Sixteen years after the milestone that marked the start of the Sailing Tour of the World from Vigo in 2005, Galicia will once again focus the world nautical scene with the celebration in Baiona, by the Monte Real Yacht Club, of the Baiona Sailing Week 2021 , a stop on the circuit of the prestigious 52 SUPERSERIES .
With high performance and great international prestige, the 52 SUPER SERIES are one of the three most important nautical events in the world , along with the America’s Cup and the Sailing Tour of the World, and next June they will stop in Baiona. We start discounting!
The courses of the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) are the most prestigious and recognized worldwide in the nautical world
· The programs that will be taught in Baiona will allow obtaining different official international qualifications
· Monte Real will also offer the possibility of obtaining the Navigation License, the PNB, the PER or the Skipper and Yacht Captain qualifications
The Monte Real Club de Yachts de Baiona will become this year the first yacht club in Galicia and the entire Spanish Bay of Biscay to offer in its facilities the prestigious courses of the Royal Yachting Association (RYA), the most recognized worldwide within the nautical world.
They will be a series of training programs, mainly practical, in which students will be able to acquire different skills and knowledge related to navigation and thus obtain official certificates of competence valid for sailing in numerous countries around the world.
The Royal Yachting Association , based in the United Kingdom, is today the most prestigious international training organization, and obtaining one of its qualifications gives sailors the necessary certification to navigate foreign waters. It also facilitates procedures such as boat rental or the processing of nautical insurance in other countries.
Its training method is eminently practical, focused on real navigation, and a student-instructor ratio that does not exceed 5 to 1, which guarantees a more complete training and personalized attention. International certificates are also awarded through a demanding practical test with a qualified examiner on board.
Courses on “Competent crew” (course for crew members who want to go from being passengers to being active members of the crew, which is carried out on board a sailboat for 5 days, learning navigation techniques, and which enables them to navigate daytime crossings in familiar waters), “Day skipper” (course for aspiring skippers with experience in sailing equivalent to the PER qualification but more practical and in English, which enables day and night coastal navigation), “Coastal skipper” (course that requires a greater number of requirements to obtain the title and that provides theoretical knowledge equivalent to a yacht skipper, to navigate day and night voyages without losing sight of the coast) and that of “Yachtmaster offshore” (course for expert sailors who will be able to act as skippers in sailboats of up to 200gt and 150 miles from the coast),
The Baionese club will be able to offer these courses thanks to an agreement signed with the Julio Verne Náutica company, which will be in charge of providing training, both theoretical and practical, at the Monte Real facilities.
The process of homologation of the courses has suffered a delay due to the situation derived from COVID19, but it is expected to culminate in the near future and it will be this year when they begin to be taught in Baiona.
In addition to turning it into an RYA training center, the agreement signed with Julio Verne Náutica will also allow Monte Real to complement its training offer with the possibility of obtaining the Navigation license , the GNP , the PER , the extension of the powers of the PER or the qualifications of Skipper and Yachtsman .
Also, at the club’s Cruise Sailing School, new training will begin on route planning, meteorology, night navigation and watchkeeping, or electronic aids, among others . In all of them, as in the RYA courses and in obtaining the rest of the qualifications, Monte Real members will have priority access to the courses and special discounts on their prices.
More information: 986 385 000 / secretaria@mrcyb.com
The BAITRA J80 Winter League will be held in the waters of the Bay of Baiona on February 27, March 20, April 10, May 15 and 29, 2021 , being organized by the Monte Real Club de Yates.
to. The rules as defined in the WS Racing Rules of Sailing 2021–2024 (RRS).
b. J80 class monodesign regulations and their special adaptations of the J80 Galicia Fleet[NP][DP] .
c. Announcement and Instructions of Regatta.
d. The infraction of the Rules in AR and IR of this event indicated as[NP] It will not be a reason for protests between ships. This modifies Rule 60.1(a) RRS.
and. The infraction of the Rules in AR and IR of this event indicated as[DP] indicates that your penalty may be lighter than disqualification if the protest committee so decides. The abbreviation for the discretionary penalty imposed pursuant to this instruction shall be[DPI] .
