Swiss yacht Ginko Racing crowned overall champion of the 9th Puerto Portals Dragon Winter Series

The competition concluded with a final race sailed in strong westerly winds, which caused several incidents within the fleet.

Ginko Racing, skippered by Jan Eckert, emerged as the overall winner of the IX Puerto Portals Dragon Winter Series, which came to an end yesterday, Sunday January 25, in the waters of Palma Bay.

Only one race could be completed in this third and final round of the IX Puerto Portals Dragon Winter Series. After two days, Friday and Saturday, of strong winds that prevented any racing, the Race Committee decided to bring the start forward to 10:00 a.m. in an attempt to race before conditions deteriorated further, as forecast from midday onwards.

The race was held in around 20 knots of westerly wind, with gusts reaching 26 knots. It was a tough 1.1-nautical-mile race marked by several incidents, including a collision between two boats, another boat with a broken mast, and numerous retirements. Only 15 of the 23 boats that started the race managed to complete the course.

Victory in the race itself went to the German team Aurora, which had not featured prominently until now but claimed the win in this third round of the IX Puerto Portals Dragon Winter Series.

The overall classification was won by the Swiss Ginko Racing, which arrived at the final day as the series leader and secured the title with a fourth-place finish in the race. Second place overall went to Easy, skippered by Michael Zankel, while the podium was completed by the Swiss boat Jupiter, sailed by Ben Kolff.

The Dragon class season in Puerto Portals will continue in just over a month with the ninth edition of the Mediterranean Cup, to be held from February 19 to 20 and already boasting 50 registered teams. The season’s grand finale will take place in March with the Puerto Portals Dragon Gold Cup, a Grade 0 event on the international calendar, which is expected to attract close to 80 boats on the starting line.