It’s the big finale, the decisive last day of the 41st Copa del Rey. Two teams seem to be in the frame for the overall top Copa del Rey trophy, both holding a full hand of aces.
In the fifteen boat strong Majorica ORC Class 2 Javier Banderas’ defending champions Teatro del Soho CaixaBank leads with their perfect scoreline which includes 1 point for leading the Preliminary Series and then scoring three back to back wins. That performance is matched in Majorica ORC Class 3 where the Italian flagged Scugnizza Ca’n Eduardo is also unbeaten in the Finals series and won their Preliminary series. They have Portuguese triple Olympian and The Ocean Race sailor Diogo Cayollo leading a team which has won three times already at Copa del Rey.
Meantime the highly competitive ClubSwan 50 class sees Marcus Brennecke’s Hatari looking to close out their second Copa del Rey title in as many years. Their lead is just a single point. Navigator Michele Ivaldi says ‘we should be OK if we don’t shoot ourselves in the foot’. But the pressure is on them with three teams behind within three points.
Ivaldi says, “We should get a good breeze more from the west again around midday, the wind will be too far west for a sea breeze. And we are on Bravo course out by Arenal. We should get two good races maybe three if we were to get going on time but I think it will be still light then.”
In the ClubSwan 42 contest the showdown is between old adversaries Nadir and Pez de Abril (which is Spanish for April Fish). The rivalry between the respective tacticians Rayco Tabares of Nadir and Portugal’s Olympic medallist, North Sails’ Hugo Rocha on Pez de Abril dates back to their respective J/80 days and it will be fascinating to see which team comes out on top today. Second placed Pez de April need two races and to have more than one boat between them on both races or three boats between them in one race.
Otherwise Palibex-Elena Nova (ESP) lead into the final races in Majorica ORC 1, Just the Job (GBR) in Majorica ORC 4, Dorsa Coviran (ESP) in Mallorca Sotheby’s Women’s Cup and Patakín (ESP) in Herbalife J/70.
