This Sunday, Sanxenxo put the finishing touch on the eleventh edition of the King Juan Carlos I – El Corte Inglés Master Regatta. The wind, which was slow to pick up, eventually allowed all classes to sail, and they each completed at least one race to successfully wrap up three days of competition on the Pontevedra estuary.
The final day did not change the standings, so the winners of this edition were confirmed: Bribon in the Xacobeo 6 Metros, Okofen in the J80, Magical in ORC 0-1-2, Urbapaz in ORC 3, Deep Blue 2.1 in ORC 4, Keep Calm in ORC 5-Open, Atxurri in Veterans, José de Linares and Alexandra Wang Liu in Abanca Optimist, and the Damm 3 team, led by instructor Natalia Domínguez, in Fundación Talgo Adaptive Sailing.
Fourth title for Bribon and fifth for Okofen
A light westerly wind of about seven knots allowed the Xacobeo 6-Meter class to complete one race. Miguel Lago’s Alibaba2 won the only race sailed, with Titia finishing second and Caprice third.
The Bribon didn’t get off to a good start: a false start forced her to turn back and restart. From there, the crew from the Real Club Náutico de Sanxenxo mounted a comeback that saw her cross the finish line in fourth place—a result good enough to secure her fourth 6-Meter title in this regatta.
In the J80 class, the Okofen once again confirmed its dominance with another race win. Javier de la Gándara’s team wraps up its campaign with a perfect record—three wins out of three—and claims its fifth title at the Sanxenxo regatta.
“It’s a regatta we really enjoy. The course is good, and so are the wind conditions, even though the wind has been a little lighter this year. We managed to complete three races in two days and win all three. There were several boats competing for the President’s Trophy—such as i3D Atlántico, Moura, and Namaste—and they let us run a bit free. And when they let us run free, we managed to win all three,” said De la Gándara.
The skipper of the Okofen also highlighted his connection to Sanxenxo: “We always enjoy coming here because of how the organizers treat us and because of the race course. We come here regularly with both the J80 and the 6-Meter class, and we know this estuary well. Plus, we always have the same crew—a very loyal team—and we have a local sailor who knows the course very well.”
The silver medal in the J80 class went to Xoán Bermúdez de Castro’s Moura, which finished tied on points with Luis de Mira’s Namaste. The tiebreaker went in favor of the team from A Coruña thanks to the results of the final race, in which Moura finished second and Namaste third.
The ORCs Complete Their Schedule at A Lanzada
The ORC cruisers completed a trial on the race course located in the cove off A Lanzada Beach, with a northwest wind of about eight knots.
In the ORC 0-1-2 class, Julio Rodríguez’s Magical secured another race win. The team finished the regatta with four wins in the five races contested and was crowned the winner of this 11th edition. They were followed by Mirfak, skippered by Diego López and representing the Ferrol Yacht Club, and Corsario Thunder from Arousa, skippered by Jorge Durán.
In ORC 3, the battle between Urbapaz and Nortemar Peperetes was decided by a single point in favor of the former. “Conditions weren’t ideal for us—there wasn’t much wind, and the race course wasn’t always fully wind-filled. In the end, it was fun but also difficult. Nortemar Peperetes really gave us a run for our money,” said Fran Edreira, owner and skipper of the Urbapaz.
In ORC 4, Vicente Cid and the crew of the Deep Blue 2.1 finally clinched the long-awaited title in Sanxenxo. After finishing second last year, they came into this year’s race eager to climb to the top of the podium, and today they achieved their goal. Javier Rey’s Keep Calm won the ORC 5-Open class, while the Atxurri took the victory in the Veterans class.
The two Abanca Optimist groups completed a final race, with the starting procedure beginning just before 3:00 p.m. The race course was set farther out than usual, extending practically all the way to the Picamillo area, with a northwest wind of between seven and eight knots. Two sailors from Andalusian clubs took the top spots in the men’s and women’s divisions: José de Linares, from RCN El Candado, and Alexandra Wang Liu, from CN El Trocadero. In the Fundación Talgo Adaptive Sailing category, the victory went to the Damm 3 team, led by coach Natalia Domínguez.
Awards Ceremony and the President of the Xunta Trophy
The awards ceremony was attended by the Regional Minister of the Sea, Marta Villaverde; the president of the Pontevedra Provincial Council, Luis López; the mayor of Sanxenxo, Telmo Martín; the president of the Royal Yacht Club of Sanxenxo, Pedro Campos; the Commandant and Director of the Marín Naval Academy, Tomás Clavijo Rey-Stolle; the Head of Institutional Relations at El Corte Inglés, Fuencisla Cid; and the Regional Director of Abanca in Pontevedra, Carmen Fernández, among other officials.
During the ceremony, the Silver Botafumeiros of the Xunta President’s Trophy were also presented—an award created in 2001 that honors the top performers in the Galician High-Level Circuit in the ORC and J80 categories. In 2026, the circuit began with the S.A.R. Infanta Elena Regatta in A Coruña and continued with the General Gabeiras Regatta in Ares; the Mar de Finisterre Regatta – Pitusa Sabín Trophy in Portosín; and the Prince of Asturias Trophy in Baiona. The 11th King Juan Carlos I Regatta – El Corte Inglés Master, in Sanxenxo, was the fifth and final event and served to crown the winners of this year’s competition.
The winners of the Xunta President’s Trophy were Mirfak in the ORC 0-1 class, Vicente Cid’s Deep Blue 2.1 in the ORC 2-3 class, and Luis de Mira’s Namaste in the J80 class.
