The Xacobeo Trophy starts in Sanxenxo. The event organized by the Real Club Náutico de Sanxenxo (RCNS) and which puts at stake the European title for the 6 Meter class began today, Monday, in the Pontevedra estuary and the first leaders, the “Bribon” of King Juan Carlos in Classics and “Jane Ann” in Open, are already taking positions in a general classification that promises to be very tight.
© © María Muiña / Xacobeo TrophySanxenxo and the Pontevedra estuary woke up this morning with fog, rain and hardly any wind, which caused a first postponement on land waiting for conditions to allow the competition program to begin. Finally, visibility began to improve and after 1:00 p.m. the fleet cast off to head towards the regatta field located in front of Ons.
With a very mild and unstable Aeolus during the early hours of the afternoon and after a first attempt was canceled due to the fall of the wind, the fleet was finally able to complete a single test after 4:30 p.m. with southwest component conditions of about six knots of intensity, thus inaugurating the markers of an exciting Xacobeo Trophy that will last until next Saturday, October 5.
The “Bribon” of King Juan Carlos, first leader in Classics
Great start to the Xacobeo Trophy for José Cusí’s “Bribon”, which had King Juan Carlos on board in this first assault on the Pontevedra estuary. The current world champion of the class was at the head of the fleet from the beginning of the race and knew how to defend his position until the end. He also did it on a very complicated regatta course due to the instability of the wind.
Upon arrival at the RCNS pontoons, Don Juan Carlos explained his impressions after the first day of racing in the Pontevedra estuary: “It gives me great joy to be able to say that we have arrived first, but it has been quite complicated because it has been a day of winds and with rises and falls in pressure. There are more days of competition ahead and we will see if we can maintain first place.”
The Cantabrian Jane Abascal, who also competes aboard the “Bribon”, added that “the atmosphere on board is great, the King always helps us a lot with everything, he is the first in enthusiasm and motivates us a lot, so we are looking forward to “revalidate the title and see if we can achieve it.”
© © María Muiña / Xacobeo TrophyBehind, the second place went to the Finnish “Astree II” by Ossi Paija, from the clubNyländska Jk., and the third position was taken by the French “Fun” by Luis Heckly, from the YCDe France. The Heckly team is also one of the favorites in the Pontevedra estuary regatta field, and they were the winners of the class World Cup held in Sanxenxo in 2022.
Close fight for leadership in Open
In the Open class, there were two teams that fought an intense battle to become the first leaders of the table. The “Stella” of Violeta Álvarez of the RCNS took the lead at the first passing point of the course, but in the second section the American “Jane Ann” of Basil Vasiliou and the Swiss “Junior” of Muller Rainer took the lead and began an intense hand-to-hand that continued until the finish line.
Finally, the first partial victory was awarded to Rainer’s team, which competes under the New York YC banner, and second were those of Vasiliou, from SN DeGenève, who are the first among the continental fleet fighting for the European title. Behind them, third place overall is currently occupied by another of the Swiss teams of owner Muller Rainer, “Duclop”.
Staffan Lindberg, skipper of the “Jane Ann” stated that “we managed to get a good start and we managed to stay in front throughout the course, so we were very happy with that.”
“It is a competitive regatta, everyone is very, very fast and has a lot of experience. They are all professionals and I am not, so it is a privilege to compete with them,” added the North American point guard. Tomorrow, Tuesday, the second day of competition with the first starting horn scheduled for 12:00 p.m.
CLASSIFICATIONS-DAY 1
Classics
Post/Country/Ship/Skipper/Points
1. ESP, Bribon, King Juan Carlos, 1 point
2. FIN, Astree II, Ossi Paija, 2 points
3. FRA, Fun, Louis Heckly, 3 points
4. ESP, Titia, Mauricio Sánchez-Bella, 4 points
5. ESP, Alibaba II, Miguel Lago, 5 points
Open
Post/Country/Ship/Skipper/Points
1. USA, Jane Ann, Staffan Lindberg, 1 point
2. SUI, Junior, Loic Forestier, 2 points
3. SUI, Duclop, Frank Narbone, 3 points
4. GBR, Battlecry, Jeremy Thorp, 4 points
5. FIN, Oiva, Henrik Andersin, 5 points
