Half a century of the historic Discovery Race

 

In 1972, the Monte Real Yacht Club organized the most important ocean regatta of those held until then in terms of the number of participants. 48 ships from 35 clubs from 11 countries with some 500 people on board left Bermuda on June 29 for Baiona with the aim of replicating the navigation that 479 years earlier, in 1493, had been carried out by La Pinta de Pinzón on its return to Spain. to announce a new continent, which would be called America. Known as the Discovery Regatta, Discovery Race or BB (Bermuda-Baiona), some of the most prominent American businessmen of the time participated in it, people such as the press magnate Beaver Brook; and a single Spaniard, Alfredo Lagos from Vigo, who with his presence helped to silence the comments of the press that branded the Spanish sailors as not very adventurous for not being part of the crossing. Today, 50 years after that competition, the archives of the organizers (MRCYB, New York Yacht Club, Royal Bermuda Yacht Club and The Cruising Club of America) barely keep a few documents and photographs of its celebration but everyone remembers very well what was: one of the most important regattas in the history of navigation, with the highest number of participants to date.

It is a report by Rosana Calvo,
communication manager of the MRCYB

 

Pendants of the organizing clubs and route of the test (in red) and of the Pinta (blue)

 

“Battered the ship by the storms but not the hearts” . This is how the historical documents (and also the commemorative monolith erected in the fishing village of Baiona) describe the arrival, on March 1, 1493, of the Pinta caravel of Martín Alonso Pinzón to the Galician port with one of the most important news in history of mankind: the discovery of America.
479 years after that chapter, the Monte Real Club de Yates, one of the most outstanding clubs in Spain at that time, promoted the most important regatta of the time in his honor, a competition of more than 3,200 miles in which the participants would replicate the journey of the caravel across the Atlantic.

They called it, as it could not be otherwise, the Discovery Race, Discovery Race or BB (for Bermudas-Baiona), and in its organization they collaborated hand in hand with Monte Real, the New York Yacht Club, the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club and The Cruising Club of America.

It is difficult to attribute a paternity to the initial idea of the regatta. Many speak of Fernando Solano, who advanced in the sponsorship negotiations with Fraga and the organization with the clubs involved. Other names that appear in the records as main promoters are those of Richard B. Nye (chairman of the regatta committee), Hugh CE Masters (commodore and chairman of the committee of the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club), and José María de Gamboa (chairman of the committee Spanish of the regatta).

They also promoted the celebration of the competition and the former mayor of Vigo, José Ramón Fontán, was part of the Spanish committee; one of the historical figures of sailing in Galicia, recently deceased, Fernando Massó; the patriarch of the Gándara, José de la Gándara; Jose Maria Padro; the Vigo industrialist Alfredo Lagos; the president of Monte Real until 1971, Alfredo Romero (who would be succeeded by Carlos Zulueta between 71 and 73); and the commodore of the Baionese club until 1971, Manuel Varela.

A regatta simmering for a decade

It was a regatta that was simmering for nothing more and nothing less than 10 years, since 1962, when people began to talk about its celebration; until 1972 when it was finally played. In between, the project was formally presented to the then Spanish Minister of Information and Tourism, Manuel Fraga Iribarne, who would end up approving its patronage; it was exposed to the American clubs that would finally be involved in the event together with the Monte Real (the New York Yacht Club and the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club); and in 1969 the first official meeting with the Spanish Sailing Federation was held.

In 1970, two years before its celebration, there was already a propaganda brochure for the regatta, for which, initially, the name “The Race of Discovery for La Pinta Trophy TransAtlantic” was proposed, which would eventually be simplified to ” The Discovery Race” . In it all the details of the competition were explained. It would be a test of about 3,000 miles of route that would be carried out with the only condition that a minimum of 15 boats register for it.

The most important and massive regatta of the time

Participation forecasts, not very high at the beginning, ended up exceeding all expectations and the Discovery Regatta finally had a total of 57 registered (of which 48 ended up starting), becoming the most important regatta held to date. date, with the highest number of participants of all time.

 

Manuscript with data from some of the test participants

 

Among the boats entered, the majority between 40 and 60 feet (between 12 and 18 meters), the smallest was the French Penélope III, owned by Alain Maupas Trinidad, with a length of 40 feet / 12 meters; and Patrick E. Haggerty’s Beayondan, at 81 feet long / 24.6 meters, the largest.

As a curiosity, it should be noted that there were sailboats, such as the 43-foot / 13-meter New World, by North American Phillip Davies, which was built specifically for the regatta; and that in the test, which was attended by important American businessmen, the second Baron Beaverbrook, son of the well-known British press magnate William Maxwell Aitken (Lord Beaverbrook), founder of newspapers such as the Daily Express or the Sunday Express, also participated.

 

Alfredo Lagos (left) with Jim Pugh at the 1972 Discovery Regatta (Courtesy of the Lagos family)

 

Alfredo Lagos, the only Spaniard on board

Among all those registered there was only one Spaniard: the renowned industrialist from Vigo and experienced sailor Alfredo Lagos, son of the founder and director for more than 50 years of Astilleros Lagos, one of the most prestigious companies worldwide for its work in the construction and restoration of classic wooden boats.

With his presence as a crew member aboard the Dora, Lagos helped to silence the comments of the press of the time, which branded the Spanish sailors as “not very adventurous” for not wanting to participate in the regatta (or for not daring, as they even came say some, for “risk and fear” ).

 

Illustration of the Discovery Regatta with sailboats and caravels

 

A regatta marked by the weather

The Discovery Regatta was set to start on June 28, 1972 from the historic Gulf of Las Flechas (named for the arrows launched by members of the Ciguayos tribe against the Spanish in what is considered the first incident against the European invasion in America), just as the Pinta had done on January 16, 1493, but for technical reasons they ended up setting sail a day later from the port of Hamilton.

 

Bermuda before departure (Photo courtesy of the Lagos family)

 

Ahead, the 500 participants aboard 48 boats from 35 clubs from 11 countries, had a journey of 3,200 nautical miles / 5,926 kilometers (according to the official route), although everyone expected it to be more (about 4,000 / 7,408 km) per the winds and currents that would influence their journey. And the truth is that the weather ended up affecting, and a lot, the test.

En route from New York to Bermuda for the start of the race, some boats were hit by a typhoon, forcing four of them to abandon the competition and delaying the start for a day so that the rest could make some repairs. Later, once the journey had begun, the poor state of the sea made navigation difficult. And a few days later, more problems. There were several days of calm that would cause a considerable delay in the completion of the test.

 

The Nieto Antúnez fishing nautical school produced a brochure on meteorological factors

 

The Discovery Regatta was the first international competition that forced the crews to give their situation every day, something that, in addition to generating security, facilitated the tasks of the regatta committee to control the fleet and the work of the press of the time to narrate the evolution of the test. But what initially worked smoothly soon went awry. The participants stopped complying with the requirement because they also provided information to their rivals and the test was carried out practically in its entirety, with few exceptions, without real and continuous monitoring of the sailboats.

It is known, from the data provided in the early days, that the sailboats took three different navigation routes. Some opted for the shortest and most direct route, others went north in search of more favorable winds and the rest sailed south. But when they really began to distance themselves from each other, the calm ones arrived and the crews were unable to establish important advantages, practically all remaining grouped in a platoon while the lack of wind lasted.

Four days into the test, the radiograms sent to New York announced Tom Clark’s Buccaneer (New Zealand) in the lead. On the island of Flores (Azores), the only record set on the regatta’s transatlantic route (850 miles / 1,574 km from the finish line), Charisma captained by Jessie Phillips (Dayton, Ohio) was first, followed by Carina of Richard S. Nye and the Jubilee III, of the United States Naval Academy, captained by Commander Howard Randall.

In mid-July, a Canadair CL-215 seaplane from the Search and Rescue Service arrived in Vigo to carry out its first exploration operation within a radius of action of some 200 miles / 370 km. Baiona, but the results were negative. On a second outing he managed to locate one of the participants, the Solution, 6 miles / 11 km from A Guarda, but the crew had lowered sails and headed for the port of Vigo, implying that they had withdrawn from the competition. Somewhat further away, a group of fishing boats sighted, off the Berlengas Islands (north of Lisbon), the bulk of the crews.

The Blackfin, first. The Carina, winner.

Although the Discovery Regatta boats were scheduled to arrive in Baiona on July 14, it was not until July 18, at 12:15 when the Blackfin (US-flagged, sail number 8910, 73 feet long / 22 , 25m and 16 adventurers on board), led by Kenneth W. DeMeuse, crossed the finish line, an imaginary line that left the Prince’s Tower (where some of the snipe boys and cruisers like the Fontán brothers stood guard , Quico Arbones, Humberto Cervera and others) at 180º magnetic. With the exception of the calm one that was found at the exit of Bermuda, the sailboat sailed practically the rest of the route without problems, taking advantage of a wind channel. He did it alone, investing a total of 453 hours, and upon arrival, the 15 crew members threw their captain overboard to celebrate the victory.

 

The Blackfin, designed by Bill Tripp for Ken DeMeuse of San Francisco

 

DeMeuse, exhausted and with his hair messed up from the dip, called his country to say that he had arrived, ordered a cubalibre with lots of ice and attended to the media. He commented that the regatta “was not as difficult as it was long”, he explained that it became complicated at times when crossing with very strong winds or with no wind, but that both the crew and the boat ( “which is good and fast” , he assured) they worked very well.

 

News published in La Voz De Galicia on July 19, 1972

 

Hours later, around eight in the afternoon, the second ship, the Jubilee III, of the United States Naval Academy, a 22.25-meter sailboat and the number 1800 on its sails, arrived on the old continent. It was manned by 17 people, skippered by Commander Howard Randall and, as had happened to the Blackfin, it also played against the basses of Carallones.

On July 21, three days after the first boats had crossed the finish line, there were still sailboats to finish the journey and among them were some of those that could be proclaimed absolute winners (due to the time compensation system that would be applied for level out the differences between large and small boats). The last yacht to arrive, the Tanatara, did so on the 22nd, and it was then that the final classification of the competition was revealed.

 

Alfredo Lagos after the arrival of the Discovery Regatta in 1972 (Photo courtesy of the Lagos Family)

 

The winner of the 1972 Bermuda-Bayonne Discovery Regatta was the Class B Carina, skippered by Richard “Dick” S. Nye, in 391 hours, 52 minutes and 39 seconds. They were followed in the table by Prim (Gibbons Neff Jr.), from class B, with 344 hours, 44 minutes, 19 seconds; and the Aura (Wallace Stenhouse), also in class B, with 395 hours, 27 minutes, 19 seconds. The Blackfin, the first to arrive in the waters of Baiona on the 18th, was finally in 42nd place in the general classification.

Richard S. Nye (1904-1988) found his love of the sea late and knew little of sailing when he bought the Carina in 1945, but he soon began sailing and ended up competing in long-distance regattas, which became in his passion. He participated in a large number of them and came to win 7 transatlantic races, including the Bermuda Baiona, in which he won with the first of his three Carinas.

The skipper attributed (he always did) the success in this regatta and many others he won to the good work of his crew, made up of his son Richard B. Nye, as first officer, and other members of his family and close friends.

Those who knew him say that he did not sail to win, but because he was truly passionate about the sea. To posterity he passed his phrase: “Okay, boys, you can let the ship sink!” , pronounced after finishing the Fasnet Race of 1957 in a Carina badly damaged by the hard competition.

 

Richard S. Nye – Patron of the Carina

 

His victory in the Discovery Regatta had a great worldwide echo and in the final broadcast of the event, everyone agreed on the great success that the event had brought.

The Discovery Regatta, much more than a regatta

In a meeting with journalists, the president of the Monte Real Yacht Club and vice president of the Spanish committee in charge of organizing the arrival, Carlos Zulueta, highlighted the four most significant aspects of the regatta: economic, tourist, historical and sporting.

The competition, sponsored by the Ministry of Information and Tourism (understanding that it would serve to promote tourism at the highest level and offer the Rías Gallegas a high-ranking international sporting competition), had become the one with the greatest participation up to that time and accommodation reservations made in Baiona had repercussions on hoteliers with a figure that exceeded one million pesetas. Restaurants, taxi drivers and other businesses also made cash during the Americans’ stay in the fishing village.

Alfredo Lagos, the only Spaniard in the competition, complained, once it was over, about the little attention the national press and television had devoted to it. blamed “a hidden force that tries to minimize everything in Galicia, which takes us back to times before the Catholic Monarchs. You already know -Lagos said in a special report for the magazine Pesca y Náutica- that when a drop of water falls in Estaca de Bares, although we have an ideal day in Baiona, the phrase is “It rains in Galicia”. For many Galicia is very far away, the roads are very bad, there are many cows and the women carry the load on their heads. Those who only think this, it is much better not to come”.

 

José Ramón Fontán handing out souvenirs to the Apollo on the pontoons of the Monte Real Yacht Club

 

The truth is that everyone welcomed the crews with open arms and the sailors were able to enjoy the culture, landscape and gastronomy of Galicia for several days. In Vigo, in the gardens of the Pazo Quiñones de León, a dinner was organized for them, enlivened by folk groups. In Baiona, another dinner and a big dance.

They also attended the famous Mougás gigs and ate grilled sardines, empanada and octopus in a mountain refuge. And at the end, many of them took part in a cruise along the Galician estuaries from Baiona to Fisterra, sailing through the most touristic points of coastal Galicia and taking a bus trip to Santiago de Compostela.

