Damián Borras and Sara Franceschi win the Snipe Masters World Championship in the Bay of Cádiz

El Puerto de Santa María, 22nd October 2023.- The Spaniards Damián Borras and Sara Franceschi (CN Mahón) have been crowned 2023 Snipe Masters World Champions in the waters of the Bay of Cadiz, after the last day of the regatta was a blank slate due to a strong easterly storm. Borras repeats the title he won two years ago with Jordi Triay, and now together with Franceschi, a very prestigious crew member in the class, wins the Absolute and Master world title, the Id Crook Memorial Trophy and the Volvo Trophy for the first classified Master.

Alongside them on the podium, two American couples with an impressive track record, now with silver and bronze medals in the 2023 Masters World Championship and gold in their respective categories. They are Ernesto Rodríguez and Katheleen Tocke, world runners-up and champions of the Junior Masters division and the Diputación de Cádiz Trophy, and Olympian Augie Díaz and Christine de Silva, third in the world and champions of the Grand Masters division and the Junta de Andalucía Trophy. In the Legend Master category, the World champions are the Portuguese Domingo Borralho and Francisco Medeiras, also winners of the La Española Trophy.

For the third day, the wind and sea conditions from the early hours left no room for doubt and the race committee led by Juan Castañeda and Carlos Muñoz Villareal raised the flag of cancellation and the end of the championship. Of the five scheduled days, only two were sailed, but the four races held left a very good feeling among the fleet given the demands of one of the most regatta-rich bays in the world.

The presentation of medals and trophies brought the championship to an end in a ceremony held at the CN Puerto Sherry facilities on the asphalt beach of the marina, which was conducted by the sailor Ignacio Díez de la Cortina and was attended by Valle de la Riva, president of Puerto Sherry; Petete Rubio, participant and promoter of the championship, accompanied by the councillor for Youth and Sport of the City Council of El Puerto de Santa María and Andalusian parliamentarian, José Ignacio González Nieto; Alfonso Candón, territorial delegate of Social Inclusion, Youth, Families and Equality of the Junta de Andalucía, Daniel Martínez, commodore of the CN Puerto Sherry; Javier Gorbeña, vice-president of the Classic Sailing Foundation; Fernando Celdrán, national secretary of the Snipe class; Zibi Rakocy, commodore of the International Snipe class (Scira); Martín Bermúdez, national vice-commodore of Snipe, and Paola Prada and Sue Roberts, members of the board of directors of the Scira.

All of them were presenting trophies and medals to the occupants of the different podiums, and also gifts from the sponsors, as was the case of Bodegas Entrechuelos with a pack of their wines for everyone. For their part, the widow and daughter of the former commodore of the class, Gweneth and Anne Crook, personally handed over the Id Crook Memorial Trophy, which will again be held for two years by Damián Borras.

Final rankings

ABSOLUTE

JUNIOR MASTER

MASTER

GREAT MASTER

LEGEND MÁSTER

The Snipe Masters World Championship has been organised by the Club Náutico Puerto Sherry, with the support of the Royal Spanish Sailing Federation, the Consejo Superior de Deportes and the International Secretariat of the Snipe Class (SCIRA), the collaboration of the National Secretariat of the class, the Snipe fleet of Cádiz, the City Council of El Puerto de Santa María, the Andalusian Sailing Federation and the Classic Sailing Foundation, and the sponsorship of Puerto Sherry, the Junta de Andalucía, the Diputación de Cádiz, the Omega Group, Volvo, La Española, La Española and the Fundación de Vela Clásica, the Andalusian Sailing Federation and the Classic Sailing Foundation, and the sponsorship of Puerto Sherry, the Junta de Andalucía, the Diputación de Cádiz, Grupo Omega, Volvo, La Española, Grupo Cuñado, Carex Logistic, ABD Consultoría y Soluciones Informáticas, Gipsy Blue, Repsol, Entrechuelos, Bodegas Caballero, Grupo Merino, Cruzcampo, Caryosa and Cache eventos.