48th Palamós Christmas Race Day 1
by Jaume Soler 19 Dec 10:48 PST
18-22 December 2024
Palamos Christmas Race Day 1 © Alfred Farré /
www.AlfredFarre.com
The start of the 48th Palamós Christmas Race saw two races in all classes, after the north-westerly wind (gregal), which blew unstable in terms of intensity, started at around 10 knots and reached 14 knots before dropping to 6.
The fleet remained on shore until after 13:00 hours, but finally, thanks to the skill of the Race Committees, it was possible to compete in all classes. It was a day in which the lighter crews were the ones who were able to make the best use of the wind conditions.
In the ILCA 6 class, the Swiss Ulisse Rayson, in the men's class and the Ukrainian Sofia Naumenko, in the women's class are the first leaders out of 58 participants. Rayson, who is one of the smallest in the fleet, has a fourth and a first place that allows him to lead the overall with a three-point advantage over Ot Puig (CN Vilanova), who had a second and an eighth place. The third place is for the British Archie Munro-Price who with a 1-9, winning the first leg but was not able to keep the pace of the first in the second. Among the women, Naumenko is followed by Poland's Hanna Rowoska and Kinga Slazchetka.
Bruno Römer, one of the great values of Argentinean sailing demonstrated his role as favourite and scored a 2-1, which helped him to finish the opening day as leader with three points ahead of Joan Camats (CN Arenys de Mar) who with a 1-5 is in second position, tied on points with the Swiss Leanne Turrin, first female, who scored two third places. They are followed by Mireia Garriga (CN Sant Feliu de Guíxols), second female and fourth overall and the Polish Patrycja Jaloszynska, third female and fifth overall.
The 420 class is the most numerous with 109 participants and in which the British Joe Jones and Hennie Burlton are the first leaders after a 5-1. They are followed by two Spanish crews, María Blanco and Alex Camps (CN El Balís), second after a 3-6 and Pedro Sotomayor and Quim Serra (RCN Barcelona), with a 3-7. In this group the fleet is divided between the blue and yellow groups. The first female crew is the Italian Giulia and Flavia Schultze in fifth position. The first leg in the yellow group was won by the Cantabrians Pietro Periotto and Guillermo Hidalgo (RCM Santander), but a fifteenth place in the second leg dropped them to eighth overall.
The 29er class is making its debut on the EuroCup 2025 circuit in the Palamós Christmas Race. Poland's Antonina Puchowska and Alicja Dampc are the absolute leaders after a 3-2, one point ahead of their compatriots Szymon Kolka and Bartosz Zmudzinksi with a 1-5. Third are the Italians Bianca Marchesini and Lucia Finato, who with 5-3 close the podium places. The first Spanish crew is Inés Martin-Urda and Natalia Mendez (RCN Gran Canaria), in sixth position and third female.
For this Friday, the second day of the Palamós Christmas Race, a northerly wind (tramuntana) is expected to come in, which will increase as the day progresses, although the start time for the races will remain the same, starting at 11 am.
Sustainable regatta
The Palamós Christmas Race has been a Clean Regatta for two editions, recognised by the international Sailors for the Sea association.
Aware of the need to take care of the environment and the presentation of the seas, the regatta conducts different actions related to sustainability, such as paperless management, Be One With the Sea, No Plastics, Green Regatta, Sailors for the Sea.
In recent editions, plastic has been completely eliminated and the use of refillable bottles has been encouraged through water fountains placed in the regatta venue.
The Palamós Christmas Race is organised by the Club Nàutic Costa Brava - Vela Palamós, with the support of the Spanish and Catalan Sailing Federations, as well as the institutional support of the Catalan Government, the Girona Provincial Council and Palamós City Council.
Results can be found here.