Princess Sofia Trophy in Palma, Majorca - Team GBR Day 1

Morrison and Rhodes take early lead

British 49er sailors Stevie Morrison and Ben Rhodes got off to a flying start amidst frustrating conditions on the opening day of the Princess Sofia Trophy in Palma, Majorca, on Sunday (1 April).

With the winds out in Palma Bay light and unpredictable, just seven of the eleven Olympic classes managed to see any action on Sunday, with the Exmouth-based European Champions Morrison and Rhodes gaining the perfect start to the regatta, with a win from their only race of the day seeing them into joint first place overall alongside Denmark’s Peter and Soren Hansen, and Spain’s Federico and Arturo Alonso.

Fellow Skandia Team GBR sailors Paul Campbell James and Mark Asquith were ahead of teammates Morrison and Rhodes, who were back in fifth place at one stage of the race when Rhodes made a good prediction on a wind shift to boost them up into pole position.

49er World Champions Chris Draper and Simon Hiscocks also saw a solid start to their regatta, crossing in third in their only race of the day to put them into seventh place on the leaderboard, while Campbell James and Asquith ended the day in 22nd place overall.

The Tornado class is contesting its European Championship in conjunction with the Princess Sofia Trophy this week. Former world silver medallists Leigh McMillan and Will Howden started their campaign on a positive note – in spite of the 1.5 hour wait on their race course for the wind to fill in – and crossed in second place in the fleet’s only race of the day. McMillan and Howden therefore finish the day in second place overall, with Howden pleased with progress so far.

“Today was a good day for us,” he explained. “Our boat speed was good with our new sails so we are very happy. There is plenty of work to do over the next few days, but we are looking forward to the challenge.”

The Yngling class managed to finish one race on Sunday, with the first four places on the leaderboard occupied by Russian and Dutch crews. Sarah Ayton, Sarah Webb and Pippa Wilson are the highest placed British crew, in seventh place after the first race, with Shirley Robertson, Annie Lush and Lucy Macgregor hot on their heels in eighth place overall.

Max Holloway and Laura Baldwin are the highest placed British sailors in the Laser and Laser Radial events at the end of racing on Sunday, while sailors in the Finn, 470 women, and RS:X men’s and women’s events saw no action due to the light and fickle winds.

With only one out of the three race groups in the 470 men’s event completing a race, there are currently no overall standings for that class. Athens silver medallists Nick Rogers and Joe Glanfield will be Skandia Team GBR’s best hopes for success when the 470 men finally get underway – World Champions Nic Asher and Elliot Willis have been sidelined with Willis having sustained a shoulder injury.

With Iain Percy and Andrew Simpson in Valencia on America’s Cup duty, there’s no British interest in the 41-boat Star fleet here in Palma. Brazil’s eight-time Laser World Champion Robert Scheidt and crew Bruno Prada lead the field after two races on day one, with New Zealand’s reigning Star World Champions Hamish Pepper and David Giles in second.

Further light winds are expected across Palma Bay tomorrow (Monday), with racing at the Princess Sofia Trophy running through until Friday 6 April. For results and regatta information visit www.skandiateamgbr.com/events/princsoftrop