A sudden wind shift thwarts the fourth race of the Yanmar Dragon Gold Cup in Puerto Portals

A sudden 100-degree wind shift forced the cancellation of the only race that had been started, leaving the overall standings unchanged ahead of the penultimate day of competition.

Ginkgo Racing, helmed by Jan Eckert, remains at the top of the Yanmar Dragon Gold Cup Puerto Portals after the fleet, made up of 65 boats from 17 countries, was unable to complete any valid race yesterday, Thursday, March 19, in the Bay of Palma.

Shortly before midday, the starting procedure began and, once again, proved somewhat complicated. In the race area, a northeasterly wind (065º) was blowing at around 12 knots. On the third attempt, after two general recalls, a valid start was finally given and what was set to be the fourth race in the overall competition got underway.

After almost an hour and a half, with the boats sailing the second windward leg, a 100-degree shift was recorded on the racecourse. This sharp change in wind direction made it necessary to abandon the race. At that point, the Spanish team Capa, owned by Carlos Carbajal, was in first place and unfortunately saw its strong performance ruined by the shift.

The organization reset the racecourse for a southeasterly wind (Xaloc) blowing at around 10 knots, and just as the fleet was about to take a new start, the direction shifted again with the arrival of an easterly wind (Levante), forcing the procedure to be aborted.

The presence of two different winds in the race area made it impossible to set a stable course in the Bay of Palma and, as conditions did not appear likely to improve, at 3:00 p.m. the Postponement over Alpha flag was hoisted, indicating that no further starts would be attempted and sending all the dragons back to their berths in Puerto Portals.

The director of the Puerto Portals Yacht Club, Marta Reynés, explained that the situation had been “a little frustrating because we were unable to complete a race after so many hours on the water, but the participants understood that the decision was the right one because the proper conditions for racing were not there.”

The overall standings remain exactly as they were at the start of the day: Ginkgo Racing, helmed by Jan Eckert, keeps the lead with 10 points. Second place goes to Britain’s Louise Racing, owned by Grant Gordon, with 11.5 points, while fellow British boat Bluebottle, owned by Graham Bailey, sits in third place with 17 points.

Today, Friday, March 20th, the penultimate day of this Yanmar Dragon Gold Cup Puerto Portals will be held. The warning signal has been brought forward to 11:00 a.m., and the intention of the Race Committee is to hold two races, weather permitting, in order to make up for the one that could not be completed today.