José Vicente Climent, a member of the Andalusian fleet and sailing for the Royal Nautical Club of El Puerto de Santa María, has been crowned Spanish champion of sailing in the waters of the Mar Menor (Murcia).
After eight races, Climent withstood the pressure of leading the fleet from day one, becoming national champion for the first time, replacing fellow Andalusian Juan Luis Páez, who won in 2012 in the waters of Cádiz.
Climent, who was also crowned champion among the veterans, was second on the podium to Oriol Castellá, from CM Sitges, who finished just three points behind and even had a chance of winning the overall championship during the final race. Castellá was running 4th and Climent, after breaking a rough rig that prevented him from sailing at 100% speed, was relegated to 11th place. But perhaps luck wasn’t about to dampen Climent’s excellent performance throughout the championship, and a wrong decision relegated Oriol to 8th place, allowing Climent to save face and take the overall victory.
Quim Esteba, from CN Tamariu, closed the podium, now 14 points behind the leader, after an inconsistent final round that nearly cost him his place against Ramón Puigoriol, from CN El Masnou.
Among the Juniors, Emilio Murillo won, level on points with Angels Aso.