- Cippino, Guia, Alba, Kelpie of Falmouth and Moonbeam III proclaimed winners in one of the finest finals of the history of the regatta, which began with draws in four of the five categories
- More than 50 boats from 12 countries and 600 sailors have competed in the edition of the 10th anniversary of the regatta of classics with the coast of Barcelona as a backcloth
- Such interesting histories as the 90th anniversary of the Gipsy or the presence for the first time of boats as prominent as the Italian Il Moro di Venezia I or the Corsario II of the Italian Navy have put, one more year, the most social character to this sport event
This year we have enjoyed the tenth edition of the Puig Vela Clàssica Barcelona regatta, a competition that has celebrated its ten years of existence with a historic record of boats and an exciting fight offering a top class competitive show with a close contest until the last minute.
Between the 12th and the 15th of July the waters of Barcelona have witnessed a spectacle of the purest art of navigation. The more than 50 participating boats -reaching a record of registrations- from 12 different countries, almost one thousand sailors, have turned the city, once again, into the world capital of classic and vintage sailing.
Nearly a thousand sailors from Spain and countries like France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Malta, Uruguay or Argentina, competed in the waters of the Catalan capital offering a unique sailing spectacle in the world.
An anniversary edition with unique boats that have marked the history of sport sailing
This year the Puig Vela Clàssica got dressed in its finest clothes to celebrate its tenth edition. For the first time, the five winners of the previous edition (Moonbeam III, Alba, Guia, Sonata and Marigold) defended the title with a mixed fortune, and the fleet saw the debut of the Italians Il Moro di Venezia I and Corsario II; The impressive Big Boat Xarifa 1927; the French Saggitarius, as well as the Argentinean Cippino which also debuted in European waters. The Gipsy celebrated its 90th anniversary without having missed any of the Puig Vela Clàssica Barcelona editions.
During the three days of competition the wind wanted to join the celebration, always blowing above the 10 knots of intensity and only caused a short postponement of the starting shot during the second day. The regattas combined a 17-mile coastal route on the first day with several routes limited by buoys (between 10 and 13 miles) in the following two days, all of them located in front of the beaches of the Barcelona coast.
The most disputed annual
The quality of the fleet and its high competitiveness offered a good show in this edition, since four of the five categories began the last and decisive day with a draw in the first positions.
The Moonbeam III re-inscribed its name, and it did so for the sixth time, in the list of the Big Boats fleet assiduously competing in this prestigious international regatta. Once again its greatest rival was the Moonbeam IV, which started with a victory on the first day, but eased up yielding two partial victories to the winner. The Italian Cambria, finally third, was a hard nut to crack, but it could not beat them in any of the partial classifications. So much did the Xarifa 1927, which had to settle for the fourth place.
The Guia successfully defended the title in the Classics 1 category, where Il Moro di Venezia was offering its debut. Despite clearly prevailing in the first route, the debutant eased up a bit while the Guia tied after the second beam and sought revenge in the third and final regatta. The third position was for another debutant in Barcelona, the French Saggitarius, which with a small crew and a significant female presence, offered an interesting debut, showing its good skills. Thanks to winning the last regatta, the Corsario II could finally be fourth after surpassing Samarkand.
In Classics 2, the Alba also achieved its sixth trophy of the Puig Vela Clàssica Barcelona, in the particular duel it maintains with the Moonbeam III in order to be the most victorious of podium. Without giving any options in any route, it prevailed in the three partial routes. After it, Kanavel and Margarita Estalindalamar closely competed for the second position, and finally, this second one achieved such position in the final classification after surprising the Kanavel in the last route, consequently taking it away the subchampionship. The Atrevido and the Diana completed the Top 5 of the category.
In the Cangreja Époque category, the highest honours were for the Kelpie of Falmouth, that could finally won for thanks to a difference of a single point against Marigold, which was very close to successfully defend the title achieved last year. After these two protagonists, the Malabar X arrived comfortably far from the others, while the Marigan was fourth after beating the Gipsy and the Veronique for one point.
