PalmaVela launches “La Larga”, its great commitment to tall sailing

20/10/2021

Palmavela

The competition, which will serve as a prologue to the seventeenth edition of PalmaVela, will set sail on Sunday 24.

The seventeenth edition of the PalmaVela Regatta, organized by the Real Club Náutico de Palma, will last more days by incorporating for the first time in its history an offshore regatta of 150 nautical miles.

The test, which will officially begin on October 22 with two previous days for the confirmation of registrations, will set sail next Sunday, the 24th, and will make a journey between the islands of Dragonera, Tagomago and Cabrera, with departure and arrival in the Bay of Palma.

The RCNP has christened the new regatta as “La Larga”, in memory of the offshore regatta that formerly included the Copa del Rey, and the objective is to attract specialized vessels in carrying out long crossings and at the same time offer an incentive to national shipowners that combine coastal and pole regattas with those of height.

Those registered in “La Larga” will be divided into three categories: ORC, ORC A2 (for reduced crews) and IRC. In this last class, the “Trifork”, from the owner Jens Dolmer, starts as the favorite, the VOR 70 that in January 2020 smashed the record for the return to Mallorca by sailing by stopping the clock in 13 hours and 15 minutes. Its main rivals will be the VM62 “Leaps & Bounds”, by Jean Philippe Blanplain, and the V68 “Pelotari Project”, by Jonsi Seguí.

Another boat in possession of the record for the circumnavigation of Mallorca, the “Azuree”, by Eduardo Horrach, will take part in “La Larga” in ORC 2 class. The RCNP sailor established on October 26, 2020 the best mark for solitaire in boats of no more than 40 feet with a time of 25 hours and 5 minutes.

The organization’s forecast is that the voyage will last until October 26 and that, one day later, the PalmaVela will begin, in which 82 boats have confirmed their presence at the moment, including practically the entire fleet of the class. TP52 that from November 1 will contest its world championship under the technical organization of the Real Club Náutico de Palma.