SailCascais Trophy Opens the Winter Season After the J/70 World Championship

The Clube Naval de Cascais hosted the 1st Cascais J/70 Winter Series – SailCascais Trophy from October 24 to 25, marking the first major J/70 event in Cascais following the successful 2026 J/70 World Championship held at the same venue.

The opening event of the Winter Series brought together 12 J/70 teams from 4 different nationalities, with a highly competitive fleet combining experienced international sailors and some of the teams that continue to prepare for the demanding winter season ahead.

Over two days of racing, the fleet completed six races, with Cascais once again providing challenging and rewarding sailing conditions, combining tactical racing, strong competition and the characteristic Atlantic environment.

1st Cascais J70 Winter Series – SAILCASCAIS TROPHY. Credit Neuza Aires Pereira.

Day 1 – Strong Atlantic Conditions and Close Racing

The opening day delivered classic Cascais conditions, with strong offshore breeze and challenging waves creating an exciting race track.

Three races were completed, with several teams exchanging positions throughout the day.

In Race 1, SAILCASCAIS (POR 152), skippered by Manuel Ramos, took the win after a strong performance, followed by UON (POR 1046), led by José Caldeira, and Irrational Exuberance (BRA 1618), skippered by Adriano Bastos.

The second race saw YUPI (ESP 1170), skippered by Joan Cardona, move to the front of the fleet, with SAILCASCAIS (POR 152 – Manuel Ramos) and UON (POR 1046 – José Caldeira) completing the leading group.

In Race 3, YUPI (ESP 1170 – Joan Cardona) continued its strong form, followed by UON (POR 1046 – José Caldeira) and Irrational Exuberance (BRA 1618 – Adriano Bastos).

At the end of the first day, the overall standings were:

1st – ESP 1170 YUPI – Joan Cardona

2nd – POR 1046 UON – José Caldeira

3rd – POR 152 SAILCASCAIS – Manuel Ramos

After racing, Lucas Kalermo, skipper of Solid Fun (FIN 787), highlighted the excellent sailing conditions in Cascais:

“First of all, it was a really fun day, the sun is shining, really good weather, some waves, choppy waves, and good racing, so it was fun. The winter is definitely coming to Finland, but here it’s 20 degrees and sunny, so I’m very happy to be here.”

Joan Cardona, skipper of YUPI (ESP 1170), also praised the venue and the team’s performance:

“It was really nice, we had really good wind in the offshore wind, and it’s an amazing place to sail, that’s why we come here. We needed clean starts, be able to be fast upwind, and then just send it with the waves downwind, and that put us in really good places.”

1st Cascais J70 Winter Series – SAILCASCAIS TROPHY. Credit Neuza Aires Pereira.

Day 2 – Consistency Decides the Winner

The second day brought lighter conditions, but the racing remained highly competitive, with teams fighting for every position throughout the three races.

In Race 4, YUPI (ESP 1170 – Joan Cardona) continued its winning form, followed by Solid Fun (FIN 787 – Lucas Kalermo) and UON (POR 1046 – José Caldeira).

Race 5 saw another victory for YUPI (ESP 1170 – Joan Cardona), with UON (POR 1046 – José Caldeira) in second and AP Hotels (POR 661 – José Paulo Ramada) completing the podium.

The final race of the event brought a decisive change at the top. UON (POR 1046 – José Caldeira) secured the race win, while SAILCASCAIS (POR 152 – Manuel Ramos) finished second and Solid Fun (FIN 787 – Lucas Kalermo) third.

The final overall podium was:

1st – ESP 1170 YUPI

Joan Cardona

Pilar Amaro Filgueira

Javier de la Gandara

Alejandro Prego

2nd – POR 1046 UON

José Caldeira

Helder Basilio

Tiago Leal

Julia Cardoso

Gonçalo Ribeiro

3rd – POR 152 SAILCASCAIS

Manuel Ramos

Tomás Barreto

Vasco Soares

Bernardo Santos

The Corinthian Division winner was:

FIN 787 Solid Fun

Lucas Kalermo

Sandra Sonneborn

Livia Väresmaa

Simon Kalermo

Atte Timmerbacka

At the end of the championship, Gonçalo Ribeiro, from UON (POR 1046), reflected on the team’s performance and the future of the Winter Series:

“We had an amazing regatta. It was the first time together with this UON team, it’s all friends and we ended up going our way. We were very happy. You can see by yourselves, it was great conditions. I think the Winter Series here will be great as well, there’s a great setup, Vakaros RaceSense system, and a lot of good sailors coming. I want to be here and do the rest of the Winter Series.”

1st Cascais J70 Winter Series – SAILCASCAIS TROPHY. Credit Neuza Aires Pereira.

Looking Ahead

The Cascais J/70 Winter Series continues with the next event:

2nd Cascais J/70 Winter Series – J/70 Atlantic Cup

28-29 November

The Winter Series continues to strengthen Cascais’ position as one of Europe’s leading J/70 sailing venues, bringing together top international teams and providing the perfect platform for high-level one-design racing throughout the season.

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