The 19th Palma Velawhich for the third time in a row will be preceded by La Larga, begins to place the Real Club Náutico de Palma (RCNP) under the spotlight because it will host a massive and varied fleet with boats ranging from 30 meters in length of the imposing Wallycento to just eight of the small monodesigns. The first signs of attention will not be given until May, but the regatta programs are already known: the super-long fleet will start the competition on Thursday, May 4, starting at 1:00 p.m. (it will try to complete a maximum of six tests, of which at least two will be coastal regattas); and the one-design races will start on Friday, May 5, at 1:00 p.m. (nine windward/leeward races divided into three days).
The spectacle of the great lengths is guaranteed in the bay of Palma with the return for another year of the Wally and Maxis of the IMA (International Maxi Association). La PalmaVela is also part of the IMA 2023 Regatta Calendar as a qualifier for the IMA Mediterranean Maxi Inshore Challenge. Among those registered there will be no shortage of Wallycento Galateia David M. Leuschen, who defends the title in his category after having swept 2022 with full victories in his locker. On this occasion, those from Leuschen will also face Wallycento Magic Carpet 3 of Sir Lindsay Owen-Jones, the Morgana of Francesco de Santis, the vera by Nicolás González Cuadrado, the S/Y Rose of Benjamin Potter and the Atalante by Romain Mouchel. “For us it is a real pleasure to receive the super-long fleet again. We are also very grateful because the calendars are very tight and in the end it is difficult to organize a team of more than 30 crew members such as the Magic Carpet or Galateia”, explains Vivi Mainemare, RCNP sports coordinator.
The event organized by the Real Club Náutico de Palma remains faithful for another year to its vocation as a multi-class regatta, and in front of the great lengths there will also be the small one-design boats of between eight and eleven metres: J80, 6 Meters and Dragon. In the words of Mainemare, “on an organizational level, it is thanks to the efforts of all the club’s staff, members and Institutions that we can accommodate both the longer boats and the one-design boats, which have their own space. The transformation carried out by a club like this is what makes it possible to welcome so many boats and all of them so different”. Divided into three classes, there will be a total of 23 monotypes that will compete in real time to win the title of the prestigious Balearic event. Both the J80 and the Dragon are already veteran divisions of the regatta, but for the 6 Meters this will be their first PalmaVela and the third time they have competed in the RCNP after the 2018 Copa del Rey MAPFRE and the recently completed Princesa Sofía Trophy.