Thomas Muller's Phantom 7 has claimed the opening regatta of the Barcelona J/70 Winter Series, holding off a sixteen-boat international fleet across a weekend that threw up almost every wind condition imaginable.
The Austrian crew needed every bit of that variety to get the job done. A final-race win on day three lifted them to 15 points overall, level with Spain's Luis Martín Cabiedes aboard Noticia, but enough for victory on the tiebreak. Mon Canellas Salas's Hang Ten, also from Spain, rounded out the podium on 20 points.
The scoreline tells only part of the story of how much this regatta shifted beneath the fleet. Day one opened in a soft 5 to 7 knot easterly-southeasterly breeze. Javier Padron's HSN Sailing Team won the first race outright, then fell away with an 8 and a 4. By the end of day one it was Hang Ten leading on 5-1-1, with Noticia second and Phantom 7 back in third.
Everything changed on day two.
A proper "garbí" southwesterly filled in at 10 to 13 knots, and Noticia made the most of it with a 1-2-3 that pushed Cabiedes into the overall lead. Hang Ten slipped with a 5-6-2. Phantom 7, meanwhile, quietly held station in third on 3-4-1, setting up the shootout to come.
Day three nearly didn't happen at all. A lack of wind forced a postponement ashore before the fleet finally got out for the seventh and deciding race, which Phantom 7 won to steal the regatta.
Jurgen Waldheim's German crew Waikiki finished fourth on 24 points, with Salas's HSN Sailing Team fifth on 25.
In the Corinthian division, Germany's Justus Reinke won aboard Halbtrocken Dry-Light, ahead of Manuel Roca's Spanish team Duc In Altum and the German pairing of Thorsten Seglitz and Stephan Molle on Grun.
Organised by Real Club Nàutico de Barcelona, the series continues to build the city's reputation as a winter base for J/70 fleets. The next event runs 6-8 November 2026, part of a seven-regatta circuit through to April 2027.
