The first round of the 60th Gran Día de la Vela - Bufete Frau crowns its winners

The first block of the 60th edition of the Gran Día de la Vela - Bufete Frau has come to an end after holding races on Saturday, Sunday, and this Monday for the Optimist (sub11 and Optimist D), Techno 293 (u15 and u13), Open IQ Foil (u19 and Sr), and IQ Foil sub17 classes. It has been a weekend of meteorological contrasts.

The first day was marked by very shifty and unstable winds, which prevented the holding of the scheduled heats for the IQ Foil class and only allowed two races for Optimist sub11 and Optimist D and another two for Techno 203. On the second day, the wind blew from early in the morning with an average intensity of between 17 and 18 knots, reaching gusts of up to 24 knots, which forced the Optimist D class sailors to stay ashore, but at the same time allowed 6 races for the IQ Foil classes.

On this last day of the first round of the oldest and most emblematic regatta of Club Nàutic s’Arenal (CNA), the weather conditions were very similar to Sunday, with a northeast wind (gregal) blowing on the two racecourses set up by the Committee, one for the IQfoil and Techno classes and another for the Optimist D and sub11.

The activity in the water started at 12 noon for the boards, raising the delta for the Open IQfoil, sub19, and sub17 classes, whose sailors faced 4 races for the Open and sub19 and 3 races for the sub17 on Monday, sailing with an average intensity of 15 knots with gusts of 22 knots.

After 10 races held over the last 3 days, Ramón Villalonga (CN Sa Ràpita) was the champion of IQfoil sub19, followed by Jorge Ruiz (CNA) and Matteo Gozzi (Club Surf Formentera). Meanwhile, in the sub17 division, Enric Patiño (CNA) took first place, followed by his club mate Juan Terrasa, and in third place, Miquel Servera (Club Regatas de Madrid).

In the Techno 293 class, the rivalry and competition between Joan Servera (CNA) and Joshua Castro (CMSAP) stood out throughout the trophy, who, after 9 races, scored very similar results, with four victories each. Finally, it was the S’Arenal sailor who took the glory, by a margin of just one point. With a more than meritorious performance, Biel Martorell (CMSAP) closed the Techno sub15 podium.

If the boards went into the water at 12 noon, it was not until 2 pm, after the wind intensity slightly dropped, when the races for the Optimist sub11 began. Shortly after, with 10 knots in the Bay of Palma, the youngest of the trophy, the Optimist D (beginners) who could not compete yesterday due to the aggressiveness of the wind intensity, began their day.

After 7 races completed for the Optimist sub11, the competitiveness between the two sailors from Club Nàutic S’Estanyol was spectacular, and if yesterday ended with a technical tie between Martí Clar and Martina Palmero, today, thanks to the discards and their performances in the first two days, they were able to secure the first two positions on the podium thanks to the application of discarding their worst race, as the third-place finisher, Pablo Medina (Real Club Náutico de Gran Canaria), tightened up, winning 2 races today, finishing third overall just one point behind second place and 3 from the lead.

Closing the day, it was the turn of the debutants, the Optimist D, who, with slightly less wind on this third day, were able to hold 2 races, which, added to the 2 on Saturday, marked 4 races in their tally, with Leonor Truyols (RCNP) standing out as the class leader, Marina Baos (CN Cala Gamba) in second place, and Marc Serrano (CN Sant Antoni) closing the podium.

Next week, from Thursday 29th to Sunday 1st September, the races for Cruisers, Latin sailing, Optimist, ILCA 4, ILCA 6, and 420 will take place, with a massive trophy ceremony as the final touch to this 60th edition of the Gran Día de la Vela – Bufete Frau. 

This last weekend will also see the 60th Anniversary Commemorative Regatta on August 31st, in which all classes will participate together, with a single start and scoring using a rating system that will consider, through a scale, the characteristics of each class. Thus, nearly half a thousand boats will coincide in the water, which represents a significant logistical challenge for the club. That same day, there will also be regattas for Latin sailing and cruisers, as well as the XXI Travesía Sa Milla CNA - Cala Blava, a prestigious open-water swimming event with charitable purposes.

The Gran Día de la Vela - Bufete Frau is the longest-running regatta organized by Club Nàutic S’Arenal and in this edition, it has a historical dimension as it celebrates its 60th anniversary. The meeting brings together top-level athletes from the nautical scene, representing dozens of nautical clubs from all over Spain. In total, about 600 local and national sailors from nine autonomous communities (Balearic Islands, Catalonia, Murcia, Canary Islands, Andalusia, Cantabria, Valencian Community, Basque Country, and Galicia) are competing these days at the CNA.

The event, already established in the regatta calendar of the Bay of Palma, is possible thanks to the collaboration of Bufete Frau. A company whose founder, José Frau Greenfield, has a historical relationship with the club where he was trained and where he has sailed since he was a child, achieving a commendable track record, with titles such as Optimist world runner-up (1983), champion of Spain in Class Europe in 1984 and world runner-up in Class Europe in 1985. The family saga continued its steps sailing at the CNA, so not only a commercial relationship unites them, but also an emotional one.

As a novelty, to Bufete Frau as the main sponsor, this year Sa Calma Boat joins as a silver sponsor. Also sponsoring the event are La Menorquina, providing ice creams throughout the event, and Marine Pool, providing the technical shirts given to the sailors, which each year are a different color: if last year they were blue and the previous one red, in this 60th edition, they will be white. Many participating athletes, friends, and club members collect them as if they were practically another trophy.