Felip Moll Prepares for the Second Stage of the 10th Edition of the SAS Oceanic Regatta

Felip Moll Marquès, a Menorcan, is participating with his prototype Mini 6.50 in an oceanic regatta that involves sailing from Les Sables d'Olonne to the Azores and back. In total, it's approximately 2500 nautical miles. He arrived last Tuesday, July 30th, and will set off again this coming Sunday, August 4th.

This past Tuesday, July 30th, at three in the morning, after 10 intense days of sailing, Felip Moll and his prototype "Ginjol 931" reached their destination, the port of Horta on Faial Island, thus concluding the first stage of the tenth edition of the SAS Oceanic Regatta. Upon finishing this first stage, the sailor commented that "it was a very strategically entertaining regatta with two very challenging moments." The first was a front in the Bay of Biscay with sustained winds of up to 38 knots and waves of 3 to 4 meters, where, for the first time since competing with "Ginjol," he was forced to hoist the storm jib to safely withstand these conditions.

The second tough moment was the final calm, where it took him over 24 hours to cover the last 20 miles due to the Azores high positioning itself over the fleet. He stated that these hours required a great deal of mental fortitude.

Additionally, he suffered a breakage of the bowsprit while planing at 17 knots past Cape Finisterre, which delayed him for 24 hours as he devised an emergency solution.

"It was a tough regatta, and unfortunately other competitors had to abandon due to issues like orcas, broken keels, masts, hulls, or even electronic problems," and a fire on board that caused Mateo Le Calvic to lose the mini April Marine.

Now, Felip is repairing the bowsprit and preparing his strategy to continue with the second stage, which will begin on Sunday, August 4th, heading back to Les Sables d'Olonne.