The Spanish Association of Yacht Clubs celebrated this weekend in Gran Canaria the traditional Ordinary General Assembly, in which the Royal Yacht Club of Arrecife was present, and which developed in parallel in the bay of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria the AECN Optimist Trophy. A trophy that was conquered by the sailors of the Royal Yacht Club of Arrecife, taking the first positions of the general classification. The victories of Gonzalo Presa in the sub´16 category and Santiago Bravo de Laguna in sub´13, the second place of Marta Martínez and the third place of María Rizo stood out.
The Spanish Association of Yacht Clubs Optimist Trophy was born as a twinning of all the Royal Yacht Clubs and is held annually coinciding with the Ordinary General Assembly. On this occasion, the club chosen was the Royal Yacht Club of Gran Canaria, as a farewell to Maica López-Galán, who has been treasurer of the Board of Directors of the Association and who next month leaves, as required by the statutes, the presidency of the Royal Yacht Club of Gran Canaria.
The Royal Yacht Club of Arrecife had the participation of twelve sailors in the AECN Optimist Trophy. The expedition was composed of Gonzalo Presa Heredia, Alfonso Garcías Cruz, Marta Martínez Alayón, Yelco José Díaz Molina and Athenea Uxia Rodríguez Guadalupe in the sub´16 category. In the sub´13 category, Santiago Tomás Bravo de Laguna Ferrer, María Rizo García, Daniela Álvarez García, Hugo García Mesa and Pablo Rizo García competed. And the youngest of the group was Pablo Curbelo Betancort in the sub´11 category.
The six races held throughout Saturday and Sunday in the bay of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria were marked by light winds, with all the sailors enjoying a great atmosphere of camaraderie. A competition in which a total of 72 sailors took part, some of them traveling from Melilla, Valencia and Asturias, without missing the representatives of the Canary Islands clubs.
The sailors of the Royal Yacht Club of Arrecife took the top three positions in the Spanish Association of Yacht Clubs Optimist Trophy. The victory went to Gonzalo Presa, showing great consistency in the six races held, and was accompanied on the podium by Alfonso Garcías who was second and Santiago Bravo de Laguna who finished third, also being the winner of the sub´13 category. In addition, Marta Martínez took second place in the sub´16 female category and María Rizo was third in the female classification of the sub´13 category.
The president of the Royal Yacht Club of Arrecife, Julio Romero, and the club's manager, Angelines Silva, also traveled to Gran Canaria, who attended the different events programmed by the Spanish Association of Yacht Clubs, in addition to participating in the Ordinary General Assembly held in the Dámaso hall of the Real Club Victoria.
After the awards ceremony, Julio Romero had the opportunity to accompany the members of the Royal Yacht Club of Arrecife, having a chat with the sailors and coaches, and learn about their impressions of the races held throughout the weekend in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.