Spain’s Tim Lubat, Shaun Aquilina and Matthew Flores led their classes after the opening day of the Mapfre Euromed International Regatta, as an international fleet returned to Mellieħa Bay with sailors from all local clubs and twelve countries.
A northerly of around 20 knots built through the early afternoon, gusting to about 25 knots, and ILCA Race Officer Bojan Gale called off the last race. The three planned races for the Optimist Senior and Cadet classes went ahead.
In the Optimist Senior class, fourth-ranked Lubat topped the leaderboard with a second, seventh and first. Malta Young Sailors Club’s Timmy Vassallo was two points behind in second, with team-mate Jonas Micallef third. Michael Cremona and Timothy De Cesare of MYSC took the top two places in the Beginners, with Jacob Carl Delia (Royal Malta Yacht Club) third.
Thirty-four sailors raced in the ILCA classes. Shaun Aquilina (Birzebbugia Sailing Club) won both ILCA 4 races, ahead of Matthew Cachia Debono, Kurt Borg and Canada’s Carlos Charabati. In ILCA 6, Matthew Flores, also from Birzebbugia, won both races ahead of club-mate Jean Paul Zahra, with MYSC’s Luke Rausi third.
Photo Credit: Yachting Malta / Deea Buzdugan