F. The penalty for infractions of the IR indicated as[SP] they will be fixed, without hearing and imposed by the Race Committee, in the most recently completed race, applied as indicated in Rule 44.3 RRS (modifies Rules 63.1 and A5 of the RRS).
g. [NP] [DP] Annex A Security protocol in relation to COVID-19.
2. ADVERTISING [NP] [DP]
2.1. Participants may display advertising in accordance with the provisions of WS Regulation 20.
2.2. The Organization may require the participants to display the sponsor’s publicity in the form that is convenient and that will be provided to them before the regatta, not being able to manipulate or modify said material under any circumstances.
3. PARTICIPATION [NP] [DP]
3.1. Boats of the J80 class that comply with the regulations of point 1 and all the requirements demanded in point 4 of this AR may participate. As long as each and every one of them is not fulfilled, their registration as a participant in the Regatta will not be considered. Depending on the circumstances, the Organizing and Race Committee may grant a special extension in a particular way to the boat that requests it in writing.
3.2. Owners and skippers must be members of the National J80 Class Association and be registered at http://www.j80measurement.com.
3.3. Skippers who are not owners must be in possession of Sailor Classification Grade 1. See the following link:
https://members.sailing.org/classification/?unique=1442849722.9402&view=req_
new_classification&nocache=1
4. REGISTRATION
4.1. Registration will be mandatory, at a cost of €50 per boat, and the following documentation must be sent or presented before January 22:
• Duly completed registration form.
• Updated boat insurance.
• Federal licenses for 2021 for all crew members.
• Proof of transfer of registration rights.
Submitted or presented in:
Mount Royal Yacht Club Recinto del Parador, s/n, 36300 Baiona E-mail: secretaria@mrcyb.com Tel. + 34 986 385 000
And the transfer of registration rights made in:
ABANCA
The owner or person in charge of each boat must register and personally sign the registration form at the Regatta Office before 11:00 a.m. on January 23, 2021.
February 27, March 20, April 10, May 15 and 29
5. PROGRAM
5.1. The competition will take place on the following days:
February 27 15:00 Coastal or windward-leeward courses
March 20 15:00 Coastal or windward-leeward courses
April 10 15:00 Coastal or windward-leeward courses
May 15 15:00 Coastal or windward-leeward courses
May 29 3:00 p.m. Coastal or windward-leeward tours / 8:30 p.m. Trophy ceremony and fellowship dinner
5.2. This program may be modified if circumstances so require (postponement to other dates due to suspension due to storms, etc., or modification of schedules according to forecast weather conditions or other causes).
5.3. Exit signals may be given up to 60 minutes before sunset each day.
6. COMPETITION FORMAT
6.1. It will be navigated in fleet format, in real time.
6.2. 15 tests are scheduled.
6.3. There will be no more than 3 tests per day.
7. MEASUREMENT AND SAFETY [NP] [DP]
7.1. The responsibility of attending this regatta having previously updated its Measurement Certificate, measuring the material with which it is intended to participate, is exclusively the registered skipper.
7.2. The number of crew members on board may be changed during the course of the regatta, but not on each day where it must end with the same number as the start.
7.3. The safety of this regatta will be considered as category 4 (reduced) in accordance with the Special Rules for High Seas Regatta of the WS and adapted to the particular regulations of the Galician J80 Fleet.
7.4. All boats will have to be equipped with a VHF radio with channels 16, 09, 71 and 72.
7.5. It will be the responsibility of the owner or skipper of each boat to comply with the legal regulations established for recreational boats, both in general and in particular for their government, dispatch and security.
8. SCORING SYSTEM
8.1. The Low Score system described in Appendix A of the RRS will apply.
8.2. There will be one (1) discard from 6 or more races held and two (2) discards from 11 or more races held.
9. PRIZES
Prizes will be awarded to at least the top 3 classifieds, the award ceremony will take place on May 29 at 8:00 p.m. at the club.
10. LIABILITY
Participants in the J80 Winter League do so at their own risk and responsibility.
The MRCYB or any person or body involved in the organization of the event, reject any responsibility for loss, damage, injury or inconvenience that may occur to people or things, both on land and at sea, as a result of participation in the tests covered by this race announcement.
