54th Trofeo Princesa Sofia Mallorca by FERGUS - ORC Racer Cruiser and One Design classes crowned
by Trofeo S.A.R. Princesa Sofía 30 Mar 20:39 BST
28 March - 5 April 2025
54th Trofeo Princesa Sofia Mallorca by FERGUS - ORC Racer Cruiser and One Design class prizegiving © Laura G. Guerra / Trofeo Princesa Sofía
The competition program for the ORC Cruising and One Design classes concluded after three days of varied conditions on the Bay of Palma. These races served as a prologue to the Olympic class regatta, which will bring together nearly 800 boats from 54 countries on the Bay of Palma from Monday, March 31, to Saturday, April 5.
Otto Pohlmann's German Meerblick in the Cape 31; Fito Lykiardopulo's Greek Aera in the 6 Meters; and Tanit Cabau's Spanish boat Aurum in the Dragon were the winners of the one design classes at the 54th Trofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca by FERGUS Hotels.
In the ORC class, victory went to Eric Tejedor's Viking IX in ORC 1-2; Xisco Pou's Merengue V in ORC 3-5; Eduardo Horrach's boat Azuree in ORC A2; and Marcus Zinth's German boat Painkiller in Sportboat.
After Saturday was blown out with winds which were too strong for racing, the 57 boats competing were finally able to enjoy ideal conditions in the Bay of Palma. The steady northwesterly wind, averaging 12 knots, allowed for a complete day's program. The One Design classes, with three races, and the full-crew ORCs, with two, competed on windward/leeward courses, while the ORC A2s - double handed - sailed one 25-nautical-mile coastal course.
The one-designs added their day's results to the two race aggregate from Friday. To compensate for the blank Saturday, the Race Committee advanced the start times: the one-designs started at 11:00 a.m., and the ORC fleet began its start procedures an hour later.
At the end of the regatta, the Sala Magna of the Real Club Náutico de Palma (RCNP) hosted the awards ceremony. Manu Fraga, the club's director, positively assessed the event's progress and considered the cancellation of the second day of competition to be the right decision: "Although there was an attempt to start the ORCs, in the end, fleet safety took precedence. We knew we would have a good day for sailing today, and that's what happened. The Sofía Cruising and One Design race is a very important regatta for local teams, and each year it adds a new one design. This time it was the Cape 31, whose European Championship we will host in October."
Full results: cruceromonotipo.trofeoprincesasofia.org/en/default/races/race-resultsall
The Bay of Palma Goes Olympic
With the ORC Cruising and One Design program complete, the 54th Trofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca by FERGUS Hotels will transform the Bay of Palma into a global centre for Olympic classes. The event, which brings together all ten disciplines of the current Olympic cycle, will run from Monday, March 31, to Saturday, April 5. The entry list consists of nearly 800 boats from 54 nationalities, including 12 sailing medalists from Paris 2024 and a combination of established crews and promising newcomers.
The 54th Trofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca by FERGUS Hotels is jointly organized 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 co-financed by the Sustainable Tourism Tax fund of the Balearic Islands Government.
Event website: www.trofeoprincesasofia.org