April 3, 2023
1 minute reading time
52 Trofeo S.A.R. Princesa Sofía Mallorca, © Sailing Energy / Princesa Sofía Mallorca
03 April, 2023
World Cup Series: Champions survive a tough opening day
Blue skies battled with dark rain clouds over the Bay of Palma for the opening day of competition at the Princess Sofia Trophy.
The conditions made it challenging for the organisers to complete fair racing, making it a frustrating day for competitors. However, the best sailors somehow seem to find a way, even when conditions seem pretty random.
In the iQFOiL men, reigning world champion Sebastian Koerdel from Germany won one race and was second in another. France’s Adrian Mestre scored a couple of race wins and seems to thrive on the high pressure that these high-speed reaching starts bring to the IQFOIL competition.
In the ILCA 7 men’s singlehanders, a single race completed for one of the two qualifying groups. Finland’s Karl Tapper hiked his way to victory ahead of last year’s event winner, Mickey Beckett from Great Britain. Just behind in third was New Zealand’s Tom Saunders, the 2021 World Champion and in fourth place the reigning Olympic Champion from Australia, Matt Wearn. So even when conditions turned funky, the big names managed to work their way to the front.
The wind didn’t stay sufficiently settled for any more racing from day one. Organisers, race management, coaches and sailors are keeping their fingers crossed for more reliable breeze for day two, when all 1300 competitors across 10 different disciplines will hope to get some good, solid races on the scoreboard.