Attention is drawn to Fundamental Rule 4, Decision to Race, of part 1 of the RRS, which states: “It is the sole responsibility of a boat to decide whether to participate in a race or to continue racing”.
MRCYB
[NP][DP] Annex A
Security protocol in relation to COVID-19
to. Access to the regatta facilities is subject to the control of body temperature.
b. Participants and support people are required to wear a mask:
1º: At all times while in the Club facilities, except in the cases established by law.
2º: At all times while they are afloat, except in the cases provided by law.
3rd: when embarking on any Organization vessel: Regatta Committees, Referees and maintenance boats, etc. The masks must be thrown only in the containers provided for it, duly marked.
c. Participants and support people are obliged to respect the capacity and access shifts, where appropriate, to:
1st changing rooms and showers. It is strictly forbidden to deposit clothing and bags, these must be located in the places designated for it (lockers, etc.) avoiding common areas and must be removed from the venue every day at the end of the activity, as well as walking barefoot. Showers will remain closed.
2nd Bar, restaurant and social lounges.
d. Participants and support people are required to wash their hands frequently and, where appropriate, to use hydrogels when accessing rooms and closed areas.
and. Participants and support persons are required to use the one-way lanes when traveling within the facility.
F. All participants are recommended to download and activate the App Radar Covid19.
Link Android (Reviewed and Validated) https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=es.gob.radarcovid&hl=es
Link APPLE (reviewed and validated)
https://apps.apple.com/es/app/radarcovid/id1520443509
· After months of negotiations and hard work to meet all the requirements demanded by the organization, the Monte Real Club de Yates manages to make the 52 SUPER SERIES land in Galicia in 2021, coinciding with the Xacobeo Year
· For 8 days in June, the 52 SUPER SERIES Baiona Sailing Week will bring together in the Rías Baixas some of the best sailors in the world aboard boats with cutting-edge technology, competing in the so-called “Formula 1 of the sea”.
With high performance and great international prestige, the 52 SUPER SERIES are one of the three most important nautical events in the world, along with the America’s Cup and the Sailing Tour of the World
Its impact reaches figures of up to two million euros of investment in local companies and services in each of the nautical events and one billion impacts in different media and online channels
Fifteen years after the milestone that the departure of the Sailing Tour of the World from Vigo in 2005 meant for Galicia, the Monte Real Club de Yates once again puts the Galician community in the spotlight of the world nautical scene by including Baiona in the circuit of the prestigious 52 SUPER SERIES.
After months of negotiations and hard work to meet all the requirements demanded by the organization, the historic club from Baiona has just confirmed that the considered “Fórmula 1 del mar” has agreed to compete in one of its events in the Galician Rías Baixas in June 2021, coinciding with the celebration of the Xacobeo Holy Year.
With high performance and great international prestige, the 52 SUPER SERIES are one of the three most important nautical events in the world, along with the America’s Cup and the World Sailing Tour. Between 10 and 12 teams of more than 8 nationalities of sailors from the 5 continents compete aboard boats with cutting-edge technology in tests that are held for months in different ports around the world.
Next year, one of those stages will be the 52 SUPER SERIES Baiona Sailing Week , which will be held for 8 days, between June 3 and 10, both inclusive. The first two days, on days 3 and 4, the crews will compete in training regattas in the area set aside for the competition, a place very close to the Atlantic Islands National Park, just in front of the Cíes Islands. The third day, June 5, is reserved for training in an already official regatta, although not scoring; and in the last 5 days, from 6 to 10, the competition itself will be held, with the regattas that will define the final classification from which the winners will emerge.
In addition to the sporting events, the Monte Real Club de Yates will organize multiple social events, such as meetings with the sailors, visits to the participating boats, conferences and talks about the competition or parties with the crews, among many others. It will also be a unique opportunity to rediscover Monte Real, one of the oldest clubs in Spain, with a long and prolific journey on the international nautical scene.
What was once the first Spanish club to present a challenge to the Copa América de Vela currently organizes some of the most outstanding regattas in Spain, such as the Príncipe de Asturias Trophy or the Conde de Gondomar Trophy. Recently, Monte Real has also announced the celebration in Baiona, in 2023, of the J80 Class World Cup, which will become the eighth World Cup event that the club has organized throughout its more than 50-year history.
