De Ridder and his team sailed to two race wins and a fifth place to share the same overall points tally as Alberto Roemmers’ Argentinian boat Matador, but by virtue of the tie break it is the 2006 MedCup champions who top the Breitling Regatta leader board after a challenging day reading the shifting, changing breezes off the Mallorcan capital city. At times the sea breeze was fitful as the oppressive, clammy heat and cloud cover stifled any increase in wind strength and with big wind shifts in direction, and variations in pressure it was not an easy day for the tacticians to decipher. Consistency across the three races was vital. But it was a day where every hard earned place was vital as Mean Machine proved when they pulled up from ninth at the first leeward mark in the second race to earn their fifth, while their two race wins were the direct reward for smart starting near the extremes of the line and choosing the preferred side of the beat. With the wind peaking at 11 knots and at times as low as six or seven knots, the ability to change gears and adapt for best boat speed was equally important over what has been a day of the lightest average wind speeds since the opening regatta, back in May in Alicante.
