Month: August 2021

Posted on

Countdown to the Prince of Asturias Trophy

 

· The historic competition co-organized by the Monte Real Yacht Club and the Escuela Naval Militar celebrates its thirty-sixth edition as one of the most important nautical events in Spain

· 75 boats of different classes will compete starting next Friday and for three days in a program of regattas that will take place in the Galician Rías Baixas

· The event sponsored for yet another year by ABANCA will include the Terras Gauda National Awards gala, the 25th Gestilar Ladies Cup and will put the Xunta President Trophy up for grabs

Official presentation of the Prince of Asturias Trophy in Baiona – Photo Leticia Acero

With the official presentation of the event at a press conference held this Tuesday in Baiona, the countdown formally begins for the 36th Prince of Asturias Trophy , which will be held one more year thanks to the sponsorship of ABANCA . The historic competition co-organized by the Monte Real Yacht Club and the Military Naval School is one of the most important nautical events in Spain and will take place next Friday in the waters of the Galician Rías Baixas, lasting for three days, until Sunday. 5.

75 crews will compete in a regatta program in which several coastal routes and other windward-leeward type tests are marked. It will be, as explained by the Commodore of the MRCYB, Ignacio Sánchez Otaegui, “a program in which the teams will have to prove their worth both in mid-course tests and in other more technical ones, and in which the winners will be those who dominate both situations, manage to read the wind and the conditions with greater accuracy and execute the best decisions and maneuvers in the water”.

The Commodore of the Monte Real Yacht Club, Ignacio Sánchez Otaegui explained the details of the competition – Photo Clara Giraldo

In the Galician nautical event, women will once again have a prominent role through the Gestilar Ladies Cup , the exclusively female competition that Monte Real has been organizing for 25 years within the framework of the Prince of Asturias Trophy. In this 2021, the event celebrates its silver anniversary, half a century of life with the same objective with which it was born, that of trying to promote the presence of women in high competition. Six teams made up of six women will duel on six identical boats (Figaro Beneteau).

Also under equal conditions -as far as the type of boat is concerned- the J80 will compete, a class in which Monte Real will have the largest presence of its own boats. For years, the club has maintained a firm commitment to these 8-meter boats and the award of the World Cup to Baiona in 2023 has only increased the interest of shipowners in the club’s championships and the number of boats participating in the competitions of monotypes.

Thus, the 36th Prince of Asturias Trophy maintains, broadly speaking, the characteristics that have made it the the most important sailing competition in Galicia : multiple classes, a variety of tests, various regatta fields, an exclusively female section and another for monotypes, and an adapted sailing boat in which people with functional diversity will sail. The only changes in its usual program are motivated by COVID19, and will imply a limitation of participating boats (the registration of more than 75 sailboats has not been allowed), control of access and capacity, carrying out antigen tests on all the organization’s personnel, continuous cleaning of the facilities, the mandatory use of masks and the suspension of traditional breakfasts, dinners and fireworks.

They remain, yes, the two awards galas. The Prince of Asturias Trophy, on Sunday at half past six in the afternoon, will include this year as a novelty the delivery of the President of the Xunta Trophy , which is added to the already usual ones of the competition for the different classes; to the Conde de Barcelona Trophy (for the best ship with a Portuguese crew) and the Mary Woodward Trophy (for the best J80 of the season).

The other gala, on Saturday at eight o’clock in the afternoon, will be the National Sailing Awards , once again sponsored by Bodegas Terras Gauda. In this 2021, the Catalan Didac Costa will receive awards for the best ocean sailor, the Spain SailGP Team for the best team and innovative project, the crew formed by the Galician Támara Echegoyen and the Balearic Paula Barceló for the best women’s team and Helena de la Gándara for her Tokyo 2020 Olympic team communication project. The three athletes who returned from the Japanese Olympics with a bronze medal will also be distinguished: Joan Cardona (for the best Olympic sailor) and Jordi Xammar and Nico Rodríguez (for the best Olympic team).

In the official presentation of the event, the president of the Monte Real Yacht Club, José Luis Álvarez; and the Commander-in-Chief of the Naval Military School, Pedro Cardona, thanked, as co-organizers of the competition, the sponsorship of ABANCA, Gestilar and Terras Gauda to make possible this new edition of the Prince of Asturias Trophy, the Ladies Cup and the National Sailing Awards respectively.