A prestigious circuit considered the “Formula 1 of the sea”
The 52 SUPER SERIES were born from the hands of three businessmen in love with the sea and enthusiastic sailors: the American Doug DeVos (co-president of the prestigious marketing company Amway and owner of the Orlando Magic NBA basketball team), the Swedish Niklas Zennström (creator of numerous companies such as Skype or Kazaa) and the Argentine Alberto Roemmers (founder of Laboratorios Roemmers, one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in Argentina).
In 2012 they created a circuit that each year goes through five or six of the best places on the planet to haggle in tests in which an unparalleled fleet competes, made up of the best sailors in the world. On board the TP52, a type of 52-foot (15.85 m.) boat that is almost identical in its performance, the crews must make a difference with the technological innovations that they apply to sailboats and the expertise and skills of their teams. .
The organization of each of the stages of the 52 SUPER SERIES involves the movement of some 500 people, up to 12 megayachts and support boats. All that logistics, along with flight reservations, accommodation and restaurants; service companies and teams; they represent an expense that reaches more than 3 million euros, of which about two million stay in local companies and services in the place where they compete.
The extensive media coverage, both national and international, of the nautical event, reaches figures that, according to data from the organization, are around one billion hits in different media, with more than one million views on live television in the competition and close to 10 million impressions on the online channels of social networks. The regatta is also followed all over the world, with live images or through virtual reality systems from the website www.52superseries.com.
Another aspect to highlight of the 52 SUPER SERIES and the MRCYB will be their firm commitment to sustainability. The competition and its collaborating organization in this matter, 11th Hour Racing, will promote a series of actions in each of the regattas aimed at promoting environmental awareness through education and action. The commitment is to achieve a zero footprint of ecological impact, an effort that will be redoubled in the waters of the Ría de Vigo as it is of a very high environmental value.
The official announcement of the achievement of the 52 SUPER SERIES for Galicia by the Monte Real Yacht Club was made this morning at a press conference held in Baiona, which was attended by the General Director of the competition, the Spanish Agustín Zulueta, who signed the contract for the 52 SUPER SERIES Baiona Sailing Week together with the president of Monte Real, José Luis Álvarez.
“Just a month ago we revealed that we had been chosen to organize the 2023 J80 World Championship and today’s news is undoubtedly another of the great announcements that will mark 2020 for Monte Real. That the 52 Super Series land in Baiona is great news only for us as a club, or for Baiona as a town, but for all of Galicia, which for weeks will become the focus of the world nautical scene. Many years have passed since we presented, for the first time in the history of Spain, that Challenge to the America’s Sailing Cup, and those of you who follow us closely know that we have never abandoned our desire to write new chapters in the history of sailing. Today, in front of a blank page, we begin to write a new one”
José Luis Álvarez President of the Monte Real Yacht Club
“For us, announcing the Baiona regatta in 2021 is something that excites us. We have been looking for a location that joins the one in Cascais for some time to take advantage of the movement of ships to the Atlantic from our usual headquarters in the Mediterranean. It is the first time in the ten seasons of the 52 SUPER SERIES that we go to Galicia and it was like a debt that we had as organizers. Baiona is the ideal place. June is the best time to sail, it is an exceptional town with great infrastructures and services, with incredible scenery and ideal sailing conditions. We are facing a completely new destination for our shipowners who like to discover new places and we are convinced that Baiona and Galicia are going to love it. The Monte Real Club de Yates has been very receptive to the proposal from the first moment and we want to thank its president, José Luis Álvarez, and its board of directors for the facilities they have shown to bring the 52 SUPER SERIES to Baiona”
Agustín Zulueta General Director of the 52 Super Series
Diego Torrado from Vigo also took part in the press conference, a regular in the 52 SUPER SERIES who has been on the circuit for years as boat captain, previously with the Russian Bronenosec Gazprom and currently with the South African Phoenix 12. As the voice of the experience, Torrado explained to those attending the presentation the main characteristics of a competition that he described as unique and spectacular.
