· The thirty-first edition of the competition organized by the Monte Real Club de Yates and the Escuela Naval Militar de Marín begins tomorrow, Friday afternoon
· His Majesty King Juan Carlos I will haggle over the weekend and will preside over the awards ceremony that will be held on Sunday at the Baionese club
Light wind weather forecasts will force the fleet of 80 boats in the competition to bring out their best tactics
Everything is ready in Baiona for the celebration of a new edition of the historic trophy of the Monte Real Club de Yates and the Escuela Naval Militar de Marín. Organized without interruption since 1986, the Prince of Asturias Trophy celebrates thirty-one years in 2016 with a luxury guest on the water, His Majesty King Juan Carlos I, who will compete aboard the Gallant in the Storax 6m class.
The emeritus monarch’s boat will be one of the 80 sailboats that will take to the water this weekend to compete for victory in one of the most emblematic regattas in Galicia, which will be held once again in the Rías Baixas.
Along with him, some of the regulars in the Príncipe de Asturias such as Rui Ramada’s Fifty, who will try to achieve his fourth consecutive victory in the trophy in the Optica Studio ORC 1 class . The Portuguese crew will face a tough competitor, the also Portuguese Xekmatt of José Carlos Prista, recent winner of the Baiona Angra Atlantic Race.
Another of the classics at the Baiona nautical event, Pedro Campos’ Movistar, will compete in the Aceites Abril ORC 2 class skippered by Willy Alonso. Along with him will enter the competition, among others, the Bosch Service Solutions, with a crew of students from the Canido Maritime Club.
In this thirty-first edition of the Príncipe de Asturias, the three-time J80 world champion Rayco Tabares will also race in the Solventis J80 class , deserving in 2016 of one of the Terras Gauda National Sailing Awards for the best skipper of the year.
The classics in the Vanguard class , the Open in the Bel and Bel class , the ORC 3 in the Gadis class , the ORC 4 in the Coca Col a class and the figaros with female crews in the HELLO! Ladies Cup They will be other categories that we will be able to see in the three days that a competition that is announced to be complicated for the fleet will last. The weather forecasts indicate that there will be little wind, which will force the crews to bring out their best tactics.
The first tests will be tomorrow Friday from five to four in the afternoon. At that time there will be a first start for the largest boats, which must complete a coastal regatta; and a later start, half an hour later, for the J80s and figaros monotypes, with a program of windward/leeward routes.
The intention of the regatta committee, if the wind allows it, is to give all the starts inside the bay, so that the public that is located in the vicinity can enjoy the spectacle of the sailboats.
After the day on Friday, the competition will continue on Saturday with the entire fleet already in the water, after joining the Open, the Classics and the 6m, among which King Juan Carlos I will compete. That same day, at night, will hold the awards gala Terras Gauda National Sailing Awards , awards that distinguish those people and institutions that, throughout the year, worked to promote and promote the world of sailing from different fields.
On this occasion the winners are the Olympic athletes Támara Echegoyen and Berta Betanzos , as the best women’s regatta team; the also olympic Arturo Montes , as the best Paralympic athlete of the year; the Rats on Fire , as Ship of the Year and the Canary Rayco Tabares as best skipper. ABANCA will receive the sponsor of the year award and MARCA the Mariano Aguado communication award.