 

In the rally through the Rías Baixas after the Discovery Regatta

 

Postmarks, brochures, commemorative plates, flags… recall one of the most important regattas in the history of navigation. A regatta that served for several clubs on both sides of the Atlantic to strengthen ties and promote what ended up being the most massive nautical competition organized to date.

 

Postmarks, information brochures and commemorative plates of the Discovery Regatta

 

Half a century after its celebration, at the Monte Real Club de Yates de Baiona, the seed of the competition, they remember it as something historic, as one of those events worthy of having gone down in the history of world sailing along with other milestones of the club as the challenge to the America’s Sailing Cup.

And the same what “The noble town of Baiona, an ancient Celtic hedgehog, had the honor of being the first to announce, to the astonishment of the world, the miracle of the discovery of the Americas”, the Monte Real Club de Yates had the honor of being the first to organize a regatta in his honor, the most important of the time and one of those that will always remain in the memory.

It is a report by Rosana Calvo,
communication manager of the MRCYB

 

 

Boats of the Discovery Regatta at Monte Real Yacht Club – Tony Román File Photo
Jubilee III with seaplane arriving in Baiona – Discovery Regatta 1972 – Photo Archive Tony Román
The Dora IV back to America after the Discovery Regatta – Photo Archive Tony Román
The Buccaneer, the Etoile and other ships after their arrival in Baiona – Photo Archive Tony Román
The Dora IV in which Alfredo Lagos sailed in the Discovery Regatta in 1972 (Photo courtesy of the Lagos family)

“With the arrival of the SUPER SERIES, Monte Real returns to the path of international circuits”

“We will see who wins the competition. The best will win, for sure. But those of us who have already won with the arrival of the 52 SUPER SERIES are the club, Baiona and Galicia”

“Bringing Baiona to the TP52s means fulfilling one of the most important commitments I made to the partners I represent. It is a dream come true”

“We are a club with small facilities but we have a very good human team, with long and proven experience in organizing events”

 

Alejandro Retolaza (left), vice president; and José Luis Álvarez (right), president of the MRCYB – Photo © Rosana Calvo

 

One of José Luis Álvarez’s commitments to the members of the Monte Real Club de Yates de Baiona when he assumed the presidency of the club was to once again organize an international regatta at the highest level. The Baionese club, one of the most prolific in terms of sports on the Spanish nautical scene, had been organizing all kinds of competitions practically since its creation, but international events had been significantly reduced in its program of events.

This changed in 2020, in the midst of the COVID pandemic, when in a press conference with masks and safety distances, the club announced that it had managed to become the venue for the 52 SUPER SERIES. After months of negotiations and hard work to meet all the requirements demanded by the organization, Monte Real finally achieved the goal of bringing Baiona to the prestigious TP52.

The date of the event was set for the summer of 2021, but the complications derived from the coronavirus forced it to be postponed for a year, a period that the club took advantage of to seek financial support. He found them in two regular collaborators of Monte Real, the financial entity ABANCA and Turismo de Galicia through Xacobeo, who decided to join the adventure.

 

The ABANCA 52 SUPER SERIES – BAIONA SAILING WEEK will be held from May 23 to 28 – Photo © Rosana Calvo

 

Thus, the ABANCA 52 SUPER SERIES – BAIONA SAILING WEEK was born, destined to put Galicia back in the spotlight of world attention, in which it had not stood out since the start of the Sailing Tour of the World from Vigo, in 2005.

Today, 17 years after that milestone, Galicia once again writes a new page in the history of sailing with the celebration of the Super Series, something that fills the president of Monte Real with pride, with whom we spoke a few hours after the start the competition.

 

What does the arrival of the 52 SUPER SERIES mean for the club in general and for you in particular?

For the Club it represents returning to the path of the great international circuits. For me in particular, fulfilling one of the most important commitments with the partners I represent. Of course, with the invaluable work of my colleagues on the Board of Directors.

The club has been organizing multiple regattas throughout its history, its calendar is today one of the most complete of the Spanish clubs, but the truth is that it has been a long time since they organized a competition at this level. How do you take on this challenge?

With great enthusiasm and optimism. Organizing an event of these characteristics is complex. And it also requires significant resources. We must not forget that we have gone through a series of years of economic crisis and that the priorities were different.

What do you expect from Baiona Sailing Week? What are we going to find at the event?

I expect a great event for the world of sailing. The fact of having among us the best sailors in the world with the best boats in their category, will make all fans and non-fans of this sport enjoy a few unparalleled days.

The president of the Monte Real Yacht Club of Baiona, José Luis Álvarez, together with the TP52 – Photo © Rosana Calvo

Organizing a competition of this type involves great organizational, economic, logistical, personnel complications… Was Monte Real prepared for the arrival of the SUPER SERIES or did they have to make a special effort? What have been the biggest difficulties?

That’s right, I’m sure we all understand how complex it is to organize this type of competition. It is also true that the MRCYB human team has a long and accredited experience in organizing events of the highest level. As you know, we are a Club with small facilities. Space is a handicap that we find ourselves with, but we use everything we have to the millimeter. Regarding the economic section, we have the collaboration of the sponsors. They make these events possible. From here, my thanks on behalf of all the members of the Club.

It is not the first time that ABANCA and the Xunta de Galicia support them in their initiatives. They have been collaborating hand in hand for years, in a period in which getting sponsorships is not as easy as it used to be. What does the club offer its collaborators so that they continue betting on it?

Both ABANCA and the Xunta de Galicia (Galician Tourism through Xacobeo), as well as the Pontevedra Provincial Council and the Baiona City Council have been and are a very important support throughout these years. When the MRCYB organizes events of these characteristics, we think of the enormous repercussion that projecting our companies abroad has. There is no doubt that putting our Galician community and the Rias Baixas in particular in the international spotlight has a very direct impact on tourism with high purchasing power. This benefits us all.

Along with you, one of the key figures in the organization of the event has been, without a doubt, the club’s vice president, Alejandro Retolaza, who has been involved from the greatest to the smallest details. Tell us, how does the Álvarez-Retolaza tandem work?

I would not have enough space to express what the figure of Vice President Retolaza represents not only for me, but for the Club. The communication and communion of ideas with him is so fluid that sometimes we are surprised. It seems that we think the same things at the same moment. He knows the Club down to the last corner and in matters of logistics, he is always ahead of all of us. Every day I learn something new with him. In this sense, I also want to highlight the sincere commitment that the Board of Directors has with the Club. A team that dedicates many hours and many days of the year to develop the different areas as much as possible. I think I have people by my side who give their best and I always say that they make everything flow with great professionalism. For me a gift.

In recent days there has been a lot of talk about the astronomical figures on which the event revolves, in which boats of 2.5 million euros participate with sports campaigns that exceed one million euros… but we are more interested in knowing the economic impact that going to have in Baiona and its region. There is talk of more than 2 million euros. Is it a realistic figure?

So is. From my point of view and knowing the figures that we usually manage for each person who in one way or another participates in the event, that figure will probably be exceeded.

To finish, we would like you to “get wet” and tell us which team or teams are your favorites and who you think will win in Baiona. Do you dare?

I, like everyone else, have my favourites, but the level of the sailors is so high that I don’t dare to make a prediction. Any of them could be, but in the world of sailing nothing is predictable. The sea, the wind etc… gives many surprises. I’m sure the best will win.

The TP52s that will compete in the Baiona Sailing Week on the pontoons of Monte Real – Photo © Rosana Calvo

 

It is an interview with Rosana Calvo, head of communication at the MRCYB

Baiona, exemplary in women’s sports

 

Today, our “Vela en feminine” project, with which we have been promoting the presence of women in the world of sailing for some time, is on the cover of La Voz de Galicia.

A great cover for women and for sailing… A cover that encourages us to continue working so that there are more and more women sailing and competing.

More information:

 

 

 

 

 

Special SAILING IN FEMALE

Despite the progress that has been made in recent years to achieve equality, the women-sea binomial continues to need support and encouragement to continue making its way, and that is something that will only be achieved with everyone’s commitment to promoting sport egalitarian.

In this sense, the Monte Real Yacht Club launched a series of initiatives throughout this year aimed at increasing the presence of women in the world of sailing and promoting their participation in competitions and activities in which the male presence continues to be the majority.

We tell you all about them in a special newsletter, which you can read here :

https://mailchi.mp/d9893df03caf/el-paol-del-monte-real-xc-especial-vela-en-femenino

One of the current and future challenges of the MRCYB is to continue helping women to have a greater role in nautical sports, so that they can navigate under equal conditions, because the sea does not understand gender.

REPORT: 46 years of high-altitude sailing on Monte Real

 

Created in 1976 by the Monte Real Club de Yates and disputed without interruption since then, the Conde de Gondomar has established itself over the years as one of the most charismatic regattas on the Spanish nautical scene, with a history full of great names in sailing in Galicia that should not be forgotten, and one of the most exciting tests of Atlantic sailing: the Baiona-Carrumeiro Chico-Baiona, almost 100 miles. In 2020 not even COVID19 could stop it and in 2021 it will celebrate its forty-sixth edition in Baiona under the name of Zelnova Zeltia Banco Sabadell Grand Prix. It will be on July 23, 24 and 25.

Report by Rosana Calvo, head of communication at the MRCYB

 

Although the history of the Conde de Gondomar Trophy begins to be written in 1976, with the birth of the competition, we must go back several centuries to discover the true origin of its name, which arises from an alleged tribute to the figure of Diego Sarmiento de Acuña, first Count of Gondomar.

Son of the governor of Galicia, in military command of the Portuguese border and the Galician coast, Sarmiento was the key figure in the 5,000-man army who, despite being hastily recruited, managed to contain the attack that the most famous pirate of history, Francis Drake, was going to perpetrate against Baiona.

On October 8, 1585, the Count of Gondomar signed one of the most important chapters in the history of the Galician fishing village, forcing the withdrawal of the 30 ships and 1,500 men with which Drake intended to take over the town, and he was named “Governor of the war people of Baiona and the Castle of Monterreal” .

The Count of Gondomar was thus forever linked to the Monte Real peninsula, where the Parador Nacional is located today, which also bears his name; and the Monte Real Club de Yates, which in 1976 decided to baptize the Conde de Gondomar Trophy for a race that, over the years, would become the deep-sea regatta par excellence in Galicia.

Thus was born one of the most important competitions on the Spanish nautical scene, under the mandate of Rafael Olmedo Limeses as president of the club; and with Admiral Rafael Lorenzo (Commodore), Humberto Cervera “Piruchi” (sailing delegate) and Alfonso Paz Andrade, as key figures in its creation; along with Jesús Valverde, José Ramón Fontán, José de la Gándara and Rui Moreira.

On August 19 of that year, 29 boats accepted the challenge and set sail for the Cabo Silleiro area, where an Olympic triangle was scheduled to be held, but in the end it did not take place due to fog. The second of the three scheduled tests, a route between Baiona and Muros, was also suspended, this time due to lack of wind; and the premiere of the Conde de Gondomar Trophy was reduced to a single test that won the “Ardora” (Contention 33) by Alfonso Paz Andrade and Julio Babé, skippered by Gonzalo Romero.

It was the first of the four consecutive victories that the “Ardora” would chain in the first four editions of the Conde de Gondomar, taking among its crew sailing history in Galicia such as Fernando Massó or Gonzalo Romero.

Roll of Honor of the first winners of the Count of Gondomar

In 1980, the competition introduces changes to the layouts that had been initially designed, with a new 120-mile test between Baiona-Povoa de Varzim-Baiona, which is added to the Olympic triangle and an average regatta with a figure-nine route between the Cies and Ons Islands. The victory went to the Irish “Moonduster” (Swan 441), owned by Dennis Doyle, who had arrived in Galicia with the Lymington-Baiona regatta and decided to make his debut in the Conde as well.

In 1980, at the 5th Conde de Gondomar Trophy, the winner of the Conde was Irishman Dennis Doyle’s Moonduster – Photo Archive MRCYB

In 1981 a new modification in the routes takes place. From an idea by Fernando García Tobío (of the club’s Regatta Committee together with Alfonso Paz Andrade, Estanislao Durán and Jacobo Fontán) and in honor of Jesús Valverde, the Baiona – Carrumeiro Chico – Baiona was born, a historic race that continues until currently as one of the most exciting on the peninsular racing calendar.

The winner of that edition, and also of the following one (1982), was a boat from another of those historical sagas that emerged from Galician nautical: the “Vento” by Manuel Fernández, who many years later would receive the gold medal from the Royal Spanish Sailing Federation, the highest award in Spanish sailing.

The VII Conde de Gondomar Trophy was held in 1982 with the victory of Vento de Manuel Fernández – Photo Archive MRCYB

After the victories of the “Ardora” and the “Vento” , the different Pairos of José Luis Freire begin to embroider their name on the honor roll of the Count of Gondomar. The “Pairo Tres” won for the first time in 1983, repeated in 1984, and the following models with the Freire the Conde competed for, all under the same name would give him another 4 more wins.

The Pairo III (which gave the first two victories of the Count to JL Freire) in a promotional image of the competition

Until now, José Luis Freire is the one who has achieved the greatest number of victories in the competition. Add a total of 6: three in the eighties (1983, 1984 and 1988) and another three in the first years of the new millennium (2003, 2007 and 2009). Currently, at 84 years old, “Tibu” continues to participate in the Conde (not only as an owner, but also aboard its boats) and, although he has not achieved any more victories, he is always among the favorites.

