A spectacular circumnavigation of the island of Formentera opens the Ibiza JoySail

The Ibiza JoySail 2024 kicked off with the traditional and spectacular circumnavigation of the island of Formentera, featuring a course of 23.62 nautical miles, where the 18 superyachts participating in the Balearic regatta sailed around the Pitiusan island in a time of between 2 and 3 hours, with east (levante) winds exceeding 14-15 knots in intensity, which decreased to 10.

The route chosen by the Race Committee started from Punta Prima heading east, keeping the island of Formentera to starboard, rounding Punta de la Creu, passing in front of Mitjorn beach, rounding Cabo Berbería, and finishing near the islet of Gastabi.

The Swan 115 Moat was the fastest boat in the entire fleet, with a time of 2 hours and 7 minutes. This also made it the first leader overall in the Performance class, ahead of the 195-foot giant Maximus in second and Morgana, with Luis Doreste as tactician, in third.

The Gelliceaux, a SW108 Hybrid, won in the Cruising Performance L class, surpassing Kiboko Tres by just two minutes, while Liberty took third place.

One of the boats making its season debut, the Open Season captained by Hugo Ramón, showed that it will be a contender to watch. A classic of the Ibiza JoySail, Dark Horse, is in second position, and Pink Gin is in third.

L'Hippocampe leads in the World Cruiser L class, with Nostromo in second and the only Spanish boat in the race, Alarife Cien, owned by Juan Entrecanales, in third. In World Cruiser XL, another boat familiar with the Ibiza JoySail, the Dubois 120 Bliss, dominated, followed by Aurelius and Gitana.

Nacho Postigo, race director and navigator of Maximus, explained after this first day of racing that "it has been very beautiful, with a very interesting upwind leg, followed by a spinnaker leg of nine miles, with a very interesting finish at the arrival where there were many different sailing options due to the variability of the wind."