Jordi Xammer champions first Ibérico 420 Championship

by Tony Mapplebeck on 16 Mar 2011 420 Junior World Champion wins first Campeonato Ibérico 420 at Tavira.

The Portuguese and Spanish 420 fleets met in Tavira for first Iberian Championship.

The first Campeonato Ibérico de 420 was held at Clube Náutico de Tavira from 9 – 12 March with the support of the Federação Portuguesa de Vela and the Real Federación Española de Vela, as well as the Portuguese and Spanish 420 Class Associations. Eighty-four 420 sailors from across Portugal and Spain, including Andalucía, Catalonia and Gran Canaria, converged on Tavira in the eastern Algarve for the first Iberian 420 Championship, With sailors from both countries currently going through their respective team selection processes to represent their countries at the ISAF Youth Worlds In Zadar in July, as well as for the 420 European Championships to be held in Tavira in July and for the 420/470 Junior Europeans in Nieuwpoort, Belgium in August, this international competitive exposure was particularly well timed.

With two races on the first day, Portugal’s leading team at the 2010 Junior Europeans in La Rochelle, João Vilas Boas of AN Lisboa and João Duarte of CV Barreiro, took the lead. But local sailors from Tavira, Luis Niza and Paulo Baptista, were just a point behind at the end of the day.....and they had unfinished business to reverse the previous weekend’s line-up at the Vilamoura Carnival Regatta, where they had finished second to Vilas Boas and Duarte! The Spanish team, Jorge Martinez and Tomas Ugalde, finished third, on equal points with Niza and Baptista, just one ahead of David and Alex Vila (ESP - CN El Balis) and Jordi Hernandez and Alex Lopez (ESP - CN El Masnou). Competition between the women’s teams was also in evidence, with Barbara and Sara Ravetllat (ESP - CN El Balis) in sixth overall, just four points ahead of the Portuguese team, Joana Azevedo and Catarina Evangelista (CV Atlântico).

The second day’s racing was held in winds varying from 5 to 12 knots. By the end of Day 2, with three further races in the bag, the situation had changed dramatically, and the leading Spanish teams were evidently finding their way in Tavira’s waters. David and Alex Vila had a three point lead over Jordi Hernandez and Alex Lopez, in turn a couple of points ahead of Jorge Martinez and Tomas Ugalde. The Ravetllat women were up to fourth. Spain had reversed the position from the first day.

A stormy day on Friday caused the cancellation of racing, but CN Tavira’s President, Guilherme Matos Ferreira, reported that Saturday 'came-out as a wonderful sailing day. Three races were sailed on the last day of the championship with steady 15 knots South Westerly winds. The races were very competitive, and the more experienced crews took over the race area and led the races'.

The Championship was won, by a point, by Jordi Xammer Hernandez, the 2010 ISAF Youth World Champion and 2011 420 Junior World Champion helm, with his new crew, Alex Lopez, sailors from the Barcelona club of CN El Masnou. Close on their heels were Jorge Martinez and Tomas Ugalde of RCN Gran Canaria. Local boys, R Luis Niza and Paulo Baptista looked after Portuguese and Tavira honour by taking third place on the podium. João Vilas Boas and João Duarte, Silver medallists at the 2010 ISAF Youth Worlds, were fourth.

The Spanish team, Barbara & Sara Ravetllat, from Barcelona’s CN El Balis, were the leading women in fifth overall, and Francisca Martins & Maria Westwood of Portugal’s CN Cascais were second women, in 10th, while Joana Azevedo and Catarina Evangelista (POR) of CV Atlântico finished in 13th.

Jordi Xammar Hernandez confirmed that the sailors were 'very pleased with the excellent conditions of Tavira for the practice of our sport'. The Championship concluded with a Prize Giving in which the Mayor of Tavira and the President of the Portuguese Sailing Federation participated. The Champions were also awarded the under-18 title, while Fernando Gamez & Alfredo Pareja (CN El Candado Malaga) were awarded the under-16 title.

Next month, Tavira will host the Portuguese Youth Championships, and then, at the beginning of July, the IODA Europeans will be held here, followed, toward the end of July, by the 420 European Championship. The Clube Náutico de Tavira, which has successfully hosted both 420 World and Junior European Championships in recent years, continues to grow its profile and seeks to fulfil its claim to be the sailing capital of 2011.

Championship leaders:
1 Jordi Hernandez & Alex Lopez (ESP - CN El Masnou) 35 points
2 Jorge Martinez & Tomas Ugalde (ESP - RCN Gran Canaria) 36 pts
3 R Luis Niza & Paulo Baptista (POR - CN Tavira) 39 pts
4 João Vilas Boas & João Duarte (POR - ANL / CVB) 40 pts
5 Barbara & Sara Ravetllat (Fem) (ESP - CN El Balis) 44 pts
6 David Vila & Alex Vila (ESP - CN El Balis) 48 pts
7 Fernando & Alvaro Urzaiz (ESP - CN El Balis) 65 pts
8 Manuel Cunha & António Tiroco (POR - YC Porto) 69 pts
9 Adriana R. Puig & Nil L. Ravetllat (ESP - CN El Balis) 79 pts
10 Francisca Martins & Maria Westwood (Fem) (POR - CN Cascais) 89 pts

Results and further information available on www.tavirasailing.org and www.420sailing.org