– The different Pairos of José Luis Freire (one of them in the foreground) are the ones that have won the Conde de Gondomar Trophy the most times – Photo Jacobo Bastos
Very protected with a mask and screen José Luis Freire participated at the age of 83 in the last edition of the Count of Gondomar held in 2020- Photo José Ramón Louro

Following in its wake we find “April Oils” by Luis and Jorge Pérez Canal; that add up to 4 victories, the same ones that Paz Andrade’s “Ardora”, “Castrosúa” led by Willy Alonso and Julio Martínez Gil’s “Alaxe” achieved in their day. The boat of the Ourense brothers has been the undisputed protagonist of the most recent years, taking the grand prize in 2013, and chaining three consecutive golds in 2016, 2017 and 2018.

The April Oils of the Pérez Canal brothers are missing 2 victories to reach the record of the Pairo of José Luis Freire – Photo Archive MRCYB 2018
Willy Alonso (in the photo collecting the 2002 Count of Gondomar winner’s award) is one of the most successful skippers in the competition
Julio Martínez Gil’s Alaxe is one of the boats with the most victories in the history of the Count of Gondomar with a total of 4

In the last two years, the winners were the team of the Portuguese Rui Ramada, who in 2019 repeated with the “Yess Too” the triumph he had achieved in 2014 with the “Fifty ”; and the “Magical” by Julio Rodríguez, who in 2020 rewrote his name in the history of winners of the Count, who had already signed in 2001 with the “Starfisher” .

Nearly 40 boats participated in the last edition of the Count of Gondomar (held in 2020 in the framework of the COVID19 pandemic) – Photo José Ramón Louro
The Magical of the owner and skipper Julio Rodríguez was the winner of the last edition of the Count of Gondomar – Photo Clara Giraldo

Paz Andrade, Julio Babé, Gonzalo Romero, Manuel Fernández, José Luis Freire, Jaime Rodríguez Toubes, José María Lastra, Pedro Campos, Julio Martínez Gil, Gonzalo Araújo, Willy Alonso, Javier de la Gándara… are some of the most outstanding figures in the history of sailing in Spain who have passed (and continue to pass) the Conde de Gondomar Trophy.

Contested without interruption since 1976, the Monte Real Club de Yates competition has established itself as one of the most charismatic regattas in Spain and in 2021 it will celebrate its forty-sixth edition under the presidency of José Luis Álvarez. It will be held in Baiona on July 23, 24 and 25 under the name of Zelnova Zeltia Banco Sabadell Grand Prix.

It will include, as has become a tradition, the historic test of the Carrumeiro Chico, about 100 miles away, whose record is held by “Cenor & De Dietrich” , a Farr 50 from the Real Club de Regatas Galicia, which in 2011 smashed the figures that the Basque sailboat “Zorongo” maintained since 1992. The crew from Arousa, led by Martín Bermúdez de la Puente, completed the ascent and descent to the Carrumeiro Chico from Baiona in just 11 hours, 56 minutes and 57 seconds, lowering the numbers achieved by the Basques 19 years earlier by more than 30 minutes.

One of the boats of the Conde de Gondomar Trophy turning the Carrumeiro Chico in 2008 – Photo H.Blein
The mythical lighthouse of Carrumeiro Chico (in the Corcubión estuary) where the sailboats must turn in the long stage of the Count of Gondomar

 

is a report by Rosana Calvo, head of communication at the MRCYB // THE PHOTOS included BELONG TO THE HISTORICAL ARCHIVE OF THE MRCYB

 

ROLL OF HONOR COUNT OF GONDOMAR TROPHY

1976 ARDORA / Owner: A.Paz Andrade – J.Babé / Skipper: Gonzalo Romero

1977 ARDORA / Owner: A.Paz Andrade – J.Babé / Skipper: Gonzalo Romero

1978 ARDORA / Owner: A.Paz Andrade / Skipper: Fernando Massó

1979 ARDORA / Owner: A.Paz Andrade – J.Babé / Skipper: Gonzalo Romero

1980 MOONDUSTER / Owner: DNDoyle / Skipper: Denis Doyle

1981 VENTO / Owner: M.Fernández / Skipper: M. Fernández

1982 VENTO / Owner: M.Fernández / Skipper: M. Fernández

1983 PAIRO TRES / Owners: JLFreire / C.Freire / B.Logares/E.Durán / Skipper: JL Freire

1984 PAIRO TRES / Owners: JLFreire / C.Freire / B.Logares/E.Durán / Skipper: JL Freire

1985 CUTTY SARK / Skipper/owner: J. Lastra / J. Gándara

1986 KOCHAB / Owner: Armada Española / Skipper: Carlos Pardo

1987 XEITO – J&B / Owner: JM Piñeiro / Skipper: JM Piñeiro

1988 PAIRO CUATRO / Owner: JL Freire / C. Freire / B. Logares / Skipper: JL Freire

1989 PALACIO DE ORIENTE / Owner: JL Freire / C. Freire / Skipper: JL Freire

1990 COTE / Owner: Armada Española / Skipper: Jaime Rodríguez Toubes

1991 SONY / Owner: Castor Alonso / Skipper: Castor Alonso

1992 FARO FINO 3000 / Owner: Antonio Roquette / Skipper: Javier Gándara

1993 DEAR HENRY (IOR) / Owner/skipper: Jean Claude Sarrade // RABISCO (IMS) / Owner: Rafael Olmedo / Skipper: Rafael Olmedo Jr.

1994 CONSERVAS MIAU (IMS Regatta) Owner/skipper: José María Lastra // ALAXE (IMS Cruise) / Owner/ skipper: Julio Martínez Gil

1995 CONSERVAS MIAU (IMS Regatta) / Skipper: José María Lastra // GALICIA CALIDADE (IMS Cruiser) / Skipper: Alberto Viejo

1996 TERRAZOS RIEGO (IMS Regatta) / Skipper: Carlos Monclús // CUTTY SARK (IMS Cruise) / Skipper: Pablo Boiznet // ALAXE (IMS Amateur Cruise) / Owner: Julio Martínez Gil

1997 GALICIA CALIDADE (IMS Regatta) / Skipper: Pedro Campos // ALAXE (IMS Cruiser) / Skipper: Julio Martínez Gil

1998 PORTOS DE GALICIA (IMS Regatta) / Skipper: Javier de la Gándara // ARROUTADO (IMS Cruiser Regatta) / Skipper: José María Pérez // NORO (IMS Cruiser) / Skipper: Gonzalo Araújo

1999 PORTOS DE GALICIA (IMS B) / Skipper: Javier de la Gándara // ARROUTADO (IMS C) / Skipper: José M. Pérez

2000 TELEFÓNICA MOVISTAR (IMS B) / Skipper: Gonzalo Araújo // ALAXE (IMS C) / Skipper: Julio M. Gil

2001 STARFISHER (IMS – B) / Skipper: Julio Rodríguez

2002 TELEFONICA MOVISTAR (IMS 600) / Skipper: Guillermo Alonso // SALSEIRO (CRUISE) / Skipper: Manuel Blanco

2003 PAIRO IX / Skipper: Francisco Moret

2004 CASTROSÚA – CARSA (IMS 600) / Skipper: Guillermo Alonso

2005 CASTROSÚA – CARSA / Skipper: Guillermo Alonso

2006 SWISS NATIONAL INSURANCE / Patron: Javier de la Gándara

2007 PAIRO VIII / Patron: José Luis Freire

2008 CASTROSÚA – CARSA / Skipper: Guillermo Alonso

2009 PAIRO VIII / Skipper: Laureano Wizner

2010 SOLVENTIS / Patron: Manuel Bermúdez de Castro

2011 XPLOSION / Skipper: Carlos Mendonça

2012 CASTROSÚA / Skipper: Willy Alonso

2013 APRIL OILS / Patron: Luis and Jorge Pérez Canal

2014 FIFTY / Pattern: Rui Ramada

2015 CORSAIR VI / Skipper: Javier Durán

2016 APRIL OILS / Patron: Luis and Jorge Pérez Canal

2017 APRIL OILS / Patron: Luis and Jorge Pérez Canal

2018 APRIL OILS / Patron: Luis and Jorge Pérez Canal

2019 YESS TOO / Pattern: Rui Ramada

2020 MAGICAL / Patron: Julio Rodríguez

 

“The Monte Real Sailing School is one of the most complete in Spain”

 

Two years after the arrival of Roy Alonso at the Monte Real Club de Yates, the former Olympic coach of the Laser Radial class, coordinator of the Santander High Performance Specialized Center and technical director of the Royal Spanish Sailing Federation, we He talks about how the sports management of the Baionese club has changed.

New boats, new strategies and new actions that have already begun to give the expected results. The Monte Real Club de Yates Sailing School currently has 123 students in its different modalities of light sailing and cruising, most of them from Baiona and other points in the province of Pontevedra. It also provides services to numerous associations and entities of people with functional diversity, offering adapted sailing activities and courses to nearly 50 people throughout the year.

We would like to start this interview by looking back so that you can tell us how these last two years have been in Baiona, what balance do you make of the changes introduced in the Sailing School?

The assessment is very positive at all levels. When the possibility of being able to work at Monte Real came to me, the board of directors was always very proactive in the sport of sailing, and that was something that encouraged me a lot to take on this project. In addition, the coaching staff that the club had was very good, it was only necessary to redirect each one towards what they were really specific about; and with the new additions we were able to increase the technical capacity of the school in a very short time. Now we have a structured school with planning within each work group with the school’s students, which is giving us very good results.

One of the biggest changes to the School has been the introduction of a new type of ship, the Cyclone. Why the bet on this boat?

I was looking for a collective boat that was more complete than those currently being used in Galicia, and that could be used by both children and adults. And this boat had the features he was looking for. The important thing is that it was a fast, simple and easy-to-handle boat in which the closest thing to the boats that are later used when leaving a school could be taught. With this we get more fun and learning for the students, who leave more prepared for any type of boat.

From what I see, one of the objectives is still for children, the more the better, to come to the sea and enjoy the world of sailing, but the truth is that there are many who continue to think that it is an elitist sport. Is it possible to demystify this idea?

When a student enters a school, be it a child or an adult, they can come to enjoy and learn sailing or they can have the bug of the competition. When you only come to sail to learn and have fun, you only have the monthly expenses, which range between 50 and 65 euros, depending on age. Well, and then the clothes you buy to navigate comfortably, and here we already know that there are companies that sell sports brands at more affordable prices. When someone is bitten by the competition bug and wants to go further, there are two possibilities. The first is to buy a ship and the material, and here everything depends on how optimized it is. The example is very clear if we compare it with bicycles. To walk and play sports you have them from 200 euros, but if you want better material or something to compete, prices can easily exceed 6,000 euros. Well, the same thing happens with sailing. The second option is that you like to compete and do not have or do not want to spend that money. In this case, if you manage to enroll in a regatta boat that needs crew members, you will only have the cost of the federative license and the specific clothing.

Another problem is that many clubs have ended up becoming purely social entities with very little connection with the sea, mainly due to the lack of fans of their members. What is the situation of Monte Real with respect to this issue?

Unfortunately it is something that usually happens in yacht clubs. I believe that we are on the right track and every day there are more partners who are involved in the sport of sailing, through the school part with family members or helping in the progression of the school’s students. The club has invested in the last two years in sports material and work equipment and with this we have managed to involve the member more in the sport and we hope to continue advancing in this line. Today, the percentage of members in the Sailing School is 25 percent. The remaining 75 percent of the students are not members of the club, a figure that is also very important for us, because it implies opening Monte Real to the outside, to Baiona, to the province of Pontevedra and to anyone who wants to practice sailing with us. .

When you arrived at the club you said that “in Monte Real there is great potential dormant and it is my intention to awaken it and promote it, take advantage of the greatness of this historic club to lay the new foundations for a promising future”. How do you carry that goal?

I keep thinking the same thing and little by little we see that the evolution is very good. We are increasing the number of events and boats in the different competitions that we carry out and we achieve satisfaction on the part of the athlete who comes to the club to compete. And on the side of the school we have much more demand and a great activity both on weekends and on weekdays. Our desire is always to improve and we will continue in this line, because it fills us with satisfaction when both the sailor and the students are happy with all the activities carried out in the club.

What does the Monte Real Club de Yates currently offer to anyone who wants to sail?

We try to offer courses that people who want to enjoy them learn and enjoy sailing. In the annual courses we have light sailing and regatta teams for children. They are courses that are taught during the weekends for minors with very affordable prices, between 40 and 60 euros. In addition, we work with several associations of people with functional diversity, children in care and minors with behavioral problems. And for adults we have light sailing and cruising, both on weekends and during the week, with a price of 65 euros per month. In this group, in addition to teaching sailing, there are many night navigation dynamics, learning to anchor, dock, coastal navigation, etc. We also offer private classes, in case any student needs different schedules than those marked or if they have their own boat and want to learn more about it. And in summer we have much more recreational and leisure offer.

This year, as a novelty, you have also included PNB, PER, Skipper and Yachtsman courses in the school, and the well-known RYA (Royal Yachting Association) courses, for which you still have to wait for homologation. It will be, without a doubt, a great qualitative leap, what expectations do you have for this type of training?

So is. We signed an agreement to be able to carry out ENAL nautical qualifications, the national pleasure boat management titles; and also the famous RYA courses. We will also give courses on high-altitude navigation, handling electronics, and many other things. The truth is that we have one of the most complete schools in Spain.

