Please select your home edition
Edition
Allen Dynamic 40 Leaderboard

Princess Sofia Regatta - Belcher and Ryan hungry for more

by Mat Belcher & Will Ryan | Olympic Sailing on 9 Apr 2014
Princess Sofia Regatta, Palma 2014 Victor Kovalenko and Thom Touw
At the Princess Sofia Regatta in Palma, Mallorca, a podium position leaves us satisfied but hungry for more in Hyeres. While this regatta marked the third Leg of the ISAF World Cup; it signifies the beginning of the European season for us and most other Olympic teams.

Although Palma delivered far from the infamous sea breezes we had expected; it provided a good test largely for patience with a lot of waiting - but also for our new boat 'Far and Away' who has lived up to expectations and now been fully initiated with some big waves and a full range of wind conditions, as well as a 'love-tap' or two :)

It was an interesting week with some challenging days conditions wise, with the fleets being postponed most days on shore and on the water as we waited for the winds to stabilise. For us our event started out slowly with some placings in the teens, but also a UFD (a newly introduced scoring penalty meaning over the start in the final minute - with no opportunity for an individual recall and thus no chance to return and restart).


Having therefore used our discard on Day one, and placing us overall results wise sitting in a somewhat unfamiliar 21st position, we had a bit of a delicate battle to manage pushing hard in the finals races to move up the rankings while being careful to avoid any more scoring penalties or big scores.

It was very positive that as a team we could quickly re-adjust and step up our level of racing to be back in contention after Day three, and leading into the penultimate day of racing. After a good battle with the Croatian team and consistent Argentinian team, we were still ahead going into the final race.

After a tough first lap we found ourselves in good company on the final downwind with both the Croatians and Argentinians as well as Beijing Medalist Nicolas Charbonnier and London Silver Medalist Luke Patience... however as the breeze began to shutdown and become extremely variable - ourselves and British team of Patience and Willis bobbed helplessly close to the final turning mark but could not hold off the approaching boats from behind who edged closer with the new pressure while the Croatians and Argentinians edged away to record top 10 positions. We placed 22nd, while the British placed 31st.


Following this final race as the top 10 entered the medal race the overall points held the Croatians potentially out of reach in first, while the Argentinians sat six points in front in second, and the Greek and Swedish teams tied in fourth place only six points behind us. After another delay waiting for the wind - we were met with a sticky six knots with left-over swell from the day before.

It was a tight race with numerous placing changes and some wind-holes in the course to keep it challenging, however the Croatians did enough to hold their lead, and Sime and Igor were rewarded with a well deserved win after a very consistent week. The Swedish had a great race moving them to equal points with us, but after the Argentinians were scored OCS. After what had been a long week of racing, we were happy to we were left with third place on a countback.


For us the next event will be the final leg of the ISAF World Cup in Hyeres, France which we will be looking forward too starting on April 22nd.

Today the new World Rankings were also released and it is again pleasing to see Team Aus11 in the top spot.

We will be looking to bring you a new level of insight from France, however for now it is a chance for a well earned rest! :)

Thank you always to our Coach Victor, and to all our sponsors, suppliers and supporters!

Mat and Will
#Aus11

Cyclops Marine 2023 November - FOOTERNorth Sails Loft 57 PodcastPredictWind - GO! exec 728x90 BOTTOM

Related Articles

Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup Day 2
Philip Köster triumphs again in Pozo Izquierdo The 37th edition of the Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup delivered a thrilling second day this Sunday, once again marked by strong winds and the talent of the world's best windsurfers.
Posted on 6 Jul
A perfect start to the 5th annual AEGEAN 600
Cloudless blue skies, crystal clear waters and perfect 12-15 knots of northerly wind At the very southern end of the Greek mainland at Cape Sounion in Attica, today's start to the 5th edition of the AEGEAN 600 was perfect: cloudless blue skies, crystal clear waters and perfect 12-15 knots of northerly wind.
Posted on 6 Jul
29er Europeans at Lake Garda day 4
One race, one storm, and one big lay day vibe With qualification wrapped and the fleet now split into six groups—Gold, Silver, Bronze, Emerald, Purple, and White—Day 4 of the 29er Europeans kicked off with early optimism and an earlier-than-usual launch in pursuit of the morning breeze.
Posted on 6 Jul
iQFOiL Worlds a Aarhus day 1
Full foiling conditions launch the World Championship with four high-intensity races for both fleets The iQFOiL World Championship kicked off today in Aarhus with dynamic and demanding conditions that truly tested the world's top foiling windsurfers. The wind was anything but steady, shifting in both direction and intensity throughout the day.
Posted on 6 Jul
Rolex TP52 Worlds in Cascais overall
American Magic Quantum Racing win Rolex TP52 Worlds after breezy week in Cascais. Doug DeVos' American Magic Quantum Racing crew were crowned 2025 Rolex TP52 World Champions today in Cascais, Portugal.
Posted on 6 Jul
Red Bull Sailing Academy Opens
A new hub for current and future superstars to reach the top of their sport Marina Monfalcone, North Italy, made waves yesterday, as sports superstars gathered to open the Red Bull Sailing Academy, marking the beginning of a new era in the sport.
Posted on 6 Jul
Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup Day 1
Philip Köster edges out Marcilio Browne in one of the closest finals ever Philip Köster edges out Marcilio Browne in one of the closest finals ever as Pozo delivers 50 knot winds and waves.
Posted on 6 Jul
America's Cup: French give the Brits the "Hurry-up
Frustration builds between Cup factions over lack of progress with Protocol. Last weekend's missive from the French America's Cup challenge team is further evidence over the building frustration with progress towards the 2027 America's Cup in Naples.
Posted on 6 Jul
The oldest video footage of Moth sailing
A look back into our video archive, to when the name of this class first settled down We delve into our video archive to find the oldest possible videos that show Moth racing. Are these International Moths, British Moths... or was the name still Olive, Inverloch 11ft, National Moth or Brent One-Design?!
Posted on 6 Jul
GKSS Match Cup & Nordea Women's Trophy overall
It is the first time the Match Cup Sweden title has been won by a Danish Skipper Denmark's Jeppe Borch/ Team Borch Match Race, and France's Pauline Courtois/ Match in Pink by Normandy crowned the new champions of Marstrand in a day of fierce weather for the final of 2025 GKSS Match Cup Sweden and Nordea Women's Trophy in Marstrand.
Posted on 6 Jul