It all came down to the wire on Tuesday on the final day of the Mapfre Euromed International Regatta.
Hosted in Mellieha Bay by Malta Young Sailors Club and held under the auspices of the Malta Sailing Federation, the Race, which is in its 21st Edition, once again welcomed a strong international fleet.
Tuesday’s weather conditions were the most sedate from all of the four days of the event with approximately 7 knots of wind and flat water throughout. With one or two points separating the majority of the top-placed sailors there was no doubt that every point was going to be fought for.
Optimist Fleet
Timmy Vassallo, who until Tuesday was in second place but with equal points with Jonas Micallef, pipped Micallef with just one point to win the hotly contested Senior Category. In third place was 4th internationally ranked Spanish Tim Lubat who, in spite of a somewhat lackluster performance yesterday, managed to climb up the leaderboard to finish in third place.
Meanwhile, in the Beginners’ Class, Michael Cremona went back to first place, having lost his placing temporarily on Tuesday to Jacob Carl Delia who today slipped down to third place.
Timothy De Cesare climbed back to second place, three points behind Cremona and three points ahead of Delia.
ILCA
In Class 4, Benjamin Vassallo knocked off Shaun Aquilina from first place. Aquilina who had a very steady consistent two days of racing was beaten by Vassallo by two points on the very last day.
Canadian Carlo Charabati retained his third place, trailing fourteen points behind Aquilina.
Jean Paul Zahra, racing in Class 6m proved he was the one to beat on the last day. Zahra won the last three races beating Matthew Flores to first place.
Flores, who had been holding on to first place for the previous days, had to settle for second place. In third place was Dimitris Vertsonis who did not manage to repeat yesterday’s unbeaten run.
“Malta Young Sailors Club is very satisfied with the outcome of this year’s Mapfre Euromed International Regatta. It was rewarding to welcome back international sailors, some of which are highly ranked in the world,” remarked Christian Bajada, Commodore – Malta Young Sailors’ Club.
“Of course, having Maltese sailors performing so well fills us with great pride. There certainly is a bright future for our youngsters” concluded Bajada.
Malta Young Sailors Club expressed its gratitude to Mapfre Middle Sea Insurance, Yachting Malta, the Malta Sailing Federation and particularly all the volunteers who made the event possible.