With the launch of the RYA courses, Monte Real becomes the first club in Galicia and in the entire Cantabrian Sea to offer this type of training. Do you think that the rest of the Galician schools will end up offering them as well or is there not as much demand as it happens, for example, in the Mediterranean?

They are very specific courses, with a majority of foreign clientele, so an academy in the north of Spain should be more than enough. These qualifications are in greater demand in the Mediterranean because the yachts do require their crews to obtain the RYA qualifications. In Galicia at the moment we do not have so much tourist demand. If only.

How do you see the situation of sailing schools in Galicia?

I think there are clubs that are doing well and others that could improve. There are schools with very old material and thus it is difficult to offer something interesting. To make sailing an attractive sport, you have to renew materials, be up-to-date and offer variety.

And in that scenario that you just drew for us… where is the Monte Real School located? What is your situation compared to other schools?

I don’t like to compare myself with any school, but I do believe that at Monte Real we are moving towards a very complete and modern school. Every time we bring more boats and new products to make it more attractive and we also look for an environment of comfort and fun.

And now that we know a lot about what is being done and will be done at the MRCYB School, tell us why we should participate in one of your courses or activities?

I can give you several reasons. The first is that, for sailing, the Rías Baixas have perfect sea and wind conditions. On the other hand, the courses we teach have very affordable prices and that allow anyone who wants to sail to stay without doing it for money. And finally, we have such a wide variety of candle making products that you can get hooked on so many different things. I’m sure you like some.

 

It is an interview with Rosana Calvo, head of communication at the MRCYB

FEATURE: Women with full sail astern

REPORT BY ROSANA CALVO, HEAD OF COMMUNICATION AT MRCYB

 

In this 2021, after more than 40 years of competition, the Galician A Two Championship , held at the beginning of the month, had its first Galician champions. For the first time in the history of the trophy , women were able to opt for a specific title for them, a distinction that was requested from the Royal Galician Sailing Federation by the Monte Real Club de Yates within the framework of its Women’s Sailing project. It is an initiative that, through different proposals, seeks to end the inequalities that girls and women have suffered in the world of sailing in particular and the nautical world in general. Some inequalities and injustices that go back centuries…

Not long before the Revolution there was a royal ordinance in France that prevented women from embarking on Crown ships. As in many other sectors of society, in the nautical world women were considered to be less intelligent and capable beings than men, and having one on board supposed -according to what they said- a clear ballast for expeditions. There were even those who, relying on an ancient seafaring superstition, claimed that women brought bad luck to ships, which is why they had to stay on land.

Luckily, already at that time there were those who did not want to accept these inequalities and dared to break the rules, even running the risk of being discovered and punished. Disguised as a man, the French botanist Jeanne Baret embarked, in 1767, on one of the ships that, under the command of Louis Antoine de Bougainville, would form the first Gallic expedition to circumnavigate the planet. Baret thus became the first woman to go around the world through its oceans, also bringing with her a collection of more than 6,000 species of plants (which are now kept in the National Museum of Natural History in Paris), which earned him the congratulations of King Louis XVI himself.

Photograph by Jeanne Baret and illustration of the French botanist dressed as a man

We will never know how many women have had to go to sea dressed as men over the centuries or how they managed to fool the sailors on board during the long months that the expeditions lasted, but the truth is that there were and that the Most of them do not appear in the history books.

Doodle that Google dedicated to the French botanist Jeanne Baret

Among those great women who have not received the recognition they deserve is the Galician Isabel Barreto de Castro . Born in Pontevedra around the year 1567, she was a pioneer in world navigation when she became the first admiral of the Spanish Navy. In 1595 she assumed command of the expedition that left for the Solomon Islands but, despite having a chronicler on board (the Portuguese Pedro Fernández de Quirós), little or almost nothing is known about the great chapter that this woman wrote in the era of the discoveries.

Isabel Barreto de Castro, the first woman to hold the title of admiral in the history of Spanish navigation

These are just two examples of the many that have gone virtually unnoticed in the history of navigation, in which the domain has been and continues to be clearly male. We had to wait until the 20th century to begin to see women occupying prominent positions on ships. The Russian Anna Ivanovna Shchetinina became in 1935, at the age of 27, the first female captain of the merchant navy.

Anna Ivanovna Shchetinina, the first female captain of the merchant navy

In Spain, it was not until after the 1978 Constitution (which established equality before the law for men and women, without gender discrimination) that women were able to enroll, for the first time, in the nautical careers of the higher schools of the Civil Navy.

The Asturian Ángeles Rodríguez was the first student in 1979 and graduated as the first officer of the Merchant Navy in 1984. The Canarian Mercedes Marrero was the first captain in 1992, Idoia Ibáñez the first commanding captain, María Cardona the first engineer officer and Macarena Gil , the first woman to work as a port pilot, a profession in which until 2015 -basically until the day before yesterday-, only men worked.

The fact that in Spain women were not allowed access to nautical training until 1979 caused many of them to join the labor market very late and this is one of the causes, added to many others also related to discrimination ( such as the belief that women are less physically capable or prepared for the danger of the activity), that their presence in the maritime sector is much lower than that of men.

Despite being fully involved in the 21st century and all the advances experienced in recent decades, women are still a minority and They barely reach 2 percent of the almost one and a half million sailors that exist throughout the world , according to data from the International Labor Organization. They are not only few, but also rarely (they do not even reach 1 percent) occupy positions of high hierarchical rank.

The sea has remained for centuries linked to the figure of the man, who went out to fish while the woman stayed on land waiting, as a housewife or as a redeira, fishmonger, canner, marketer… in professions that were practiced outside of the sea (and had a much lower prestige), although they were closely linked to it.

In the most playful and sporty section, the one related to the sport of sailing, the balance also falls sharply towards the masculine side. Currently, the number of federated athletes in Spain exceeds 17,000, of which almost 14,000 are men, with the female presence reduced to just 3,500 athletes. They are barely 21 percent of the total , and the figure falls below 15 percent if we count those who participate in official regattas.

36 sailors from Spain and Portugal compete each year in the Monte Real Ladies Cup – Photo Lalo R Villar

Although it is true that important steps have been taken towards equality in the sport of sailing, the truth is that, as was the case in the maritime sector, there are still very few women who have obtained worldwide recognition for their feats . Of most of them, only those really interested in the subject will know how to recognize their names and their achievements.

Cover of the first edition of Alone with the sea by Naomi James

Women like the New Zealander Naomi James , the first who, in 1977, sailed around the world, solo and non-stop, also beating all speed records; or Dee Caffari, that 2006 did the same thing but in reverse, from east to west, along the considered “wrong path”, against the prevailing winds and currents on the globe; and that in 2009, after winning the Vendée Globe (the solo round-the-world sailing without stops or assistance), she became the first woman who, alone and propelled by the wind, hugged the planet in both directions.

Dee Caffari celebrating victory at the Vendée Globe in 2009

Women like Tracy Edwards who, at just 23 years old, had to dodge the ridicule of all those who laughed at her for dreaming of an all-female team in the Whitbread Round the World Race (sailing around the world), in which managed to participate in 1989.

Tracy Edwards aboard the Maiden in which she made history

He fulfilled his dream aboard the Maiden. She did not win, but she became the first woman to receive the trophy for the best sailor of the year and managed to make 12 women the focus of the world nautical scene for months.

Her decision and her courage made it possible to build a door that would open up to four more times, thanks to four teams that took to the sea to show that women had a lot to say around the world. Tracy Edwards’ Maiden was the first all-female boat in what is now known as The Ocean Race, and was followed by Nance Frank and Dawn Riley’s Heineken (US Women’s Challenge) in 1993, Christine Guillou’s EF Education in 1997, Lisa McDonald’s Amer Sports Too in 2001; and Sam Davies’ Team SCA in 2014.

Since the first edition of the round the world race in 1973 there have been teams -few- made up solely of women, and women -increasingly- forming part of teams, the most notable case being that of Carolinjn Brouwer and Marie Riou , the first to proclaim themselves champions of a Sailing Tour of the World aboard the Dongfeng in 2018.

And so, although with ups and downs, the evolution of the presence of women in the world of sailing has not stopped there. Without going any further, in 2020 they participated in the Vendée Globe , the most demanding regatta in ocean sailing, 6 women, a record that had never been set before in this challenge. They were the English Samantha Davies, Miranda Merron and Pip Hare; the French Clarisse Crémer and Alexia Barrier, and the Franco-German Isabelle Joschke.

The progress in terms of equality is evident but the work is not – far from it – complete in the world of sailing. Proof of this are the multiple initiatives that, especially in recent years, have been launched through federations, clubs and teams. Women’s leagues, women-only crews, training and specialization activities designed especially for them… what is sought is to give women a greater role in a sector that has historically relegated them to a secondary position .

The Ladies Cup is a 100 percent female competition – Photo Lalo R Villar

The Women’s Sailing project of the Monte Real Club de Yates de Baiona is also part of this struggle, thanks to which an entirely female team was formed to participate in the main regattas of the Galician Rías Baixas, the Royal Galician Sailing Federation was able to create a specific prize for women in the Galician Two-handed Championship, sailing activities were organized specifically for women, will be held the 25th anniversary of the Ladies Cup and several more initiatives are expected to be launched in 2021.

From Monte Real we believe that the woman-sea binomial continues to need support and encouragement, that the female presence in the world of sailing needs and deserves to continue making its way, and that this will only be achieved through everyone’s commitment to promoting the sport egalitarian. The sails are already hoisted, all that remains is to fill them with wind.

It is a report by Rosana Calvo, head of communication at the MRCYB

 

“Although we will maintain the spirit of the event, this year we will introduce changes to the Count of Gondomar”

INTERVIEW WITH MRCYB COMMODOR IGNACIO SÁNCHEZ OTAEGUI

Of the 9 regattas scheduled in 2020, the Monte Real Club de Yates was able to hold 7 (J80 Winter League, Galician Optimist Championship, Galician Solitaire and Two-handed Championship, Conde de Gondomar Trophy, Prince of Asturias Trophy, Autumn League de J80 and Liga Española de Vela), a good figure in a scenario full of cancellations due to COVID19.

This year, the club’s forecast is to be able to hold 10 competitions, but everything will depend, as in 2020, on the restrictions that the authorities approve to prevent the advance of the coronavirus, measures that forced the start of competitions to be postponed. January to February, but which gave the green light to the following regattas.

The first of the sporting events at Monte Real was the Baitra J80 Winter League, which is being held and will last until next May. One of the regular participants in this one-design league is the commodore of the Monte Real Yacht Club, Ignacio Sánchez Otaegui, responsible for the sporting part of the Baion club, with whom we talked about the regattas scheduled for 2021.

Both as a commodore and as a sailor, you will be looking forward to the recovery of sporting normality, right?

Since the beginning of the restrictions on mobility and sports practice, the MRCYB has tried to develop its sports program and last year we have complied with 85 percent. This year our intention is to continue with the same idea and, although we have started with strong limitations, I hope, as Commodore and sailor, to be able to meet our objectives and some more that we have set for ourselves for this year.

With the Baitra J80 Winter League already underway, they also held the Galician Optimist Qualifying and the Spanish Optimist Championship, two light sailing competitions. Although 90 percent of the Monte Real competitions are “for adults”, they always schedule one dedicated to future promises. Should we continue betting on children’s sailing?

Children’s sailing is the basis of sports and competition sailing and we will only be able to have high-level sailors if we achieve a broad critical mass on which the best stand out. However, the objective of the Club is not to have the best competitors. Rather, we consider sporting success as a consequence of the attendance of many children in our school, who have fun in the sea and who enjoy this medium from a very young age.

Just around the corner are the Comunica Trophy and the Repsol Trophy, two classics on their calendar that have been sponsored by the same companies for years, something quite complicated these days. How do you manage to convince a sponsor to bet on sailing, a sport that many consider to be a minority?

It’s complicated, and not because companies don’t want to, but because many times they can’t. The situation has changed over the years and sponsorships are no longer what they used to be, but many companies continue to understand the need to bet on sport and the positive impact that this has on their image level. In the case of Repsol, at the club we have been lucky enough to have had them for many years and we are enormously grateful to them. They sponsor one of the club’s most emblematic regattas, the Spring Regatta, which everyone has known for some time as the Repsol Trophy. We have been with Comunica for fewer years but their commitment to sailing seems firm and we hope to be able to count on them for much longer.

Last year, fully involved in the pandemic, they summoned the media to release the “bombshell” that they had managed to make the 52 SUPER SERIES land in Baiona. Finally it will not be in 2021 as announced but in 2022 to save possible problems with the COVID restrictions. How does one stay after getting one of the top three sailing competitions in the world to be held at your club?

The MRCYB has always had an international vocation, in fact it is worth remembering the Plymouth-Baiona, Bermuda-Baiona regattas of yesteryear and even the fact of having been the first Spanish club to present a Copa América challenge in 1989. Getting to host a TP52 Super Series returns our club to its presence in major international sailing events. It is one of our objectives and also reinforces the projection of Baiona, the Rías Baixas and Galicia as a quality destination in an event with great media impact.

In June comes the Galician Solitaire and Two Championship, one of the most emblematic regional tests, which has almost become a Monte Real competition, because they have been organizing it for 10 consecutive years. What is so special about this regatta that they bet so much on it?

