Dorsia Coviran crowned J/80 Copa de Espana Champion
by J/Boats 9 Jul 2023 08:27 PDT
J/80 Copa de Espana Championship © Spanish J/80 Class
The 2023 edition of the J/80 Copa de Espana was organized by the Real Club Marítimo del Abra- Real Sporting Club, with the sponsorship of BMW LURAUTO and the collaboration of El Correo, Royal Spanish Sailing Federation, Basque and Biscay Federation of Vela, and the Spanish J/80 Association.
On the final day of the competition, organized by the RCMA-RSC during its 125th anniversary year, the twenty-seven participating crews enjoyed northwesterly, shifty winds of 8-10 kts.
Nuria Sánchez's Dorsia Coviran, with José Manuel Ruiz as skipper, finally finished at the top of the podium after years of climbing up the ladder at major events, their most recent triumph being at the Copa Del Rey in Palma Mallorca, Spain.
Dorsia Coviran posted a 3-2-6-1-4-7-5-1 record for 22 pts net in the single discard, eight-race series. Just two points back were Jose Azqueta's Biobizz team, the local heroes, that had an enviable record of 1-1-1-BFD-6-5-7-3 for 24 pts net. Then, rounding out the podium earning the bronze medal was Jose Maria "Pichu" Torcida sailing Fredo La Estrella Del Norte with a 6-8-4-2-1-1-3-8 tally for 25 pts net. It was a really exciting battle between the top three boats. In fact, this was the first regatta in years where past J/80 World Champion "Pichu" Torcida managed to contend for the top of the leaderboard! With the upcoming J/80 World Championship in Spain, that's good for Spain, but not so good for any other competitors!
Rounding out the top five was determined on a tiebreaker at 47 pts each, with David Madrazo's Zona France Santander winning the countback to take fourth, while Manuel de Tomas's Iser had to be content with fifth position.
The victory for the best Mixed Team also was awarded to Nuria Sánchez's Dorsia Coviran. The best Female Team was the Gipuzkoan's aboard Olatz Muñoz's Decoexsa. Finally, the best Junior Team was the Vizcayan's sailing Hiblab- Escuela Vela Del Ugarte, skippered by Tomás Trueba.