Caixa Galicia wins Breitling Iles Balears
by Event media on 24 Jul 2007
07_21969 ©ThMartinez. PUERTO PORTALS - SPAIN, 22 July 2007 .
BREITLING MEDCUP in Puerto Portal (18/22 July 2007)-13a REGATA BREITLING Illes BALEARS. Day 4.
TP52 "CAIXA GALICIA" (ESP) winner of 13rd BREITLING REGATA.
Crew celebrating victory , back in Puerto Portals. Th.Martinez
http://www.thmartinez.com
With John Kostecki calling tactics for helm Roberto Bermudez de Castro, the new Botin and Carkeek design came off the start line close enough to the favoured left of the upwind track to benefit, but was able to keep their nearest rivals, the Russell Coutts skippered Artemis, at bay from mid-way up the windward leg.
Caixa Galicia’s comfortable, conservative fourth today in the 24 boat fleet, to Artemis’ seventh, in what proved the only race of the day, gave the Galician crew a ten points margin in the prestigious four day regatta.
They also now stand six points clear of Artemis on the overall, season-long Breitling MedCup TP52 Circuit standings.
Caixa’s tactics were as measured and precise as their programme. With a big gap between second and third this morning, there was no need for them to win the race, simply to keep Artemis behind them.
Off the start line Caixa were well placed to take the benefit of the persistent bend in the wind to the left side of the course which has paid a regular dividend this regatta. To their right Artemis gained a little early on but at the first windward mark Caixa Galicia rounded fifth, with Artemis 23 seconds behind in sventh.
Downwind Artemis stayed wide to gain a good lane of breeze and pulled to within three seconds of Caixa Galicia as the pair chose opposite marks at the leeward gate, but when Artemis lost two boats on the second windward leg, the overall victory was all but in the bag for Caixa Galicia.
Psychologically there was a small measure of recompense for Peter de Ridder and the crew of Valle Romano Mean Machine who won today with Eamon Conneely’s Patches in second.
Suddenly burdened by heavy 50 points penalty for disqualification from Saturday’s coastal race, winning today may have felt hollow in terms of this event but in De Ridder’s quest to retain the overall Breitling MedCup Circuit championship every race is win is vital.
Caixa’s owner Tirado commented: ' We are really happy. The regatta has turned out fantastically for us from the beginning to the end. I think our worst result has been a fifth, so we are pleased.'
Skipper-helm Bermudez summed up: ' I think our secret weapon is the same one we have had for the last few years – our team. In the end it is the team that makes the boat, both when things are going well, and when they don’t, and this is our strong point.'
'Our plan was to sail well and try and win the race, get a good start and not make any mistakes - which is what we did. We tried to get boats between us and them, in case there was a second race, just to make the difference.'
And as the Circuit’s overall leaders going into the Copa del Rey in a week’s time, Bermudez cautions:
' The competition has just begun. This is the only the second event and there are still a lot of points at stake. The next event is the Copa del Rey which is really important to us and we have to keep working. All the teams are pushing to the limit, and by no means was it an easy victory. We have to keep working because the fleet is very fast.'
Artemis Swedish owner-driver Torbjorn Tornqvist won his first Corinthian Trophy, just less than a year after he first sailed in the TP52 MedFleet Class for the first time, dipping a toe in the water at last year’s Copa del Rey when he chartered Bigamist because his Swan 601 could not compete in the IMS fleet.
Skipper Coutts, looking relaxed, summarised their result: ' It was a little bit of a left biased course and we got bounced a bit to the right and that we pretty much the end of it. I thought it might go right on the second beat and took a bit of a chance on the second beat but it hung in the left. The boat is going great. We are reasonably happy with second. It is certainly better than Alicante, and this time we sailed all the marks as well.'
2007 Breitling MedCup TP52 Circuit, Regatta 2.
Regata Breitling-Iles Balears, Puerto Portals, Mallorca.
Final Results after seven races: 1 CxG Corporacion Caixa Galicia (V Tirado-ESP, Botin Carkeek 2007) 24pts, 2 Artemis (T Tornqvist, SWE – Judel-Vrolijk 2007) 34pts, 3 Siemens (A Roemmers, ARG-Judel Vrolijk 2007) 59pts, 4 Patches (E Conneely, IRL-Reichel Pugh 2007) 62pts, 5 Windquest (De de Vos, USA- Botin Carkeek 2006) 66pts, 6 Bribon (J Cusi, SM Juan Carlos, ESP- Judel Vrolijk 2007) 67pts, 7 Platoon (H M Spreer, GER-Judel Vrolijk 2006) 76pts, 8 Stay Calm (S Robinsonm GBR-Judel Vrolijk 2007) 79pts, 9 Valle Romano Mean Machine (P de Ridder, MON-Judel Vrolijk 2006) 81pts, 10 ONO (I Castaner-ESP-Botin Carkeek 2005) 83pts.
2007 Breitling MedCup Circuit.
Standings after two of five regattas:
1 Caixa Galicia 82pts, 2 Artemis 88pts, 3 Bribon 102pts, 4 Patches 120pts, 4 Siemens 121pts, 5 Valle Romano Mean Machine 124pts.
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