It is a regatta that we really like a lot because of the good reception it has in the fleet. It is different because of the demands it entails and it is organized on a very attractive date, at the beginning of summer and in good weather. The Royal Galician Sailing Federation continues to bet on us as organizers and our intention is to keep this test on our calendar, which also bears the name of Rafael Olmedo Memorial, in memory of the one who for many years was president of our club, as well as a person very dear. And this year also comes with news. Within the framework of a whole program of initiatives that we are launching to promote women’s sailing, we have managed to ensure that the competition has, from now on, a specific section for women, with a specific trophy for them. With this we hope to get many of the Galician patron saints and sailors encouraged to participate in the championship.

July will once again be, as always, the month of the Conde de Gondomar Trophy, which is celebrating its forty-sixth edition. In recent years they have been introducing a series of changes with which routes and tests have been modified. Tell us what has been the objective of these modifications and if you plan to make any more in 2021.

The Conde de Gondomar regatta is the oldest event currently organized by Monte Real and probably the most emblematic and different, as it combines deep-sea, medium-distance and technical routes. This year, despite the fact that our intention is to maintain the spirit of the race, we want to introduce a variant in its hardest stage, the climb to Carrumeiro Chico, an old lighthouse very close to Finisterre, in such a way that it is divided into two stages with arrival in Portosin. Before making the decision, we discussed it with the owners and regular participants and the truth is that it was well received.

What does not change is the Prince of Asturias Trophy, which continues with the same scheme and is also its most successful regatta, the one with the greatest participation and in which everyone wants to haggle. Last year was the first in which he experienced the regatta as a club commodore and not just as a sailor. How complicated is it to organize a test like this?

The organization of this regatta is the biggest annual sporting and social challenge of the club. It is in both aspects since, on the one hand, we have to ensure the best organization of the different regatta fields for the different categories of boats and all this with their regatta officials, beacons, inflatable boats, sailors, press, etc. And on the other hand, to provide coverage on land for the more than 500 sailors who compete in this prestigious event on the national calendar. As I say, it is quite a challenge, but we face it well thanks to the experience of organizing it for many years.

And after the hustle and bustle of the Prince, at the end of the year they return to focus on the J80 with the celebration of the Autumn League. It is a monotype that they have been betting on for years and with which they have managed to be selected for the celebration of the 2023 World Cup. What else is left for them to do regarding the J80?

It is true that the club has made a strong commitment to this class, which continues to grow and currently has units on our jetties competing regularly. The 2023 World Cup is an award for this trajectory and we set it as a reference to organize other national championships such as the 2022 Spanish Championship and the 2023 Spanish Cup. Everything to get to that important appointment with the best competitive level.

We have made a fairly extensive tour of the Monte Real Club de Yates regattas in 2021, now the only thing left is for COVID to allow them to be held, right?

So is. We will have to wait to see how the pandemic evolves, but we are optimistic. From the moment that restrictive measures were adopted, Monte Real adapted to the situation in terms of sports, and the activity of the sailing school and regattas was organized according to the rules that at any time allowed some type of sailing practice. candle. In this sense, we must highlight that practically the entire program of regattas and sailing activity was carried out in 2020. This year we hope that, although some test may be postponed, we can fulfill the program for the most part. In any case, I would also like to highlight that, in the situation we are experiencing, we have seen a greater interest in sailing and that makes us very happy.

 

It is an interview with Rosana Calvo, head of communication at the MRCYB

“Monte Real is more alive than ever”

After learning of the announcement of the suspension of the prestigious sailing SUPER SERIES in Baiona due to COVID19, we reviewed with the president of the Monte Real Club de Yates, José Luis Álvarez, the impact that the pandemic has had on one of the clubs with the most History of Spain.

While many other yacht clubs saw how COVID made them lose members, reduce income, forced them to suspend regattas and the activity of their schools, the Monte Real Club de Yates de Baiona not only managed to stay afloat, but also signed one of its best years, with record numbers of influx of members and students in its Sailing School.

About a year after the declaration of the state of alarm derived from the coronavirus, the president of the Monte Real Club de Yates de Baiona, José Luis Álvarez, takes stock of what these last months of confinement and restrictions have meant for the club; and of the actions that have allowed them to be an exception in a bleak panorama.

The organization of the SUPER SERIES has just announced the suspension of the Baiona Sailing Week, which next June was going to bring these “formula 1 of the sea” to Galicia. It will have been a very hard blow for the club…

It has been, without a doubt, quite a hit, since we were very excited about the arrival of the SUPER SERIES in Galicia, but we perfectly understand the decision of the organization and we are glad that they have us for 2022. Right now the situation derived from COVID19 did not give them the security they needed and they have preferred to minimize the risks by reducing the trips and suspending the closest regattas in time. From the club, the only thing we hope is that next year the situation will be much better and we can see these outstanding players in Galicia, in a year that will also continue to be Xacobeo, so it will undoubtedly be a good year to receive them as they deserve .

The truth is that the COVID19 crisis has generated numerous losses in the economic activity of many sectors (the nautical sector has not been an exception) and it is still not very well known what the impact will be in the short and medium term. How has this situation affected the Monte Real Club de Yates?

At Monte Real we are lucky that the vast majority of places are occupied by club members, so we manage to keep the pontoons full throughout the year. But we have noticed a huge drop in the number of transits, due to mobility restrictions. The drop in figures has been tremendous, but of course, they could not cross borders. There has been an impact, without a doubt, but much less than what other clubs have possibly suffered, which have also had many membership losses.

In Monte Real they have not suffered those casualties?

The truth is that no. Every year there are some, for different reasons, but the few casualties that have occurred in these months of pandemic have been covered by the entry of new members and we continue with the same number as before. What’s more, there are still people on the waiting list to join the club, because not all applications are accepted. We want to maintain a stable number, around 700 members, which guarantees the comfort of the facilities, and that is why we do not grow exponentially, not because there is no demand, there is.

How has the club member experienced these months of restrictions and prohibitions?

The truth is that the club has been more alive than ever. In the moments in which they have left us, yes. In the months of the strictest restrictions we had to cancel social events, close the restaurant, paralyze the regattas and the school… but when they allowed us to open in the summer, albeit with restrictions, we had an influx of members, students and sailors that we had not seen in years. .

What do you think was due to this unexpected influx of people during the summer?

At first it caught us a bit by surprise, because we weren’t expecting it, but then we understood what was happening: the club had become a safe place where we could spend some leisure time without worrying about the coronavirus. The partners understood all the control measures put in place, some of which were not even required by the authorities, and they felt comfortable and safe with them.

What other older measures did you put in place to avoid COVID?

We always try to go one step further than what the authorities ask of us. All the requirements of closures, capacity, cleaning, control… and we also bought ozone machines and thermometers to control the temperature at the entrances, distributed masks, and even hired external personnel to guarantee that everyone complied with the regulations. They were months of a lot of control and restrictions that made everything a little more uncomfortable and generated some complaints, but at the same time, they created a bubble, a security environment in the club that was not there outside. And that was the reason why we believe we had more influx than ever, and without, that we know of, cases of COVID, which was what really mattered to us.

One of the aspects that most affected Spanish yacht clubs, closely linked to tourism, was a large drop in the number of visitors, something that had a direct impact on their direct income. Did you also notice it in Baiona?

At Monte Real we are lucky that the vast majority of our places are occupied by club members, so we manage to keep the pontoons full, but in the rest of the places we did notice a decrease. In fact, the drop in the number of transits, especially international, was drastic, in this we did not manage to be an exception, but of course, nobody could be an exception because the borders were closed, it was impossible. The truth is that these are difficult times, but we believe that as soon as we can return to normality, Monte Real, Baiona, Galicia and Spain in general have more than enough potential to recover the good pre-COVID tourism figures.

Tourists were lost and regattas were suspended, many regattas, even when they were allowed to take place. Was it a wise decision?

It is difficult to generalize and each club will have to take stock of their decisions based on the reasons that led them to make them. Some would suspend thinking that they would not have sailors, others for fear of contagion, and others simply for comfort. In our case, paralyzing all sporting activity was also valued, but finally we opted to continue promoting sailing. We knew that the decision was going to demand a lot from us, as it did, but we decided to go ahead. And the result was perfect. We held practically all our competitions, including the most popular ones such as the Count of Gondomar and the Prince of Asturias, and we did so without contagion. It was a bet on sailing and it worked out well for us. With a lot of effort, yes.

Last year, in the midst of the pandemic, they announced the celebration of the Super Series, which will have to wait until 2022, and the other great news that the club left us in the months of COVID was its choice as the venue for the 2023 J80 World Cup. , something that they had been pursuing for years. Is this achievement the culmination of your commitment to these monotypes?

I would not know if it is the culmination or not, but of course the fact that they have granted us the celebration of the world championship of a class for which we have been betting for years is a very important milestone. One of the points on our program was, and continues to be, the internationalization of Monte Real, and we are working on that. Bringing these two top-level competitions to Galicia is the result of months and months of work, and the truth is that we are very happy.

One of the projects that they plan to launch this year is VELA EN FEMENINO, aimed at promoting the figure of women in the world of sailing. Tell us more about this proposal.

It is about taking another step in our commitment to women in the world of sailing, because there are still very few women who sail today. 25 years ago we launched, I don’t know if it was the first, but one of the first exclusively female competitions in Spain, the Ladies Cup, and now what we intend to do is launch new lines of action with the same objective, which is none other than to achieve that women have more presence in the nautical world. We have designed a series of proposals for training, competition and also of a social nature, with women victims of gender violence; and we are trying to find a sponsor who shares our same vision and wants to promote this initiative.

The woman will be, then, the protagonist of the future of the club… what other projects do you have in mind for the coming years?

The truth is that we have many projects on the table, although not all of them can be counted because some are still in negotiations or are not completely closed. From what can be counted, training will undoubtedly be one of our bets. We have managed to become a training center of the Royal Yachting Association and in a few months we will be the first club in Galicia and the entire Spanish Bay of Biscay to offer its prestigious courses, which are the most important in the nautical sector worldwide. We will also begin to offer courses to obtain the PNB, the PER and the qualifications of skipper and captain of yachts; and with regard to infrastructure, we are going to improve the club’s facilities, putting fingers in all our seats, which was a demand of many of our visitors, especially international ones. There is also an important advance that is taking place and that we hope to be able to announce in a few weeks, but for now we have to wait.

 

It is an interview with Rosana Calvo, head of communication at the MRCYB

 

REPORT: Half a century of Optimist in Galicia

REPORT BY ROSANA CALVO, HEAD OF COMMUNICATION AT MRCYB

 

· Five decades after having organized a regional Optimist competition for the first time in Galicia, the Monte Real Club de Yates celebrates this February in Baiona a new edition of the Galician Championship of the class

· On board the “Canario” and the “Tortuga” the brothers José and Javier de la Gándara together with Santiago Campos were the winners of that first edition of the competition held in the bay of Baiona on August 22 and 23, 1970

· In the Optimists brought first from France, then from Barcelona and finally built in the Ferramentas and in Lagos for the Sailing Schools of La Foz and the MRCYB, many current sailors learned to sail

· Although the materials have evolved over time, the philosophy with which the Optimist was created remains intact and remains a simple boat that allows the little ones to enjoy the sea and sailing

 

Group of Optimist in the bay of Baiona in 1970 – Photo from the archive of Javier de la Gándara

 

At the end of this month, the Monte Real Club de Yates de Baiona will commemorate the half century of life of the Optimist class in Galicia by holding a new edition of the Galician Championship that the club itself hosted for the first time in 1970.

On board the “Canario” and the “Tortuga”, the brothers José and Javier de la Gándara were the winners (first and second respectively) of that first edition, which was held on August 22 and 23, 1970 under the name of “ I Regional Optimist Regattas – Galician Championship”.

17 young sailors from the Sailing School of La Foz, the Real Club Náutico de Sanxenxo, the Real Club Náutico de Vigo, the Club Náutico de Panxón and Monte Real itself met during those two summer days in the bay of Baiona to compete several tests in a triangular field of Olympic route.

Javier de la Gándara and his Turtle preparing for the I Galician Optimist Championship – Archive photo Javier de la Gándara

After the Gándara brothers, third place on the podium of that first Optimist championship went to “Anduriña IV”, manned by Santiago Campos; Pablo Vasconcellos was fourth aboard the “Bayona II”; and “Don Ramón”, by Ramón Alonso, from RCN Vigo, signed the fifth position.
A special prize was then also awarded to the youngest sailor, which went to Pablito Pereiro for “demonstrating -according to the chronicles of the time- great skill handling his mini boat to perfection”.

With the celebration of the first Galician Optimist Championship, the Monte Real Club de Yates gave, at the beginning of the 70s, the great impulse for the consolidation of a class that arrived in Galicia some years before the hand of Pepe Gándara , the father of the historical Javier de la Gándara.

Gándara learned about this new type of boat in the American magazine “Popular Mechanics Magazine” (distributed in Spain under the name “Mecánica Popular”), in which some simple plans were published with which, in principle, anyone with some tools And with a bit of skill, you could make your own Optimist out of wood.

Training of the first Optimists in the Bay of Baiona – Photo from the archive of Tomás R. de Robles

After seeing them already built in Barcelona, Gándara decided to bring them to Galicia. The first Optimist who sailed in Galician waters in the year 68, he called “Don Andrés”, in honor of his young son. In 1969 there were already 15 units of these new sailboats, known as the “Ferramentas”, because they were built by a carpenter from Ladeira known by that name, with sails of nylon manufactured in an awning company in Vigo. They were boats with which, during the first years, they only sailed in the summer months. Barely a year later, with the Optimists already established as a small fleet at the Monte Real Club de Yates, the First Galician Optimist Championship was held.