The Sonata from the Marconi Époque also failed to repeat as the winner in the most contested and numerous category of this edition. While, the last day of the competition, in the Big Boats, Classics 1 and Cangreja Époque, two candidates drew, in the Marconi Époque it were three boats Cippino, Fjord III and Argyll, those which tied up. Keeping an intense duel in the final regatta to settle the tiebreaker, finally the Argentine Cippino achieved to surpass the Uruguayan Fjord III and the British Argyll. After such the Circe, the Oiseau de Feau and the Sonata were the classified in this order.
Some of more than a century, others which “only” turn 90 years old
This tenth edition means an important milestone for the Gypsy of “Petete” Rubio, who celebrates the 90th anniversary of the boat. It was the only civilian vessel built in the Echevarrieta and Larrinaga (Cadiz) shipyard, which was of eminently military use. During the Civil War it worked like a spy boat for the national side between the capes of Creus and La Nao. Grapeshot marks are still on the sticks as memory of the two times he was shot.
“The boat was bought by my family in 1951. They were very fond of sailing and were looking for a stylish sailing boat that would sail well. They saw the Gipsy, they liked it and they decided to buy it”, assures Petete Rubio and adds “it is a singular schooner, with many stories in its deck. We restored it in 1969 and in 2006, preserving in both reforms the two bullets we found embedded in the hull”.
The Gipsy has participated in the ten editions of the Puig Vela Clàssica Barcelona regatta. “Our idea is to take advantage of this regatta to celebrate the Gipsy’s anniversary and, of course, we would like to win this year, it would be the icing on the cake. Besides, as a detail of the current event, the organization has awarded the Gypsy the number 90 to join the celebration” says Petete.
An exceptional Italian representation: Il Moro di Venezia I and the Italian Navy
Among the sailboats debuting this year in the Puig Vela Clàssica Barcelona regatta, there are the Italians Il Moro di Venezia I and the ship of the Navy, the Corsario II.
Il Moro di Venezia I was the first boat of the legendary saga “Il Moro di Venezia” by the Italian tycoon Raul Gardini, who put Italy at the top of the world sailing with a series of ultracompetitive sailboats, which were winners year after year of some of the most outstanding regattas of the international circuit, in addition to successfully participating in the Copa America, where they reached the final classification.
In his debut in the Puig Vela Clàssica Barcelona, Umberto Zocoa Rangome di Montelupo, sailor and mainsail of the boat, says that “I knew this regatta very well and I loved it after having sailed for many years aboard the Amorita and the Peter, and I kept insisting to my colleagues from Il Moro in Venezia that we had to compete here. This year I finally got it and I cannot be the happiest. Having this marvellous sailboat, winner of so many regattas, in the coast of Barcelona is a real honour”. He added that “in Il Moro di Venezia we are a great group of friends, we are very coordinated and very satisfied to be tied in the leadership of the Classics 1 category”. As for the two days of regatta, Umberto says that “for us, they have been very positive thanks to the magnificent wind we have enjoyed that besides, was fantastic for our sailboat”.
Concerning to the Corsario II, it was designed and built for the Italian Naval Academy. This sailboat competes in the best regattas of the Mediterranean and serves in turn of training boat by the cadets of the Naval Academy of Livorno. Commissioned by the same Italian navy and captained by Simone Giusti, the Corsario II sails for the first time in waters of Barcelona. “Three years ago our teammates from Stella Polare and us were already really excited by the idea of sailing here,” says Giusti. “The Puig Vela Clàssica Barcelona is proving to be a very nice regatta, with a lot of waves and wind, which makes the navigation very demanding. If we add it to the fact that this regatta takes place in a city like Barcelona, this competition not any boat would resist the opportunity to repeat year after year”.
With respect to his sailboat, Simone affirms that “since it is a school ship of the navy, the crew is in constant change. In this classic sailboat, where everything is manual, sailing requires a lot of strength, constancy and dedication, which is an extraordinary training for our Marines”.
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