- Spain’s leading annual event for classic sailing brings together the most legendary sailboats from Germany, Argentina, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, the UK and Uruguay
- The 12th edition joins the celebrations of the 5th Centenary of the first circumnavigation with a commemorative trophy
Barcelona, July 10th, 2019.- The 12th edition of the Puig Vela Clàssica Barcelona regatta started with its traditional welcome cocktail. Until Saturday, July 13th, the best classic sailboats will meet and race at Barcelona, in a new edition of a must-see in the classic sailing races calendar, which this year will be featuring over 44 sailboats.
Over the next three days, around 500 yachtsmen from Spain and abroad —Germany, Argentina, France, Ireland, Italy, the UK and Uruguay— will compete in the waters of the Catalan capital, offering a unique show right off the city’s most popular beaches. The Real Club Náutico de Barcelona is already in its full splendor and ready to start on Thursday the first race of the three-day competition.
The Puig Vela Clàssica Barcelona joins other regattas in the Spanish sailing circuit on the celebration of the 500th Anniversary of the Magellan-Elcano circumnavigation.
All set for the great nautical event that takes place from July 11th to 13th
The Real Club Náutico de Barcelona moorings bustle with activity during this previous day of the 12th Puig Vela Clàssica regatta, that will be kicking off tomorrow.
Each boat’s crew spent the last day on the final preparations of their vessels, and on formalizing their registration, which will not officially close until tomorrow. Forty sailboats are expected to take part in this year’s regatta.
The sports program will be kicking off tomorrow at 1pm right off the Port Olimpic with the start of the first race, which will be taking place in front of the Barcelona beaches. On Friday and Saturday, at the same time, two more planned races will complete the regatta’s program. The weather forecast is mild to medium winds, conditioned by the high thermal effect of these recent days.
As it is tradition in the Puig Vela Clàssica regatta, the boats competing belong to the five categories —Big Boats, Vintage graff-rigged and Bermuda, and the Classic, subdivided into categories 1 and 2, according to their size. The Halloween (Big Boats), Argos (Classic 2) and Marigan (Vintage gaff-rigged) will be defending last year’s title; while the Mercury (Bermuda) and the Yanira (Classic 1), which classified second last year, are considered favorites to take over the absent Peter and Guia.
Among the important fleet of true historical jewels, this year’s highlight is the presence of the two first 12-meters built in Italy in the early 20th Century. Despite their long history, the mythical La Spina and Emilia Prima had never raced one another; thus, the Puig Vela Clàssica will set another historical milestone with the first sports battle between these two legendary boats.
The Puig Vela Clàssica regatta celebrates the 5th Centenary of the Magellan-Elcano round˗the˗world expedition
On September 1519, under the command of Ferdinand Magellan, an expedition financed by the Spanish Crown set sail from the port of Sanlúcar de Barrameda, with the aim of finding a Western route to the Moluccas (Spice Islands), by tracking a passage between the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific. Under the command of Juan Sebastián Elcano on its return in 1522, the Magellan-Elcano expedition was the first to complete a circumnavigation in the naval history.
2019 is the first of the four years in which the Spanish Army has organized commemorative events of the 5th Centenary of the first circumnavigation. To celebrate the event, the Juan Sebastián Elcano Trophy was created and 80 busts of the Basque sailor were produced; they will be delivered in many Spanish regattas during the current and the following wear.
The Puig Vela Clàssica Barcelona regatta joins this celebration and will be granting the award to one of the participating boats in this year’s edition during the awards ceremony on Saturday, July 13th.
The regatta field in Barcelona, stage of great duels between classics
In its 12th edition, the Puig Vela Clàssica regatta counts once more with world-class participants who will sail in the Classic, Vintage and Big Boats categories. Many of the boats that took part in previous editions are back this year, encouraged by both the magnificent conditions of the waters and the high level of the competition. The sports program foresees three races in the Barcelona regatta course, located in front of its most popular beaches.
More than 40 nautical jewels will be sailing in front of the Barcelona beaches, following a marked triangle and coastal circuits. Among them, the seven-times champion in the Big Boats category, the 1903 Moonbeam III, plus the 1926 Guide, and the 1953 Yanira. This edition marks the debut of seven classic sailboats: one of them is the 33-meter long late 19th Century Black Swan, that will compete in the Big Boat category; and vintage boats like the Arosa, property of the Spanish Army, La Spina, the first 12-meter registered in Italy, and the Emilia Prima (1930), which belonged to the Agnelli dynasty.
In addition to being part of the official calendar of the Real Federación Española de Vela (Royal Spanish Sailing Federation) —also scoring for the 2018 Spanish Championship of Classic and Vintage Ships and the VIII Mare Nostrum Trophy—, the 12th edition of the Puig Vela Clàssica Barcelona regatta is a unique event that will be enjoyed by both the citizens of Barcelona and all those who will be visiting the city during the second week of July.
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