A storm marks the start of the VII Puerto Portals Dragon Winter Series

The seventh edition of the Puerto Portals Dragon Winter Series will kick off this Friday with a fleet of 16 boats from six countries. The competition, fully consolidated in the European Dragon class calendar, has brought forward its return to the Bay of Palma in October.

As in previous years, the VII Puerto Portals Dragon Winter Series will consist of four events and a maximum of 24 races. After this weekend's premiere, the competition will return from the 10th to the 12th of November, from the 15th to the 17th of December and from the 19th to the 21st of January. The heats will be accumulated into an overall circuit ranking, the winner of which will be announced at the final round.

Marta Reynés, sports director of the Club de Regatas Puerto Portals, organizer of the regatta, explained that one of the new features of this year's edition is that the fourth and final round, to be held in January, will be considered the Balearic Dragon Class Championship, so more local crews are expected to join in.

Among the boats that have confirmed their participation in the competition is Jan Eckert's Australian yacht "Yeahnah", last year's winner of the Puerto Portals Dragon Winter Series, with a crew that knows the conditions in the Bay of Palma in the winter months. Among the favorites are the German "Goldkante", helmed by Tanja Jacobsohn, who was one of the leaders of the competition last season, and the Portuguese "Easy", who won the Puerto Portals Dragon Gran Prix a year ago.

The VII Puerto Portals Dragon Winter Series will get underway this Friday with the skippers' meeting at 10.00 a.m. The warning signal for the first start will be given that same day at 12.00 hours, while on Saturday and Sunday the races will start at 11.00 hours. The Committee will try to complete two races per day.

Weather forecasts predict rain and strong westerly winds of over 20 knots for the opening day of the regatta. The Race Committee is awaiting the evolution of the storm to decide if there will be racing on the first day. Conditions are expected to improve on Saturday.

The 2023-24 season of this class in Puerto Portals will not end with the Dragon Winter Series. From the 22nd to the 25th of February, the entity will host the VII Mediterranean Cup, a competition that will put the finishing touch to the regattas and which will once again place the epicenter of the European circuit of this historic craft in Mallorca.