The most prestigious sailing competition in the Mediterranean comes to an end this Saturday, with all categories still wide open. The 44th Mapfre King’s Cup faces its decisive day of racing this Saturday after an intense penultimate round of competition that defined the title contenders in the six participating classes. With the start of the final series, the margin for error has been reduced to a minimum, and everything is on the line in a two-race showdown in Palma Bay. The TP52 Hispania, which competed on Friday without King Felipe VI on board due to his official visit to Colombia, maintains fourth place in the Abanca ORC 0 class. This and the other categories are gearing up for a finish that is expected to be a virtual photo finish.
After three days of the Preliminary Series, Friday marked the start of the Final Series, in which each regatta counts 50 percent more toward the overall standings than those previously sailed, and the discard rule no longer applies. This format rewards consistency and penalizes any mistakes. The conditions in Palma Bay allowed the scheduled program to be completed in all six categories, setting the stage for a final day of intense competition.
After four days of competition, the provisional leaders are the Spanish yacht Teatro del Soho San Miguel (Uber ORC B), the Italian yacht Vudu (Abanca ORC 0), the Swedish yacht Rán (Sail Racing ORC A), the German yacht Earlybird (Azulmarino ORC C), and the Spanish boats Nadir (ClubSwan 42) and Baleària Team RCNP (Baleària Women’s Cup), both from the Canary Islands.
Abanca ORC 0: Vudu maintains control despite Hispania’s comeback
The day started off promisingly for Hispania with a stage victory that allowed them to provisionally return to the podium and move into second place, 8.5 points behind the leader. However, a ninth-place finish in the next regatta dropped the Spanish Navy Sailing School’s TP52 to fourth place. Meanwhile, Vudu secured two second-place finishes, consolidating its lead. The team, captained by Mauro Gestri, will face the final day with a nine-point lead over the Swiss boat Kilara II and an 11.5-point lead over the Brazilian boat Caballo Loco.
Mauro Gestri summed up the day as a mix of joy and suffering. “Today was a hard and intense day, but I had fun. We got two second places and we’re trying to save the best for last. We’re improving a lot, which is good considering we only started two years ago. And I’m improving too. Or so I’m told! It’s not about what you do well, but what you do wrong, and if you make fewer mistakes than the others, you’re doing fine.”
ORC A Regatta: the Rán takes the lead
The battle between Rán and Nola once again dominated the day’s action. Niklas Zennström’s boat won both races of the day, closed the initial gap, and finally snatched the lead from its rival by a single point. Both boats have clearly dominated the week and maintain a comfortable lead over the third-place boat, the Swedish GP42 Garm, which is now 19 points behind.
Paul Wilcox, skipper of the Rán, highlighted one of the key factors behind the team’s performance: “I think we’ve improved our starts. They’re very delicate boats, in the best sense of the word: they reward a good trim and precision at the helm.”
Uber ORC B: The Soho San Miguel Theatre is about to get a new title
Teatro del Soho San Miguel continues to prove itself the most consistent boat in the entire ORC fleet. Javier Banderas’s team secured their third consecutive victory before finishing the day in third place, which was enough to further extend their lead at the top of the standings.
Thus, it heads into the final day with a 14.5-point lead over L’Immens and a 19.5-point lead over the Argentine yacht Katara – the largest margin in any ORC class. However, the Final Series bonus point system means the outcome is still up for grabs.
Azulmarino ORC C: a very close race among the top three
The positions of the Azulmarino ORC C remain the tightest in the championship. Earlybird started the day with a victory that provisionally put it ahead of the Spanish boat Project Work, although the latter responded in the second race and once again closed the gap.
After seven races, only three points separate the top three in the standings. Earlybird’s tactician, Manu Weiller, said this about the day’s races: “The good thing about today is that it looked like it was going to be a typical day in Palma, but it wasn’t. I don’t think anyone expected us to go to the right in the first race; that’s where we managed to make the most of it and win. The second race was a shame, because we were leading at the first mark and had a problem on the downwind leg, but it’s okay. Honestly, I thought the result would be worse. The goal for the whole week was to make it to the final day still in the fight, and we’ve achieved that.”
ClubSwan 42: Nadir strengthens its candidacy
The first race offered one of the day’s highlights, with Nadir and Pez de Abril tied for second place, while Selene Alifax secured its first victory of the week. In the second race, Long Echo took the win and Nadir finished second again. Thanks to this consistency, Pedro Vaquer’s team has recorded the best overall score in the fleet for the fourth consecutive day and has extended its lead over its main rivals: Selene Alifax and Pez de Abril.
Despite this, Vaquer remains cautious. “In this fleet, in the blink of an eye you can lose your way and five boats can pass you. You have to be very careful and stay totally focused. Despite the advantage we have, it’s not over yet. We have to keep in mind that Máximo was an ORC world champion; he has a very good crew and a tactician who is one of the best in Italy. You can lose your way in the blink of an eye. If our worst result so far has been two second-place finishes, then if we get two second-place finishes tomorrow, we’ll win.”
Baleària Women’s Cup: the Baleària RCNP team maintains its dominance
The women’s competition completed another day of league racing with no change at the top of the standings. The Baleària RCNP team, skippered by María Bover, continues to dominate the defense of its title with authority, after achieving 11 victories and three second-place finishes. Solgreen – Les Roches holds second place, while Pulperas Team provisionally rounds out the podium.
María Bover gave her opinion on the day’s events. “Today we were very precise with our maneuvers and starts, and we had very few setbacks, so we were able to stay up there, but we don’t want to get complacent, because the teams are very strong and there are still some Round Robin races tomorrow, after which the top six teams advance to a final series where the points are worth double. We can’t afford to be too complacent.”
Everything will be decided this Saturday
The 44th Mapfre King’s Cup is about to reach its climax with all titles still mathematically in play. The four ORC divisions and the ClubSwan 42 class will contest two final decisive races, while the Baleària Women’s Cup will first complete the final league-stage matches to determine the six teams that will qualify for the medal races, where points will count double.
The starting signal is scheduled for 1:00 PM in all categories, except for the women’s competition, which will start at 12:00 PM. The new champions will be crowned at the awards ceremony, which will take place at 9:00 PM at the Almudaina Palace in Palma. Everything is still to be decided on the final day of the 44th Mapfre King’s Cup, which will reach its climax with all the necessary ingredients to maximize the excitement.