias and Andres Riego Navarro.

After two good races of an hour and a quarter each, all the sailors arrived at the club and appreciated a nice hot soup.

For the third day of racing the time limit was at 1300 to allow for a great prize-giving ceremony with lunch, which was attended by all the relevant public authorities.

The starting at 1100 was not really in tune with the thinking of some sailors, who feared no wind at that hour.

With a possible fourth race, it would enter a discard and many teams might also try to change their position in the standings.

After launching the boat late, as often happens in “Mediterranean style”, the race committee waited until the time limit for the wind, but after a week of great sailing in a beautiful place, we knew that the wind would not come. So they hoisted the AP over A and the Regatta ended with an all-Spain podium.

A very pleasant lunch and magnificent prize-giving ceremony saw big smiles on the faces of all the competitors!

It was an excellent regatta with a large and deep fleet, great organization on the land and at sea. I have to underline the fact that not one protest was even discussed, a sign of great fair play by all the competitors. “Serious sailing and serious fun!”

Final results (top 10):

1. ESP – Matia Ros Navarro & Fulgencio Ortega

2. ESP – Alberto Parron Gomez & Angel Parron Gomez

3. ESP – Alejandro Fresneda Arqueros & Cristian Sanchez Barreto

4. BRA-ITA – Alexandre Tinoco & Nicola Gerin

5. ESP- Victor Perez Campos & Pablo Biarge

6. ESP – Jordi Triay Pons & Lluis Mas Barcelo

7. POR – Diego Silva Pereira & Gonzalo Ribeiro

8. ESP – Martin Bermudez & Cristina Osset

9. ESP – Francisco Javier Valverde Maiquez & Gines Valverde Maiquez

10. ESP – Lluis Soto Valero & Jose Julio Garcia Cervantes

 

Real Club Nautico Santiago de la Ribera

 

Final results