If day one of the Trofeo Princesa Sofia Regatta in Palma was the start of the road to Marseilles in 2024, then it must have felt a bit like the traffic jams that are so much a feature of the start of the summer holidays. Starts, abandonments, followed by re-starts, and then finally being sent back to shore highlight the levels of frustration experienced by all.

In the end, just the one race was completed for the ILCA 7 and Men’s iQFOiL fleets, including some great results from the Aussies.

Australian Sailing Team (AST) High Performance Director, Iain Brambell said, “Unfortunately it was a frustrating start to Palma for the sailors today, as it was initially sunny but with very light winds, and then overcast but very shifty. This meant many races were abandoned across all the courses.

“In many of these abandoned races we saw Australians battling at the front, which the sailors can take confidence from, heading into the days ahead.”

ILCA 6 sailor and Tokyo 2020 Olympian, Mara Stransky of the Australian Sailing Squad, was certainly at the very pointy end of the fleet during their two abandoned races today. They completed two thirds of both them, which only added to the frustration for all.

Mara Stransky CREDIT Beau Outteridge

Stransky was in the lead of the first, and was in a similar position in the second before receiving a penalty.

Smiling and understated as always, Stansky said, “It was trying to be a sea breeze during our first attempt, and the second was in a cloud driven mess.

“I think I was going to have a good day if we actually finished the races. It did not end up amazing, but a nice way to start. It was great practice just to get out there and mix up with some really good sailors.”

AST ILCA 7 sailor, Matt Wearn OAM, highlighted just how challenging the day was for all, and commented; “Only yellow fleet completed a race today. A cloud-affected day meant it was a tough job for the Race Committee, with lots of attempts to get a start in.

“I had an average start on the one that got away, due to the boats around me being over, but managed to chip away during the race and pick some good shifts to get back to 4th place at the finish.”

Australian ILCA 7 contingent CREDIT Beau Outteridge

Arthur Brett, the AST iQFOiL Coach, commented on both the conditions, and explained the different scoring set up for the boarders, “The day had a bit of everything. Sun, rain, big wind shifts, and wind strength between 3 and 11 knots. IQFOiL class men did slalom racing, which was divided into heats of 23 competitors in each. One complete round and then half of the second were completed before the wind shut down. Grae Morris had an 8th, Harry Joyner a 9th and Steve Allen an 18th.

“The points system is complicated. The slalom race scores of each competitor is doubled, and then has one point subtracted to give them a race score. Therefore, Grae received 15 points, Harry 17 and Steve 35.”

iQFOIL racer, Grae Morris of the Australian Sailing Squad said, “Today was a day of weird winds and rain. We raced just the one slalom heat throughout the four hours on water. I had an average start, but pushed through to the finish, catching back up to 8th place. I was keen to get into more racing, but because of no wind we were sent in. Currently everyone is super close together, so it’ll be some tight racing tomorrow to determine the gold and silver fleet splits.”

Grae Morris CREDIT Beau Outteridge

Racing in the Trofeo Princesa Sofia Regatta in Palma is from April 3, and concludes with the medal races on April 8, 2023.

Visit the event website for full results.

Australian Sailing Team (AST), Australian Sailing Squad (ASS), Australian Sailing Futures (ASF) and Australian sailors at the Trofeo Princesa Sofia Regatta:

Men’s ILCA 7 – 188 Entries

Matt Wearn (AST)

Ethan Mcaullay (ASS)

Zac Littlewood (ASS)

Luke Elliott (ASS)

Finn Alexander (ASS)

Stefan Elliott-Shircore (ASF)

Sam King (ASF)

Will Sargent (ASF)

Women’s ILCA 6 – 112 Entries

Zoe Thomson (AST)

Mara Stransky (ASS)

Casey Imeneo (ASS)

Elyse Ainsworth (ASS)

Paige Caldecoat (ASF)

Sylvie Stannage (ASF)

Mixed 470 – 72 Entries

Nia Jerwood and Conor Nicholas (ASS)

Sophie Jackson and Angus Higgins (ASF)

Men’s 49er – 101 Entries

Jim Colley and Shaun Connor (AST)

Tom Burton OAM and Max Paul (ASS)

Tom Needham and Joel Turner (ASS)

Tom Cunich and Miles Davey (ASF)

David Gilmour and Simon Hoffman (AUS)

Women’s 49erFX – 64 Entries

Tess Lloyd and Dervla Duggan (ASS)

Olivia Price and Evie Haseldine (ASS)

Laura Harding and Annie Wilmot (ASS)

Mixed Nacra 17 – 53 Entries

Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin (AST)

Jake Liddell and Lucy Copeland (ASS)

Brin Liddell and Rhiannan Brown (ASF)

Archie Gargett and Sarah Hoffman (ASF)

Rueben and Rita Booth (AUS)

Men’s iQFOiL – 138 Entries

43^rd - Grae Morris (ASS) - 15

49^th - Harry Joyner (ASS) - 17

103^rd - Stephen Allen (ASS) - 35

113^th - Jack Marquardt (AUS) - 39

Women’s iQFOiL – 100 Entries

Samantha Costin (ASS)

Men’s Formula Kite – 81 Entries

Hector Paturau (ASS)

Oscar Timm (ASF)

Women’s Formula Kite – 53 Entries

Breiana Whitehead (AST)

By John Curnow