Balearic paddlers triumph in the Masters League for Veterans and Young Promises

The strong winds and waves of a meter and a half forced the rest of the paddlers to compete in the shelter of the port in a Real Club Náutico de Palma that managed to get on the podium.

Strong winds and one and a half meter waves did not make things easy for the athletes on the second and final day of competition in the Spanish Sea Kayaking Cup, organized by the Real Club Náutico de Palma (RCNP) and the Balearic Kayak Federation. On the final day, the main protagonist was the double boat. It was also the debut in this discipline of the Inclusive Double, in which one of the paddlers is an athlete with a disability.

Walter Bouzan repeated his great victory in the Downwind, in this case, in the double boat with his partner Nelson Roberto Geringer, both members of the CDPB El Sella. The fastest to complete the course among the Balearics in the flagship event of this last day were Lluc Matas and Joan Rosselló, from the RCNP, who came in fifth place overall and took the runner-up spot in the sub23 category.

The Canarian teams have won the Sea Kayak League of this Spanish Cup with Club de Amigos del Piragüismo de Canarias as champion and Club Piragüismo Marlines de Lanzarote as second place. Only the RCNP has been able to stand on the podium among the Balearic teams in third place. There was a victory for the Balearic Islands in the Veterans Master League where Club de Mar won. In the Young Promises team competition, Marlines of Lanzarote also won, with CV Port d'Andratx in second place and RCNP in third place.

The day began with a bad weather forecast that forced the organizers to plan courses as sheltered as possible from the windstorm. The single-handed sailors and the inclusive double-handed competed on a circuit set up inside the port. Only the double-handed boats left the shelter to compete on a course set up near the Moll Vell. A race only suitable for the bravest, given the harsh weather conditions they faced beyond the harbor shelter.

Not only the location of the circuits was adapted to the weather, but also the distance of all the races. In principle, depending on the category, the races alternated between 3 and 8 kilometers. In the end, all categories and all boats covered a distance of 2 kilometers. The large team of support boats provided by the RCNP was decisive in ensuring that the race was completed without major incidents despite the complicated conditions at sea.

The Spanish Cup, in which almost 400 paddlers from 35 clubs from all over the country took part, was the only event on the national calendar to be held in the Balearic Islands this season.