“For me it is a ‘luxury’ that the 52 SUPER SERIES come to Baiona. It is one of the most nautical places in Spain with a history linked to the sea for many centuries. That a class like ours comes to the MRCYB, which was the first port where the announcement of the discovery of America arrived in 1492, shows that it is a place with an excellent seafaring tradition and culture. Baiona’s life is focused on the sea and a competition like this deserves. The 52 SUPER SERIES is the largest annual circuit format regatta in the world. It is the top in the world of sailing where the best sailors in the world are. Due to the quality of the sailors and the event, there is no similar circuit. I think that for all the boats sailing on the Galician coast is going to be a challenge when leaving the Mediterranean due to the different conditions. The Vigo estuary area, being protected, provides wonderful sailing conditions, but we must not forget that we are in the Atlantic”
Diego Torrado Sailor of the 52 Super Series
“From this moment we acquired an important commitment hosting one of the tests of the 52 Super Series, and we do it with tremendous enthusiasm, passion and dedication. We are not only committed to making this event a success in the organization, but also to leave the deepest mark possible on this club, in Galicia and in sport. We want the promotion of the practice of sailing to be marked by the 52 Super Series. It is an exceptional opportunity for the projection of Baiona and Galicia, but also to create a quarry and fans and we are going to work hard to achieve it”
Ignacio Sánchez Otaegui Commodore of the MRCYB
The Xunta de Galicia (autonomous administration), the Diputación de Pontevedra (provincial administration) and the Baiona City Council (local administration), regular supporters of the competitions and initiatives of the Monte Real Yacht Club, also did not want to miss the official presentation of the event . Everyone praised the magnificent qualities of the Monte Real Club de Yates for organizing great events like this one and predicted the greatest success for the 52 SUPER SERIES Baiona Sailing Week.
“What nature has given us has helped us to carry out all these types of events, but we must also highlight the capacity and human quality of the MRCYB. Baiona is proud of this club for its commitment to our people, and I am especially proud to co-participate in all these events in which we demonstrate that, when all the administrations are united, we can do very important things for our people. In my name and in the name of all the men and women of Baiones, welcome to all and congratulations”
Carlos Gómez Mayor of Baiona
“I love the passion with which everyone talks about these water sports because, as you well know, one of our goals is to promote the sport and every time Monte Real asks us for help, we are there. Be grateful that there are clubs like this one that carry out the organization of these activities. We hope that this activity has the welcome it should have and thank Monte Real again for having summoned us”
Raquel Giraldez Deputy of the Pontevedra Provincial Council
“The link between Baiona and this club to the sea is evident, and this regatta is important because it will surely be in the top three in the world along with the America’s Cup and the Volvo Ocean Race. It is good for Galicia because it once again puts the world focus here and on sailing at an extraordinary moment for Galicia and for the world, coinciding with Xacobeo 2021, and having been able to stop the pandemic and be the first Autonomous Community to leave of the State of Alarm. Congratulations to the club, this magnificent club, and to all the sailors for this event. The departure of the Volvo Ocean Race 2005 marked a before and after and I am sure that this event will allow us to take another step to continue making a real commitment to the sport of sailing, which is strategic for the Xunta de Galicia”
José Ramón Lete Lasa General Secretary for Sport of the Xunta de Galicia
· The Monte Real Club de Yates de Baiona has been chosen to organize a world championship that will be held for the first time in Galicia
· The J80 are one of the most numerous and successful classes in Spanish sailing with 190 units, of which 130 compete in different parts of the country.
· Spain also has some of the best J80 sailors in the world, such as the five-time world champion Rayco Tabares
· That of 2023 will be the fourth World Cup that lands in Spain after the events held in Santander (2009), Sotogrande (2016) and Getxo (2019)
The Galician fishing village of Baiona will host the J80 class sailing World Championship in 2023. This was announced this morning at a press conference by the president of the Monte Real Yacht Club, José Luis Álvarez, who was very proud that the club had been chosen to organize such a prestigious sporting event.
This will be the first time that the J80 world championship is held in Galicia, a community that has been betting on this class for years with the holding of numerous competitions and the progressive increase in the number of this type of 8-meter boats, which are 29 at present and they have their main fleets in Baiona and A Coruña.
