Two great European ORC events this week in Valencia

This week, at one of Europe's best sailing venues, there will be two important events in ORC racing. From June 28 to July 7, the Real Club Náutico de Valencia (RCNV) is hosting for offshore-capable boats the 25th edition of the Trofeo S.M. La Reina and the 36th edition of the Copa Almirante Marcial Sánchez-Barcáiztegui, while teams competing in smaller yachts will be racing in the 7th edition of the ORC Sportboat European Championship 2024.

The big-boat events started on June 28 with 15 ORC A2 Double Handed teams from Spain, France, and Poland competing on a 160-mile offshore course, and was won on corrected time by Carlos and Jose Frances's Swan 45 M10 ZAS C&R.

Next in the program will be inshore racing on courses set off the coast of Valencia in several classes: ORC 0, ORC 1, ORC 2, ORC 3, ORC 4, ORC Open, and a Promotional Class, while the ORC Sportboats will start racing in their own championship event. There are 101 teams entered in the ORC classes, while 13 Sportboat teams are entered from Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, United Kingdom, Italy, and Turkey. These boats vary in type and include Tom 28's, MaxFun 25's, GP 26's, Sonar 23's, Platú 25's, Farr 25's, J80's, ESTE24's, and FC8's.

The registration and measurement for the ORC Sportboats, in collaboration with the Offshore Racing Congress (ORC), has been underway since Monday, July 1, and today, July 3, the fleet's Practice Race took place under the guidance of Principal Race Officer Cesare Sans. The competition for the European Championship will start tomorrow, Thursday, July 4, with a coastal race lasting approximately 5-6 hours for the slowest boat. The windward-leeward races will then take place from Friday, July 5, to Sunday, July 7.

Noteworthy participants among the Sportboats include DAVINCI (BEL), skippered by Ignacio Antonio Roig Casasús, who has achieved notable success in the First Class 8 class, including a top finish at the 2022 Belgian National Championship. Also participating is SOS MAR MENOR (ESP), skippered by Jose Antonio Anton Olmos, a prominent figure who secured a podium finish at the 2023 Sonar World Championship. BC FERTILIS (ESP), led by Manuel Mestre Martin Nespereira, boasts a first-place finish in the 2023 Spanish J80 National Championship. DORSIA SAILING (ESP), helmed by Nuria Sánchez Nomdedeu, won the 2023 Women’s J80 World Championship, demonstrating their dominance in the class. Andrea Pietrolucci, the skipper of MILU4 (ITA), secured a top-finished third in the 2022 ESTE24 European Championship and 5th in the 2023 ORC European Championship, showcasing his skill in this type of event. Sukru Sanus, with ORIENT EXPRESS 6.5 (TUR), achieved a significant victory in a tough fleet at the 2023 Turkish Farr 25 National Championship.

In the ORC fleet of the SM La Reina Trophy there are also numerous competitive teams, such as Toni Guiu's TP52 BLUE CARBON - APROPERTIES (ESP), known for his performances in the 52 SUPER SERIES, including the Rolex TP52 World Championship and the Copa del Rey. Espada 34 NAUTIC CAFÉ DEL MAR (ESP), skippered by Javier Rabelo/Felipe Cornet, is noted for its strong results in the ORC 3 class in many regional Mediterranean regattas. Stefano Masi's Swan 45 ULIKA (ITA) is expected to excel, given his history of excellent performances in previous ORC 1 class races, such as at Copa del Rey. 

From Estonia, Aivar Tuulberg is racing his Swan 42 KATARIINA II (EST), which secured second place in Class B at the 51st Trofeo Conde de Godó BMW Trophy 2024 and has a track record of top finishes in many prestigious ORC events such as Copa del Rey and the ORC European and World Championships. Other strong entries include ORC class winners at the 51st Trofeo Conde de Godó BMW Trophy 2024, such as Javier Sanz's Swan 42 ELENA NOVA (Club Swan 42), helmed by Christian Plump, and Italia 9.98 LASSAL (ESP) of Gonzalo Calvo Piera. Tomas Gasset's TP52 URBANIA (ESP) will be a Class 0 contender, having won this class at PalmaVela 2024, along with Giovanni Di Vincenzo's Ker 46 LISA R (ITA), who won Class 0 at the 2024 ORC Mediterranean Championship in Sorrento. The Spanish Navy's TP52 AIFOS (ESP), often skippered by H.M. King Felipe, finished second in the ORC 0 class at PalmaVela 2024, just behind URBANIA, and is also a team to watch.

“We are very satisfied with the work done to organize our most emblematic regatta. Notably, 60% of the participants are boats from outside Valencia, which is highly competitive, demonstrating the good health of offshore sailing in Spain. Moreover, the ORC SportBoat European Championship and Club Swan 42 Class have helped increase foreign participation, as we currently have twelve countries represented in the regatta,” explains Pedro Quiroga, the sports director of RCNV.

The XXV Trofeo S.M. La Reina is part of the Mediterranean Sailing Circuit, along with the PalmaVela Regatta organized by the RCN Palma and the Conde de Godó BMW Sailing Trophy organized by the RCN Barcelona.