Press clipping of the First Optimist Championship of Galicia in 1970

The press at that time congratulated the Baionese club for “contributing to creating numerous young skippers who in the future will constitute the crews of the numerous cruise ships that the sports units of the Vigo estuary have”, it said verbatim. So it was. Because those children are today some of the outstanding sailors who sail in the Galician estuaries.

Both the Spanish Sailing Federation and the Galician Sailing Federation of the time, chaired by José Ramón Fontán, helped consolidate the class in Galicia by subsidizing the purchase of numerous units. Some boats that went from the 3,000 pesetas (about 18 euros) of the first “Ferramentas” to the 8,000 pesetas (about 48 euros) that were paid for those of higher quality and the 10,000 pesetas (60 euros) that they cost at the beginning of the 70s

In the autumn of 1971, only one year after the celebration of the first Optimist Galician championship, nearly thirty units participated in the class competitions in Baiona, and it did not take much longer for the optimist to exceed 60. In Galicia there were around 200 optimists (currently there are about 400, of which about 120 participate in official competitions). Among the young sailors of those early years were José, Ángel and Javier de la Gándara, Pablo Vasconcellos, Jaime Varela, Alberto Torné, Rodrigo Andrade, César Casqueiro, Fernando Yáñez, Genoveva Pereiro, Ignacio Retolaza, Alfonso Zulueta and Piluca Presa, among others. Many.

Manuel Pereiro, Javier de la Gándara, Ramón Alonso, Pablo Vasconcellos, Jose Antonio Marquez and Jaime Varela – Archive photo Javier de la Gándara

The Spanish Optimists were built in Barcelona (La Industrial Velera Marsal), in Palma de Mallorca (the Copino and Darder shipyards), in Torrejón de Ardoz (Spanish Taylor) and here in Galicia, in the prestigious Lagos de Bouzas Shipyard (Vigo), from which a large part of the units that sailed from the year 70 left. They were Optimist that were made in the image and likeness of the first boats of this type born in Clearwater (Florida).

There, in 1947, a group of children “haggled” through the streets of Clearwater with small boxes of soap and a candle that they made themselves. The mayor of the city decided to ban these races in the streets, so that they would not bother people, but he met with a boat designer, Clark Mills, and asked him to turn the soap boxes into a boat for children as soon as possible. cheap possible.

And that is how the Optimist was born, the first gaff sailing boat and a single crew member that over time became increasingly famous, both nationally and internationally. In 1954 “the puddle jumped” and the first ones in Europe began to be built, specifically in Denmark; in 1962 the Optimist Class Racing Association was born in England; and soon after the European Optimist Association was formed. Finally, in 1995 the Optimist was accepted as an international class.

The first Optimists were made of wood – Photo from the archive of Tomás R. de Robles

Although the materials with which they are built have evolved over time, the truth is that both the shape of the Optimist and its philosophy remain intact. It was born as a simple boat that would allow children to enjoy the sea and sailing and, more than half a century later, that purpose has not changed.

Celebrating this idea and the five decades since the first Optimist Championship held in Galicia in 1970 is the aim of the Galician Optimist Championship – Baitra Trophy that will be held at the Monte Real Club de Yates at the end of February.

(Report: Rosana Calvo, head of communication at the MRCYB / Photos: Archive of the MRCYB and provided by Javier de la Gándara, César Casqueiro and Tomás R. de Robles / Documents: Astilleros Lagos / Press clippings: Archive of Javier de la Gándara and newspaper library of Faro de Vigo)

 

The Turtle and the Canary of the Gándara and the Eolo de Casqueiro – Photo from the archive of Cesar Casqueiro
Optimist Team (October 1971)- Photo from the archive of Cesar Casqueiro
Some of the first Optimists that sailed in Baiona 50 years ago – Photo archive MRCYB
In the foreground the Turtle by Javier de la Gándara – Photo from the archive of Tomás R. de Robles
Pablo Vasconcellos aboard The Scotsman, one of the first Optimists in Galicia – Photo archive MRCYB

“Monte Real will continue to be a benchmark in the Spanish nautical scene”

Interview with José Luis Álvarez, president of the Monte Real Yacht Club, published by ABC on January 5, 2019

Last November, José Luis Álvarez was re-elected president of the Monte Real Club de Yates de Baiona in an electoral process in which he had no rival. Four years after having won an election in the MRCYB for the first time, outvoting Javier de la Gándara’s candidacy, Álvarez managed to revalidate his mandate and will continue to lead the historic Baionese club for another four years.

It will be a second phase with continuity features but also with many novelties, to which the president of Monte Real enters with great enthusiasm. His goal -he says- is to maintain the line of work started a few years ago, with multiple actions in various sections; but also to assume new commitments and challenges that allow the club to advance and continue to be a benchmark in the Spanish nautical scene.

Before talking about future projects, it’s time to look back, what do you think of the last four years at the helm of the club?

The truth is that the balance is very positive. We had considered many actions in different areas such as infrastructures, the school, the marina, and the purely social part; and the level of compliance with commitments was around 90 percent, which is quite a high figure. It had been many years since the club had been renovated and we remodeled the noblest part of the building and rehabilitated other spaces. We also promised to revitalize the sailing school and we incorporated new coaches and the figure of the sports director. In the marina we signed a new concession period, we extended the fingers and we reviewed all the facilities. And in the social area, we stopped the downward trend in the number of members, due to the crisis, and we are back to around 700, which is the most reasonable figure for the facilities we have. For them we create new parties and events, giving a great boost to the most social part.

And they once again organized an ocean regatta, the Baiona Angra Atlantic Race…

So is. For clubs it is becoming increasingly difficult to organize this type of event, for very different reasons, but in 2016 we managed to do it and the truth is that the balance was very positive. A year later we were also able to organize the Summit Galicia Atlantic Destination, and both one event and the other were a complete success, and we are continually asked when we will organize an event of this type again.

And when will be that?

Well hopefully soon. From the club we are going to continue working to achieve regattas on the international circuit and, of course, we are prepared to take on tests of the highest level. We have the facilities and the resources, we have a lot to offer and I think it is only a matter of time before we have a regatta of this type in Baiona again. In the meantime, we will continue to promote the regattas on our calendar, such as the Conde de Gondomar Trophy or the Príncipe de Asturias Trophy; and we will try to achieve the European or the world of J80.

Do you then maintain your bet on the J80?

That’s right, without a doubt. The J80 will continue to be a clear bet for the club. We have been promoting their participation in all our competitions for years, creating specific leagues for these monotypes, encouraging our partners to try and compete in J80, acquiring new boats… But we are also evaluating new classes, especially for the sailing school.

Tell us about the Sailing School. After the incorporation of Roy Alonso as the club’s new sports director, what developments are expected at the school?

Well, we would like our students to try other more modern boats, to know the technology, to feel the speed… but we also want to promote family sailing, since we believe that it is the basis for the continuity of children. And in this sense we are going to incorporate several cyclones into our fleet, so that families can sail together. We will also try to promote the exchange of students with other clubs, especially foreign clubs, so that in addition to knowing how to sail in other countries, boys and girls can learn other languages. And, of course, we will not forget our Adapted Sailing School for people with disabilities.

They will maintain their social commitment with adapted sailing…

Without hesitation. Offering adapted sailing is something that costs more work and involves more resources, but for Monte Real it is a very important facet. And not only because of everything we can offer the hundreds of people who come to sail to our school every year, but because it allows us to be in direct contact with society, to be immersed in it, seeing everything that is not usually seen, or to which not so much attention is paid. People with disabilities have the same right as us to be able to enjoy the sea, and if it is in our power to offer them the means so that they can do so, we must offer them.

This year they have also expanded the user profile.

Correct. We have been thinking for some time about other sectors that could also benefit from our adapted sailing resources in order to offer them to them, and this year we have taken groups of boys with serious behavioral problems out to sail, as well as children under the guardianship of public administrations. Both of them are people who do not usually go out sailing regularly, but to whom the sea feels wonderful, because they live new experiences. They are new users that allow the school to continue growing, which is what we want.

What new projects do you have for the Adapted Sailing School?

We would like to promote a meeting or a symposium between clubs that work in a similar line to ours, so that we can all know what the rest is doing and thus broaden our vision. For years, since we created our Adapted Sailing School, there are many who have been interested in our work system, to know what we do and how we do it. They have even come from abroad to see how we run our school, and we think it would be good for everyone to tell about it and exchange experiences with other clubs. We still don’t know very well how or when we will do it, but it is a project that we have in mind.

What other projects do you have for the future?

We would also like to promote some project with the University, to involve it in the world of sailing. Currently, the University is hardly present in this sport and it is a shame, because we believe that it could be much more involved. This is another of the ideas that the new board of directors has on the table and we will try to develop a project with them.

Tell us about the new board of directors, about your fellow travelers.

With respect to the previous board there are very few new features, only two incorporations, but two important incorporations. On one side is the entrepreneur and businessman Francisco Pino, who has an excellent vision of innovation and many ideas for the future. And on the other we have Marga Cameselle, an experienced sailor, who I am sure will give us great ideas to promote the sports area, which is where we are going to focus for the next four years.

And in those next four years, will Monte Real continue to be a benchmark in the Spanish nautical scene?

Of course. We have been for the last 55 years and will continue to be in the future, there is no doubt about it. We are sure that it will involve a lot of work, but we are willing to do whatever it takes for the Monte Real Club de Yates to continue writing important chapters in sailing in Spain.

José Luis Álvarez is the visible head of a board made up of nine members (7 men and 2 women), in which Alejandro Retolaza remains the president’s right-hand man. The position of commodore, which had been held by Fernando Yáñez, passed into the hands of Ignacio Sánchez Otaegui; and in the position of vice-commodore appears the first of the new additions to the new board, the entrepreneur and businessman Francisco Pino, who replaces Genoveva Pereiro. César Fernández-Casqueiro remains in charge of the secretariat and the treasury is now the responsibility of former Commodore Fernando Yáñez. In the board of directors of Monte Real there are also three members: Miguel Font, of installations and projects; Genoveva Pereiro, from foreign relations; and Margarita Cameselle, from sporting events.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS MONTE REAL YACHT CLUB

• His Majesty King Felipe VI · PRESIDENT OF HONOR
• Mr. José Luis Álvarez Vázquez CHAIRMAN
• Mr. Alejandro Retolaza Vázquez-Viso VICE CHAIRMAN
• Mr. Ignacio Sánchez Otaegui COMMODOR
• Mr. Francisco Pino Martins · VICE COMMODOR
• Mr. César Fernández-Casqueiro Domínguez · SECRETARY
• Mr. Fernando Yáñez Fernández · TREASURER
• Mr. Miguel Font Rosell · MEMBER OF FACILITIES AND PROJECTS
• Mrs. Margarita Cameselle Álvarez VOCAL FOR SPORTS EVENTS
• Mrs. Mª Genoveva Pereiro Álvarez MEMBER OF FOREIGN RELATIONS

 

It is an interview with Rosana Calvo, head of communication at the MRCYB

History of sailing in Baiona

· In the year in which the twenty-fifth anniversary of “Galicia 93 Pescanova” is celebrated, TPC Events brought together Javier de la Gándara, Chuny Bermúdez de Castro, Ñaco Eraso and Guillermo Altadill at Monte Real

· The skipper and the three crew members of the great Galician ocean sailing project for the Whitbread Round the World 93-94 participated today together with Pablo Iglesias and Jorge Lorenzo in an activity framed in the Team Sailing program of the Baionese club

· The renowned skippers were in charge of leading a group of crews from a major multinational company who participated in coaching and team building training activities

Five greats of sailing in Baiona – Photo © Rosana Calvo

In the year that marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the historic “Galicia 93 Pescanova” , TPC Events brought together today at the Monte Real Club de Yates four of the sailors who were part of the great Galician ocean sailing project: Javier de la Gándara, Roberto “Chuny” Bermudez de Castro, Ignacio “Ñaco” Eraso and Guillermo Altadill.

Part of the Galicia 93 crew with a replica of the ship inside the Monte Real Yacht Club – Photo © Rosana Calvo

The skipper and the three crew members who competed in the Whitbread Round the World 93-94 were in charge of leading, together with Pablo Iglesias and Jorge Lorenzo, a group of six crews from an important multinational company that, aboard six of the club’s sailboats, They participated in various coaching and team building training activities in the waters of the Vigo estuary.

Gándara, Altadill, Chuny, Iglesias and Eraso at the Monte Real Yacht Club – Photo © Rosana Calvo

The activity organized by TPC Events at Monte Real included activities from the Team Sailing project of the Monte Real Yacht Club, launched in 2017. It is a program with which the club expanded the activities offered to the general public beyond training at its Sailing School or participation in regattas.

Through 6 different proposals, Monte Real offers sectors not directly related to nautical the possibility of approaching the world of sailing with the aim of extracting personal and professional benefits from it.

Of the 6 activities proposed, 3 have a more playful nature, which includes living the experience of a regatta, participating in a competition to get to know the Cíes Islands or discovering Baiona by sailboat. The other half of the offer is based on training elements closely related to coaching , including workshops for companies, team building sessions to improve performance or workshops to optimize teamwork.

Compete in a regatta with coworkers in one of the most beautiful spots on the Atlantic coast, visit the only marine national park in Spain, train leadership skills to improve team performance and the work environment within a company, redefine the course personal and work of workers or improve the use of time are some of the possibilities offered by the program Team Sailing of the Monte Real Yacht Club.