They also highlighted the collaboration of the multiple firms and companies that are part of the team of collaborators of the competition and the support of the Xunta de Galicia, the Diputación de Pontevedra and the city council of Baiona; represented in the official presentation by the General Secretary for Sport of the Xunta de Galicia, José Ramón Lete Lasa; the Deputy for Sports of the Pontevedra Provincial Council, Gorka Gómez; and the mayor of Baiona, Carlos Gómez.

 

The Prince of Asturias Trophy, the great sailing event in Galicia and its commitment to women

If all the attendees at the press conference for the presentation of the Prince of Asturias Trophy agreed on something, it was that it was the great sailing event in Galicia. Many of them also wanted to highlight the fact that it is the 25th anniversary of the Ladies Cup.

The president of the Monte Real Yacht Club José Luis Álvarez welcomed the attendees – Photo Leticia Acero

“There are two reasons why the Prince of Asturias is special this year. One, for the great participation of J80 that we expect. It is a class that we have been betting on for years and its growth is a true reflection of the interest that the World Cup that we will celebrate in 2023 is arousing. The other reason is the quarter century of existence of the Ladies Cup, our women’s competition, a pioneer in Spain. It marks 25 years of our firm commitment to women’s sailing, which this year we have implemented with new activities and proposals”. – José Luis Álvarez, president of the Monte Real Yacht Club of Baiona.

Speech by the Commander-in-Chief of the Naval Military School, Pedro Cardona – Photo Clara Giraldo

“Sailing represents many of the values that we want to transmit to our students: effort, teamwork, desire to excel and many others. This is a regatta that we have marked in red on our calendar as one of the most important events of the year” – Mr. Pedro Cardona · Commander director of the Naval Military School.

The territorial director of ABANCA, Walter Álvarez at the official presentation of the Prince of Asturias Trophy – Photo Clara Giraldo

“We are sure that this edition will once again be a success both at a participatory and organizational level and that is why ABANCA supports it for another year, because it is one of the great sailing events in Galicia” – Mr. Walter Álvarez · Territorial Director of ABANCA.

The president of Bodegas Terras Gauda, sponsor of the National Sailing Awards – Photo Leticia Acero

“Many years have passed since Terras Gauda, the MRCYB and the Naval School started working so that this regatta would have an increasing presence in the world of sailing, and it is an honor for us to be able to sponsor the National Sailing Awards, with which to recognize the best of Spanish sport” – Mr. José María Fonseca · President of Bodegas Terras Gauda .

The sports deputy of the Pontevedra Provincial Council Gorka Gómez in Baiona – Photo Leticia Acero

“I would like to congratulate the Monte Real Club de Yates in this very complicated year because its activity has not stopped, quite the opposite, and that is thanks to the work of the club and the collaboration of administrations and sponsoring companies. I also have to highlight the great commitment of this club to women’s sailing, since it is the 25th anniversary of the Ladies Cup” – Mr. Gorka Gómez · Sports Deputy of the Pontevedra Provincial Council.

The General Secretary for Sport of the Xunta de Galicia, José Ramón Lete Lasa – Photo Clara Giraldo

“The Spanish fleet today is closely linked to Baiona and, of course, to Galicia. This highly prestigious Prince of Asturias Trophy is much more than a regatta, as other events such as the Ladies Cup are held within it. Today it is easy to bet on women’s sport, but 25 years ago, when they started with the competition, was to have a spectacular vision of the future” – Mr. José Ramón Lete Lasa · General Secretary for Sport of the Xunta de Galicia.

Speech by the mayor of Baiona Carlos Gómez at the presentation of the Prince of Asturias Trophy – Photo Leticia Acero

“36 years we have been celebrating a regatta of which Baiona feels very proud. I also want to refer, of course, to the Ladies Cup and that vision of the future of Monte Real, because it clearly reflects the personality of the club and the efficiency of the work carried out over the years” – Mr. Carlos Gómez · Mayor of Baiona.

