Can Pintos retain his title

As 36 boats line up in Sanxenxo for the IMS670 World Championship

An air of excitement and anticipation could be felt today along the quayside of the Sanxenxo Royal Yacht Club in the northern Spanish region of Galicia. The teams taking part in the Anjoca World Cup, the IMS 670 World Championship, starting tomorrow, have been busy filling in the final registration details and making the most of the last opportunity to go through the obligatory measuring process before they hit the starting-line tomorrow morning.

Sailing the 670s, all generally around the 35-37ft LOA mark, there’ll be many familiar faces from the international sailing arena ready to do battle for the Anjoca World Cup. Olympic Champion and current Spanish Champion José Maria Van der Ploeg will be there, along with round-the-world skipper Javier Gándara; World Champions in the Tornado class Fernando Echávarri and Antón Paz; World Champion sailor and America’s Cup skipper Pedro Campos; defending IMS 670 World Champion Jesús Pintos; America’s Cup sailor Domingo Manrique and the first World Champion in the IMS 670 class Sergio Llorca, to name but a few.

At 13:00 (local time) on Wednesday the first warning signal for the start of this year’s World Championship will sound. The first of the windward-leeward races programmed for the event will take place in the Alfa racecourse, close to the La Lanzada beach area of the north-western Spanish coast.

An offshore race of between 40 and 80 nautical miles has been programmed for Thursday, with the boats due to return to port in the early hours of Friday morning. Double points will be awarded for the offshore race with boats scoring 0.75 points at the halfway point and a further 0.75 points at the finish.

It’s back to the windward-leeward format for the weekend, with the 36-strong fleet racing for the Anjoca World Cup 2007 and of course, for the prestigious title of IMS 670 World Champions.

Weather forecasts indicate the boats will be racing with east-northeasterly breeze between 10 and 12 knots, and it’s thought wind speed may drop considerably by Thursday.

List of entries: Boat, Skipper, Country.
1. Turismo Madrid, Jose Mª Van der Ploeg, ESP.
2. Navantia, Jesús Pintos, ESP.
3. movistar, Pedro Campos, ESP.
4. Opecen, Javier Puertas, ESP.
5. Ciudad de Ceuta, Sergio Llorca, ESP.
6. Albariño Valdamor, Axel Rodger, ARG.
7. Nationale Suisse, Malalo Bermúdez, ESP.
8. Maltesers, Marga Cameselle, ESP.
9. Turismo Ourense, Pérez Canal, ESP
10. Rías Baixas, Javier Gándara, ESP.
11. Card &Oil, Daniel Cuevas, ESP.
12. Team Germany, Detlet Amlong, GER.
13. Youkounkoun, Pierre Howes, FRA.
14. Galicia Xove Caixanova, Antonio Saborido, ESP.
15. Cámara Jaén, Alessandro Ferrari, ITA.
16. Unus, Luis Trigo, ESP.
17. La Lombriz, Marisol Onandía, ESP.
18. El Niño, Pedro Pazos, ESP.
19. Manias, Pedro Pinheiro, POR.
20. Vindio, Jesús Amaliach, ESP.
21. Tanit Medilevel, Nacho Campos, ESP.
22. Saiola, Pedro Peña, ESP.
23. Andarivel, Ricardo valdés, ESP.
24. Ricana, Lars Bergkvist, SWE.
25. Gorilón, Emilio Fernández, ESP.
26. Chispetren, Silvia Sánchez, ESP.
27. Xaynos IV, Manuel Castillo, ESP.
28. Cormorán 05, Santiago González, ESP.
29. Better Soft–Pegaso, José Marqués, POR.
30. Estela XI, Juan Ameneiro, ESP.
31. Sailway, Guy Brearey, GBR.
32. Impredigital, ESP.
33. Raygrass, ESP.
34. Terras Gauda, ESP.
35. Clochard, ESP.
36. Perlita Negra, ESP.