Conditions abate

ORC Europeans begin inshore racing in Valencia

Clear sunny skies and a hot offshore breeze greeted the fleet for in their mid-afternoon start to inshore racing at the ORC European Championship.

The summer weather and later start gave crews a chance to not only dry out from yesterday's deluge, but also the opportunity to enjoy perfect sailing conditions to start windward-leeward racing in this four-day event. But the 8-12 knot westerly breeze in the course area off the beach south of Valencia lasted long enough for only one 7 mile race to be held for both classes racing in this event, which is part of the Real Club Nautico Valencia's annual Trofeo SM La Reina.

Accounting for the small-boat bias to yesterday's offshore race results, today the cumulative scores became more equalized, allowing the teams with good starts, proper positioning on the 2-mile legs, and flawless execution at their mark roundings to rise through the standings.

Accordingly, Natalia Brailoiu's Romanian Swan 42 Natalia has taken the early lead in Class A based on scores of 2-3, where the second earned in the offshore race gets multiplied by the 1.2 points weighting to become 5.4 points overall. It was another Swan - Christian Plump's Swan 45 Elena Nova - that also did well in today's moderate, flat-water conditions to take second in the inshore race and stay just 0.2 points ahead of current third-place contender Koyama, Bernd Kammerlander's British XP-44, helmed by Inaki Castener and winner of yesterday's offshore race in Class A.

Today's inshore race winner, Giuseppe Parodi's TP52 Hurakan, helmed by Marco Serafini with tactics called by Tommaso Chieffi, led around the 7 mile race track without challenge after their start, but will have further work to do in the series to overcome their 10 overall point deficit earned by finishing yesterday's offshore race in 14th place.

In Class B it was Spanish sailing legend Pedro Campos on Movistar that won the race, but reigning ORC European Silver medalist Katarina II, an Arcona 340 owned and helmed by Aivar Tuulberg from Estonia, that took the lead in the standings with a third earned yesterday and a 5th earned today. But their 8.6 points overall is not safe against the class runner-up, newly-crowned ORC Mediterranean Champion Low Noise from Italy, Giuffre Giuseppe's M37 (modified by Matteo Polli) who is on 12 points at this stage in the series. Yesterday's Class B offshore race winner, Frederico Linares Garcia's Spanish Dufour 34 Brujos, was in the middle of the pack today yet still lies third overall on 13.2 points.

Today's Class B winner Movistar in action: photo by Jesus Renedo
An interesting topic in Spain is the influence the Spanish Royal Family has had on the sport of sailing, so a public round-table discussion will be held tomorrow at RCNV starting at 09:30 among seven prominent Spanish sailing journalists led by ABC reporter Pedro Sardina. This discussion should prove interesting, given this important political influence in the history of sailing in Spain.

After this morning battle of words and opinions, the battle of championship sailing will return to the water with the resumption of inshore racing at 1200 tomorrow and continue through Sunday when two podiums of new ORC European winners will be declared here at RCNV.

Real Club Náutico de Valencia wants to thank Conservas Cuca, Mazda, Heineken, Coca Cola, Plymouth, Café Candelas, NH Ciudad de Valencia, Holiday Inn, Zas Sailing, Navaltec, Varadero Valencia, Surgival and Ascensión Latorre for their contributions in the celebration of this event.