• From tomorrow and until Saturday 19th of July, the most important classic boats in the world will offer a unique show in the Barcelona waters
  • This sporting event has become one of the reference competitions in the classic boats international calendar and it brings together the best classic fleets from different countries: Argentina, UK, France, Italy and Spain
  • Some previous winners, such as the Manitou, the Yanira or the Mariquita, repeat this year after having confirmed their participation in this competition

Barcelona, 16th July 2014. After the start, last Monday, of the Puig 12mR World Championship, tomorrow starts the VII Puig Vela Clàssica Barcelona, which will help to completely transform the city into the Mediterranean capital of the Classic and Vintage Sailing.

Until the 19th of July, crews from our country and other parts of the world such as Argentina, France, UK and Italy will compete in the waters of the Catalan capital to perform a unique show in the nautical heart of the city, just five minutes away from the Sagrada Família and ten from the Gothic Neighborhood. This is definitely something that no other capital of the Mediterranean can offer to its sailors.

Both residents in the capital and tourists will have the unique opportunity of enjoying as if it was a floating exhibition, the parade of the most famous boats in history, only less than a mile away from the coast and from different locations, either from the Port Vell or the Port Olímpic and from the Barceloneta beach as well.

Over 1.000 participants, ready to sail

Sailors participating in the VII Puig Vela Clàssica Barcelona are investing their last hours before the competition to take care of every detail and to get the boats ready for the three regattas they are going to carry out between Thursday and Saturday, coinciding at sea the last two days with legendary 12 meters.

In this edition we will be able admire the spectacular Moombeam III, winner of the last two editions of the regatta in the Big Boats category, and the Moombeam IV –second position in 2012 and third one in 2012–, who is celebrating her 100th anniversary this 2014, or the English boat Mariquita, who was third in 2013. The Classics Yanira and Alba, first and second positions respectively in 2013, and usual winners since the first editions of this regatta, will also repeat this year.

All these mythical sailboats have one thing in common: despite their age, the various hands through which they have passed and the multiple reconstructions to which they have been subjected, in their decks the scent of their original soul can still be breathed. These are real museum gems of the navigation, fitted with nautical heritage and culture that can keep sailing and that will rarely be seen in big cities like Barcelona.

Moreover, a select group of these boats hides important and fabulous stories behind them, which make them different, either because they have participated in wars or because they have had many different owners and sailors, many of whom have been eminent personalities. The Manitou –who was the presidential boat of John F. Kennedy– is one of the boats that really stand out, together with the Moombeam IV –where Rainiero of Monaco and Grace Kelly spent their honeymoon– or the Mariquita –who belonged to the royal fleet of King George V–. Another impressive yacht that will sail in this edition of the Puig Vela Clàssica Barcelona is the Eleonora, with 50 meters in length, who is one of the biggest classic boats of the international circuit of classic sailing, or the Marigan, built in 1898 and the usual winner of the best positions of the race in the most recent editions.

All these vessels, in addition to the fleet of 12 meters, close the golden brooch to the celebration, this current 2014, of the 100th anniversary of Puig. The Catalan company, now run by the third generation of the family, has wanted to go a step further in its commitment to the world of sailing by organizing two first level classic regattas.

A walk in the nautical history in three types of vessels

This VII Edition of the Regatta establishes the three traitional categories, depending on the design, age and size of the yachts:

  • Vintage Boats: Boats made of wood or metal, launched before the 31st of December 1949.
  • Classic Boats: Made of wood or metal, in accordance with the original plans and launched between the 1st of January 1950 and the 31st of December 1975.
  • Big Boats: Vintage and Classic Boats with lengths from 25 meters.

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