Even if the wind sometimes refused to blow with the desired strength, Cartagena proved a fitting finale to the 2009 Audi MedCup Circuit. On the one hand there was Emirates Team New Zealand’s supremacy, landing the overall TP52 Series title with a couple of days of racing still to go and adding to their cargo of three regatta wins when they also secured the Caja Mediterraneo Region of Murcia Trophy. On the other, it was to-the-wire combat among the tightly matched GP42 Series. The regatta title itself and the overall Trophy was in the balance until the last race of the season, winner took it all. Both went to the Calero family’s Islas Canarias Puerto Calero.

For Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) the icing on the cake was their fourth regatta win from the season’s five which were contested in Spain, France, Italy and Portugal. And they highlighted their excellence with virtuoso displays in the stronger winds and big seas.

There were just six races completed over the six days. Sometimes the winds refused to settle to a solid direction, other times it was just too light. But when it blew, the racing and the images produced where some of the most memorable ever. The short, steep seas placed a high premium on boat handling, not least on the long, sluicing runs when both Series fleets submarined into the wave backs.

Emirates Team New Zealand won three of the six races. Matador (ARG), second placed at the start of the regatta, had a miserable opening day when they had to retire with damage in the first race and placed ninth in the next blustery challenge. They slipped to finish eighth overall at the regatta, fourth for the season. Terry Hutchinson mustered a fine performance from the Quantum Racing troops, despite blowing numerous spinnakers. Third in the Trophy of Murcia event, Quantum Racing (USA), the outgoing champions, finished second overall behind Emirates Team New Zealand, the new kings of the Audi MedCup Circuit.

The kids from Canarias take it all
Coming to Murcia, a showdown was in the offing for the GP42 Series overall title: Islas Canarias Puerto Calero (ESP), with its young team led by Jose Maria Ponce (ESP), was tied on points with Roma 2 (ITA), led by match race master and America’s Cup veteran Paolo Cian (ITA).

After a completely windless day of no racing on Day One, the conditions of Day Two could not have been in stronger contrast. The 18-25 knot southeasterly breeze and enormous 2-3 metre breaking seas made for wet and wild sailing. Those who broke less and crashed less prevailed, bringing the ocean-savvy Canarias team to the top, with MedCup newcomer Iberdrola (ESP) making an impressive runner-up debut. Roma languished on a 4-4 score, licking their wounds after having broken spinnakers, shipped water on to the boat, and even suffered a fire on board.

But after a night of repairs Roma was ready to go and came out blazing, taking the lead back in the series with a 2-1-2 score, and a two point cushion over Canarias going into the final day.

Once again, windless conditions and a long postponement made the Canarias team nervous, and even the Roma team anxious to settle the score on the water. All eyes were on this class, not just from afar but from on board as well, since each team had a guest rider aboard for the day, a first in MedCup competition and a prelude to what will be a regular feature in next year’s circuit races.

And true to form, once racing got started for one final contest, Roma took the early lead as she has done in so many of this year’s races, but Iberdrola became the spoiler, allowing  Islas Canarias Puerto Calero to find a shift and breeze to vault them into the lead and take the overall series trophy.

But the season is not over yet: the six teams here will next meet in three weeks time and be joined by four other teams in the GP42 Global Championship in Lanzarote.