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  •  30/04/2013  •   Regattas

Gaastra PalmaVela, the sailing epicenter

Gaastra PalmaVela reaches it’s tenth edition this year and is part of the I Semana Náutica Internacional de Palma and proves to be healthy as there is an important number of entered boats. More than 140 yachts from 17 countries, will take part from next Thursday 2nd of May and to inaugurate the cruising racing calendar season in Spain will be officially presented at the RCNP with the assistance of the culture and sports Deputy Mayor of the Townhall of Palma, Fernando Gilet; Madeleine Heckel from Gaastra; and the manager and president of the RCNP, Javier Sanz and Jaime Carbonell.

Gilet acknowledged the effort the RCNP is making to maintain the competition level of this regatta as it transforms Palma into the international sailing epicenter” and gives the opportunity to have more than one thousand sailors from all over the world, enjoy sailing in the Bay of Palma and our city. The Deputy Mayor of Palma, pointed out the international character of the Gaastra PalmaVela and the role it takes in promoting the city to the exterior.

Gaastra PalmaVela is one of the three most important regattas the RCNP organizes during the year. After this first decade the organising committee is satisfied to still be able to gather all the different classes and types of boats, into one only event, says the manager of the Real Club Náutico de Palma, Jaime Carbonell.

In fact, Gaastra PalmaVela is not only a competition, it also becomes an important yachting party where all different type of boats gather in the waters of Palma de Mallorca. From the one design classes, to disabled sailing and up to the 43 meter boat length of the splendid Maxi classes. All of them gathered in the RC NP enjoying a good social atmosphere as well,after the day’s races.

Javier Sanz, president of the RCNP, considers that although the economic situation has changed all the activities in general, the regatta Gaastra PalmaVela remains a very interesting event and a referent in the sailing calendar for the sailing yacht owners. “This year, we have made it happen together with the International Yachting Week to add it to the celebration of the regattas tenth anniversary and to a series of acts of this international week”, ensures Sanz, “and by adding our prestige and experience it has made possible for us to gather all these different classes in the Gaastra PalmaVela, now, a ten year old pioneer idea that opens an event to all different types of improvements and evolution in the Spanish sailing circuit.

The president is proud to confirm that PalmaVela has settled a precedent in Spain and most of the regattas on mainland have copied our spirit and are applying for the international recognition our event has, and to enjoy having the big boat lengths back in the Bay of Palma. Sanz continues explaining that PalmaVela still has a great potential to improve as it is a very attractive destination out of the holiday and yachting season in Baleares.

The fleet and two social meeting points:
The fleet of this 2013 edition has 130 boats out of the following 16 invited classes: Wally, Maxi, Mini Maxi, IRC, ORC (1 to 4), Vintage and Classic, Lateen rigged boats, Soto 40, J80, Flying Fifteen, Dragon and Disabled Sailing.

The most numerous class with 52 entered boats is the ORC rating system, followed by the one design classes, such as the J80.

The big boats (Maxi, Wally and Mini Maxi), will be allocated at the Maxi Village, pontoon N00 of the RCNP. The rest of the fleet will be moored around the clubhouse and enjoy the social events at the club’s terrace.

More tan 1.000 sailors will compete in the 16 different classes in the bay of Palma, amongst them, America Cup, transoceanic and olympic sailors such as Pepe Ribes, Pablo Arrarte and Antonio Cuervas-Mons or Andrew Cape – with six round the world circumnavigation

Out on the water organisation.
Almost one hundred technical staff out on the water for the two racing areas in this Gaastra PalmaVela, close to the port of Palma (Alfa) and by the Cap Enderrocat, on the other side of the bay of Palma, (Bravo). The race committee has established a smaller area close to the cathedral only for the disabled sailing class.

Competition program
Although the event officially starts on the first of May, with registration confirmation and measurement controls, the first race to be sailed will be on the second of May, Thursday.

As usual the first clases to start racing will be the Wally, Maxi and Mini Maxi. Friday incorporates the Soto 40, IRC, ORC, J80, Flying Fifteen, Dragon, Classic, and Saturday the lateen rigged boats and disabled classes.

Awards
This year the Gaastra PalmaVela will offer a special award for the winners. The artist Luca Monzani (Torino, 1968), designer of the first regatta logo and painter of the Récord de la Vuelta a Mallorca (Four Stripes Challenge), has created a collection of paintings named “Premios PalmaVela 10º Aniversario”.

The collection can be viewed at the Sala Magna del Real Club Náutico de Palma from the 29th of April to the 5th of may. On this last day each one of these paintings will become the desired award for the 16 winners of the Gaastra PalmaVela.