Around a month after the Olympic sailors kicked off the season, the big boats are now on the move in the Bay of Palma from the last week of April to the beginning of May: the PalmaVela has been one of the top European regattas popular with owners and crews alike since the very beginning. The big-boat showdown in the Balearic Islands is all about quality and quantity.
PalmaVela: first long distance, then short race
The host Real Club Náutico de Palma is the popular centre of the series, which also offers a long-distance race in addition to its exciting short races with La Larga. The PalmaVela is sailed according to IRC and ORC. Box-rule sailing is offered for TP52 racers. There are also standardised classes such as Swans, J80, Dragons and Flying Fifteen. Classic beauties are included in the "Spirit of Tradition" division as well as a series for handicapped sailors on Hansa 303 boats.
The opening race of the 21st PalmaVela is La Larga, the long-distance race, which starts today, 26 April at 12 noon. Boats between 36 and 100 feet in length will start the race. This will be followed on 1 May by the maxi races in the Bay of Palma. A day later, on 2 May, the other classes will also get into the action. Mallorca's blissful week for keelboat yachts ends on 4 April with the final races of all divisions and the winners' party in the evening on the terrace of the Real Club Nautico.
The biggest eye-catchers remain the Wallys and Maxis with which PalmaVela once took off. David Leuschens Wallycento R/P "Galateia" won the last two editions in the Maxi division. This year there will certainly be new winners in her absence. Click here for an overview of the registered boats in all classes - for both the long distance and the coastal races.
"Magic Carpet e" has what it takes to be a star
Six impressive IMA/Maxi yachts and their crews want to provide spectacular images and exciting races in the largest class. Among them is Sven Wackerhagen's Wally 80 "Rose" flying the flag of the Kiel Yacht Club. The new GV 100 "Magic Carpet e" from Sir Lindsay Owen-Jones and the Wally Cento "Tilakhana" will be coming from Great Britain. Robert Szustkowski's Polish Mylius 60 "R6", the Spanish Mills V68 "Pelotari Project" and the French Botin 65 "Spirit of Lorina" complete the maxi field.
At a time when it seems that every innovative and fast yacht has to be a foiler, this project will prove that there are virtually no limits to the ground-breaking concepts that can be developed for a 'traditional yacht'." Marcello Persico
The 30.5 metre long supermaxi storey "Magic Carpet e" Designed by Guillaume Verdier and built by Persico Marine in Italy, the prospective record-breaker was unveiled at the beginning of this year. Marcello Persico said on this occasion: "Projects like 'Magic Carpet e' spur us on to push boundaries. 'Magic Carpet e' definitely sets new standards in high-performance technology and reaches an unrivalled level."
Large German contingent for the PalmaVela
A total of 162 boats from 17 countries and their crews are expected to attend the keelboat summit off Mallorca. 23 German teams intend to take part in the PalmaVela racing series. These include well-known starters and boats such as Johannes Wackerhagen's J/V 49 "Desna", Christian Plump's crew on the Swan 42 "Elena Nova" and Sven Heyden's Knierim 49 "Caro".
In ORC 1, the co-favoured crew on "Elena Nova", which celebrated so many successes last season and also won the Copa de Rey, will have strong competition. The DK 46 "HM Hospitales-Hyatt" with Olympic champion Fernando León and the Fast 40 "Ram" with Niklas Zennström at the helm are also considered to have good chances.
Eleven German starters are registered among 48 yachts for the La Larga long-distance race. Nine of them are also taking part in the rest of the race series. The largest yachts flying the black, red and gold flag include Peter Georg Meier's "Gratia", Matthias Spott's Swan 65 "Vici Lu 2", August Kiermaier's J/V 53 "Spirit" and Enis Ersüs Contest 63 "Blue Vision" and the Lutra 52 "Aquis Granus IV" from ASV Aachen.
This clip from last year shows the long-distance challenge of La Larga:
