The southerly wind of more than 17 knots that blew on the first day of the 41st Copa del Rey Mapfre surprised more than one person. Accustomed to an average thrust between 10 and 15 knots, this circumstance caught the fleet off guard.
The Copa del Rey is a very long regatta, where many things can happen during the week and the weather conditions can be very different. The day started cloudy, which was a sign that the wind would not be as usual in the bay of Palma.
The Race Committee was clear about it, seeing the intensity of the wind, they did not hesitate to carry out three tasks in the Majorica ORC classes, something that had not happened for a long time, since there are usually two. The truth is that the intention is that today, Tuesday, there will be two more windward-leeward races and tomorrow a coastal regatta, a test that had been lost in the Copa del Rey, and that now they want to recover in a carousel format.
There was a lot of expectation to see the result of the ORC 1 class. The quintessential queen class is the one with the most powerful fleet. The Swan42 Palibex Elena Nova, which has already won the Queen’s Trophy, was a relative surprise. Being the smallest boat of all, she managed to do a first and two seconds. Her conditions benefited him. Now it remains to be seen what her numbers are with medium-light winds, if they arrive. The British Ker46 Lisa R was the only one to follow in her wake, she is one point behind the German boat. Nobody knew about the performance of the Lira R, and it was very good. From the Argentine Swan45 From Now On it was known that she would be on top and she took third place. Aifos continues to show her her improvement this year, so her fight for the podium is there. Among the favorite theorists are the DK46: of the three, the best was the Estrella Damm, sixth overall.
The one who has not lost the feeling of being in the lead in ORC 2 is the Teatro Soho Caixabank, which chained three first places to start strong and demonstrate the power of Luis Doreste in tactics. The Maverta, who is always in the fight, is second. Also Laplaza Assessors in ORC 3 is a classic in being at the top, although the rival he has does not seem to want to give up too much, the Italian Scugnizza added two first and a second.
The one who can give a lot to talk about in ORC 4 is Ybarra-Befesa, who has the Paralympian in Río Arturo Montes at the helm, and who with two seconds and a first position is co-leader with the British Just the Job.
Special mention goes to the ClubSwan42 class with the Spanish Pez de Abril, first, and Porrón X, third.
Today the two classes of monotypes that remain to participate enter the fray. The Sotheby’s Women’s Cup, reserved only for women and where, a priori, there are two favorite boats, the last two champions, Team Baleària-RCNP and Dorsia Covirán. And the J70, which will have its World Championship next year in these waters and start with Usana Les Roches and Hang Ten as leading boats.