Intensity increases as 54 Trofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca reaches finals phase

ILCA 7

Britain’s Micky Beckett – in the regatta’s biggest class, the 175 strong Men’s singlehanded ILCA 7 – has been posting the most impressive scores to date with two clear race wins to stand 15 points clear of compatriot Elliot Hanson in second. Beckett remains firmly on course to win the class for the fourth time in a row – and also in contention to win the Trofeo S.A.R. Princesa Sofía. 

ILCA 6

Great Britain also tops the ILCA 6 competition, where Youth Worlds bronze medallist Daisy Collingridge leads by a single point.  

“I am happy to be leading. I took some time out until January and did some work as an intern with a Private Equity company and that gave me some breathing space and re-evaluate how I wanted to come back. And it is cool to see that having an impact on how I am doing things on the water. I think having been in the professional world just taught me what you can achieve in a day, and a lot of accountability. I have really looked at how I do things, really challenged myself, ‘How can I do things better? How can I do things faster and more efficiently? I think that helped my push forward,” she said. 

470 Mixed

The 470 Mixed fleet is seeing new partnerships settling into full race mode, learning to work together and build a rapport. 

One such new team is Italy’s Elena Berta and Giulio Calabro, who have found their rhythm very quickly. Berta went to Paris 2024 with a different crew last year but has now teamed up with Calabro who is back in the 470 after the past four years crewing in the faster 49er skiff. 

The Italians took two second places from the two races in shifty conditions. “We had the head outside the boat, a lot of looking around,” said Calabro. “We had two good starts, and the teamwork is going well.” 

Spain’s Olympic bronze medal winner and world champion Jordi Xammar, now sailing with Marta Cardona, is relishing the challenge of a new partnership. The pair underlined their potential by winning the first Finals race but slumped to 21st in the second. 

“It’s our first major regatta so it’s good to see where we are versus the fleet. We have trained only 20 days together, maybe even less, so I think we’re doing a good job. There are points where we can improve but the conditions are quite tricky.  It feels very good being racing again after the Games. I feel I’m a bit rusty especially in the racing and decision making,” he said. 

“The Sofia is probably the best event in the whole year so we’re very happy to be racing here with this competitive fleet. This is my fourth campaign. That means I’m starting to get old, especially comparing with the new guys coming from behind. The next generation always improves the old one, I can see this with Marta. The level in 470 is very high and I’m looking forward to keep pushing hard and improving myself.” 

British duo Martin Wrigley and Bettine Harris are two points behind the Italians in second, while Germany’s young partnership, Theresa Löffler and Christopher Hoerr, moved up to third overall. 

Nacra 17

Last year’s runners up Gianluigi Ugolini and Maria Guibilei seem set to carry on Italy’s golden legacy in the Nacra 17. The two-time Worlds silver medallists are currently seven points clear of the impressive, improved Chinese duo Huangcheng Zhao and Su Sha. Britain’s 2020 Olympic silver medallists John Gimson and Anna Burnett are third.  

“Sailing in those conditions is very hard,” smiled Giubilei through her obvious exhaustion. “You have to move a lot on the downwinds, adjusting the gennaker all the time, it’s very stressful and you can never give up.” 

Round Up

In the 49er Men’s Skiff the top 25 teams took to the water, but nothing could break the impressive stride of German crew Richard Schultheis and Fabian Rieger. They sailed a solid four heats in light to moderate and very shifty breeze, rounding off the afternoon with a race win. 

France’s reigning world champions Erwan Fischer and Clement Péquin are in second place and six points off the German lead.  

GBR’s Freya Black and Saskia Tidey lead the 49er FX Women’s skiffs. In the Men’s Kites (Formula Kite Men) Austria’s recently-crowned Olympic champion Valentin Bontus has the better of Singapore’s defending Sofia champion Max Maeder by two points after the first four Finals races whilst in the Women’s division (Formula Kite Women) it is France’s Lysa Caval who is one point ahead. The iQFOiL Men sees Nico Goyard of France two points clear at the top whilst bronze medallist Emma Wilson of GBR still leads the iQFOiL Women’s regatta. 

The 54 Trofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca by FERGUS Hotels is jointly organised by the Club Nàutic S’Arenal, the Club Marítimo San Antonio de la Playa, the Real Club Náutico de Palma, the Real Federación Española de Vela and the Federación Balear de Vela, with the support of World Sailing, and is co-financed by the Govern de les Illes Balears’ Sustainable Tourism Tax fund. 

More information at www.trofeoprincesasofia.org 

The event is part of the Sailing Grand Slam 2025, along with the Semaine Olympique Française, the Dutch Water Week, the Kieler Woche and the Long Beach Olympic Classes Regatta. 

More information at www.sailinggrandslam.com