36th PRINCE OF ASTURIAS TROPHY · Friday, September 3, 2021

15:00> Coastal test for ORC 0-1-2-3-4
15:30> Windward/leeward tests for J80 and Gestilar Ladies Cup

36th PRINCE OF ASTURIAS TROPHY · Saturday, September 4, 2021

12:00> Windward/leeward events for ORC 0-1-2-3-4, J80 and Gestilar Ladies Cup
12:00> Coastal test for ORC 5, Open and Open Extra
20:00> Terras Gauda National Sailing Awards Gala

36th PRINCE OF ASTURIAS TROPHY Sunday, September 5, 2021

12:00> Windward/leeward events for ORC 0-1-2-3-4, J80 and Gestilar Ladies Cup
12:00> Coastal test for ORC 5, Open and Open Extra
18:30> Awards Ceremony

 

 

 

 

Posted on

Xammar and Rodríguez, best Olympic team

 

The Terras Gauda National Sailing Awards recognize Jordi Xammar and Nico Rodríguez as the best Olympic team for the second consecutive year

· The bronze that the team made up of the Catalan and the Galician achieved at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games has made them worthy of this new award

The athletes will go to Baiona on September 4 to collect the award and be honored at the gala organized by the Monte Real Yacht Club

The Galician and the Catalan giving it their all in Japanese waters – Photo © Sailingshots by María Muiña

Their youth, their effort and their enthusiasm predicted that the Terras Gauda National Sailing Award they received last year would not be the only one of their sports career, but possibly they themselves could not have imagined being able to repeat it so soon.

The Catalan Jordi Xammar (Barcelona, 1993) and the Galician Nico Rodríguez (Vigo, 1991) will receive a new National Sailing Award for the best Olympic team on September 4 at the Monte Real Club de Yates (Galicia).

The bronze medal that the men’s 470m crew achieved at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games has made them worthy of the prestigious distinction for the second consecutive year, and both will be in Baiona to collect the award and receive tribute from the public.

Because the truth is that these young sailors do nothing but collect applause and admiration throughout the country, not only for their continuous chain of successes but also for their indisputable charisma.

Joy and tears after achieving bronze in Tokyo 2020 – Photo © Sailingshots by María Muiña

In the last 5 years of preparation for the Olympics, they have been the most regular of the Spanish squad, managing to get on the podium of all the world and European championships played since 2017. They got the bronze in the 2017 European Championship and in the 2018 World Cup; silver at the 2019 European and World Championships, and bronze and silver at the 2021 World and European Championships.

Trained by Gideon Kliger and Juan María de la Fuente, they arrived in Japan at the top of the world ranking and turned Enoshima into their litmus test. The Japanese bronze medal was the perfect culmination of all the years of effort of a duo that destiny brought together in 2016, years after having met for the first time when both were sailing in Optimist.

Since their farewell to Tokyo through the front door and their entry into Spanish Olympic history, they have been deserving of multiple recognitions and expressions of admiration wherever they have passed.

In Baiona they will surely repeat applause and ovations. They received them a year ago when they collected their first Terras Gauda National Sailing Award and they will receive them, without a doubt, on September 4, at a gala to which both have already confirmed their attendance.

 

 

Posted on

Spain SailGP Team will receive in Baiona the National Sailing Award for the innovative team and project

 

· The Spanish team that competes in the SailGP aboard the F50 Victoria catamaran is the youngest in the championship, the one with more Olympic athletes in its crew and the only one managed by a woman

· The award granted to them aims to recognize the boost they have given to the Spanish nautical scene by managing to include a national team in the championship and also ensuring that the competition lands in Spain

· Spain SailGP Team will receive the Terras Gauda National Sailing Award for the innovative team and project at a gala to be held in September at the Monte Real Club de Yates in Baiona (Galicia)

The Spanish SailGP Team in action – Photo Bob Martin for SailGP

They are the youngest in the competition, the only ones to have a woman as CEO and the crew with the most Olympic athletes on board. This is, broadly speaking, the Spain SailGP Team, the Spanish team that competes in the SailGP aboard the F50 Victoria catamaran and that next September will receive the Terras Gauda National Sailing Award for the team and project in Baiona (Galicia). innovative.

