The Swiss Black Star, owned by Christian Zuerrer, in Cape 31; the Greek Aera, owned by Foti Lykiardopulo, in 6 Metros Internacional; and the Spanish Aurum, owned by Tanit Cabau, in Dragon, are the first leaders of the 54th Princess Sofia Mallorca Trophy by FERGUS Hotels, which set sail today from the Real Club Náutico de Palma (RCNP) with the first day of competition for the one-design classes. The race began in very difficult conditions due to the low wind intensity and the resulting instability.

Despite this, the participants were able to complete two races for each of the classes. The fleet left the RCNP pontoons at 12 noon with the intention of starting the competition an hour later, but it soon became clear that a lot of patience and effort would be needed to complete any races. At around three o’clock in the afternoon, a shifting Mistral breeze of between 6 and 9 knots finally settled. It was light, but enough to get the Sofia underway. At the end of this first race, with the wind vane pointing north-west again and the anemometer reading 10 knots, the Committee ventured to give another start. Although the wind dropped halfway through the course and there were some shifts in the middle of the race course, all the boats managed to cross the finish line.

Debut of the Cape 31

All eyes were on the Cape 31 class, a monotype in full swing making its debut in the Princess Sofia Mallorca Trophy by FERGUS Hotels. This is a ‘purebred’ boat, with lines very similar to those of a TP52, but with a significantly shorter length in which its seven crew members have to find room. As is usually the case in real-time regattas, the differences are minimal and are determined by the work of the crew, both in manoeuvres and tactical decisions. Black Star, with a third and a first place, leads the provisional classification, closely followed, just two points behind, by Richard Goransson’s British Shotgun and Michael Berghorn’s German Halbtrocken 3.1.

In the 6 Metre International class, the Greek boat Aera managed to open up a valuable three-point lead over its compatriot Delphina, skippered by Stratis Andreadis, thanks to two second places, while in Dragon, Aurum, with two first places, gave no chance to its closest rival, the Spanish boat Mr. Nova, owned by RCNP commodore Jorge Forteza, who had to settle for a third and a second place.

The weather forecast is very different for the second day of competition, when the ORC cruisers are scheduled to join the race: the reports announce very strong winds, with gusts that could exceed 40 knots from the north-west. The organisers are waiting to see how the weather front develops before deciding whether to postpone the races until next Sunday.

The ORC one-design and cruiser competition, which brings together 57 boats, serves as a prelude to the Olympic class regatta, which this year will feature almost 800 boats from 54 countries in ten classes and will begin next Monday. The 54th Princess Sofia Mallorca Trophy by FERGUS Hotels for one-design and cruiser boats will conclude on Sunday, 30 March, giving way to the spectacle of the Olympic classes over six intense days.

The 54th Princess Sofia Mallorca Trophy by FERGUS Hotels is jointly organised by the Club Nàutic S’Arenal, the Club Marítimo San Antonio de la Playa, the Real Club Náutico de Palma, the Royal Spanish Sailing Federation and the Balearic Sailing Federation, with the support of World Sailing, and is co-financed by the Sustainable Tourism Tax Fund of the Government of the Balearic Islands.

The event is part of the Sailing Grand Slam 2025, alongside the Semaine Olympique Française, the Dutch Water Week, the Kieler Woche and the Long Beach Olympic Classes Regatta.