The second time was the charm and the Tritón Clínica Veterinaria Bari boat, which last year in its debut in competition had been about to win the first edition of the Copa Vela Latina del Sur, managed this Saturday in Playa Blanca to defend the provisional lead and be proclaimed champion 2022 before the southern fans who enjoyed two races generous in emotion and suspense. After the Tritón, the honor roll of the general classification is completed by the Guayre Ca' Mario and the Fayna Salinas de Janubio, the three boats committed to a beautiful sporting dispute.
"The Copa Vela Latina del Sur is a reality, an initiative linked to a sport loaded with a strong component of tradition and emotion that has always been lived intensely by our neighbors, who missed the competition in the south of Lanzarote, so we will not fail and will maintain the commitment to sailing," says the mayor of Yaiza, Óscar Noda.
For Kevin Cabrera, skipper of the champion boat, the final day was the most complicated of the Copa del Sur "not only because of the intensity of the wind, but there have been many strong gusts with many changes of direction. Then, arriving on land, the wind became very unstable and it has been quite difficult to be consistent."
The Tritón Clínica Veterinaria Bari, however, won the first leg and managed to save the furniture in the second to secure the title and so Kevin clearly and sincerely states: "in the second the truth was quite difficult for us, we could not place the sail in the place in the first stern and in the upwind we could not navigate comfortably at all, and we were lucky that some boats capsized, others had to retire and that allowed us to climb positions and get closer to our direct rivals and maintain the lead to win the Copa del Sur."
The 2022 Cup was very close and up to four boats arrived with options for the title waiting for the outcome of the last day to two legs, the Yaiza Town Hall Trophy that left Guayre, Tritón and Fayna as best classified.
"As you could see in the first leg especially we were the three or four boats that were fighting for the Cup, we were ahead, stuck together, fighting all the time, so anyone could win," notes Kevin Cabrera.
Although tough, the Guayre felt comfortable with the wind conditions, in fact, its skipper, David de León, says that "we expected it, and well, the truth is that well, we like these conditions, we are used to sailing with wind, we are from Lanzarote, right?"
The crew of the Fayna Salinas de Janubio for its part feels that they were left with honey on their lips. "We knew we were third, but if in the first race we had not lost two places at the finish line we could have been champions. The truth is that I am very happy with the championship and very happy with the team," explains the skipper Alfredo Morales.
The Yaiza Town Hall appreciates the participation and commitment of all the boats, the enthusiasm of the fans, the support of the sponsoring companies, the collaboration of the Marina Rubicón and Puerto Calero marinas, the support of the Insular Sailing Federation presided over by Luis Toledo and the work of the municipal staff.
"All the expressions of affection and the desire to compete and enjoy are the best stimulus to continue organizing the Copa de Vela Latina del Sur," says the Councilor for Sports of Yaiza, Ángel Lago, who presided over the awards ceremony at the La Aurora cultural center in the presence of the sports family and accompanied by councilors of the municipal government team and representatives of Marina Rubicón and Puerto Calero, Rafael Lasso and José Calero, respectively. The day ended with a lunch of fraternization and the enjoyment of a huge paella courtesy of the Chiringuito Tropical.
