pedro Sardina
Bayonne (Pontevedra)
The South African Phoenix was placed at the head of the general classification of the Bayona Sailing Week, the first event of the 2022 Rolex 52 Super Series Circuit. Two first and two third places guarantee his leadership with a four-point advantage over the Americans from the Quantum.
Yesterday, the Galician fjord continued to present us with that cold wind from the north in its friendliest version for this fleet of TP52 boats. From 12 to 20 knots of intensity, they left two perfect sleeves to compete among the highest level sailors in the world.
At the mouth of the Vigo estuary, with the Cíes Islands as eyewitnesses, María Torrijo, PRO of the regatta, enjoyed riding two authentic 2.2-mile windward-leeward courses between autonomous beacons that do not require any anchoring because they are managed from the Committee’s ship using GPS positioning.
As María Torrijo says «the system works great. My ship juggles more than the beacons». And it is that the technology in sailing and more in the regattas in which Rolex is its patron, is of the latest generation.
In yesterday’s first race it was already seen from the start that the role was going to take place on the right of the field, so those who came out and sailed there were the ones who dominated the regatta. Quantum and Platoon persisted throughout the leg, reaching speeds of up to 22 knots caused by the planned ones of their own wakes. A heat in which the Vayu, the Thai boat that amazed during the first day, made a mistake in its tactics from the beginning and was last in all the buoy tacks.
Galicia and especially the Baixas estuaries, are special. There is an unusual fondness for the sea in the rest of Spain. Granted, the day was propitious for the most intrepid to go out to watch the regattas, but there were more spectators than in any Rolex 52 Super Series race held in the Mediterranean.
The second moto was perfect. A great race course set up under the auspices of a great wind gave way to a fierce fight between Phoenix and Quantum, which, mark by mark, fought every meter of the field. The last stern was very exciting and fast despite the length of the stage. In the end, the victory went to the South Africans and it was clear that the Americans, when the wind rises above 12 knots, are very difficult to beat.
Joan Vila, Interlodge navigator summed up the day a bit. «It was a day of typical north wind from the bay of Vigo, excellent conditions, very beautiful. At this start of the week we are seeing that the pressure is increasing throughout the day, that is why they have changed our departures half an hour later, and now we will leave every day at 1:00 p.m. In the second regatta we had about 20 knots on average, with gusts of 22, sometimes going down to 17. Perfect conditions for sailing. In the first the wind was a bit unstable on the first beat, but then stabilized for the rest of the day. The key is to do the little things well, not to fail at anything, and the most important thing is consistency in the results; It seems that at the moment Phoenix has it, it is going very fast and they are doing things very well. In the first two days of the regatta, the field has not had a clear side, and that is very good because it gives you opportunities, it gives you possibilities to pass other boats at any stern and upwind. It is not a place where a caravan is formed and everyone goes to the same place because there is a geographical role.
Two more sleeves are planned today, although the intensity of the wind is going to be less from the north.
