V Puerto Portals Winter Series….

Racing started in Puerto Portals at their V Winter Series (19-21 Nov).

The first winter series at Puerto Portals was sailed over three days and attracted 15 teams from 6 different Nations. 4 races were completed on Friday & Saturday in excellent conditions but alas, no wind on Sunday. This year the Race Committee will use new GPS marks which will make all course setting and starting lines easier to put in place and quicker to change, as the bay of Palma is extremely deep.

The new GPS marks in Puerto Portals.

The two race winners on the opening day were GER 1186 helmed by Tanja Jacobson and ESP 80 helmed by Juan Company. But on Sunday both races were dominated by ESP 71 “Gunter” helmed by Jan Eckert, crewed by Hugo Rocha & Frederico Melo. In 10kts of Northeasterly wind these two experienced Portuguese crew chose the correct wind shifts to lift Jan to top the leaderboard going into the final day. Then no wind on Sunday meant ESP 71 won the weekend, so many congratulations to Jan, Hugo & Frederico.

Jan Eckert helms “Gunter” ESP 71 into 1st place overall in Puerto Portals.

2nd overall and finishing on 19pts (2pts behind “Gunter”) was Jan Strombeck SWE 402 “Galant’, crewed by Carl Strombeck & Pehr Selheden. 3rd was GER 1177 “Pow Wow” helmed by Michael Zankel, crewed by Gonzalo Duarte & Joao Vidinha.

GPS Mark at the “Pin End” offers so much more flexibility to the PRO.

So despite no racing on the final day a great time was had by all 15 teams. With at least 3 more boats joining the next series (Dec 17-19) things are set for another good, competitive winter series in Puerto Portals. In 2022 we will have the 4th Grade 1 of the season plus finals, so I’m sure Puerto Portals will see many more teams join the VI winter series next year.

Higher, Faster, Longer…..   Stavros.