With the year already set on the agenda but with the exact date of the event still to be determined, at the Monte Real Club de Yates they are already beginning to pave the way to guarantee the success of the world championship. Over the next two years, the club’s board of directors plan to launch a full test drive to further push the J80 forward and encourage more owners to join the class.
To its usual J80 Autumn and Winter Leagues, in which the Galician fleet mainly participates; Other regattas of national importance will be added, such as the Spanish Cup or the Spanish Championship, which Monte Real hopes to organize before 2023.
In short, it is about focusing our gaze on the ultimate goal of achieving a world championship with the greatest possible participation of boats from different countries in the world, following in the footsteps of the other J80 world championships previously held in Spain, in Santander (2009 ), Sotogrande (2016) and Getxo (2019).
The official presentation of the event was attended this morning in Baiona by the president and commodore of the Monte Real Yacht Club, José Luis Álvarez and Ignacio Sánchez Otaegui; the mayor of Baiona, Carlos Gómez; the deputy for sports from the Pontevedra Provincial Council, Gorka Gómez; Guillermo Blanco representing the J80 Spain Class; and the president of the Royal Galician Sailing Federation, Manuel Villaverde. The General Secretary for Sport of the Xunta de Galicia, José Ramón Lete Lasa, transmitted to the club his congratulations by telephone and his commitment to support the World Cup as he was unable to attend the presentation because he was preparing the protocols for returning to activity for a large part of the sports sector of the Galician community.
A great step to strengthen the “Spanish Navy”
This new world championship awarded to Spain will undoubtedly be a unique opportunity to consolidate a class that is currently one of the largest in the country, with some 190 units (of which 130 compete in different parts of Spain). and very active fleets in Galicia, Cantabria, the Basque Country, Andalusia, the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands.
Spain also has some of the best J80 sailors in the world, such as the five-time world champion, Rayco Tabares from the Canary Islands; the Cantabrian Pablo Santurde, who currently holds the title after winning last year’s world championship in Getxo at the controls of the M&G Tressis; or the world runner-up in 2018, the Basque Iker Almandoz.
The concession of the 2023 World Cup is an important accolade to the hard work of the Monte Real Club de Yates de Baiona to promote the J80 class in Galicia, for which it has been betting since 2012.
At that time, the club offered very advantageous conditions to the shipowners for the acquisition and mooring of the boats. It also created two specific leagues exclusively for the competition of these monotypes and included specific regattas for them in the club’s major competitions, such as the Conde de Gondomar Trophy or the Príncipe de Asturias Trophy.
Six years after the appearance of the first J80 in Baiona, the Royal Spanish Sailing Federation granted the club the organization of the 2018 Spanish Championship. And just two years later, this new and great leap arrives, towards the 2023 World Cup. Prior to Baiona, the World Cup event will stop in Denmark (2021) and Newport – United States (2022).
“In 2012 we brought the first J80 to Baiona, we facilitated the purchase of boats and moorings, we created specific competitions for them, we included them in our most important trophies and just six years later, in 2018, we were selected to host the Spanish Championship. They were the first fruits of a great effort that gave us the impetus to continue working and that today allows us to be here announcing that in 2023 we will host the most important competition in the class”
JOSE LUIS ÁLVAREZ President of the Monte Real Yacht Club
“We have three years ahead of us in which we hope to nurture the club’s calendar of high-level sports competitions such as the Cup or the Spanish Championship, among others, and thus, in this way, gradually increase the existing J80 fleet. in Galicia and encourage many more shipowners from all over Spain to sail in the J80 class, which is a boat that offers great emotions at sea”
IGNACIO SÁNCHEZ OTAEGUI Commodore of the Monte Real Yacht Club
“As mayor of Baiona I am very proud of the work done by the Monte Real Club de Yates during all these years. Bringing a world championship to our town is a luxury and of course the only ones who could achieve it were the directors and members of this club that gives us so much joy. My most sincere congratulations on this great success”
“The Monte Real Club de Yates is synonymous with success when it organizes something and the union of Baiona with Monte Real Club de Yates is guaranteed success, so we have no doubt that it will be a unique world championship. From the Pontevedra Provincial Council we have been supporting sailing for a long time and we are going to support this event, especially at this time, in which it is very important not only to promote sport but also tourism, which is another aspect to highlight of this event”
