The Dragon Grand Prix Spain of Puerto Portals, Mallorca, produced a splendid second day of racing thanks to a generous if shifty north wind that did not stop blowing in the nearly five hours in which the fleet of 44 teams from 12 countries were competing.
The first race of the day, the third of the event, started at 1.43 pm after two general recalls. With a 320º wind blowing at up to 12 knots, the first two legs of a windward-leeward course were completed with the leaders of the fleet sailing in tightly packed formation. At that point the wind increased slightly to 14 knots and the course was changed to 295 degrees allowing the fleet spread out a little over the second lap. Race four got underway at 4.38 pm, after another general call, and with the wind now established in the North West the race committee was able to complete a five leg windward/leeward course finishing the boats downwind.
It wasn’t a good day for overnight leader Otto Polhmann sailing Meerblick, who dropped from first to eighth position overall after scoring a sixteenth and fifteenth in today’s races. However, the Dutch team aboard Troika, helmed by Pieter Heerema, seized the day and took the lead. Yesterday Troika scored a fourth and ninth and today they added two third places to escalate them from sixth to the top of the classification. With two days and up to four more races to go, they currently lead the regatta with 19 points.
Lying in second place overall is the German Ingrid team, who hold a podium position for the second consecutive day, moving up from third to second with 27 points. Peter Gilmour, aboard the Japanese Yred, climbs a position and lies third with 28 points and is tied on points with the British Fever helmed by Klaus Diederichs, who lies fourth on count back. Fever has a single point advantage over the fifth placed Rocknrolla, helmed by Russia's Dmitry Samokhin who took a second in race three but followed up with a thirteenth.
Up to four races remain to be sailed in the Dragon Grand Prix Spain which continues until Thursday 14 November. Once the Grand Prix Spain is completed the top twenty teams from the 2019 Dragon Grand Prix Series will move forward into the Dragon European Cup Grand Finals, a knock out competition that will be sailed on Friday 15 and Saturday 16 November.
Photo Credit: Elena Razina