Bayona (Pontevedra)
Updated:31/08/2021 16:19h
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With the official presentation of the event at a press conference held this Tuesday in Bayonne, the countdown to the 36th Prince of Asturias Trophy formally begins. The historic competition organized by the Monte Real Club de Yates and the Naval Military School is one of the most important nautical events in Spain and will take place next Friday in the waters of the Galician Rías Baixas, lasting three days, until Sunday. 5.
75 crews will compete in a regatta program in which several coastal routes and other windward-leeward events are marked. It will be, as explained by the MRCYB Commodore, Ignacio Sánchez Otaegui, “A program in which the teams must prove their worth both in half-distance events and in other more technical ones, and in which the winners will be those who master both situations, manage to read the wind and conditions with greater accuracy and execute the best decisions and maneuvers in the water “.
In the Galician nautical event, women will once again have a prominent role through the Ladies Cup, the exclusively female competition that Monte Real has organized for 25 years within the framework of the Prince of Asturias Trophy. In 2021, the event celebrates its silver anniversary, half a century of life with the same objective with which it was born, that of trying to promote the presence of women in high competition. Six teams consisting of six women will duel on six identical boats (Figaro Beneteau).
Also on equal terms – in terms of type of boat – the J80s will compete, a class in which Monte Real will have the largest number of its own boats. The club has maintained a firm commitment to these 8-meter boats for years and the concession of the World Cup to Bayonne in 2023 has only increased the interest of the shipowners in the club’s championships and the number of boats participating in the competitions. of monotypes.
Thus, the 36th Prince of Asturias Trophy broadly maintains the characteristics that have made it the most important sailing competition in Galicia: multiple classes, a variety of events, various regatta fields, an exclusively female section and another for monotypes, and an adapted sailing boat in which people with functional diversity will sail. The only changes in its usual program are motivated by COVID19, and will imply a limitation of participating boats (the registration of more than 75 sailboats has not been allowed), control of accesses and gauges, carrying out antigen tests to the entire staff of the organization, the continuous cleaning of the facilities, the obligatory use of masks and the suspension of the traditional breakfasts, dinners and fireworks.
The two award galas are maintained, of course. The one for the Prince of Asturias Trophy, on Sunday at 6.30 in the afternoon, will include this year as a novelty the delivery of the President of the Xunta Trophy, which is added to the usual competition for the various classes; the Conde de Barcelona Trophy (for the best boat with a Portuguese crew) and the Mary Woodward Trophy (for the best J80 of the season).
The other gala, on Saturday at eight o’clock in the afternoon, will be the National Sailing Awards, sponsored one more year by the Terras Gauda Wineries. In 2021, the Catalan Didac Costa will receive awards for the best ocean sailor, the Spain SailGP Team for the best team and innovative project, the crew formed by the Galician Támara Echegoyen and the Balearic Paula Barceló for the best women’s team and Helena de la Gándara for their Tokyo 2020 Olympic team communication project. The three athletes who returned from the Japanese Olympics with a bronze medal will also be honored: Joan Cardona (for the best Olympic sailor) and Jordi Xammar and Nico Rodríguez (for the best Olympic team).
If all those attending the press conference to present the Prince of Asturias Trophy agreed on something, it was that it is the great sailing event in Galicia. Many of them also wanted to highlight the fact that the Ladies Cup is celebrating 25 years.
“There are two reasons why the Prince of Asturias is special this year. One, for the great participation of J80 that we expect. It is a class for which we have been betting for years and its growth is a faithful reflection of the interest that the World Cup that we will celebrate in 2023 is arousing. The other reason is the quarter century of life of the Ladies Cup, our women’s competition, pioneer in Spain . It is 25 years since our firm commitment to women’s sailing, which this year we have implemented with new activities and proposals “. – José Luis Álvarez, president of the Monte Real Club de Yates de Bayona.
“Sailing represents many of the values that we want to transmit to our students: effort, teamwork, a desire to improve and many others. This is a regatta that we have marked in red on our calendar as one of the most important events of the year “, Pedro Cardona · Commander director of the Naval Military School.
“Many years have passed since Terras Gauda, the MRCYB and the Naval School began to work so that this regatta had an increasing presence in the world of sailing, and for us it is an honor to be able to sponsor the National Sailing Awards, with which to recognize the best in Spanish sport “, José María Fonseca · President of Bodegas Terras Gauda.
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