Canarian sailors Javier Padrón and Miguel Pérez, first leaders of the European F18 Championship that takes place in en Gran Canaria

Javier Padrón and Miguel Pérez, celebrating their good start..

With the beginning, this Thursday, of the Spanish Laser Radial Championship, more than 220 boats will make the bay of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria a spectacular sight to see..

The European F18 Championship that takes place in the bay of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, as part of the 13th Canary Islands Sailing Olympic Week – El Corte Inglés Trophy, could not have begun better. After day one, the Canarian team of the Real Club Náutico of Gran Canaria, made up of Javier Padrón and Miguel Pérez, lies at the top of the overall ranking. Following close behind are two French boats:  Olivier Backes and Arnaud Jarlegan lie in second place while Victorien Erussard and Frederic Moreau lie in third place.

The F18 catamarans that left the beach of Las Alcaravaneras first thing in the morning and headed for the racecourse, which stretched from San Cristóbal to the beach of La Laja, were a spectacular sight to see –indeed, this class is known as the Formula One of dinghy sailing.

The first two races of the day started at 1:00 p.m. Weather conditions were good during the first regatta, with a 10 knot southeasterly breeze. However, the second race of the afternoon had to be shortened since the wind did not help.
Day one made clear that the fight for victory in this European championship will be a tough one, given the quality of the boats that participate. The almost ninety catamarans will meet again this Thursday at 10:55 on another exciting day of competition.

The rest of the Canarian fleet will try to climb places in the overall ranking, as is the case of the RCNGC team made up of Óliver Bravo de Laguna and Carlos Loureiro, who finished this Wednesday in 16th place and are the first Canarian sailors in the ranking, after Padrón and Pérez.

As for the Spanish Laser Radial Championship, it will begin this Wednesday, as part of the Canary Islands Sailing Olympic Week – El Corte Inglés Trophy. It will be the highlight of the event, with more than 220 boats competing in the bay of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, until next Sunday, 11 of December.

With the National Championship in mind, the best sailors of the category have travelled to the capital city of Gran Canaria, from almost all the Spanish autonomous communities. The Canary Islands will be represented by around thirty competitors. Part of this delegation comes from the Real Club Náutico de Gran Canaria, main organiser of the competition.

During these days, the competition organised by the RCNGC and the Town Hall of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in the bay of the city of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, under the name Open Sea LPA, will be on the spotlight of the national and international nautical sports. The event also has the support of the Tourism Department of the Council of Gran Canaria, the Government of the Canary Islands, through Promotur, and companies such as El Corte Inglés, Pepsi, Toyota Canarias, Lopesan and Naviera Armas.