In its ranks we find some of the most outstanding Spanish sailors of today. Eight men and two women with experience in the main international sailing competitions, such as the Olympic Games, The Ocean Race or the Youth’s America’s Cup. They are Jordi Xammar (rod), Phil Robertson (rod), Florian Trittel (mainsail trimmer), Diego Botin (flight controller), Mateu Barber (grinder), Joan Cardona (grinder), Ñeti Cuervas-Mons (grinder), Lucas Trittel (grinder), Tara Pacheco and Andrea Emone, the two women who have joined the “Women Pathway Program” created by SailGP for women.

At the head of all of them, the director of the team María del Mar de Ros, the only woman with a position of maximum leadership in the prestigious world competition. She will be the one in charge of collecting the award on the night of September 4 at the Monte Real Club de Yates, where in 2017 they received their first national award for another great project, the Spanish Impulse Team of the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup.

The Spanish SailGP team is made up of some of the best sailors in the country – Ricardo Pinto for SailGP

The Terras Gauda National Sailing Award for the team and innovative project aims to recognize the boost that the Spain SailGP Team has given to the Spanish nautical scene, not only for having managed to include a national team in this high-performance regatta, but also for having that the competition ends in Cádiz on October 9 and 10.

The second season of SailGP that is currently being held started last April in Bermuda and will end in March 2022 in San Francisco (USA). After passing through Plymouth (United Kingdom), Aarhus (Denmark) and Saint-Tropez (France), and before calling at Sydney (Australia), Christchurch (New Zealand) and San Francisco (USA), the competition will stop in Cadiz (October 9 and 10).

There, coinciding with the Puente de la Hispanidad and as part of the commemoration of the V Centenary of the First Voyage Around the World by Magellan and Elcano, we will be able to see what are considered the fastest ships on the planet, capable of exceeding speeds of 50 knots (100 km/ h). There will be two days of competition with three fast races that will add points towards the final victory, which will give the winning team a prize of 1 million dollars.

The spectacular regatta of the Spanish F50 Victoria – Simon Bruty for SailGP
Posted on

The communication project of the Spanish Olympic sailing team, distinguished with the Mariano Aguado Communication Award

 

· The award given within the framework of the Terras Gauda National Sailing Awards recognizes the work carried out by the Royal Spanish Sailing Federation to give visibility to the national team that competed in Tokyo 2020

· Designed and executed under the command of Helena de la Gándara, the project allowed the Spanish and international audience to get to know the athletes displaced to Enoshima through careful and attractive content

· The dissemination of the values of the sport of sailing and of the Spain brand both inside and outside our borders were other aspects valued when awarding the Mariano Aguado Communication Award

Helena de la Gándara was in charge of communication for the Spanish Olympic team – Photo © Sailingshots by María Muiña

The communication project of the Spanish Olympic sailing team has been distinguished with the Mariano Aguado Communication Award, a specific award for the information sector that is given within the framework of the Terras Gauda National Sailing Awards.

Designed and executed under the command of Helena de la Gándara, the project allowed the Spanish and international audience to get to know, in a simple, direct and accessible way, the athletes of the Spanish team who traveled to Enoshima to participate in the Olympics.

Through multiple resources, on numerous platforms and with very careful and attractive content, the Royal Spanish Sailing Federation managed to significantly increase the visibility of the fleet that competed in Tokyo 2020, while at the same time spreading the values of sailing among the public. sailing sport and the Spain brand, both inside and outside our borders.

All these aspects were what made this project worthy of the Mariano Aguado Communication Award, which Helena de la Gándara (RFEV, The Ocean Race, Vendée Globe, Barcelona World Race, America’s Cup) will collect on September 4 at Monte Royal Yacht Club of Baiona, at the Terras Gauda National Sailing Awards gala.

“It is a great honor to recognize the enormous effort that has been made over the last two years – declared Helena de la Gándara- for bringing a project like this to fruition, whose purpose has been none other than to give greater visibility and promotion of the sport of sailing and its athletes. This award is the best icing on the cake we could imagine. Thank you from the bottom of my heart on behalf of all of us who have formed this team”.

Helena de la Gándara (bottom left) with the Spanish Navy of Tokyo 2020 – Photo © Sailingshots by María Muiña
Posted on

Didac Costa will receive the National Sailing Award for the best ocean sailor for his second solo round the world

 

This year, the Catalan athlete became the first Spanish sailor to circumnavigate the planet twice without stopovers or external help

· In the last Vendée Globe, considered the most extreme competition in nautical sport, it managed to circle the globe in less than 100 days

· With three round-the-world trips, two of them solo, this firefighter by profession, a fan of regatta, has entered the history of sailing on his own merits.

