The most glamorous classic sailboats in the world plough through Barcelona waters since tomorrow
- Nearly fifty boats from eight countries have reached the coast of Barcelona with the aim of offering a unique spectacle
- Citizens and tourists in Barcelona will enjoy, from different points along the coast, the magnificent picture of these mythical sailboats
Only 24 hours before for the starting gun, everything is ready in Real Club Náutico from Barcelona (RCNB) to start the XIth Regatta Puig Vela Clàssica Barcelona, a unique opportunity to admire in Spain the sailboats with more history and glamour of the world, competing to be the champion among the legends of the sea. Barcelona becomes, from today and until Saturday, the boating capital of the Mediterranean sea, to host the most prized jewels of international sailing.
In this edition, almost fifty classic and époque sailboats, the most attractive ones in the world, representing nine different countries, will compete in front of the coast of Barcelona in a show that no other big city in the world can enjoy. Either from the beach or from the Port Olímpic, Barcelona citizens and tourists will enjoy the showy manoeuvres of these mythical boats.
The ninth edition of the Regatta Puig Vela Clàssica Barcelona reunites a large international representation, with boats from the United States, Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Switzerland, Ireland and Spain. As in previous years, it is divided into five categories: Classic 1 and Classic 2 (both prior to 1976 and classified by size), Marconi Époque and Cangreja Époque (both before 1950 and catalogued by the type of sail) and Big Boats (whose length must exceed 23 meters).
The sports programme provides a dispute of four events as a maximum, held in routes between beacons or along the coast, depending on the wind conditions in the area of Barcelona regattas. The time scheduled for the first start (Classics) is at 13 am tomorrow, Thursday. The other categories will start right after it. According to the weather forecast, conditions will be favourable, since moderate southerly winds, ranging between 10 and 12 knots are foreseen.
High level among participants
This year, the competition will show again the highest level since, among the Classics, most of the winners in the previous eight editions are represented one more year: Alba (2015, 2012, 20111 and 2008), Yanira (2013 and 2010) and Argos (2009 ). Meanwhile, among the époque boats, we find prestigious yachts such as Marigold, winner of the last two editions in the Cangreja category, as well as Gipsy, which stepped the top of the podium in the same category in 2008 and 2011. While among the participants in the Marconi Époque, it is worth mentioning Amorita, winner of this event in 2008, 2011 and 2015.
Finally, Big Boats will again create excitement for their spectacularity in the races. They also count on the participation of most of the champions of previous courses, such as Moombeam III, master of this test with four titles (2015, 2013, 2012 and 2010), and Moonbeam IV, who broke the hegemony of its namesake in 2014. But these leaders are not going to have it so easy, because they have very strong competitors, such as Mariette, a regular at this competition, and Sumurum, debuting with the pedigree of having several victories in other international regattas.
Activity in Real Club Náutico from Barcelona is constant, as crews of these fifty participants are carrying out the final preparations for their vessels, with the aim of having them ready to start the competition tomorrow. It is time to have all details ready in order to successfully tackle the XIth Regatta Puig Vela Clàssica Barcelona, a social and sports event that has become one of the most outstanding competitions of the regattas calendar of the international circuit.