Platu 25 Spanish Championship - Vilagarcia triumphs

by Pep Portas on 11 May 2011 After three days and nine races the brothers Carlos and Antón Paz, on board of 'Vilagarcia' from Galicia, conquered the VI Edition of the Spanish Championship in Marbella and became Spanish Champions for the fourth time. Manel Montesinos’s 'Malaita' from Valencia and 'Bribon Movistar' of Marc de Antonio and Sofia Bertrand from Catalunya, respectively second and third, completed the podium.

Twenty eight boats took part to this three-days regatta, organised by the Marbella Yacht Cup, that decided the 2011 Spanish Champion. Five boats came from Galicia, seven from Valencia, one from Catalunya and five from Andalucia.

'Vilagarcia' didn’t find rivals in Marbella waters and it overlooked the general ranking list from the first to the last day. Instable wind in the first two days forced to change course several times, while in the last one it kept on 235° with 16 knots intensity, blowing until 20 knots. So, these were the right conditions to allow the scheduled program to be performed with 9 races.

The parity among the crews made the competition more exiting. Except for 'Vilagarcia' that kept the top of the ranking list for almost all over the regatta, indeed, the positions changed continuously among 'Fermax', 'Malaita', 'Servimil', 'GAES – Mundo', 'Bribon- Movistar' and 'La Revoltosa'.

The first day ended with the Galician boat 'Vilagarcia' leading the fleet. 'Servimil' by Pablo de Villar from Andalucia and 'Fermax' from Valencia were together with the brothers La Paz on the provisional podium. 'Servimil' started brilliant, with an absolute domination of the first race, going back to the third place in the second race and concluding the day with a third 'Fermax' in the first race had to be content with a third place, while in the second and third race it got a second and first place.

The second day of races started with the decision by the Judge Committee that penalized 'Pastor Puerto' from Vigo and 'Bribon-Movistar' Both of them asked for a reopening of the protest that was solved at the end of the day. 'Vilagarcia' had to work pretty hard in order to keep the top of the ranking list. It conquered a first place in the first race but in the other two races it was surprised by 'GAES – Mundo Marino' and 'Bribon- Movistar'. In this second day just Dani Maestre’s 'Fermax' was able to keep the rhythm of two Paz brothers 'Vilagarcia'. 'Fermax' indeed conquered two brilliant second places in the second and in the last race.

The last day was quite hard because of the difficult weather conditions. Wind from South East, with 16 knots (sometimes, up to 20 under gust) and 1 metre high waves made the last races very competitive and exiting. Several boats suffered breaks and had to abandon the fields of regatta. In such difficult conditions, 'Vilagarcia' performed in an excellent way, obtaining two first places.

At the end, adding the total of 26 points, the boat of the brothers Carlos and Anton Paz conquered the National title of Champion. The second place was for 'Malaita de Montesinos' helmed by Weiller (30 points), while 'Bribon-Movistar' of Marc de Antonio and Sofia Bertrand obtained 38 points and finished at third place.There was a strong fight for the third place. 'La Revoltosa', indeed, missed the podium just for a point and arrived fourth and 'Fermax' had to be content with a fifth place (one point behind La Revoltosa).

During the Platu 25 briefing in Marbella, it has been decided that the next place for the Spanish Championship will be 'El Real Club Náutico' in Valencia and the next Copa de España (Spanish Cup) will be competed in Minorca thanks to the Club Náutico de Ciutadella.

The next appointment with the Platu 25 International class will be in Ebensee, on the Traunsee Lake from 21 to 22 May .A week later in Gmunden – always on the Traunsee Lake - the 2011 Platu 25 World Championship will start (28 May-3June).. Until now the enrolled Spanish boats are 'Cormedia-Coppel Dental'; 'GAES-Mundo Marino'; 'Matahambre', 'Bribon-Movistar' and 'Fermax'. There will be also the competitive 'Vilagarcia' of the brothers Carlos and Anton Paz who won the Platu 25 World Championship in Punta Ala, in Italy, two years ago.

*English edited by Kev Scott (Thailand NCA)