The 2024 Open Portuguese Nationals were held on the 21-23 June, welcoming not only local, but English, Australian and Dutch teams at one of the Class’ favourite sailing playgrounds. Exciting long weekend of champagne sailing featured a 12-boats fleet, commemorating the 86th anniversary of Clube Naval de Cascais.
Beautiful windy conditions with good waves opened the championship. “A very tactical day with lots of tacking and set pieces,” – described the opening day John Pollard from team Xcellent, the leader on Day 1. John and his team have also appreciated the excellent race management that Clube Naval de Cascais is famous for.
After the first three races John Pollard, Henry Wetherell and Drew Barnes were leading the fleet with 4 points in the Open classification. In the Portuguese classification team Hellonext of Tiago Morais, Gonçalo Lopes, Zezi Cardoso and Guilherme Ryder, were leading, who finished 7, 1, 2; sitting second overall. Teams Hotel Valverde, Drado and Porco Rosso followed them closely with 10, 12 and 13 points.
On the second day shifty conditions have put the teams into challenge. With the pressure building though the day those at the top of the leaderboard had to look for the best wind to sail to keep their positions.
“We were happy with how the day went, it was tricky for us at times, but we always looked for the best result we could get,” – commented Tiago Morais, team Hellonext, closing the second day of racing and leading the Portuguese fleet, sitting second overall.
Third day saw some stronger winds allowing some beautiful planing over the racecourse, but there were also lighter winds which made it tricky. With the races start at 12:00 and the time limit of 15:00 only two races were sailed on the final day of the Championship. The top teams had to put their all into the fight and the last two races were won by Porco Rosso and Hellonext accordingly.
With the total of 9 points after leading throughout the whole championship unbeatable team Xcellent of John Pollard, Henry Wetherell and Drew Barnes clinched the victory! In the Open classification they were followed by team Hellonext in second and team Porco Rosso in third. Congratulations to the winners!
Commenting on their participation in the Open Portuguese Nationals skipper of Porco Rosso Paul Maccartney said: “Loved being in Cascais again and had a great welcome at the Club, as always. Excellent competition in a very skilled fleet! Thanks to my crew – it’s great to be sailing with Will [Sargent] and Eddie [Reid]. Very pleased to finish on the podium and a big thank you to the Club and all competitors”.
Will Sargent, tactician onboard Porco Rosso and the SB20 World Champion 2023 said: “It was a tricky event and each day we improved a lot as a team. It was a really nice weather and very competitive fleet. It was a great start for this team’s SB20 Worlds 2025 campaign!”
Great birthday present for the Club from the top three winning teams on the Portuguese podium – all representing Clube Naval de Cascais! In the Portuguese classification the first place went to team Hellonext of Tiago Morais (WeDoSailing), Gonçalo Lopes (Associação Náutica da Madeira), Guilherme Ryder, Zezi Cardoso and Diana Neves making them the 2024 National champion. In second place were AP Hotels & Resorts of José Paulo Ramada, Diogo Pereira, Miguel Leal Faria (Associação Naval de Lisboa) and Gonçalo Ramos (Clube de Vela do Barreiro). Team Drado of Hugo Mastbaum, Tomás Barreto and Luís Queiroz, closed the podium in 3rd place.
“After eight races we ended up second overall behind John Pollard. Congrats to them! There is no better way to finish the season. Goal accomplished! Thanks to [boat owner] Nuno Cabral for the challenge and opportunity. Also, a big cheers to the amazing crew throughout the season,” – said Tiago Morais, the new Portuguese Champion 2024.
Congratulations to the winners of the event and to Clube Naval de Cascais who have celebrated the anniversary with a great weekend of sailing! Not only excellent race management, but new technology highlighted the event: “It was the first time I sailed in Cascais with the new robotic marks and they worked quite well,” – mentioned John Pollard. – “They managed to rotate the course well due to many shifts.”
Next for the Class are the Open Belgian and the UK National Championships running on the 5-7th of July and 19-21st July accordingly. Stay tuned!