The competition at the Rolex IMS Offshore Worlds is so close that some very experienced skippers are making elementary errors. Among the three potential winners disqualified for being over the line was none other than Spain’s double Olympic champion Luis Doreste.

Doreste went on to win and brought Telepizza-Pepsi back to the dock pleased with his 2,1 scorecard. On finding out about the DSQ, Doreste fumed “we do not believe we were over the line.”

Another Spanish casualty of over-enthusiasm was Movistar Activa, winner of the regatta’s first Class B race. They now fall to midfleet, along with Telepizza-Pepsi. These two skippers in particular will be hoping that conditions allow at least seven races to be run, at which point a regatta-saving discard will come into effect.

The descent of Telepizza-Pepsi, a Sinergia 40, leaves the top of the class to the IMX-40s. The top four boats are all IMX-40s, and leading the Class is Giacomelli Sport. With former America1s Cup skipper Mauro Pelaschier at the helm, their sixth in race one and second in race two leaves them at the top of Class B.

Progress was scarcely any more dignified in Class A. Bribon, with the King of Spain onboard and Torben Grael calling tactics, was involved in a collision at the windward mark with Vicente Tirado’s Castellon Costa Azahar, helmed by Spanish 49er world champion Santiago Lopez Vasquez.

Fernando Leon’s Cam however escaped without incident to record her second win in two races. Forty knot winds and rough seas lashed the fleet during their 110 mile offshore race, bringing down one mast and peppering the fleet with gear damage. Leon’s caution meant that he rounded the first turning mark of the offshore in tenth place.

Pasquale Landolfi’s Brava Q8 took a second and a third place into Wednesday’s offshore but Australian navigator Andrew Cape expects to make up some ground on the overall leader while offshore.

“Navigation in a race like this is about doing a lot of homework on what you think the wind is going to do,” said Cape. “It’s not just about looking at a weather sheet, but about using your own skill and instincts to interpret that information.”

Brava Q8 is currently sharing second place with Pedro Campos’ IMX-40 Telefonica Movistar. Campos is helming the only IMX-40 racing in Class A and so far that decision seems to be paying off. The offshore however would be a different matter.

“Probably either the biggest boat, Alexia, or the smallest boat, ourselves, will win the race depending on what the wind does,” said Campos.