One felt the classic fleet at the fifth edition of the HUBLOT Palma Vela was a little low in attendance but the fluky breeze and competitive racing, in addition to the shore-side entertainment, made the first major Mediterranean regatta of the year a success.
---Moonbeam IV(above) powered up at the head of the fleet---
In the Vintage class the 105’(32m) Moonbeam IV sailed down from France and joined two other beautiful gaff cutters, Marigan and Ilex. The Bermudan ketch, Enterprise and the schooner, Freda, completed the class.
Argos, Snipe IV, Merengue IV and the ‘King’s yacht’, Giraldilla, made up the Classic division and all sat beautifully stern-to the Real Club Nautico terrace.
Racing on the Friday started in about 12 knots of breeze with Enterprise rounding the windward mark first due to her superior pointing ability. Marigan didn’t have the best start but found a convenient wind shift up the right hand side of the course enabling her to round the mark shortly after Moonbeam IV (Moonbeam IV sporting a tiny jib inappropriate for the conditions). Ilex and Freda followed. With the wind so fickle the downwind leg became a light upwind parade of sail to the southwest corner of the bay followed by a close-hauled sail back to the finish. ---On board Marigan(above)--- ---Ilex and Marigan battle it out(below)---
Saturday brought light airs again in a course that stretched out to the east of the bay with a gate enabling the results to be divided into two races. There was some great sailing on a close reach between Ilex and Marigan. Ilex was happily pulling away under main, topsail and headsails until the decision was made to hoist the gennaker. Marigan closed the gap keeping high, and over a mile or so gradually sailed above the frustrated Ilex crew. Their subsequent gennaker tack-line failure at the next mark increased the gap irreparably.
During the evening there was a chance to ‘taste’ Mahou beer, Codorniu Cava (with clever plastic funnels that allowed crew to drink straight from the bottles) and local wine from the José Luís Ferrer Bodegas of Binissalem. There were incredible giant sized paella-looking dishes, advertised as a ‘Mallorcan style dinner’ that, depending on which one you were served, had chicken or meatballs……and a lot of potatoes! A local band, ‘Funky Time’ provided the music and ambiance for the night’s antics.
Sunday’s hangovers brought further fickle breeze with a course similar to that of Friday and having Nespresso as a sponsor proved beneficial for many of the crew. Moonbeam and Freda had dropped out, Moonbeam having to return to France before the mistral set in and perhaps had to search for their missing jib! The three forecasts in Real Club Nautico all displayed conflicting wind directions and speeds, and those who didn’t look ahead on the racecourse were going to lose out. The downwind leg turned into a beat and the final mile to the finish had the over-canvassed rigs straining against a fresh 15-kn land breeze. Enterprise, Ilex, Argos and Giraldilla all had excellent sails.
---Giradilla taking it easy(below)---
Prize giving rounded the regatta up perfectly with further complementary drinks and eats. Hublot watches were presented to those who came first and maybe appropriately Nespresso machines for second place.
For final results see below:
HUBLOT PALMAVELA 2009 - CLASSIC
Pos Yacht Year Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Race 4 Total Points
1 Argos 1964 1 1 1 1 4
2 Giraldilla 1962 3 3 2 2 10
3 Merengue IV 1964 2 2 3 3 10
4 Snipe IV 1952 4 4 4 4 16
HUBLOT PALMA VELA 2009 - VINTAGE
Pos Yacht Year Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Race 4 Total Points
1 Marigan 1898 1 1 1 3 6
2 Enterprise 1939 2 2 2 1 7
3 Ilex 1899 3 3 3 2 11
4 Moonbeam IV 1914 4 4 4 6 18
5 Freda 1978 5 6 6 6 23
---The beautiful Livingstone design, Marigan---
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Article ID : 36
Article ID : 32
