THIRD PLACE IN THE SERIES FOR MASSIMO VATTERONI AND BRUNO GARCÍA AND FOURTH PLACE FOR FELIP MOLL AND JOSÉ LINARES, WHO WERE SAILING PROTO FOR THE FIRST TIME, WERE THE MOST OUTSTANDING POSITIONS OF OUR FLEET. THE WIND CONDITIONS HAVE BEEN VARIED, WITH HARD LULLS AND GUSTS OF UP TO 18 KNOTS, IN A COURSE, THE TRADITIONAL ONE IN THE MARE NOSTRUM, WHICH THE PARTICIPANTS LIKED.
As is often the case in double-handed racing, the combination of veterans and novices is a formidable learning opportunity. This is the case of Massimo Vatteroni, the skipper of Like Crazy, the POGO3 with which Fede Wassman achieved many victories in the past. On this occasion, Massimo has shared the helm with Bruno García, one of the most experienced skippers in the MINI 6.50 class, who also has an IMOCA round the world race to his name. There is no doubt that Bruno has been able to pass on his knowledge to Massimo, who has achieved his best result in this Mare Nostrum since he joined the class. He described his experience with Bruno in this regatta as "doing a Mini master's degree in three days".
Good performance of the Base Mini Barcelona fleet in this regatta, both in PROTO and SERIES, showing that the formula for training sailors applied by Base Mini Barcelona is effective and improves every season. The traditional gap between the French fleet and ours is blurring faster and faster.
The race management decided to delay the start by four hours in order to avoid a front that was due to reach the fleet as it passed to the north of Menorca. The forecast did not come true on this occasion; the front was weaker than expected and passed over the island of Mallorca.
Genis Hontoria and Guillermo Cañardo took the NONA, the Mini 6.50 built at the FNOB, to fifth place in the PROTO category. The development and tuning of the boat by Genis, which started with a first place in the Solo Med, although with many breakdowns, continues satisfactorily. In the Mare Nostrum, the crew has not had to lament any breakdowns. The work that Genís has carried out on the boat over the last few months has been effective.
As a counterpoint to the harsh calms that the fleet has suffered at times, and which affect morale on board, the descent from Menorca to Formentera has given them a formidable sailing, with peaks of more than 13 knots for the PROTOs.
Felip Moll made his debut in this category. Very well matched with José Linares, also from Base Mini Barcelona, the skipper from Club Nàutic Ciutadella took his PROTO Ginjol, which supports the Veles per l'Alzeimer project, to fourth place in his category. The regatta has left the Menorcan skipper with a very good feeling, who admits that he has a lot to learn, but that with a PROTO like this one, he can modify the strategy depending on changes in the weather, as happened in the first lull in Menorca. Felip and José were able to avoid the situation and go in search of more wind on the other side of the race course.
A positive balance for the members of Base Mini Barcelona in this traditional meeting of the Club Nàutic Garraf.
The Base Mini Barcelona fleet continues its preparation for the Mini Transat 2023. More than 15 projects have already entered the dynamic of training, training courses, participation in regattas and, above all, exchange of experiences and knowledge, with the essential support of coaches, trainers and technicians of the Base Mini Barcelona FNOB team.
