“Bear” Essentials in Palma….

Pieter Heerema, Lars Hendriksen & George Leonchuk lead after day 1 with two 3rd places.

23 Dragons arrived on the start line for the final European winter regatta of 2018 based at Puerto Portals, Palma de Mallorca. With overcast skies and a gusty northerly wind Race 1 had a clear line start under a “U” flag. 2015 World Champion Yvgeni Braslavets elected to start near the committee boat, whilst the majority of the fleet were evenly spaced further down the line.  First to round the top mark of the 1.5m beat was GER 1205 “Meerblik” Otto Pohlmann, who had worked the shifts well on the left side, followed by GER 1186 “Goldkante” Tanja Jacobsohn and NED 412 “Bear” Pieter Heerema. 4th to round was ITA 77 “Bunker Prince” showing that the right side also worked out for Yvgeni.

The sky begins to clear in Palma de Mallorca during the 3rd Puerto Portals winter series.

After extending his lead on the 2nd upwind, it was GER 1205 Otto Pohlmann, crewed by Charles Nankin and Hugo Rocha who comfortably won the race. 2nd was GER 1186 Tanja Jacobsohn, with husband Bernhard & Michi Lip and 3rd Pieter Heerema, Lars Hendriksen & George Leonchuk.

Race 2 started quickly after the last boat finished, as the Race Committee were hoping to squeeze in another race before the sun set around 5pm. Again it was a clear start using the “U” flag with sailors respecting the well set line. This time it was ESP 111 “Thuderbird” helmed by Miguel Costa who led at the top mark of the 1.3m beat. Following close behind was ESP 75 “Drach One” Juan Servera and in 3rd place was GER 111 “Saskia” Michael Schmidt.  However, with the fleet splitting sides on the downwind leg and the wind shifting to the left as the sun began to set it was ITA 77 “Bunker Prince” who made the most of the dying breeze to take the victory.

ITA 77 Yvgeni Braslavets, Sergey Pugachev & Sergey Timokhov  win race 2 in Puerto Portals.

2nd in race 2 was GER 1193 “Ingid” owned by Dirk Pramann, but helmed today by Stefan Hellriegel, crewed by Stefan Waack and 3rd was NED 412 “Bear” Pieter Heerema.

It was a smart move by the Race Management Team Javier & Martha, to shorten the course at the top mark second time, so that all boats could continue back to the marina. For those towards the back of the fleet a friendly tow was at hand and everyone returned safely home as the sun set over the bay of Palma….

Everyone back safe into Puerto Portals, to find a refreshing Spanish Beer and Pasta.

So overall it’s the “Bear” leading on 6pts, “Meerblik” 2nd with 10pts and 3rd “Rosie” (Benjamin Morgan) on 12pts… 

With 3 races planned for Saturday and 2 more on Sunday, everything is still to play for. One thing is for sure, all 23 boats are delighted to be here enjoying these great sailing conditions, just 10 days before Xmas !

Higher, Faster, Longer…………    Stavros.  (On the Committee Boat).