GORKA GÓMEZ Deputy for Sports of the Pontevedra Provincial Council
“What is presented here today is, without a doubt, very good news for everyone, a very important event not only for Galicia but for all of Spain. We are lucky that the World Cup will be held under the organization of a club with a great track record such as the Monte Real Club de Yates and in a unique place such as Baiona. From the Royal Galician Sailing Federation they will have our full support”
MANUEL VILLAVERDE President of the Royal Galician Sailing Federation
“From the J80 Spain class we want to congratulate the Monte Real Club de Yate de Baiona because they have done an extraordinary job to achieve this World Cup. They have been given the prize for this championship because there was, without a doubt, very good willows. And that is also why we aspire and we are sure that we will achieve a World Cup at the highest level”
GUILLERMO BLANCO Representative of the J80 class Spain
REPORT BY ROSANA CALVO, HEAD OF COMMUNICATION AT MRCYB
· Five decades after having organized a regional Optimist competition for the first time in Galicia, the Monte Real Club de Yates celebrates this February in Baiona a new edition of the Galician Championship of the class
· On board the “Canario” and the “Tortuga” the brothers José and Javier de la Gándara together with Santiago Campos were the winners of that first edition of the competition held in the bay of Baiona on August 22 and 23, 1970
· In the Optimists brought first from France, then from Barcelona and finally built in the Ferramentas and in Lagos for the Sailing Schools of La Foz and the MRCYB, many current sailors learned to sail
· Although the materials have evolved over time, the philosophy with which the Optimist was created remains intact and remains a simple boat that allows the little ones to enjoy the sea and sailing
Group of Optimist in the bay of Baiona in 1970 – Photo from the archive of Javier de la Gándara
At the end of this month, the Monte Real Club de Yates de Baiona will commemorate the half century of life of the Optimist class in Galicia by holding a new edition of the Galician Championship that the club itself hosted for the first time in 1970.
On board the “Canario” and the “Tortuga”, the brothers José and Javier de la Gándara were the winners (first and second respectively) of that first edition, which was held on August 22 and 23, 1970 under the name of “ I Regional Optimist Regattas – Galician Championship”.
17 young sailors from the Sailing School of La Foz, the Real Club Náutico de Sanxenxo, the Real Club Náutico de Vigo, the Club Náutico de Panxón and Monte Real itself met during those two summer days in the bay of Baiona to compete several tests in a triangular field of Olympic route.
Javier de la Gándara and his Turtle preparing for the I Galician Optimist Championship – Archive photo Javier de la Gándara
After the Gándara brothers, third place on the podium of that first Optimist championship went to “Anduriña IV”, manned by Santiago Campos; Pablo Vasconcellos was fourth aboard the “Bayona II”; and “Don Ramón”, by Ramón Alonso, from RCN Vigo, signed the fifth position.
A special prize was then also awarded to the youngest sailor, which went to Pablito Pereiro for “demonstrating -according to the chronicles of the time- great skill handling his mini boat to perfection”.
With the celebration of the first Galician Optimist Championship, the Monte Real Club de Yates gave, at the beginning of the 70s, the great impulse for the consolidation of a class that arrived in Galicia some years before the hand of Pepe Gándara , the father of the historical Javier de la Gándara.
Gándara learned about this new type of boat in the American magazine “Popular Mechanics Magazine” (distributed in Spain under the name “Mecánica Popular”), in which some simple plans were published with which, in principle, anyone with some tools And with a bit of skill, you could make your own Optimist out of wood.
Training of the first Optimists in the Bay of Baiona – Photo from the archive of Tomás R. de Robles
After seeing them already built in Barcelona, Gándara decided to bring them to Galicia. The first Optimist who sailed in Galician waters in the year 68, he called “Don Andrés”, in honor of his young son. In 1969 there were already 15 units of these new sailboats, known as the “Ferramentas”, because they were built by a carpenter from Ladeira known by that name, with sails of nylon manufactured in an awning company in Vigo. They were boats with which, during the first years, they only sailed in the summer months. Barely a year later, with the Optimists already established as a small fleet at the Monte Real Club de Yates, the First Galician Optimist Championship was held.