PODCAST: Monte Real Yacht Club Special

All those who have missed the SPECIAL ON THE MONTE REAL YACHT CLUB broadcast by Radio Galega know that you can listen to it through the following link:

>>> LIVING SPORTS – SPECIAL MONTE REAL YACHT CLUB

For one hour, Galician public radio addressed the history and current affairs of the Monte Real Yacht Club , with interventions by the president and vice president of Monte Real, José Luis Álvarez and Alejandro Retolaza ; Admiral Rafael Lorenzo ; the club’s manager, Óscar Calero ; and the sailing coach, David Fontán .

The mayor of Baiona, Ángel Rodal , also participated; the president of the Baiona Fishermen’s Association, Susana González ; or the head of the port of Monte Real, Javier Álvarez , among others.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Radio Galega also broadcast another SPECIAL ON ADAPTED SAILING at the MONTE REAL CLUB DE YATES and you can listen to it from the following link:

>>> LIVING SPORTS – SPECIAL ADAPTED SAILING MRCYB

 

“We are still in the elite of Spanish clubs”

INTERVIEW WITH JOSÉ LUIS ÁLVAREZ by PEDRO SARDINA. Published in the supplement ABC DE LA NAUTICA of ABC on January 31, 2019

 

The historic Monte Real Yacht Club of Baiona has had, since its birth in 1965, six presidents. Between 1965 and 1973 it was Ricardo Valeiras, Alfredo Romero and Carlos Zulueta. In 1973 the stage of Rafael Olmedo began, which would last for 42 years, until his death in 2015. That same year, and after a brief presidency of Gabriel Baltar, who held the position for a few months, José Luis Álvarez was the winner in the elections held at the club, who became the sixth president of the Monte Real Club de Yates.

How did your presidency at Monte Real Club de Yates come about?

Well, when Don Rafael Olmedo passed away, who had presided over the club for more than 40 years, some members proposed it to me. An honor for me, and an important personal challenge. I have always loved this club and after thinking about it in my head, I believed that I could do good things for it. And in those we are, working hard with a great team, so that Monte Real continues to be what its partners and everyone who visits us expects of it.

How did you find the club when you arrived?

Well. There are always things to improve. There were when I arrived and surely there will be when I leave. In a club with as much activity as ours, it is difficult not to have something written down on the to-do list. There is always something to do, something to promote, something to fix… and there needs to be, because that shows that you have ambition and a desire to improve. But everything was heading in the right direction and I think we are still on the right track. Moving forward, always moving forward, and working very hard. In this sense we are ambitious.

Sportingly speaking, at what level is Monte Real now?

To the highest. We continue to be one of the most important clubs in Spain, and not only because of our history and our reputation, which is something that transcends beyond our borders, but above all because we are capable of continuing to program, year after year, a large number of competitions. Few clubs program as much and at as many levels as we do.

What happens to the Galician boats that do not leave the fjord to compete as they did before?

It is something that we should ask the owners, but I understand that it is basically because there are not as many resources as before. I am not only speaking economically, since the crisis situation has been improving in recent years, but to get professional crew, travel dates, logistics to move the boats… it is complicated. There is also the issue that in Galicia we have ideal conditions to haggle and compete. When you can enjoy sailing so much “at home”, and there are difficulties in going out, it is normal for many to choose to stay.

We have spent many years with the Prince of Asturias Trophy at a standstill, what measures should be put in place to move it forward?

Stopped? I honestly don’t think it’s stopped. We maintain very good participation figures, the support of numerous administrations and companies, and satisfaction surveys reveal that shipowners and sailors are delighted with the competition. It is evident, clearly, that it is not like in the most buoyant years, when the economy was in another situation and the sponsorships were different; but in the current situation, the Principe de Asturias Trophy is at a very good level, and continues to be one of the three most important regattas in Spain.

Shouldn’t a trophy like the Prince of Asturias have more regattas one day?

It is something that has not been valued for various reasons. One, the tradition. At the Monte Real Club de Yates we like to maintain traditions and the Príncipe de Asturias was created in 1986 with a three-day regatta format that continues to function well. How do we know? Well, because of what the participants tell us. At the end of the trophy, we launch satisfaction questionnaires, and the responses of the owners show us that they agree with the competition model. That is another reason, something that we take into account, since the opinion of the participants is very important to us.

Don’t you think that the participation of so many classes distorts the trophy?

Not at all. I think it only distorts the fact of communicating the final results, because there is no clear winner and it is a bit difficult to understand that in a competition there can be 7 or 8 winners. But it is like that, and that is also the essence of a trophy like this, which is open to the participation of many classes, different types of boats, sailors… we always say that the Prince of Asturias Trophy is a “sailing festival ” and everyone should be able to participate in it.

Why don’t the Mediterranean boats go up to compete in the Príncipe de Asturias?

Well, I understand that it is a bit because of the same thing that happens with Galician shipowners who do not go to the Mediterranean to compete. Because it is complicated. There are not so many resources and in the end one, if he does not see himself with the possibility of obtaining a title or a prominent position that the whole operation deserves, then he chooses to stay at home to haggle, or to go to a place where he can move the ship does not cause a great disturbance. For example, a large number of Portuguese crews come to the club to compete. Why? Well, because they are close, or relatively close, and moving the boats is not that complicated, neither in terms of budget nor logistics. I wish it were easier and the owners would be encouraged to come to the Prince. We are sure that they would love it and repeat it. It is a great competition.

Wouldn’t a meeting between the presidents of Palma, Valencia and Baiona be a good idea to try to organize a “triple crown” with the three best regattas in Spain?

Yes, very good indeed. For our part, of course, we are willing to participate in that meeting and do everything in our power to make this “triple crown” a reality.

The three great Galician regattas have been in crisis for many years, is it not because the three great Galician clubs have isolated themselves from each other?

I don’t think they are in crisis, really. Both the Rías de Vigo and the Príncipe de Baiona and the Rey Juan Carlos de Sanxenxo Trophy continue to be regattas with a very high level of participation. And they all imply, in a way, a relationship between the three clubs. We collaborate with each other and even organize other regattas together. I think we all work to get the best for our clubs, but we get along well, the relationship is certainly good.

After challenging for the Copa América three times, has the world forgotten about Baiona?

Monte Real is still very present in world sailing as one of the reference clubs. We maintain a relationship with the most important clubs in the world and not long ago many of them attended the Galicia Atlantic Destination, which we organized to talk about international nautical tourism. In addition, every year many clubs choose Monte Real for their events, competitions or simply This summer, for example, we have activities with such important associations as the World Cruising Club, the Irish Cruising Club or the Royal Cruising Club.

Is Olympic sailing the unfinished business of Monte Real?

The truth is that it has never been part of the Monte Real project, but we have supported specific projects, and perhaps we will do so again in the future.

For when a Women’s Cruise League?

Well, at the moment it is something that we do not have in mind, but promoting women’s sailing is something that we always keep in mind, from the beginning through our Sailing School, to the Ladies Cup that we celebrate within the Prince of Asturias Trophy.

And a Spanish Adapted Sailing Championship?

For 4 consecutive years, until 2016, we organized the 2.4mR Iberian Championship, which was part of the Iberdrola Paralympic Sailing Circuit, and was one of the most important adapted sailing competitions in Spain, but since Iberdrola withdrew its support has reorganized. Waiting for an opportunity to arise and we can get involved in a specific trophy, we continue working for adapted sailing through our Sailing School, with courses, activities and initiatives… and through some of our competitions, in which someone participates. adapted sailing boat

What international events are planned for this year?

Well, we have several international events on the calendar, both regattas, rallies and events, all of them in summer. At the beginning of July, from the 3rd to the 13th, the Pornic-Baiona-La Rochelle is held, for which the registration period is now open. Also in mid-July, we will celebrate the Irish Cruising Club nautical meeting at our facilities, and we will receive the visit of a fleet of more than 20 Royal Cruising Club boats. And the ARC Portugal Rally, which celebrates 25 years of history this year, will make a stop in Baiona at the beginning of June.

Would it be possible to internationalize the Terras Gauda National Sailing Awards?

would fit And the truth is that the possibility of including among the prizes a special mention to an international sailor, team or project has been considered. It would be, yes, a special mention, since the awards will continue to be, and we are clear about that, both the sponsor Terras Gauda, and the club as organizer, “national” sailing awards. In Spain we have great sports projects and great athletes whose merits deserve to be recognised, and that has always been, and will continue to be our objective and that of these awards in the future. It is necessary to continue promoting sailing in Spain, and we believe that these awards are a very good way of doing so.

How is the season presented at the Baiona regatta course?

Well, very intense, as always. Except in August and December, which are months in which there is more social than sports activity, in the rest of the months we have competitions practically every 15 days. We start and end the year with our J80, winter and fall leagues; we continue with the classic winter and spring regattas for cruisers; we have a couple of dinghy sailing competitions with which we intend to continue promoting grassroots sailing in Galicia; and we organize again, one more year, the Galician Championship of Solitaires and Two. We also co-organize several international regattas, which I told you about earlier; and in July and September we have our main dishes: the Count of Gondomar Trophy and the Prince of Asturias Trophy. It’s going to be a busy year.

Happy 50, Don Felipe

From the Monte Real Club de Yates we want to congratulate King Felipe VI today on his 50th birthday with a very special video, which includes some images of his visits to the club over the years.

Don Felipe has been, since 1986, Honorary President of Monte Real , a position that was granted to him when he was still Prince of Asturias, and that he maintains to this day, being King of Spain.

The Prince of Asturias Trophy was also named in his honour, which began to be held in 1986 coinciding with his presence at the Military Naval School of Marín, where, at that time, he was completing his military training. The now King participated in that edition and was about to take victory aboard the Aifos.

Later it would also participate in the editions of 1987, 1988, 1991 and 2005. In 1998, Don Felipe’s boat won, although he did not participate; and in 1995 and 2010, the monarch returned to the club, although not to compete, but to award prizes to the winners.

The last time he visited us was in 2015, to inaugurate the 50th anniversary commemorative exhibition of the MRCYB.

 

 

“Retaking in Galicia the tradition of regattas with three digits is an initiative that deserves an effort on the part of the athletes”

He says that his thing is to sail, not to talk about it, but the truth is that listening to this navigator from Coruña talk about his passion for sailing is something that captivates. The two-time cruiser world champion and Platú 25 world runner-up, cites Melville and Patrick O’Brian to try to explain how he feels about the sea, and is grateful for initiatives such as that of Baiona Angra Atlantic Race, of the Monte Real Club de Yates, because it will allow him to participate, departing from his native Galicia, in an ocean regatta. The competition will start on July 3 in Baiona.

Mr. Pintos, did you know that you were one of the first sailors to sign up for the Baiona Angra Atlantic Race?

I did not know that I had been one of the first… but I did sign up early. I guess it’s the only way to ensure a good position in a sport as uncertain as this, because in the rankings it’s already more complicated.

What has encouraged you to participate in this competition?

Well, they have encouraged me to participate especially the miles. The fact that a club as beloved as Baiona has decided to resume its tradition of regattas with triple digits is an initiative that deserves an effort on the part of the athletes. The other reason is a tip from a friend. This year it is possible that the beautiful Huelva-La Gomera regatta will be resumed next September, and I would love to be able to link the two together.

How does a sailor face an ocean competition of this type? How does one prepare mentally and physically for the test?

With much desire. Preparation regattas are difficult to do here because, unless one wants to go up to France, there are none nearby. Mentally: living in Madrid is the best way to make yourself want to go to the sea. Physically: my wife is dedicated to that, and makes sure that I am the best I can be at my age.

Tell us about the ship you will sail with and its crew.

I will do the Baiona Angra Atlantic Race with my boat from the last 6 years, if it is not sold before. And that, speaking of boats, is a lot. Having sailed thousands of miles on a ship is like having lived with a person for decades: we have already told each other almost everything. As for the crew, I will only go with one sailor, and because the regatta does not allow solo class…

What will day-to-day life be like on the boat? I suppose there will be routines, but also improvisation…

The less improvisation there is, it will be a sign that we will be doing better, and how the day will be in this type of regatta will depend above all on two things: the weather and breakdowns. The difference between this regatta and another in which the fleet is sailed is that in the fleet you have your rivals next to you, and the decisions are short-term – I am better at having time to think. In an ocean race you are alone and decisions have to be made at least 2-3 days ahead. It is necessary to think more, weigh more factors and be more analytical. And above all, believe in the chosen path. It is very difficult to be a good fleet sailor if you have not started as a child, and it is not my case.

What do you think will be the biggest difficulties you will have to face during the journey?

If the weather is good, tactics. If it’s bad, survival. If there is little wind, dream. If there are breakdowns, technical. The ones that are not going to be for sure are the motivational ones, unless there were no rivals, because in all my life I have never been bored at sea.

In addition to the difficulties that may arise, we suppose that this type of navigation also has many attractions…tell us, Mr. Pintos. What is it that most attracts you to competitions at this level?

The sea. It’s that easy. I couldn’t explain it any other way. It is best to read the opening paragraph of Moby Dick. Melville writes it with an eloquence beyond the reach of a mortal.

“Call me Ishmael. Years ago, no matter how many exactly, with little or no money in my pocket, I thought of embarking for a season and discovering the sea. It’s my way of making the melancholy disappear. Every time I find myself wincing; every time there is a wet and drizzly November in my soul; every time I feel like going out into the street to beat people’s hats off, then I know it’s time to go back to the sea. Choose any path, and ten against one that leads you to the water. There is something magical about water that draws men from the land…and guides them over mountains, through streams and rivers to the sea. The SEA, where each man, as in a mirror, finds himself. And so it was that I arrived in New Bedford on time, one rainy Saturday afternoon late in 1841” (Moby Dick – Herman Melville).

