Only five of the seventeen teams that started the Vuelta a Mallorca A3-Jaume Binimelis Memorial Trophy last Friday have been able to complete the route. The regatta has been a test of resistance hardened by the lack of wind, the changing conditions and the haze.
The Modul, with a crew made up of Juan Company, Manuel Moreno and the experienced Catalan sailor Guillermo Altadill, has been the boat that has come out the best in this lack of wind and has completed the circumnavigation of the island (148 theoretical miles ) with an official time of 28 hours, 35 minutes and 41 seconds.
Augusto Sanguineti’s JV 42 reached the finish line in the Bay of Palma on Sunday afternoon, while the rest of the fleet did so this morning, or even on Sunday morning.
The fastest boat was more than 12 hours ahead of Meeblick Fun, which was second. After him, the Sa Menuda, Mikaku and Blaumarina boats have arrived at the Real Club Náutico de Palma.
In this Vuelta a Mallorca there has been a trickle of dropouts. Half of them have taken place in the first half of the test due to the frustration of some teams seeing that the little wind barely allowed them to advance. The most painful withdrawals have been those of half a dozen boats that were already sailing along the north coast of Mallorca and, before the arrival of a new calm one, they have seen that it would be very difficult for them to cross the finish line before the end of the time limit.
The victory in the general classification, once the corresponding compensations have been applied, went to Augusto Sanguineti’s Modul. Second place went to Gabriela Pohlmann’s Meeblick Fun and third place went to Antoni Cerdà’s Sa Menuda.
The key to the clear victory of Modul has been the formation of a front at the height of Portopetro. The team led by Altadill has broken away from the coast to get ahead and, from then on, has had a tailwind for most of the route while their pursuers have been forced to deal with more frequent calms and headwinds. .
“At the height of the Capdepera lighthouse we already had a two-hour lead,” explained Juan Company, Modul crew member, who remarked that it has not been an easy Tour of Mallorca because “such variable conditions have forced do a lot of work with continuous changes of sails and we have not been able to respect the rest shifts”.
In fact, Company has pointed out that they have spent the more than 28 hours of regatta almost without sleeping and has recalled that last year’s edition, in which they were also the fastest although they did not achieve the final victory, was even harder due to the lack of wind
The Volta a Mallorca has two generals per class, corresponding to groups ORC 0-3 and ORC 4-5. The victory in the first category has also been for Modul, while Sa Menuda has obtained second place, while in the second the victory is also for Meerblick Fun, followed by Mikaku and Blaumarina.
The awards ceremony will take place tomorrow, Monday afternoon at 7:00 p.m. at the Real Club Náutico de Palma. The VIII Volta a Mallorca A3 pays tribute to Jaume Binimelis, historic commodore of the Real Club Náutico de Palma and owner of the Petrouchka III, with whom he won three editions of this regatta. Binimelis passed away on October 14, 2018 while participating in the Palma-Andratx regatta.
