Vilagarcia, Tuypan and Central Lechera Asturiana: the first, second and third step of the provisional podium are all Spanish, the first two tied for points at 30 and the third closely following at 34. The crews coming form the Iberian Peninsula are dominating the Platu25 Worlds, underway in Punta Ala, on the Tuscan coast. And, if it is Spanish the most spoken language on the top part of the scoreboard, you have to go down to the sixth place to find a “foreign” opponent. It’s the Greek crew, and 2008 champions, on Modus Vivendi, who is steadily climbing back to the top after an unlucky first part of the series. If the Greeks dream to bring the Trophy back home to Athens the Italian champion Nanuk is also showing a strong determination not to give up, tied at 70 points with the German team on Flexi. Today Punta Ala offered excellent sailing conditions to the Gold and Silver fleets with a good 20 plus knots breeze and a stunning view for the spectators, especially in the downwind legs with the 25 footers fast surfing down the waves, putting to a test the crews’ manoeuvring abilities. Three more races were sailed, the scoreboard now being calculated out of ten results, on the fourth day of the series the top spots went to Central Lechera Asturiana, skippered by Natalia Via Dufresne, Vilagarcia and La Revoltosa, all from Spain. In the second race it was La Revoltosa to leave all the competitors behind, followed by Bribon and by the Danish crew on Seklklub who profited from this good result to get a better position in the overall results. The third daily podium was made of the Greeks on Modus Vivendi followed by Central Lechera Asturiana and by the Italians on Brera Hotel, who are still fighting in the Gold fleet despite a disqualification that obliterated the points they obtained on the second day. In the same Gold fleet we also find one of the two Japanese crews Bross, 20th, the Kiwis from Ocean Bridge, 21st and the Swiss on Aramis, currently 29th. While there are still some protests pending- the Jury is expected to go on with the hearings until late at night- the 92 crews are preparing their best strategy for tomorrow, the final racing day that will decide the 2009 Platu25 World best sailors.