With a career like yours, having been runner-up in the Platú 25 world championship, among many other triumphs, I suppose you will feel a certain pressure when participating in this type of competition… do people expect a lot from you?

I appreciate the courtesy, but I don’t think anyone but my daughter has such expectations. That trajectory, in the world of sailing, is very relative. Titles mean very little. They are not triathlon or boxing world championships. If I had been World Tennis Champion, you would now be talking to my representative. The only trajectory that I aspire to consolidate is that of being a good sailor, being one more in the fleet without being out of tune, and I still have a long way to go to achieve it.

Modesty and humility are certainly not lacking in this great sailor who, when asked about his greatest triumphs in the world of sailing, does not mention his long list of titles, but rather his ability to transmit his love of the sea to his daughter. A love that he himself inherited from his father “Chacho” Pintos. “It is –he says- like the song of the Diplomáticos de Montealto”, the bravú rock group from his native Coruña: “Miña nai deume os camiños eo meu pai deixoume o mare. Don’t dye more than leave me nin eu thought more leave”

Although he lives in Madrid and on many occasions he has no choice but to look at the sea with nostalgia, Pintos tries to sail whenever he can. In the coming months he will participate in the J70 Galician Circuit, in the Spi Ouest France, in the Monte Real Galician Solitaire Championship and in the Baiona Angra Atlantic Race, which, according to what he says, he is looking forward to.

Mr. Pintos, have you already been to the Azores?

Never. I have always gone under.

Where you have sailed is in Baiona, in some of the competitions of the Monte Real Yacht Club, which this year returns with the Baiona Angra Atlantic Race to international regattas. What is your opinion of this step?

I haggled in Baiona with my father in the early eighties, and since then I have always returned. It was the club where I had my first joys and my first disappointments as an athlete away from home, the Real Club Náutico de A Coruña. It is logical because Monte Real has always been the benchmark in terms of the level of cruising regattas in Galicia. It’s not my club, I’m from Coruña, but I’ve always felt at home and welcomed in Baiona. And, as I have already said, I am pleased that they have decided to resume this type of regattas, which they already did in their early days. Of course, for this type of initiative, you can count on me.

The two-time World Cruiser Champion and Platú 25 World Vice-Champion sailor from Coruña, Jesús Pintos, will participate next July in the Baiona Angra Atlantic Race, organized by the Monte Real Yacht Club and the Angra Iate Clube. The competition will depart on July 3 from Baiona to Angra do Heroismo. The participating boats must travel the more than 800 miles that separate both points in a maximum time of 9 days and 8 hours. The second stage will return to Baiona on July 14, and on the 23rd the awards ceremony will be held at the Monte Real Club de Yates. The registration period is now open and there are discounts for crews who register before APRIL 30.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“Returning in Galiza to the tradition of regattas with three digits is an initiative that deserves an effort by two athletes”

He says that my dream is to navigate. It is certain that listening and speaking with this natural navigator from Corunha, given his country for sailing is a little complicated. The two-time world champion of Cruzeiro and vice-world champion of Platú 25, Melville cites to try to explain or make him sit by the sea, and thanks initiatives such as the Baiona Angra Atlantic Race, the Monte Real Yacht Club, because it will allow him to participate, starting from to his native Galicia, a new oceanic regatta. The competition will start on the 3rd of July from Baiona.

Did Senhor Pintos know that you were the first two sailors to register for the Baiona Angra Atlantic Race?

I did not know that it had been two first…. More sim, I signed up soon. I suppose that it is the only way to ensure a good position in a sport as uncertain as this, because the classification will be more complicated.

What or did you take part in this competition?

Or that I was encouraged to participate foram above all thousands. I am glad that a club as loved as the one from Baiona has decided to return to its tradition of regattas with triple digits and an initiative that deserves an effort on the part of two athletes. Another reason is a dream from a friend. This year it is possible that the beautiful Huelva-La Gomera regatta will be resumed, not next September and we will be able to participate in two days.

How does a sailor face an ocean competition of this type? How do you prepare mentally and physically for the test?

With a lot of claw. The preparation regattas are difficult to do here because, unless there is someone who wants to go up to França, the rest do not exist. Mentally living in Madrid is the best way to get the claw to go to the sea. Physically, the minha mulher is in charge-is disso and tries to make it as best as possible, in the minha idade.

Let’s miss the ship that will sail and its crew.

I will return to Baiona Angra Atlantic Race as my boat for the last six years, it has not been sold before. And isso, speaking of boats, they wanted to say a lot. After sailing thousands and thousands of miles on a ship, it’s like I’ve lived for decades with a person, for whom we’ve practically decided everything. Not that it respects the crew, I will only go with a crew member, and this is because the regatta does not allow a class of solitaires.

How will it be day-to-day on the boat? I guess there will be routines but also some improvisation…

How much less improvisação houver will be a sign that we will be doing things well. The way this type of regattas will be on a day depends largely on two things: the weather and the odds. The difference between this regatta and another in which it is sailed in rubble is that in rubbish the opponents are in sight and the decisions are in the short term. No case I prefer ter tempo to think. In the ocean regatta we are sozinhos and the decisions are taken for a period of 2-3 days, less than that. Faz needs to think more, ponder more factors and be more analytical. And above all, credit the escolha carried out. It is very difficult to be a good sailor in rubs, unless it has been started since childhood, or that it is not my case.

Quais now that will be the greatest difficulties that will have to be faced during the crossing

Se fizer bom tempo, tactics. Se fizer mau tempo, of survival. It fizer little wind, sono. Se tiver avarias, techniques. Or that there will certainly not be that motivation, unless I have no opponents, because in all my life I have never hated myself.

Apart from the difficulties that could arise, we knew that this type of navigation also had many attractions, Conte-nos senhor Pintos. Or what is more or attracted a lot of competition at this level?

Or sea. It’s just as simple. I couldn’t explain it any other way. O melhor é ler o opening paragraph of Moby Dick. Melville recounts with an eloquence beyond the reach of a mortal:

“Call me Ishmael. Years ago, no matter how many exactly, with little or no money in my pocket, I thought of embarking for a season and discovering the sea. It’s my way of making the melancholy disappear. Every time I find myself wincing; every time there is a wet and drizzly November in my soul; every time I feel like going out into the street to beat people’s hats off, then I know it’s time to go back to the sea. Choose any path, and ten against one that leads you to the water. There is something magical about water that draws men from the land…and guides them over mountains, through streams and rivers to the sea. The SEA, where each man, as in a mirror, finds himself. And so it was that I arrived in New Bedford on time, on a rainy Saturday afternoon in late 1841.” (Moby Dick – Herman Melville)

With a track record like his, knowing that he was vice-champion of the Platú 25 world among many other triumphs, I suppose he will feel some pressure to participate in this type of competition… do people expect a lot of yes?

I thank or praise, I do not mean that no one, unless it is a minha filha, will have similar expectations. This trajectory, no world gives sail, is very relative. The titles mean very little. There are no boxing triathlon world championships. If you had been world tennis champion, you would now be speaking as my agent. The only trajectory that I aspire to consolidate is to be a great sailor, to be more in a regatta without destoar and I still have a long way to go to achieve it.

Modesty and humility are qualities that are not lacking in this great sailor who, when questioned about his greatest triumphs achieved in the sailing world, does not list his vast list of titles, but only his ability to transmit the love that he has for the sea and peel your file A love that is inherited from his father “Chacho” Pintos. Even living in Madrid, or that he does not have more to observe or sea with nostalgia, Pintas tries to navigate whenever he can. In the next few months, he will participate in the Galician Circuit of 17, in the Spi Quest Francês and in the Galician Championship of Solitários do Monte Real and in the Baiona Angra Atlantic Race, for what he says, they have a lot of claw.

Senhor Pintos, ha esteve nos Açores?

Never. I always passed by downstairs.

I have always sailed in Baiona, the last of the competitions of the Monte Real Yacht Club, which this year returns with the Baiona Angra Atlantic Race to the international regattas. What do you think about this step?

I have been sailing in Baiona as my country for the first two years of the eighties and since then I have always been around. I had been a Club that gave me the first few joys and the first few deceções as a sportsman outside my home, or Real Clube Náutico da Corunha. It is logical because Monte Real has always been a reference at the level of cruzeiro regattas in Galiza. Não é o meu Clube, eu sou da Corunha, not so long I always felt at home and was received in Baiona. And as I said, I congratulate myself that they have decided to resume this type of regattas, that they will make us their first times. From logo, for this type of initiative, we can always count on me.

The natural sailor from Corunha, two-time world champion of Cruzeiros and vice-world champion of Platú 25, Jesús Pintos, will participate next July in the Baiona Angra Atlantic Race, an ocean regatta between Galiza and the Açores, organized by Monte Real Club of Yachts or Angra Iate Clube.

The competition will depart on July 3 from Baiona to Angra do Heroísmo. The participating boats will have to travel more than 800 miles that separate both points for a maximum time of 9 days and 8 hours. The second stage will depart back to Baiona on the 14th of July, and on the 23rd it will be for the delivery of prizes at the Monte Real Club de Yates. The registration period is still open and there are discounts for the crews who register before March 30 All information about the regatta can be consulted on the Monte Real Yacht Club website www.mrcyb.es

 

It is an interview with Rosana Calvo, head of communication at the MRCYB

His Majesty the King inaugurates in Baiona the 50th anniversary exhibition of the Monte Real Yacht Club

· The photographic exhibition ” Monte Real Yacht Club: 50 years of history ” summarizes in images the most important chapters of the club in its half century of life

· Don Felipe has been Honorary President of Monte Real since 1986 when he participated as a sailor in the first edition of the Prince of Asturias Trophy

During his visit, His Majesty the King was accompanied by the board of directors of Monte Real and by representatives of the main sponsoring companies of the club

Baiona, July 15, 2015.- His Majesty the King inaugurated this Wednesday in Baiona the photographic exhibition ” Monte Real Yacht Club: 50 years of history “, which summarizes with images the half century of life of the historic club in Baiona.

This is the first visit of Don Felipe as King of Spain to the Monte Real Yacht Club, of which he has been Honorary President since 1986, when he participated as a sailor in the first edition of the Prince of Asturias Trophy.

His Majesty the King arrived in Baiona around eight in the afternoon and, after being received by the mayor of the town, Jesús Vázquez, and the president of Monte Real, Gabriel Baltar, participated in an extraordinary meeting of the board of directors, in which the posthumous appointment of the former president of the club, Don Rafael Olmedo Limeses, as honorary member of Monte Real was ratified. The session was also attended as a guest by his widow, Mari Alonso, who thanked the monarch for the gestures of affection he had with his family after the death of Don Rafael, by sending them a letter of condolences.

After holding a relaxed talk about matters in the nautical world, such as the latest edition of the Volvo Ocean Race, the president of Monte Real, Gabriel Baltar, also thanked Don Felipe for his presence today at the club, and for the support shown to over the years with its participation in various editions of its regattas and in various award ceremonies.

At the end of the meeting, His Majesty the King entered the Ribeira del Monte Real beach room to visit the photographic exhibition ” Monte Real Yacht Club: 50 years of history “, a sample of 75 images that review the most important chapters of the club.

Don Felipe was thus able to remember many of the moments lived in Monte Real, to which he went for years to participate as a sailor in some of his sporting competitions.

During their visit to the exhibition, all the members of the club’s board of directors were present, along with several representatives from Repsol, ABANCA, SabadellGallego, Baitra, Bodegas Terras Gauda and Storax, the main sponsoring companies of the events organized by Monte Real.

As a reminder of this day, a plaque has been displayed in the club from today that records the monarch’s visit to Monte Real on the occasion of the 50th anniversary events.

Monte Real Yacht Club: 50 years of history

“Monte Real Club de Yates: 50 years of history” is a photographic exhibition that summarizes with images the half century of life of the historic club from Baiona. Since its birth, on March 24, 1965, Monte Real has starred in some of the most important chapters in the history of sailing, which has allowed it to become an indisputable benchmark for this sport in Spain.

The exhibition recalls many of those moments, such as the 1972 Discovery Regatta, with which the club began to make a name for itself on the international nautical scene, various editions of the Lymington – Baiona, European and World Championships, and numerous regattas Grade 1 International Match Races, in which the best skippers in the world participated.

A special section of the exhibition is dedicated to the Copa América Challenge presented in 1989, with which the most prestigious competition in the world finally had a Spanish representative. In 1992, Spain attended the Copa América for the first time at the hands of Monte Real, a feat that the Baionese club would repeat on two more occasions, in 1995 and 2000.

“Monte Real Club de Yates: 50 years of history” also reviews the evolution of the club’s facilities in Baiona, from when they were inaugurated in 1967, to the present. The construction of the breakwater, the expansion of the pontoons or the elimination of architectural barriers are some of the milestones that are remembered.

Throughout the exhibition, the figure of Don Rafael Olmedo, president of Monte Real for more than 40 years, acquires a prominent presence. Several photographs recall, for example, his appointment as Baiona’s adoptive son or his distinction with the Gold Medal for Merit in Sailing, awarded by the Royal Spanish Sailing Federation.

The presence of various members of the Royal Family from different generations, some of the historic ships that sailed wearing the Monte Real pendant or the visit of the team from the last Volvo Ocean Race to Baiona are other moments that were recovered from the historical archive of the club for the exhibition.

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