Only a few weeks before the start of Palma’s Sail Racing PalmaVela 2017 showcase regatta already over 140 teams from 18 different nationalities have registered. In fact over half the fleet will race under a non-Spanish flag highlighting the appeal to international crews who relish the prospect of great competition to set their 2017 season off on the perfect footing.
There is exactly 15 days until the first starting gun of the 14th edition of the Sail Racing PalmaVela, the renowned multi class event that traditionally kicks off the calendar of big regattas in the Mediterranean. Racing is scheduled to start on Thursday, May 4th, at midday on the famous Bay of Palma, widely considered one of the best racing arenas in the world.
There are 143 teams from 18 different nations entered so far, a step up from the 116 entries of 2016 and which makes this one of the biggest in the history of the event.
According to Manu Fraga, sports director of the Real Club Náutico de Palma, the number of participants matches the hopes of the organisation: “Our goal for this edition was to reach a good, significant number of competitors across all classes, but at the same time enjoying the fact that the size of the fleet was manageable to ensure that all sailors are comfortable in the yacht club and that they can enjoy fair races on the water.”
The competition will be held on three race courses in the Bay of Palma and the fleet will be formed into these classes:
Six will compete in real time, the one designs ClubSwan 50, Swan 45, ClubSwan 42, J80, Dragon and Flying Fifteen, and seven under handicap on corrected time, the Wally, IMA / Maxi, Maxi 72, ORC, IRC, Vintage / Classic / Spirit of Tradition and Disabled Sailing.
Over half the fleet with a foreign flag
The dock of the Real Club Náutico de Palma will host boats from Germany, Denmark, Spain, United States, France, Holland, British Virgin Islands, Italy, Antigua, Malta, Norway, Portugal, United Kingdom, Romania, Russia, Belgium, Sweden and Switzerland.
Spain is once more the country with the largest number of participants, but the host club’s Fraga points out that over half the fleet will sail under a foreign flag: “Almost 80 of the 143 registered entries are from outside Spain, which confirms once again the truly international character of this event.” In addition to the host, the countries with the biggest presence on the race course of the Sail Racing PalmaVela 2017 will be the United Kingdom, Germany and the Netherlands.
The Sail Racing PalmaVela will be held from May 3rd to the 7th. It is organized by the Real Club Náutico de Palma and the Royal Spanish Sailing Federation, with the sponsorship of Sail Racing, the institutional sponsorship of the Government of the Balearic Islands and the City Council of Palma, and the collaboration of the Balearic Sailing Federation, Club Nàutic S’Arenal and the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands.
