After an initial blank day due to the absence of wind, the 52 Super Series PalmaVela Sailing Week hoped that the weather would improve for the second day of the competition program. Persistent rain and the absence of breeze on the race course would keep the boats at the Real Club Náutico de Palma waiting for conditions to improve, and it would not be until 4:30 p.m. that the first start of the year would take place. The combination of a wind of 8-10 knots intensity and flat seas allowed us to raise the curtain on the 2024 season with a good regatta.
The first boat to take to the field was Andy Soriano’s Alegre, one of the two new TP52s among the fleet of ten boats from seven nationalities competing for the title in Palma. The battle for the first section of the course would be fought mainly on the right side of the course and favored the American Sled of Takashi Okura, who led the first buoy passage of the year, followed by the British Alegre of Andy Soriano and the also American Interlodge of Austin and Gwen Fragomen, in which Carlos Robles from Barcelona made his debut today as a strategist. After a change of route due to the wind at the halfway point of the course, the British Gladiator surprised his rivals and took the lead after a spectacular comeback from the last position with which he crossed the starting line and from the penultimate position with the that the section had begun.
The team of owner Tony Langley, who once again trusts in the magic of the Argentine helmsman Guillermo Parada and the Italian navigator Bruno Zirilli, would no longer abandon the leadership until scoring the first partial victory of the season and becoming the first leader of the 52 Super Series 2024.
Back at the Real Club Náutico de Palma, Guillermo Parada explained the keys to his victory: «After a bad start we started the stage behind the fleet, but we recovered quite well. In the first stern we bet heavily on the left, which in the end turned out to be a good move. We were also a little lucky. From there we dedicated ourselves to keeping Sled astern. They were a little faster than us upwind, but in the last stern we went back to the left and managed to extend the lead.”.
A little more than half a minute behind the winner, the Sled would cross the finish line, followed by an exciting finish between Quantum Racing powered by American Magic and Platoon Aviation that was resolved in favor of the American team in Víctor Díaz de León’s first test as helmsman .
Langley seems to be beginning to make a profit on the investment in its new boat, the previous Alegre. According to Parada, it is too early to draw conclusions: “We are still learning to sail it, but we already see that we are a little more competitive than with the previous one in speed, especially on courses with a tailwind.”
In the long-awaited debut of the fleet’s two new TP52s, Platoon Aviation achieved the best result. The boat of German owner Harm Müller-Spreer, world and circuit champion in 2023, was on the verge of entering podium positions after demonstrating good performance in its first regatta just four weeks after its launch, but was surpassed in the same finish line and signed a fourth. Alegre, in which Barcelona sailor Silvia Mas made her debut today, also showed good manners, but after a good start to the race she lost all her options after making a mistake in interpreting the wind role and could only finish ninth.
The competition continues tomorrow, Tuesday, April 30. The forecast of good conditions in the bay of Palma has encouraged the Regatta Committee to try to hold three races, with the first start scheduled from 1:00 p.m.
2024-04-29 18:02:35
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