Didac Costa after completing his second round the world solo – Photo ©Marc Gonzalez Aloma

The Vendée Globe is, for many, the most extreme competition in the sport of sailing. It involves going around the world alone, without stops, assistance or external help, a challenge within the reach of very few and that even fewer have been able to complete as amateur sailors.

One of those prodigies of navigation is Didac Costa, a 40-year-old Catalan firefighter who in 2021 became part of the history of sailing in Spain by becoming the first Spaniard to circumnavigate the planet alone twice.

He did it aboard the IMOCA60 “One Planet One Ocean”, a 21-year-old monohull, 18 meters long and just over 5 meters wide, with which he traveled the 24,840 nautical miles (46,004 km) that entails circling the planet from west to this with departure and arrival in the French coastal town of Les Sables d’Olonne.

In the competition, which has been held every four years since 1989 and is one of the most followed nautical events in the world, 33 boats participated, of which only 25 managed to finish. Costa was the only Spaniard in the regatta and managed to complete the test in 97 days, 6 hours, 27 minutes and 3 seconds, lowering his previous mark (from the 2016-2017 edition) in 11 days.

Quite a success for a non-professional sailor who never sought to win, but rather to complete the greatest challenge in ocean sailing. He made up for the lack of resources, poor training, and the age of his ship with determination, bravery, determination, and courage. He coped with breakdowns and breakages but never gave up. And in less than 100 days since his departure, he managed to return to the starting point with a new dream fulfilled.

Didac Costa – Photo ©Marc Gonzalez Aloma

A new line was written in the history of sailing in Spain thanks to the feat of a man who began to dream of circumnavigating the planet when he was just a child, when his parents told him about José Luis de Urgarte, the Basque navigator who completed the regatta in 1993.

That dream began to take shape in 2014, when he became the youngest sailor to participate in the Barcelona World Race around the world with Aleix Gelabert. As happens with great adventurers, at the end of the race (in fourth position), Didac already had a new challenge in mind: the Vendée Globe, in which he would participate for the first time in 2016.

Without a sponsor to finance the project, having to take out a mortgage and with multiple problems from the start of the race, the sailor managed to finish it by crossing the finish line in fourteenth position. He became the second Spaniard to complete the course and the dreams continued to grow.

Didac was already thinking about a new edition of the Vendée Globe and in 2020 he re-enrolled in the competition that has allowed him to become the only Spaniard to finish the legendary French regatta twice and has earned him the Terras Gauda National Sailing Award for best ocean sailor, which will be awarded at a gala on September 4 at the Monte Real Club de Yates de Baiona (Galicia), within the framework of the 36th Prince of Asturias Trophy.

Didac Costa training at One Planet One Ocean for the Vendee Globe – Photo © Jean-Louis Carli

 

Posted on

The National Sailing Awards recognize Joan Cardona as the best Olympic sailor

 

· The young Balearic athlete sealed his first participation in the Olympic Games with the bronze medal in the Finn class at Tokyo 2020

· With the Enoshima Cardona medal, he added one more line to a sports curriculum that includes victories in several European Championships

· The Terras Gauda National Sailing Awards gala will be held on September 4 in Baiona as part of the 36th Prince of Asturias Trophy

Joan Cardona National Sailing Award for Best Olympic Sailor – Photo © Robert Deaves

He was the youngest of the Spanish team and was the last to join the squad of sailors who attended Tokyo 2020 representing Spain, but neither one thing nor the other prevented him from achieving his long-awaited dream of hanging an Olympic medal around his neck.

At just 23 years old, the Balearic athlete Joan Cardona, signed one of the great successes for Spanish sailing in Enoshima with his bronze and the echo of that victory has allowed him to be the protagonist of multiple tributes since his return from the Japanese country.

The next one will be received on September 4 at the Monte Real Club de Yates de Baiona (Galicia), where the gala of the Terras Gauda National Sailing Awards will be held, in which Cardona will collect a new recognition, that of best Olympic sailor.

