· The COVID19 situation has led the organization to cancel the regattas scheduled for the start of the 2021 season (Saint Tropez, Baiona and Cascais)
· The organizers maintain their commitment to Galicia and announce the celebration of Baiona Sailing Week in 2022
· From the Monte Real Yacht Club they regret the decision of the 52 SUPER SERIES but are happy to be able to celebrate them next year in the framework of the Xacobeo
The 52 SUPER SERIES will finally arrive in Baiona in 2022. The organization of the circuit, one of the three most important nautical events in the world, has decided to cancel all the regattas scheduled for the start of the 2021 season, including those that were to be held in Galicia .
The situation derived from COVID19, the numerous restrictions that are still in force in numerous points and the great efforts necessary to guarantee a safe event in the midst of the pandemic are behind a decision that the Monte Real Club de Yates, which was going to host of the event next June, they greatly regret.
For the president of the historic Baion club, José Luis Álvarez, it is a shame not to be able to count on this prestigious circuit this year in Galicia, but he is confident – he said – that the COVID situation will improve in the coming months and allow the BAIONA to be held SAILING WEEK in 2022.
Álvarez said he understands the circumstances that have led the organization to make this decision and conveyed to the organizers the club’s commitment to the circuit. “In 2022 -said the president of Monte Real- We will be more prepared than ever to receive the SUPER SERIES and it will be an equally special edition, since it will coincide with the Xacobeo extended by COVID until next 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. They are considered the “Formula 1 of the sea” and their impact reaches figures of up to two million euros of investment in local companies and services. The organization of each of the stages involves the movement of some 500 people, up to 12 megayachts and numerous support boats.
“The suspension of the Saint Tropez, Baiona and Cascais regattas has been a very difficult decision to make, but the circuit attracts teams from all over the world and there is still not enough certainty to ensure a safe and competitive event. In this changing situation, it is our obligation to minimize possible risks and with this new plan, travel and transportation are minimized and we ensure greater security” said the CEO of the 52 SUPER SERIES Agustín Zulueta.
· 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
