The F50 Victoria started the first event of the third SailGP season, the Bermuda Sail Grand Prix, after closing two spectacular starts. Although they did not achieve all the desired consistency, they showed team spirit and potential with a historical line-up in the competition. Paula Barceló became the first woman to perform the role of grinder – which requires great upper body strength -, Olympic bronze medalist Joan Cardona competed with a broken finger and acted as a tactician, and Joel Rodríguez combined the function of grinder with that of occasional flight controller. Jordi Xammar, the team’s official skipper who was facing his third day of competition aboard the F50 Victoria, Florian Trittel, wing trimmer, and Diego Botin, flight controller, completed the crew.
Canada, a rookie team with Phil Robertson at the helm, leads the standings with 25 points, followed by Great Britain, which is second, by two points, and Australia, which is third, by four points. Spain, eleven points behind the leader, is eighth after achieving fourth, sixth and ninth place. Switzerland, ninth overall, made their debut together with Canada in the fleet, while Japan was unable to participate in this first race due to financing problems despite having finished second in the previous season.
At the end of the day, the skipper of the Spanish team, Jordi Xammar, was happy to have “fulfilled one of our main objectives, which is the starts, something fundamental in SailGP regattas”. The team has been working intensely the days before the competition to be able to fulfill it. “The day has been better than the results reflect”, explained Xammar, who admitted that “we have made mistakes, we are learning”.
For her part, Paula Barceló reflected that “there have been some mistakes that we have had to pay a lot for” but the team “is taking small steps forward, which I think is important, and improving a little more every day. I am sure that in the end the result will come out, so we keep rowing”. Looking ahead to the second day, she assured that “we face it with great enthusiasm because polishing some details of some maneuvers with consistency and also positioning with the fleet, we can go for more”.
Regarding the change of positions experienced aboard the F50 Victoria and caused by the injury of Joan Cardona – who broke his finger last week – Xammar explained “the situation was different from usual”, but he was “happy with the result”. Xammar added “it is impressive to see how Paula has adapted to the position”. An opinion shared by Joan Cardona, who did not hesitate to praise the figure of Barceló, assuring that she “is very strong and adapts quickly to change”.
Canada leads provisional
From the start of the first race, the most decorated Olympic sailor in history, Ben Ainslie, leading the British, proved that this event bore his name. Spain did not stand out at the start, but a great tactical reading by the Spaniards put them in second position. The fate of the F50 Victoria was complicated at the third gate, when he decided to stand out on the other side of the field and the wind conditions took their toll. From that moment on, those from Xammar would fight intermittently between the third and sixth position in which they finished, while the Canadian team, which made its debut in the competition led by Phil Robertson, secured the silver of the race and the English were made with the victory.
Spain had a spectacular start in the second race, which kept them with podium options for a good part of the race. However, a maneuvering error by the F50 Victoria made it move to sixth position in a matter of seconds, although the clashes and penalties of the fleet (the latter to Australia, Great Britain and Switzerland) contributed to the Spanish finishing fourth. Canada was first, followed by France and New Zealand.
The F50 Victoria once again had a magnificent start that led it to initially lead the third and last race of the day. Soon the French team overtook Spain, blocking the Spanish and forcing them to change pitch to avoid traffic. The complicated wind conditions on that side of the regatta field, with constant changes of direction and intensity, made the fleet escape despite multiple attempts by the Spanish to come back. The English took the lead, followed by France and Australia. Spain closed the last test of the day in ninth position.
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