All to play for in the IQFoil and Techno 293 Junior Spanish Cup

The IQFoil and Techno 293 Youth Spanish Cup, organized by the Club Nàutic Sa Ràpita (CNR), continues in the waters of the south of Mallorca from this Monday until tomorrow, Thursday 28th of March, bringing together more than 170 sailors from 8 autonomous communities to compete during three days of competition for the national title in the sub17 and sub19 categories for IQFoil and sub13, sub15, sub17 and Techno Plus for Techno 293.

After a first day of racing marked by harsh weather conditions with a strong wind and two-meter waves, this Wednesday, the hardness of the wind and especially the waves prevented the scheduled races from being held. Tete Sabaté, race officer of the Techno Area, celebrates that "Despite the difficult conditions we found on Tuesday, we managed to do four races for all categories, one more than scheduled, in anticipation of the hard part of today. The last task was a risky one, but fortunately we managed it with great success. Overall, it was a good day of sailing with wind and waves that the sailors enjoyed, especially as it was a national championship," he says. 

As for the development of the championship for the IQFoil class, "the weather forecast predicted a fairly strong wind on Tuesday, but nevertheless it did not exceed 16 knots. So we had five races. The first races were on course (a course with a downwind start, which includes sailing on all possible courses, upwind, downwind and downwind), and we were also able to do slalom (a course with a downwind start where the average speed of 20 knots turns these races into very fast races for the class, lasting just 4 minutes). There are not many occasions when you can celebrate both modalities in a single day, and the fleet behaved very well", says Inés Cabrer, regatta officer of the IQFoil class area.

As for the second day, "Although the wind wasn't really too strong, the wave conditions, especially at the entrance, were too rough, so safety took precedence over the show," says Sabaté. 

"Looking ahead to tomorrow, although the forecast is not too favorable, we are counting on being able to go out and race. We've come here to sail, we don't mind getting up early or returning to port at sunset," Cabrer points out. "Sa Ràpita is an incredible spot for sailing, with a spectacular bay facing south and a privileged environment", concludes Sabaté.

Be that as it may, of the 5 races scheduled for IQ Foil, 5 have already been held, and of the 9 races scheduled for Techno 293, 4 have been held. Thus, in both categories, the minimum number of races necessary to consider the competition valid has already been met, so that, whatever happens, tomorrow there will be a trophy presentation at the CNR.

So the competition is still open for tomorrow and this Spanish Cup remains alive until this Holy Thursday. This championship, thoroughly prepared by the club thanks to the support of the Balearic Sailing Federation and different yacht clubs in Mallorca, who have provided inflatable boats and other materials to carry out the logistics and needs of the regattas, represents one of the initial steps of a very ambitious year at a sporting level. 2024 is a year of logistical and sporting challenges for the CNR, which is consolidating its position as a benchmark club in the field of dinghy sailing on a national and international scale. After successfully hosting the Balearic Islands Techno 293 and IQFOIL Championships a few weeks ago, this Spanish Championship serves the club as a logistical and organizational preparation for this year's big sporting event at the CNR: the IQFOIL Junior World Championship, which will be held from the 26th of October to the 2nd of November. On these dates, the club will host for the first time this competition, which will bring together some 400 sailors from 31 different countries for 6 days of racing.