Racing at the 3rd Cascais Winter Series in Portugal could not have been better….

The 3rd Cascais Winter Series, 19th -21st Feb, was sailed in near perfect conditions with winds ranging from 8-18 kts, clear blue skies and wonderful semi-surfing waves. Victorious were our current World Champions TUR 1212 “Provezza” helmed by Andy Beadsworth, crewed by Owner Ali Tezdiker & Simon Fry who won 5 of the 7 completed races.

3rd Winter Series Winners, TUR 1212 “Provezza”, Andy Beadsworth, Ali Tezdiker & Simon Fry.

Enjoying finishing in 2nd place was our 2013 World Champion Klaus Diederichs, who is soon to upgrade his GBR 758 “Fever” to a new Petticrows V6. Crewed by Jamie Lea & Diego Negri the Fever Team pushed Provezza hard but could not quite match the upwind speed of the current World Champions…

Klaus Diederichs helms his “Fever” into 2nd place, crewed by Jamie Lea & Diego Negri.

Third place went right down to the final day with local helm Rui Boia’ and newcomer to the Dragon Fleet Otto Pohlmann going head to head for the final podium position.  In the end it was Otto, crewed by 5 times Olympian Gustavo Lima & his loyal friend Rubrio Basillo who seized the opportunity to win the final race of the series and secure 3rd overall.  A brilliant result for Otto who has been out of sailing for 30 years after previously sailing in the Finn Class. Its fantastic that Dragon’s attract such talented sailors from many other classes as our reputation to provide high level competition along with a great social program continues to echo around the world. 🙂

GBR 769 Hombre’ with Rubrio Basillo, Gustavo Lima & Otto Pohlmann 3rd Overall.

So in the end Rui Boia’ and his team of “Ace” photographer Ricardo Pinto (Legend) & Jose’ Concalves had to settle for 4th overall.  Thomas Wilton who was on board the Committee Boat communicating with the competitors on the VHF, summed up the series by saying “It was very civilized sailing with moderate breezes and seas. We had different pressures on each side of the course, but no major shifts”..    A great time was had by all and thank you Thomas and all the Race Committee at the Club Naval de Cascais for another excellent Winter Series…

The Fleet get away to a “Clear” start with excellent management from the Race Committee.

A big thank you to Anna Zykova for all of these fantastic Photo’s.   🙂

The 4th & 5th Winter Series are due on Feb 16th-18th & March 16th to 18th…

Higher, Faster, Longer………      Stavros.