The 3rd Roche Timón Regatta was moved to the Real Club Náutico de Cádiz on the initiative of Pepe Ruiz, ‘El Hijo del Viento’, to pay tribute to his friend Javier Vallejo, ‘Mazinger’. Eleven skippers of DF65 radio-controlled sailing boats took part in a competition that ended with Arnaldo Brito claiming victory.
There are regattas where the important thing is not just the final standings. The 3rd Timón de Roche Grand Regatta, held on 17 and 18 October at the Real Club Náutico de Cádiz, was one of them. The competition brought together eleven skippers from the DF65 class, but there was one figure in the spotlight who did not need to be on the starting line: Javier Vallejo ‘Mazinger’, the much-missed sailor from Cádiz to whom this edition was dedicated.
The initiative came from Pepe Ruiz ‘El Hijo del Viento’, owner of the Timón de Roche restaurant, who decided specifically to move the third edition of his regatta to Cádiz to pay tribute to his friend, who had recently passed away.
The change of venue made the event a particularly meaningful occasion for Vallejo’s family, his sailing companions and numerous members and supporters of the Cádiz club.
Eleven skippers and nine races in the waters off Cádiz
The harbour of the Real Club Náutico de Cádiz hosted two days of competition characterised by wind conditions that demanded concentration and quick reactions from the participants.
The light southerly and south-easterly breezes, accompanied by constant shifts, complicated the skippers’ tactical decisions. In a discipline such as DF65 radio-controlled sailing, where every manoeuvre and every change in wind direction can prove decisive, finding the right course was one of the main challenges.
Despite the difficulties, the race committee managed to complete nine races over the weekend.
The technical organisation was handled by RCSOTOGRANDE, which also provided several boats so that members and enthusiasts could try their hand at radio-controlled sailing and experience the sport first-hand.
The committee also benefited from the voluntary participation of Juan Castañeda, Alfonso Díaz Canel and Carlos Corral, three friends of Javier Vallejo who wished to contribute personally to the memorial.
Arnaldo Brito takes victory in the DF65 class
On the sporting front, Arnaldo Brito, skipper of the ABM YACHT SUPPORT, claimed victory after displaying remarkable consistency on a race course affected by unstable winds.
Brito took the lead from the very first race, although he had to defend his position against two rivals who remained in contention for the top spots: Pepe Ruiz, on board the TIMÓN DE ROCHE, and Guillermo Puche, at the helm of the INALEC.
The three of them were at the heart of the battle for the top positions throughout the nine races.
In the end, Arnaldo Brito took first place in the overall standings, followed by Pepe Ruiz in second and Guillermo Puche in third.
Results: podium for the 3rd Timón de Roche Grand Regatta
- 1st Arnaldo Brito – ABM YACHT SUPPORT
- 2nd Pepe Ruiz – TIMÓN DE ROCHE
- 3rd Guillermo Puche – INALEC
Also worthy of a mention is the performance of Félix Pérez, who remained close to the top positions and was in contention for a podium place at various stages of the competition.
For his part, Borja Melgarejo, skipper of the MIDAS, stood out for his ability to adapt to a race course where constant changes in wind direction could alter the course of each race.
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A tribute that was also celebrated out of the water
Beyond the competition, the weekend provided some memorable moments at the Cádiz club’s facilities.
One such moment featured Alejandro Gratacós, who put on a display of manoeuvres aboard a tugboat at the club’s harbour mouth. The boat’s movements, accompanied by several blasts of the horn, caught the attention of the spectators watching the day’s events.
It was one of the highlights of a regatta in which the atmosphere of camaraderie and shared memories carried just as much weight as the races themselves.
The ‘Mazinger’ family take centre stage at the awards ceremony
The most emotional moment came during lunch and the subsequent awards ceremony, held at the Real Club Náutico de Cádiz.
The event was presided over by Miguel Ramos, an iconic figure at the Cádiz club and a friend of Javier Vallejo.
However, the most special moment came when Bea, Rafa and Juanlu, ‘Mazinger’s’ siblings, took part in presenting the trophies to the regatta’s winners.
Their presence lent special significance to a ceremony that went far beyond sporting recognition. Family, friends and sailing companions thus shared a collective memory of the man who had carried the name of the Real Club Náutico de Cádiz and his city across various international regatta venues.
A regatta to keep the memory of Javier Vallejo alive
The third edition of the Gran Regata Timón de Roche concluded with the satisfaction of having completed nine races and, above all, of having brought together in Cádiz people linked by their friendship with Javier Vallejo.
The organisers expressed their gratitude to the Real Club Náutico de Cádiz for hosting the competition, to Juan Castañeda, Alfonso Díaz Canel and Carlos Corral for their selfless collaboration on the race committee, and to the family of the honouree for accompanying the participants throughout the event.
Special mention was also made of the role played by Pepe Ruiz ‘El Hijo del Viento’, whose decision to bring the regatta to Cádiz made it possible to dedicate this edition to the memory of his friend.
Arnaldo Brito claimed victory, but the name that defined the weekend was that of Javier Vallejo ‘Mazinger’. A leading figure in Cádiz sailing, whose memory once again brought together family, friends and sailors around the race course.
A tugboat’s horn sounds in Cádiz in memory of ‘Mazinger’
One of the most special moments of the 3rd Timón de Roche Grand Regatta took place away from the regatta course. At midday, Alejandro Gratacós, skipper of a tugboat, sounded the vessel’s horn several times in tribute to Javier Vallejo ‘Mazinger’.
The gesture took place at the mouth of the Real Club Náutico de Cádiz, where the tugboat also performed several manoeuvres in front of the onlookers. The blasts of the horn thus added to the memories and expressions of affection for the Cádiz-born sailor that characterised the two days of the event.
It was a different way of remembering ‘Mazinger’: with the sound of a boat in the very same maritime setting that brought together his family, friends and sailing companions.
Behind this initiative is also the Timón de Roche restaurant, whose name is taken from a regatta now in its third year. Its owner, Pepe Ruiz, known in sailing circles as ‘El Hijo del Viento’, has turned this event into a way of maintaining his connection with sailing. On this occasion, that connection took on a particularly personal significance when he decided to dedicate the competition to the memory of Javier Vallejo ‘Mazinger’.
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