Waikiki becomes first leader of the 53rd Trofeo de Vela Conde de Godó OOA in the J70 class

Jürgen Waldheim’s German team tops the provisional standings after an opening day marked by unstable weather conditions in Barcelona

Salida de la flota J70 © Torveo

Barcelona, May 15, 2026 — The 53rd Trofeo de Vela Conde de Godó OOA opened its first competition block dedicated to the J70 class this Friday with a day marked by changing weather conditions off the Barcelona coastline.

Under heavily overcast skies and with showers threatening throughout the afternoon, the fleet started punctually at 3:05 PM in easterly winds of around 12 knots, conditions that allowed two of the four scheduled races to be completed.

Waikiki lidera la primera jornada © Torveo

The opening race of the championship was dominated by the German team “Waikiki”, helmed by Jürgen Waldheim, who secured victory ahead of the “HSN Sailing Team”, with Javier Padrón at the helm, and the Danish team “Soffe” of Kim Christensen.

The second race of the day was won by “Gunter”, helmed by Javier Scherk and representing the Real Club Náutico de Barcelona, followed by Austria’s “Phantom 7” of Thomas Müller-Uri and “Hang Ten”, skippered by young Catalan sailor Món Cañellas.

Both races were sailed on courses of approximately 0.9 and 1 nautical mile and were completed efficiently thanks to the initial stability of the wind. However, after the second race, an intense rain shower approached the racecourse causing a sudden drop in wind intensity and a wind shift of nearly 180 degrees.

Given the unstable conditions and the impossibility of guaranteeing fair racing conditions for the remaining scheduled races, the Race Committee decided to end the day early.

HSN Sailing Team © Torveo

After two races, “Waikiki” leads the provisional standings with scores of 1-5. Second place goes to “HSN Sailing Team” with 2-4, while “Hang Ten” holds provisional third place.

The top five is completed by Austria’s “Phantom 7” with scores of 9-2 and “Noticia” of Luis Martín Cabiedes, one of the fleet’s favourites and current leader of the Barcelona Spring Series.

After racing, “Waikiki” skipper Jürgen Waldheim highlighted the importance of consistency and the conditions during the opening day:

“Today we had perfect conditions for us, with winds between 10 and 16 knots. Jorge Martínez Doreste was flawless tactically. We won the first race and in the second, although we finished fifth, we stayed in the fight all the time, and that was the important thing.”

Hang Ten patroneado por Mon Cañellas © Torveo

Racing will continue on Saturday from 12:00 PM. The weather forecast points to a completely different day, with stable conditions, sunny skies and southeasterly winds of around 8 to 10 knots, which could favour very tactical racing conditions off Barcelona.

This first block of the Trofeo Conde de Godó OOA also coincides with the third and final event of the Barcelona Spring Series for the J70 class, organized by the Real Club Náutico de Barcelona and established as one of the leading European circuits for the class.

The 53rd Trofeo de Vela Conde de Godó OOA is organized by the Real Club Náutico de Barcelona under delegation from the Royal Spanish Sailing Federation and with the collaboration of the Catalan Sailing Federation. The event is supported by title sponsor Oxford Oil Additives together with La Vanguardia, Barcelona City Council and the Government of Catalonia. Collaborators include Mapfre, Musto, De Antonio Yachts, Barcelona Capital Nàutica, Bgreenly, Veri, Royal Bliss, Estrella Damm, Isdin and Gramona.