Press clipping of the First Optimist Championship of Galicia in 1970
The press at that time congratulated the Baionese club for “contributing to creating numerous young skippers who in the future will constitute the crews of the numerous cruise ships that the sports units of the Vigo estuary have”, it said verbatim. So it was. Because those children are today some of the outstanding sailors who sail in the Galician estuaries.
Both the Spanish Sailing Federation and the Galician Sailing Federation of the time, chaired by José Ramón Fontán, helped consolidate the class in Galicia by subsidizing the purchase of numerous units. Some boats that went from the 3,000 pesetas (about 18 euros) of the first “Ferramentas” to the 8,000 pesetas (about 48 euros) that were paid for those of higher quality and the 10,000 pesetas (60 euros) that they cost at the beginning of the 70s
In the autumn of 1971, only one year after the celebration of the first Optimist Galician championship, nearly thirty units participated in the class competitions in Baiona, and it did not take much longer for the optimist to exceed 60. In Galicia there were around 200 optimists (currently there are about 400, of which about 120 participate in official competitions). Among the young sailors of those early years were José, Ángel and Javier de la Gándara, Pablo Vasconcellos, Jaime Varela, Alberto Torné, Rodrigo Andrade, César Casqueiro, Fernando Yáñez, Genoveva Pereiro, Ignacio Retolaza, Alfonso Zulueta and Piluca Presa, among others. Many.
Manuel Pereiro, Javier de la Gándara, Ramón Alonso, Pablo Vasconcellos, Jose Antonio Marquez and Jaime Varela – Archive photo Javier de la Gándara
The Spanish Optimists were built in Barcelona (La Industrial Velera Marsal), in Palma de Mallorca (the Copino and Darder shipyards), in Torrejón de Ardoz (Spanish Taylor) and here in Galicia, in the prestigious Lagos de Bouzas Shipyard (Vigo), from which a large part of the units that sailed from the year 70 left. They were Optimist that were made in the image and likeness of the first boats of this type born in Clearwater (Florida).
There, in 1947, a group of children “haggled” through the streets of Clearwater with small boxes of soap and a candle that they made themselves. The mayor of the city decided to ban these races in the streets, so that they would not bother people, but he met with a boat designer, Clark Mills, and asked him to turn the soap boxes into a boat for children as soon as possible. cheap possible.
And that is how the Optimist was born, the first gaff sailing boat and a single crew member that over time became increasingly famous, both nationally and internationally. In 1954 “the puddle jumped” and the first ones in Europe began to be built, specifically in Denmark; in 1962 the Optimist Class Racing Association was born in England; and soon after the European Optimist Association was formed. Finally, in 1995 the Optimist was accepted as an international class.
The first Optimists were made of wood – Photo from the archive of Tomás R. de Robles
Although the materials with which they are built have evolved over time, the truth is that both the shape of the Optimist and its philosophy remain intact. It was born as a simple boat that would allow children to enjoy the sea and sailing and, more than half a century later, that purpose has not changed.
Celebrating this idea and the five decades since the first Optimist Championship held in Galicia in 1970 is the aim of the Galician Optimist Championship – Baitra Trophy that will be held at the Monte Real Club de Yates at the end of February.
(Report: Rosana Calvo, head of communication at the MRCYB / Photos: Archive of the MRCYB and provided by Javier de la Gándara, César Casqueiro and Tomás R. de Robles / Documents: Astilleros Lagos / Press clippings: Archive of Javier de la Gándara and newspaper library of Faro de Vigo)
The Turtle and the Canary of the Gándara and the Eolo de Casqueiro – Photo from the archive of Cesar CasqueiroOptimist Team (October 1971)- Photo from the archive of Cesar CasqueiroSome of the first Optimists that sailed in Baiona 50 years ago – Photo archive MRCYBIn the foreground the Turtle by Javier de la Gándara – Photo from the archive of Tomás R. de RoblesPablo Vasconcellos aboard The Scotsman, one of the first Optimists in Galicia – Photo archive MRCYB
