No play beyond quarter finals

Damien Iehl comes out on top as wind fails to materialised at the Open de España match racing in Calpe

French specialist Damien Iehl, fifth in the men's ISAF World's Match Racing ranking, has come out on top at the VII Open de España match racing in Calpe, Spain. Second-placed was Australian Torvar Mirsky while Frenchman Pierre-Antoine Morvan completes the podium

The very light wind proved the deciding factor in the second part of the VII Open de España series. While on the third day the teams had favourable conditions, sunny weather and at least 6 to 7 knots to guarantee good racing in the quarter finals, unfortunately on the last day the breeze never reached enough strength for fair racing and despite the Race Committee waiting until well into the afternoon, at 5 p.m. organisers and sailors were forced to give up.

As no semifinals were sailed, the scoreboard was unchanged and the overall result was based on the quarter finals points. So the French team led by Damien Iehl won the regatta, which also doubly acts as a qualifying event for the World Match Racing Tour.

Iehl and his team's victory comes after three days of very close racing, where they showed particular consistency and finished with a clear score while the Australians recorded 10 wins and only one loss, costing them the top spot.

Next week the Real Club Nautico Calpe will roll into another regatta, the XII Criterium Femenino, a women's match-race series considered as one of the most relevant internationally. Once more the Spanish location will host the best skippers from the World's Top Ten Ranking.