La Larga de PalmaVela already has new winners

In the middle of the morning from Sunday to Monday, while the clock was already showing 2:00 in the morning, the first boat appeared with only two crew members to complete La Larga de PalmaVela: the “Brujo” of owner and skipper Alberto de Castro. The team from Valencia put in 36 hours and 32 minutes to complete the 200 miles of navigation and were first in real time and compensation, asserting themselves as the winners of A2 (0-3), a class in which the arrivals were quite staggered. It was nearly 5:00am when Tito Moure and his Smerit added another podium at La Larga, improving 2022’s third place finish to second. Armed with Plácid Arang and Borjo Pella as skipper, Libélula, a 1974 Swan 65, the oldest of its class, takes bronze with a time of 43 hours and 27 minutes.

The first ORC 1 class sailors crossed the finish line around 4:00 am, with a difference of 12 minutes and after 39 hours of racing. After the application of the time compensation, the winner of La Larga de PalmaVela this 2023 is the sailboat RCM Sotogrande skippered by Gabriel Medema Aviador, who had a 21-minute lead over Catalan Intrigue skippered by Joaquín Verona. The podium was completed by the representative of RCN de Palma, Caveman IV of the Dutchman Frans van Dijk with a time of 39 hours and one minute.

About four hours later, in front of the Palacio de Congresos de Palma, the horn of the sailboat belonging to the regatta committee sounded again, indicating that the new competitors were crossing the finish line of La Large. This time it was mostly ORC 2-4 class vessels. Big smiles aboard Toni Marqués’ S’Avenc, of RCN de Palma, who took the final victory half an hour ahead of his clubmate Histolab, 1997 First 40.7 with José Juan Torres at the helm. The Marques launched the boat last year, in 2022, when they achieved their first victory in this competition. The international touch on the podium was given by the Bulgarian Raffica, who finished the race at 9:00 a.m. after 43 hours and 37 minutes of sailing.

The last to arrive were those from the class, also with only two crew members, A2 (4-5). At 10:20 a.m. Guaguanco IV, skippered by Juan Lallemand and CN Altea, stopped its time trial to be the real time winner and make up for almost 45 hours of travel between Mallorca, Isla del Aire (in the southeast of Menorca) and back to Palma passing between Cabrera and Majorca. Not long after, the second finished sailboat RCN de Palma Azuree owned and skippered by Eduardo Horrach.

If nothing unforeseen happens, Meerblick Fun – from Real Club Náutico de Palma and winner of the last edition – will be the one to complete the podium. Today at 18:00, Monday is the only one yet to finish La Larga de PalmaVela 2023.

As for the IRC class, as expected, the victory of I love Poland over Ermann Travers’ Stormvogel was confirmed with a difference of 16 hours and 40 minutes. Awards ceremony tomorrow. Wednesday, presentation of the 19th PalmaVele. The La Larga awards ceremony will take place tomorrow, Tuesday at 19:00 at the Real Club Náutico de Palma.

On Wednesday, the 3rd, at 1:00 p.m., the media will be presented with the 19th PalmaVela, a multi-class event that will gather more than a hundred boats in the bay of Palma from May 4 to 7.