TP52 Breitling Regatta starts today

Race day arrives for the Breitling Regatta Illes Balearia and, with a tight schedule of nine races as the target, the key question this morning is ‘will it be a three race day?’

The common opinion is that it will be much the same as yesterday, light sea breeze conditions, unstable and fickle at times.

So the pressure is very much on the race officers. Their dilemma is the usual one, whether to get racing away when it is light and shifty, or to lose time waiting for the sea-breeze to become established. Principal Race Officer will be none other than Peter Reggio, the American that is considered to have successfully carried out a similar role throughout the 32nd America's Cup.

Yesterday there were very definite bands of pressure working down the course and a very definite benefit on the left of the course. Perhaps today we will see the pin end of the start under more pressure.

“There is very little gradient breeze around.” Confirms Cristabella’s navigator Nat Ives who will be supporting afterguard Charlie McKee and Chris Nicholson, “It will be for the race officers to decide whether to wait for the sea-breeze to settle. It will be very much the same as yesterday, just a light sea-breeze. Two races are more likely than three, but that will depend what they are prepared for us to race in. It would be god to get going early and get more races in.”

On the overall Breitling MedCup standings it is Jose Cusi’s Bribon which leads by eight points. Naturally, being Mallorca and the Regatta Breitling, the event site is crawling with paparazzi media, just to add to the pressure on the King, who will be on the helm.