Event Date: 19/20 June 2021 | Report by Timothy Goodbody (ESP 247)
The 2021 Spanish Championships and Euro Cup was hosted at Club Nàutic Arenal in the Bay of Palma Mallorca on the 19th and 20th of June. Ten boats featured in the final entry from four different nations represented by Spain, Germany, England, and Ireland.
Saturday 19th June
The sailors were greeted on the Saturday by mixed conditions and 180-degree wind shifts. The race officer did his best to attempt two races, but both were abandoned due to the wind dropping to off nothing.
Still, it was a great day, and a chance for most sailors to dust off some cobwebs.
Sunday 20th June
On Sunday, the sailors were greeted with a smashing breeze from the southwest, not the traditional sea breeze, but a gradient wind with nice shifts and large waves.
The battle from the start was non-stop throughout the fleet with seconds splitting the fleet at the top mark. The only thing dividing the fleet was mistakes with Goodbody folding like a deck chair at the final top mark, and Justo soon afterwards making a rare mistake offering up the lead and a deserved win to Joan.
Race two was once again a close battle to the top mark with nothing between the boats; the fleet split as mistakes appeared. The final run there was still 5 boats within a boats length of each other, Joan picking the best gybe angle to the dog leg finish. A final mistake by Goodbody skewering the finish boat like a cocktail sausage, with Joan, Pat Harris, and Nano rounding off the top three.
Race three got away clean with the fleet starting in the middle coming out on top.
Nano arrived first at the top mark followed by Justo, Harris, and Joan. Nano showed the fleet his heels and put on the afterburners to the finish with Goodbody pulling back to second and Joan again sailing clean to take a 3rd and the Championship.
A deserved win for Joan Rossello with the Nano Barcello coming second – let’s hope his daughter can go one better in the 49er fx in the Tokyo Olympics in a couple of weeks. Third was Tim Goodbody, fourth Pat Harris, and an unlikely fifth was the famous Justo Martinez.
Overall Results: The 2021 Spanish Championships and Euro Cup - Club Nàutic Arenal in the Bay of Palma Mallorca, 19/20 June 2021
- 1st place – ESP 560 – Joan ROSSELLÓ GELABERT
- 2nd place – ESP 561 – Mario BARCELO CUARTERO
- 3rd place – ESP 247 – Timothy GOODBODY
- 4th place – ESP 604 – Pat HARRIS
- 5th place – ESP 596 – Justo MARTÍNEZ BALAGUER
- 6th place – ESP 415 – Jorge MARTÍN PARACUELLOS
- 7th place – ESP 066 – Brandt OLIVER
- 8th place – ESP 295 – Michael TEN BOKUM
- =9th place – ESP 475 – Vin HARRIS
- =9th place – ESP 151 – Thomas BRUNDERT
View full results here >>
Feature Photo: Bernardi Bibloni Bigas, www.bernardibibiloni.com
