Caixa Galicia by a nose

Vincente Tirado's TP 52 wins out at the VIII Trofeo S.M. La Reina Copa Rolex in Valencia

The VIII Trofeo S.M. La Reina Copa Rolex ended with another beautiful sunny day of sailing and one windward-leeward race in a building southeasterly breeze that reached 12 knots.

In the TP 52 class, with seven entries, Caixa Galicia was able to clinch the final victory with a second in the last race and a slim 1 point lead over ONO. The latter sailed into the final race of the event first overall, after gaining precious points thanks to the request of redress filed after yesterday's OCS. However, Inaki Castaner at the helm of ONO today was forced to sail into the less favoured corner of the course and ended up fourth in the final race and second overall. By winning the final race of the series, Eamon Conneely's Siemens, helmed by Volvo Ocean Race skipper Bouwe Bekking, made it to the podium of the TP 52 class, coming in third.

America's Cup and Volvo Ocean Race veteran John Kostecki, calling the tactics on Caixa Galicia, felt that this has been a very competitive regatta and a perfect training opportunity for the next class event in Castellon: "We were only one point behind the leader going into the last race so it was anybody's regatta really. Today we had a good race and pulled it off. The conditions in the first part of the race were ideal for us as we like light winds, and we got a good lead at the beginning. It all worked out well."

According to Kostecki, the key to Caixa Galicia's success has been the experience that the crew has gained over the past two years: "It's the second season for the team on this boat and this has paid off. A lot of the TP 52 teams racing here are newly put together or have new boats, therefore I guess we had a slight advantage."

Vicente Tirado, owner of Caixa Galicia, was thrilled with his team's performance: "We are very happy with this victory and with our boat. It's been a highly competitive event. Siemens, ONO and Tau Ceramica sailed really well, and it all came down to the final race between ONO and us. Our main objective is the class circuit, however this regatta has been the perfect opportunity to try out new things, and the key is to try them out when you are actually racing."

Among the IMS Open division (12 entries), event favourite Pedro Campos won with his GS 56R Movistar thanks to an impressive series of results, which included three firsts and two seconds on handicap. CAM came in second, 4 points behind Movistar, with consistent results throughout the event. Local entry Terra I Mar finished third.

Pedro Campos explained how today was the first time since the beginning of the event that the crew was able to utilise all of its electronic equipment: "Today we sailed really well, at our full potential. During the first beat upwind we fought really hard, as usual, against CAM but we were able to take the lead and stretch it out. In the final beat a big plastic bag got caught on our keel, however our margin was big enough to stay ahead. This is the very first time that we sail this boat and we are extremely happy with its performance." This is Campos' third consecutive victory at the Trofeo S.M. La Reina, the two previous ones aboard the 46 footer Movistar.

Ícaro won with a comfortable 8 point lead over Murcia Turística in the IMS 600 LC division (five entries), having scored four bullets and one third. Zurich came in third just 1 point behind Murcia Turística. Gustavo Martínez Doreste, skipper of Ícaro, commented: "We are extremely happy with our result. In this regatta we raced against most of the rivals that we will face in the upcoming Copa del Rey. Our crew did an excellent job and I feel that we were one step ahead of the rest of the fleet. It's been a great event, the organizing committee did really well and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay in Valencia."

Among the IMS 670 class (20 entries) Turismo Madrid was able to clinch the final victory with a second in the last race and very consistent results throughout the series. Current world champion Qumm Cap Cana, came in second, followed by Aquasonic Vuelta Y Media. The latter sailed into the final race as leader of its fleet, but scored a disappointing 13th due to an incident with rival yacht Vindio and thus lost the overall leadership.

The winners of the RN divisions (cruising yachts belonging to a Spanish rating system) are: Itaca IX in RN 1 (18 entries), Intersa in RN 2 (17 entries), Fandango in RN 3 (16 entries), Sonar in RN Club (26 entries) and Giraldilla in the Classic division (5 entries).

The final prize giving ceremony will take place tonight at the Real Club Nautico de Valencia. The overall winners in each category will be awarded with the 'VIII Trofeo S.M. La Reina - Regata Homenaje a la Armada - XIX Copa Almirante Marcial Sánchez-Barcaiztegui - Copa Rolex' and with a coveted steel Rolex Oyster Submariner watch.

Final standings (top 3)

Place, Boat Name, Owner, R1/R2/R3/R4/R5/Points

TP 52
1. CAIXA GALICIA, VICENTE TIRADO, 1/2/1/5/2/11
2. ONO, ONO CABLE EUROPA, 2/3/2/1/4/12
3. SIEMENS, EAMON CONNEELY, 4/1/5/3/1/14

IMS OPEN
1. MOVISTAR, PEDRO CAMPOS, 2/1/2/1/1/7
2. CAM, FERNANDO LEON/FRANCISCO SANCHEZ LUNA, 1/2/4/2/2/11
3. VALENCIA TERRA I MAR, MILLENIUM MULTIPROYECT S.L., 7/3/1/3/3/17

IMS 600 LC
1. ICARO, JAIME MONJO CARRIO, 1/1/3/1/1/7
2. MURCIA TURISTICA, MTORRES INGENIERIA Y PROCESOS S.L., 2/5/4/2/2/15
3. ZURICH, JAN SANTANA, 3/4/2/4/3/16

IMS 670
1. TURISMO MADRID, JOSE M. VAN DER PLOEG, 1/3/6/5/2/17
2. QUUM CAP CANA, JAVIER GOIZCUETA, 3/7/3/4/3/20
3. AQUASONIC VUELTA Y MEDIA, ALESSANDRO FERRARI, 2/1/4/2/13/22