Joan Cardona in Action – Photo © Robert Deaves

It will be one more line for a sports curriculum that Cardona began to write from the Mahon Maritime Club when he was just 6 years old, when his father instilled in him his passion for sailing. He debuted at the age of 14 as the youngest of the Princesa Sofía Trophy and his evolution has been constant since then.

With a lot of training, perseverance and determination, little by little he rose in the rankings of the international events he attended and in his last major competitions prior to the Olympic Games he won two golds (2019 and 2021 U23 European Championships) and two silvers (2021 European and World Championship).

He added podiums in some preliminaries that predicted the success that Cardona finally managed to make a reality in Enoshima with Finn’s bronze medal. “I have always been very clear that I wanted to do this in my life and I did not see myself in any other way; I have left many things aside, giving priority to sailing because it was my goal and I wanted to reach this day, make this dream come true”declared the Balearic after having fulfilled his childhood dream.

Joan Cardona after winning the bronze in Tokyo 2020 – Photo © Sailingshots by María Muiña

 

Posted on

Echegoyen and Barceló, National Sailing Award for the best women’s team

 

· Támara Echegoyen and Paula Barceló will receive one of the National Sailing Awards on September 4 in Galicia for their brilliant career

· The Galician and the Balearic will be distinguished after having achieved the 49er FX world championship and more recently an Olympic diploma in Tokyo 2020

The gala of the National Sailing Awards will be organized one more year by the Monte Real Club de Yates de Baiona with the sponsorship of Terras Gauda

 

World Championships, Geelong, Australia 2020 © Pedro Martinez / Sailing Energy

The Galician Támara Echegoyen (Ourense, 1984) and the Balearic Paula Barceló (Palma de Mallorca, 1996) will receive the Terras Gauda National Sailing Award for the best women’s team on September 4 in Baiona (Galicia).
The athletes will be honored for their brilliant careers and recent successes, including gold at the 49erFX world championship, achieved in February 2020 in Geelong (Australia); and the Olympic diploma they got just a few weeks ago at the Tokyo 2020 Games.

The Japanese Olympics were the third in a row for the already veteran of the Echegoyen Games (Gold in London 2012 together with Ángela Pumariega and Sofía Toro -in Elliot 6m- and Olympic Diploma in Rio 2016 together with Berta Betanzos -in 49erFX-) and the first for the young rookie Barceló, and despite having been on the verge of the Olympic medal, both showed their full potential as a team in Enoshima.

Echegoyen and Barceló have been sailing together for just 3 years, after the Spanish Sailing Federation made a selection of athletes to assemble Támara’s team when she was still participating in the Volvo Ocean Race. Although they experienced a reverse start to the usual (teams usually grow first and then choose a boat), the truth is that the rapport between the two emerged very soon and the Galician-Majorcan tandem, trained by the former youth world champion Víctor Payá, started to show results.

Hanging from a 49er (Olympic boat since Sydney 2000 weighing 130 kilos, almost 5 meters long, 2.90 wide and with three sails -main, jib and gennacker-), under the direction of Echegoyen as skipper and with the speed from Barceló as a crew member; the team achieved an Olympic place in Enoshima, became world champions in Australia and since then has not dropped from seventh place in all the events in which they participated, also being sixth in the world ranking. Their last great achievement: the Olympic diploma with which they returned from Tokyo.

Támara Echegoyen and Paula Barceló in Tokyo 2020 – © Sailing Energy / World Sailing

The National Sailing Award that both will receive next September in Galicia will be the first for Barceló and the fifth for Echegoyen, who in 2012 received the award for the best pre-Olympic team, in 2013 for the sailor of the year, in 2016 for the best team of women’s regatta and in 2018 it was in charge of collecting the distinction awarded to MAPFRE as the best regatta team for its participation in The Ocean Race.

The gala of the Terras Gauda National Sailing Awards will be held at the Monte Real Club de Yates (Baiona), on the night of Saturday, September 4, within the framework of the 36th Prince of Asturias Trophy, which will be held on the 3rd, 4th and 5. Over the next few days, the names of the rest of the sailors and award-winning teams will be revealed.

 

2024 © Monte Real Club de Yates Baiona

Desarrollado por QUADRALIA

Subvención INEGA 2023

Síguenos