The Gran Canarian María Cantero showed mastery of the Lanzarote regatta course in a complicated day with strong winds and big waves, getting a second place along with Patricia Suárez from Vigo. However, the first place was held by the Finns Ronja Grönblom and Veera Hokka.
The men's 49er class was led by the Americans Andrew Mollerus and Ian Macdiarmid, followed by the Germans Maximilian Stingele and Linov Scheel and the Spaniards Diego Botín and Florian Trittel, who made their debut as a pair.
Among the ILCA 7s, Michael Beckett's British showed consistency to lead after day 1, followed by the Finnish boat crewed by Nooa Laukkanen and fellow Brit led by Elliot Hanson.
In this second part of the Lanzarote International Regatta for the Olympic sailing classes 49er, 49erFX and ILCA 7 with hard wind conditions and big waves, plus winds between 16 and 19 knots, which caused some boats and beacons to claw, which has delayed the races. Despite the bad weather, the Spaniards María Cantero and Patricia Suárez proved to dominate the Lanzarote regatta course, achieving the best position of the Spanish team, starting strong with a second place in the overall 49erFX classification, closely followed by the Belgians Isaura Maenhaut and Anouk Geurts. However, the first place belongs to the Finns Ronja Grönblom and Veera Hokka.
According to the Canarian sailor, the conditions have been tough, with quite a lot of swells that make the control of the boat and the weather play an important role in the regatta. "We are using this regatta to improve our equipment and today's conditions were perfect for that, so we are happy to keep adding hours," María Cantero said. Favourates BRA and BEL both missed one race but are sure to bounce back tomorrow.
Another stand out pair on the first day in the men's 49er class and who debut in the Lanzarote International Regatta are the Cantabrian Diego Botin and the Catalan Florian Trittel, who debut with a victory in the first leg, and a third place in the overall standings, behind the Americans Andrew Mollerus and Ian Macdiarmid and the Germans Maximilian Stingele and Linov Scheel. "It has been a day with very good conditions, a bit at the limit for us to be able to keep the boat, there have been quite a few capsizes, we have had a couple too as we have made some mistakes that did not let us be further ahead, but we are happy with how we have sailed," Botin commented.
Among the 49er also highlights another Canary Islander, Andrés Barrio, who competes with Antonio Torrado from Alicante, and who start the regatta in sixth place in the overall standings, followed by the duo competing for the Balearic Federation formed by Elías Aretz and the Mallorcan Albert Torres (seventh place). "Today has been a day with very complicated wind and wave conditions for sailing, since there were many possibilities of getting a puncture when a wave came down and capsizing," explained the sailor from Gran Canaria. In his opinion, the key to obtaining good results was to have a lot of control of the boat to avoid compromising situations. "It has been a lot of fun to compete in these conditions, from my point of view and from what we have commented among all the sailors, it has been a challenge for everyone to complete the course without complications," said Barrio.
On the ILCA race course, the conditions were great, three races were sailed. Michael Beckett's GBR finished top 6 in every race. Second over is Nooa Laukkanen from Finland with Elliot Hanson third. The Spanish sailors is not far behind both in the top 10: the Menorcan Joan Cardona (seventh place) and the Canary Islander Joel Rodriguez (eighth). Cardona won a bronze medal in the Finn class at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, while the sailor from the Real Club Náutico de Gran Canaria was proclaimed ILCA 7 Spanish champion.
