(Palma de Mallorca, Spain)- Four days of picture-perfect sailing conditions have decided the winners of the 7th edition of the Mapfre PalmaVela regatta, which has gathered 115 boats of 16 countries in the bay of Palma. It came down to the wire on the last day for winners in most of the 15 divisions at the 2012 Mapfre PalmaVela regatta, which began Friday with over 1.000 sailors representing countries such as Spain, Italy, Ireland, Russia, Virgin Islands, England, Sweden and Great Britain. The event is hosted by the Real Club Náutico de Palma, and is considered the first event of the Mediterranean sailing season.
The nineteen teams sailing in the J/80 fleet had excellent competition. However, this time a new team took the honors at the top of the podium, local hotshot sailor Javier Sanz racing for Real Club Nautico Palma on PRO-RIGGING won the event easily. Second was the "sponsor's" team, MAPFRE sailed by Carlos Martinez and third was past Spanish Olympic Gold Medalist, Jose Maria Van Der Ploeg racing NILFISK. The American team on FIRED UP sailed a charter boat and managed a credible 7th, led by Gary Kamins and crew (Jay Lutz) from California YC and Houston, TX.In the ORC fleet the J/145 ACE sailed by Fred Stelle with guest star Rod Johnstone had a fabulous time sailing and managed to grab a third overall in their division.
On the first day or racing, the forecast was for Westerly winds of around 15 knots all day, reaching 16-17 knots at 12:00, when the start of races is scheduled. The nice westerly breeze and clear sunny skies brought another great day of sailing for the season`s first event. Of note, in the Soto 40 class the series favorite Iberdrola, with J/80 World Champion Pichu Torcida at the helm, showed they are in form and finished the day in the first position after the three races held today. In the ORC 0 Class, Fred Stelle's J/145 ACE managed a 3-4. On the second day of sailing, Southerly winds of 8 to 10 knots in the early afternoon cooperated to give almost all classes three races, although the breeze didn`t settle until later in the afternoon, 15:00 hours, when the clear sunny skies and 15 knots delivered picture-perfect conditions. In the J80 class Javier Sanz`s Pro-Rigging skippered by David Madrazo clawed their way up to first after a great performance notching two first and a second place, leaving Jose María Van der Ploeg`s Nilfisk as runner up. The Spanish Olympic medallist posted a sixth, an eleventh - discarded- and a first. In ORC 0, Fred Stelle's J/145 team on ACE repeated their performance from the day before, scoring a 4-3.
The third and last day of races started in tactically demanding conditions of 6 to 8 knots of Northeasterly wind and light overcast skies which prevented the breeze from pushing through until 14:00 hours, when a nice Southerly breeze stablished in the bay of Palma. The J-80 class was a cause for joy at the RCNP for its President Javier Sanz`s PRO-RIGGING clinched the Mapfre PalmaVela Trophy in the One-Design class which gathered nineteen boats for this seventh edition. Carlos Martinez`s MAPFRE was second, whereas Olympic medallist Jose María Van der Ploeg`s NILFISK was third. On the last day, Stelle's J/145 ACE in ORC 0 class managed a 3rd to clinch 3rd overall for the division. Sailing photo credits- Martinez Studio For more PalmaVela sailing information 
