The 42nd edition of Palma’s showcase Copa del Rey moves into action

On the pontoons of the historic Mallorcan club are teams from Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, Czechoslovakia, Estonia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Holland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Monaco, Peru, Romania, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey and the United States. This year there are eight classes. Four of them will sail on corrected time (Watches of Switzerland ORC 0, Odilo ORC 1, Altavista ORC 2 and Balearia ORC 3) and four one designs in real time (ClubSwan 50, ClubSwan 42, Sandberg Estates J70 and Women's Cup Class). All will compete from Tuesday, 30th July, except for the J70s and the Women's Cup Class which go from Wednesday.

Among those team’s which are back to defend their Copa del Rey title are Marcus Brennecke's Hatari in ClubSwan 50, Pedro Vaquer's Nadir in ClubSwan 42, Christian Plump's Elena Nova in Odilo ORC 1, María Bover's Team RCNP Balearia in Women's Cup and Luis Albert Solana's Patakín in Sandberg Estates J/70. The 2023 ORC 2 champion, Javier Banderas and Toni Guiú's Teatro Soho - Altavista Global Group, which this year competes with a TP52 in Watches of Switzerland ORC 0, the division in which Spain’s King, SM Felipe de Borbon, steers the TP52 Aifos.

As ever the premier one design fleet, the ClubSwan 50 division will be closely contested, the seven strong fleet sees some of the world’s top pro sailors among the teams which are pursuing the coveted Copa del Rey MAPFRE title.

Top international stars studded through the fleet.
The defending champions are Marcus Brennecke’s German flagged Hatari, winners of last year’s One Design circuit championship are Copa del Rey champions three times in a row. With Marcus Wieser calling tactics and Michele Ivaldi navigator, the title holders will be in for a tough defence given how tight the fleet is now.

Hatari narrowly won the Swan Sardinia Challenge last month in Alghero over a short series ahead of Moonlight and Hendrik Brandis’ EarlyBird.

But could the tables could be turned on the Bay of Palma? Graham and Raquel Peterson’s Moonlight are the team on the rise and are due a win in Palma. They have Kiwi Hamish Pepper calling tactics, whilst EarlyBird won here in 2018 and have Brits Nic Asher and Eliot Willis, double 470 world champions leading the afterguard.

Recently crowned TP52 world champion Chris Hosking (AUS) from Moonlight asserts, “It is very hot. We have been knocking on the door. Hatari are the benchmark team but there are many teams putting in a lot of effort building up towards the Rolex Swan Cup and the World Championship and being consistent gives you a chance of winning the circuit too. If you can do a bunch of small things better and make less mistakes we can beat them. Everyone here in the ClubSwan50s is making a big effort. Everyone wants to win. This is such a prestigious regatta. Everyone wants to meet the King of Spain at the prizegiving.”

And returning to the class and Copa del Rey after a break of more than 18 months is Stefan Heidenreich’s 2018 world champion OneGroup which has Cameron Dunn as tactician with Australian double Olympic medallist Will Ryan as strategist.

Among the leading international teams in Watches of Switzerland ORC 0 are Frederic Puzin’s far travelled Daguet, the Ker 46, preferring to miss all the Olympic drama at their home in Marseille to return to Copa del Rey again as does regular Copa del Rey fan Gerard Vogel and his Saint Tropez team on their IRC 52 Arobas. Against them in this class is the successful German Swan 60 Emma which has German 470 world champion Philipp Autenrieth on board.

“We love this regatta. We are so happy to be back and enjoying a regatta we always enjoy. I think we have done five now. We are maybe missing some of the boats we hoped would be here but we are up against the TP52s so we will see how It goes. And it was an easy decision to come here when the Games are on at home but we will back to see the medals.” Frederic Puzin of Daguet said.

Ahead of the ORC European Championships here next year at 22 boats strong, Odilo ORC Class 1 is the biggest ORC division. Among the leading international teams are German co-owner Christian Plump’s Elena Nova, the defending champions, Timmy Kroger leads a Geman crew on Jan Opplander’s Swan 54 Katima and the two Grand Soleil 44s – David Hall’s Andiamo from Great Britain and Sergio Sagramoso’s Lazy Dog from Puerto Rico.

Programme
The regatta programme unveils five days of racing. All classes, except the Women's Cup, will compete in a Preliminary Series of up to six races between July 30th and August 1st (August 2nd if at least four races have not been sailed) and a Final Series of four races without discards (six for the J/70s). The format has been updated for this edition, the teams will enter the Final Series with the same number of points as they finished the Preliminary Series. The four ORC divisions will sail a coastal race of between 15 and 40 miles around the bay of Palma.

The first warning signal of each day is scheduled for 12:00h local time. The last scoring races will be held on Saturday, August 3rd, and no warning signal will be given later than 15:45h on that day.

New format for women’s fleet racing
The Women's Cup class includes interesting new features and the largest fleet since it joined the Copa del Rey MAPFRE in 2019: 14 teams. For the first time, they will compete with Blusail 24 class monotypes provided by the Real Club Náutico de Palma in an initiative to reduce costs and ensure maximum equality. There will also be a new Round Robin competition format, in which all the teams will compete against each other in six-boat regattas. The six best teams will compete for the title in a final Medal Race on the 3rd of August.

More sustainable
Sustainability is increasingly important at the Copa del Rey MAPFRE, which in this 42nd edition includes a full menu of daily initiatives both on land and on the water highlighting environmental responsibility. On land, the RCNP is launching the Sustainability Corner, with exhibitions and workshops on marine conservation; at sea, three electric boats will allow the public and guests to get a glimpse of the regatta while learning about the importance of caring for our environment.

On land
The social programme will include highlights such as the Owners' Dinner -on Monday at the castle Hotel Son Vida-, the White Cocktail by MAPFRE -on Thursday on the terraces of the RCNP- and the traditional trophy ceremony presided over by King Don Felipe, which will be held on Saturday 3rd August at the Ses Voltes venue, at the foot of Mallorca Cathedral.

The 42nd Copa del Rey MAPFRE is organised by the RCNP by delegation of the Royal Spanish Sailing Federation (RFEV), with the sponsorship of MAPFRE, the institutional sponsorship of the Government of the Balearic Islands and the Palma City Council, with the collaboration of the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands and the Balearic Sailing Federation.