48th Palamós Christmas Race Day 3
by Jaume Soler 22 Dec 11:05 NZDT
18-22 December 2024
The 29er fleet sailing in Palamós - 48th Palamós Christmas Race © Alfred Farré
The penultimate day of the 48th Palamós Christmas Race saw some classes, such as the 29er class with the Poles Symon Kolka and Bartorsz Zmudzinski, in 420 the Italians Alessio Cindolo and Sara Valente and in ILCA 4 the Argentinean Bruno Römer, very well on course for the final victory. While in the ILCA 6 class, Swiss Ulysse Raison will have to fight harder as he has a minimal difference.
The day started again with some delay due to the late entry of the wind, which when it did come in after 12 noon, blew softly from the south, barely exceeding 6-7 knots, causing some starts to be aborted due to the total fall of the wind. Even so, two races were sailed in all classes, except the 420, which only sailed one.
Kolka and Zmudzinski regain the lead in the 29er class
The Polish crews are not giving any options in the 29er class, the leadership has been exchanged between them, until this Saturday Symon Kolka and Bartosz Zmudzinski decided to give almost sentenced the regatta, winning the two races of the day and discarding the fifth place of Friday, so they are firm leaders with five points ahead of their compatriots Antonina Puchowska and Alicja Dampc, who are second absolute and first female. Five points behind, in third position are the Swiss Ilke Huber and Liam Berger, who will start the last day with the mission of defending the podium, as the Italians Cosimo del Bimbo and Leonardo Scarpelini and the French Quentin Bourrust and Gautier Neau are fourth and fifth respectively, one point behind the Swiss crew. The best Spanish crew is Inés Martín-Urda and Natalia Méndez (RCN Gran Canaria), who are seventh.
Cindolo and Valente hold their own in the 420 class
Meanwhile, the Italian teams have been joined by the Spaniards in the top ten. While Alessio Cindolo and Sara Valente remain in the lead after finishing second in the only race sailed, they have been approached by Maria Blanco and Alex Camps (CN El Balís) who are already second after finishing third and discarding a seventeenth place, once a discard has come into play after the celebration of the fourth race. The Italians Nicolás Margaria and Edoardo Cavero provisionally close the podium in third position, tied on points with Giuseppe Bicochi and Gemma Giovanelli. The Canary Islands-Balearic crew of Miguel Méndez and Diego Coronado (RCN Gran Canaria/Ca'n Pastilla), fifth, and the Andalusian crew of José Antonio Ruíz and Vicente Hernández (CN Puerto Sherry), seventh, have entered the top ten.
Raison returns to first in ILCA 6
In ILCA 6, the Swiss Ulysse Raison regained the lead after a sixth and a first, which puts him at the top of the table with one day to go, overtaking the Italian Rayene El Haddadi, who is three points behind, in second position. Third place goes to Guillem de Llanos (CN Sant Feliu de Guíxols) who won the first leg and although he did a 45 in the second, he discards this position and has to do very well on the final day if he wants to stay in this privileged position in the table.
Römer leading from the start in ILCA 4
Argentina's Bruno Römer is the clear leader going into the final day. The Argentinean, who is the only one in the whole competition to be first since the opening day, managed to open up a gap and today he has scored two first places that catapult him into the lead. The difference with the second, the Swiss Leanne Turrin -female first- is seven points and ten with the third, the Catalan Joan Camats (CN Arenys de Mar). Fourth and second female is Mireia Garriga (CN Sant Feliu de Guíxols).
This Sunday, the last day of the 48th Palamós Christmas Race, will start at 11 am and the deadline for the start is 15.30 pm. The prize-giving ceremony is scheduled for 5 p.m. in the Platja Gran Village.
Results can be found here.