· The boat of the Real Club Náutico de A Coruña skippered by the champion of Finn Miguel Fernández Vasco was placed at the head of the classification this Sunday
· An offline in the penultimate test held cost the current Spanish J80 champion Juan Carlos Ameneiro the first place in the table
· Solventis led by Malalo Bermúdez de Castro is third and the Portuguese Marías and 4 Jotas complete the Top 5 of the winter league
· The one design championship organized by the Monte Real Club de Yates will return to the water on May 27 to contest the sixth and final stage
After staying at the top of the standings since the start of the competition, the current Spanish J80 champion, Juan Carlos Ameneiro’s Alboroto, from Monte Real Club de Yates, lost the lead this Sunday at the hands of Fibra Coruña led by Miguel Fernández Vasco , of the Royal Nautical Club of A Coruña.
An out of line of the Alboroto in the penultimate test played, together with the entry into play of a discard, which allowed the crews to eliminate their worst result from the classification, were the key elements of this and other changes that occurred in the table .
Despite the ups and downs of this last day, there are five boats that continue to stand out above the rest of the fleet in the Monte Real one-design group. They are two Portuguese, Manel Cunha’s Marías and Joaquim Moreira’s 4 Jotas; and the three Spaniards, Juan Carlos Ameneiro’s Alboroto, Malalo Bermúdez’s Solventis and Miguel Fernández Vasco’s Fibra Coruña.
They all fought again, this Sunday, the three tests disputed. And it is that after the disappointment experienced on Saturday with the weather, which did not allow the celebration of the day, this Sunday the conditions were adequate and the J80 went out with more desire than ever to the water.
The race committee made a first attempt to get closer to the Cíes Islands course to place the route there, but there was a lot of swell and a lot of waves, and finally they decided to hold the tests inside the Bay of Baiona.
In that location, with a slightly rough sea but with a fairly stable northwesterly wind, which kept blowing between 10 and 12 knots, it was possible to start three windward-leeward type tasks, since the area does not allow, for its dimensions, a suitable trapezoidal design.
The first race featured 4 Jotas, Marías, Solventis, Alboroto and Bica de Chisco Catalán, skippered on this occasion by Luis Pérez Canal. Everyone maintained their options for a good part of the tour, but the final victory went to Marías.
In the second sleeve of the day, in which the wind dropped somewhat in intensity and the course was sniped to make it somewhat shorter, there were several out of lines. The most outstanding, for what they implied for the final classification, were those of Alboroto, Solventis and Marías, who were playing for the top positions in the table and with this penalty they were in danger of losing them.
The test, the sixth of the competition, also caused a discard to come into play, which made things even more exciting for the last round of the day, the third, in which the fiercest fight was staged by Alboroto de Ameneiro and the Fibra Coruña of Fernández Vasco.
The positions of honor were at stake, they knew it, and they went for it all, staying very close to each other throughout the journey. Finally, those from A Coruña managed to cross the finish line first and jump from third to first position, placing themselves as leaders of the competition with 15 points.
Just one point away, with 16, the Rampage appears with the provisional silver; and Solventis, with 22, holds the bronze. The Portuguese Marías and 4 Jotas close the Top 5, with 30 and 37 points respectively.
Thus, after having crossed off the calendar the first five days (of which only three could be navigated) of the Baitra J80 Winter League, the competition only has the final stage left, for which we will have to wait until the end of May. It will be on the 27th when the last three tests of the winter league will be put into play, conditions permitting, and in which the prizes will be awarded to the winners.
Before that, the Monte Real Club de Yates will put its first two trophies of the season on the line, the CdeC Trophy, on April 22; and the Repsol Trophy, on April 29 and 30 and May 1.
In both competitions, for which the Notice of Regatta has already been published and the registration period is open, the J80s will once again have their own category in which to compete in real time and continue preparing for the World Championship next September.
BAITRA J80 WINTER LEAGUE 2023
TOP10 classification after 5 days (7 tests)
1. FIBER A CORUÑA · MIGUEL FERNÁNDEZ VASCO · RCN A CORUÑA · 15 POINTS
2. RIOT · JUAN CARLOS AMENEIRO · MRCYB · 16 POINTS
3. SOLVENTIS · MALALO BERMÚDEZ DE CASTRO · MRCYB · 22 POINTS
4. MARÍAS · MANEL CUNHA · MRCYB · 30 POINTS
5. 4 JACKS JOAQUIM MOREIRA CV ATLÁNTICO 37 POINTS
6. SPACO · SANTIAGO ESTÉVEZ · MRCYB · 39 POINTS
7. MIUDO MARGA CAMESELLE MRCYB 46 POINTS
8. MAIJA CASTOR ALONSO MRCYB 52 POINTS
9. TIRED FERNANDO YÁÑEZ MRCYB 56 POINTS
10. WAIKIKI ANDRÉS GÓMEZ MRCYB 58 POINTS
