Vilanova i la Geltrú The most prestigious competition in world sailing is coming to Vilanova i la Geltrú. From that first regatta where America defeated a group of British ships in front of Queen Victoria in 1851, 172 years have passed until this first preliminary regatta of the 37th edition of one of the oldest sports tournaments in the world. If the Cup will be contested next year in Barcelona, the port of Garraf has been chosen for the start of the previous regattas. “It’s an ideal place. A port that, like Barcelona, allows you to follow the regattas from land, with conditions that are difficult to improve”, explains Grant Dalton, the head of the organizing team and reigning champion, Team New Zealand. Making a coffee in the press area, he observes the panorama, always with a cold, calculating gaze. He is an old sea wolf who has crossed every ocean, winning a lot of races. He is mainly responsible for the fact that the most valuable trophy in sport, an old cup made in London at the beginning of the 19th century, is now in Vilanova i la Geltrú. “One of the things I like most about being here, besides the facilities, is the history. Sailing was already done here when the Europeans had not even arrived down there,” he says in reference to his land. No more questions accepted. Always marks distances.
The America’s Cup got underway this Thursday with the first practice sessions, where the favourites, Emirates Team New Zealand, led by Peter Burling and Nathan Outteridge, dominated, winning all three practice sessions. The competition will be from Friday to Sunday, the day of the final of a first regatta between the six participating teams. The New Zealanders, responsible for organizing this edition of the tournament, do not stop talking well about the conditions for sailing on the Catalan coast. Instead of organizing the cup at home, they decided to do it far away after not reaching an understanding with their government. And so, the first act of a tournament that will be decided in October 2024 will take place in the “seafaring town”, a motto that the local authorities have been recalling these days. “It is luck and an opportunity to receive thousands of visitors. The forecast we work with is that we receive around 10,000 daily visitors on average. This means that there will be traffic restrictions on the entire Passeig Marítimo, but similar to those of the Festa Major or Sant Joan» explains Juan Luís Ruiz, the socialist mayor of the city. The railway and bus service has been strengthened, and different car parks have been completed around the Ronda d’Europa, the road entrance to the city.
Over the years, the America’s Cup has become something more than a sporting event. It is also a big business that moves thousands of people, sponsors and companies. A great claim that has transformed for a few days the seafaring part of the city, Baix a Mar, as the people of Vilanovina define the old fishermen’s quarters, where white houses with blue doors, old fishermen’s associations and buildings that remember that the first documents that tell us about Vilanova’s seafaring tradition date from 1285. Ships have changed a lot in these 750 years. Now they fly over the water at almost 100 km per hour.
Vilanova i la Geltrú wants to show off its maritime tradition by hosting this competition that has generated debate in the town. In fact, some thirty organizations, most of them from the Garraf region, created the platform ‘No to the America’s Cup in Vilanova i la Geltrú’ a few weeks ago. The members of the platform complain that the cup could have a “very negative” impact in terms of CO2 emissions and water consumption, defining the cup as a “macro project more than those that destroy the territory”. In the center of the city, the graffiti on the walls, spaces where the rebels speak, can be seen near the flags hung by the town hall. A hundred have demonstrated against this appointment on Thursday.
Volunteer in 1992, volunteer in 2023
However, other Villanova residents have enjoyed the cup. Of the 350 volunteers who will help make everything work these days, almost 290 are from Garraf. The America’s Cup has prioritized them, since almost a thousand people wanted to sign up. “We preferred people who know the city and the area. People involved, who feel proud of Vilanova and know it» explains one of the coordinators of the Cup, Xavi Prat. Different profiles have been sought, people who speak Catalan, Spanish and English. The day before the official training, the volunteers met at the Neapolis technical school. Some, like the young Pol Arbiol, arrived attracted by the call of the sea: “My mother is from Croatia, from Split. And sailing is practically the national sport there. It was a logical step, I keep sailing and this is the most important competition». He was listened to by Annette Harzbecher, a Mexican-German who years ago dropped anchor in Catalonia, where she grew up. In fact, in 1992 she was at the German school in Barcelona when the Games arrived and she was able to volunteer. Now, he expects the same spirit, but focused on the sea, his life. “I have dedicated my life to sustainability, to being what would be called in English one Ocean ambassador. That is to say, to collaborate in campaigns to clean the sea, against plastics in the water, to promote ecological navigation». Annette has collaborated in projects to save whales and dolphins, to take care of the Ocean and positively values how the America’s Cup has evolved to make its message more sustainable. “For example, it is committed to not spending almost any plastic in all the common areas,” she explains, excited to remember the Games of 1992. “Then there was a very beautiful atmosphere of brotherhood,” she explains. Pol, from a different generation, trusts that the competition will continue to “strengthen Catalonia as the venue for events like this, since we have a great sailing tradition, although not in this competition model such as the Cup america I hope people discover it, because it’s spectacular.” The two, by the way, have already signed up to be volunteers in Barcelona in 2024 for the final phase of the tournament.
The day before the start of the competition, the six teams have already trained in the regatta area, in front of the La Daurada area. The waters have been filled with boats to see the competitors as close as possible and in fact, in other ports in the area, such as Port Ginesta or Sitges, they have spent August renting out boats to sailing fans.
Defending champions Emirates Team New Zealand, INEOS Britannia, New York Yacht Club American Magic, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, Alinghi Red Bull Racing and Orient Express Team France, the last team to arrive , the faces are seen in regattas where they will compete under equal conditions, with identical boats of four crew, the AC40s. These are monotypes with hydrofoils of 11.90 meters in total length. In other words, it will not be the same boats that will fight for glory a year from now. And all, with the facilities of Club Nàutic Vilanova as the central core of the regattas. After the official training regatta on Thursday, three heats between buoys will be contested on Friday and Saturday, with two more on Sunday to close the competition on the same day with a final regatta in match-race, boat against boat, between the top two finishers after the eight races. The schedule for the three days of competition will be from 3.30pm to 5.30pm.
Vilanova expects the arrival of around 15,000 people and around a thousand journalists who will work at a center installed in La Daurada. In fact, this same week the security master plan for the event was finalized where the Mossos d’Esquadra will deploy 530 agents in Vilanova in coordination with the National Police, Civil Guard and Local Police.
The Catalan sailing skate, present
On a coast with a great sailing tradition, but not with these boats, the cup will not forget its roots. On the weekend in fact, 210 boats of the Catalan Patí class will make the biggest meeting in their history, taking part in two exhibition regattas on the same stage of the competition, the regatta field where the AC40s will compete. In addition, the Barcelona Capital Nàutica Foundation has created the traveling exhibition “Let’s talk about the sea to talk about us”, which will tour Catalonia to explain the history of sailing, the culture of the sea, the blue economy and the Cup. The exhibition was inaugurated this Thursday and “positions Catalonia as a nautical benchmark at national and international level”, as reported by the Foundation in a statement.
Vilanova i la Geltrú in fact, takes advantage of the cup to show off its legacy. If one part of the city looked inland, another did so towards the sea, with a great fishing tradition remembered in the Sant Pere del barri de mar procession every June 29, with the saint on top of boats leaving to sail and of course, the legacy of the Indians. Vilanova i la Gelrú was known as Havana in the 19th century, when many residents of Vilanova who had made their fortunes in Cuba returned. The town of cható, of commerce, burnt garlic, prawns and the lighthouse, one exposes the maritime heritage of a port that now hosts a historic tournament. The most seafaring town. Although surely, in Sitges they see it differently. Things about the rivalry, either to talk about the chat or the seafaring tradition.
2023-09-14 18:36:22
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