Alex Pella’s Maxicat Victoria will try to beat the Discovery Route record
– The Spanish team, “Mapfre” holds the record, set at 11 days, 7 hours, 38 minutes and 40 seconds.
– Alex Pella and his crew will depart from Huelva in November to reach San Salvador, Bahamas, in less than 11 days.
– For the first time, the Desafío Victoria project incorporates in its challenges the monitoring of this route through the free Virtual Regatta app.
Wednesday, August 21, 2024.
The “Desafío Victoria” project of Spanish sailor Alex Pella is already preparing the next challenge, which is to try to beat the record of the Discovery Route, with the “Maxicat Victoria”. This record attempt will be part of a great “Atlantic Loop” between Europe and America, with a non-stop round trip to the other side of the Atlantic. The objectives are, on the outward leg, to try to beat the Discovery Route record, currently held by “Mapfre”, in 11 days, 7 hours and 40 seconds and, on the return leg, to seek tougher sea and wind conditions and complete this loop of between 20 and 25 days of ocean sailing with full autonomy and self-sufficiency. “It is a difficult and important challenge for us, as it is another step in our preparation for the round-the-world record in 2025,” says Alex Pella.
The “Maxicat Victoria” will be put on standby, i.e. ready to set sail, at the beginning of November from Huelva while waiting for the best possible conditions. “The first leg of the record, between Huelva and La Gomera, should be completed in about 48 hours. And the second leg, between La Gomera and San Salvador (Bahamas), in 9 days, although we will be somewhat more penalized than our “Mapfre” teammates since we don’t stop on the other side of the Atlantic. This will mean that the boat will be more heavily loaded with provisions, spare parts, etc. This “Atlantic Loop” is perfect for us as part of our preparation for the “Trofeo Oceánico el Cano”, as this exercise demands a lot from us, in terms of sport, distance covered and self-sufficiency, both in terms of energy and technique”, said Pella.
The crew of “Maxicat Victoria” will be completed by Lalou Roucayrol, Alejandro Cantero, Alberto Muñoz, Pablo Santurde, Pilar Casares and Manuel Maqueda. In addition, in this challenge, the Desafío Victoria project will incorporate, for the first time, real-time tracking, via streaming with the tracker, incorporating the trace of the “Mapfre” and with the application of the official free game of the biggest sailing races, Virtual Regatta. “With all of this we intend that our slogan “Around the world to go around the world”, with a message of care and preservation of the environment reaches more people”.
Route of discovery / Ruta del descubrimiento
This route was the first of the four voyages made by Christopher Columbus. The expedition departed from Palos de la Frontera, in Huelva, on August 3, 1492, composed of three ships: Santa María, Pinta and La Niña, and sighted the mainland, on the island of San Salvador, on October 12, 1492. Thus began one of the world’s greatest milestones: the discovery of a new continent.
Victory Challenge / Desafio Victoria
Alex Pella (pictured above) and his crew have already achieved two records, the ‘Around Menorca’, beaten in April with a record of 5 hours, 4 minutes and 57 seconds and the ‘Around Spain’, in July, in 4 days, 17 hours, 14 minutes and 46 seconds.
Historically, Spain has been the greatest maritime power and the great explorer of the blue planet. 500 years ago, the Spanish expedition initiated by Magellan and completed by Elcano changed the world. Inspired by this adventure in history, ‘Desafío Victoria’ was born, a major project in which a legendary ship has been recovered to revive and compete in the greatest oceanic challenge of all time: circumnavigating the world to the west. The Maxicat Victoria is a legendary ocean-going multihull, built in France, with a length of 33.5 meters, a beam of 17.5 meters and a mast height of 42.6 meters.
It will be a sporting, circular and global challenge.
Circumnavigating the planet westward is not only a human and sporting challenge, but also a race against time to change our mentality and the future of the planet. Hence the fact that the boat chosen to face the challenge is reused; the energies that drive it are renewable; the food on board is sustainable; the water is purified; and its commitment to minimize our carbon footprint and the waste generated throughout the project is non-negotiable.
This adventure is undertaken to meet the most ambitious challenge: to lead a historic, unique and pioneering ocean race, advocating the principles of decarbonization, circular economy and regenerative economy, educating and inspiring millions of people of any age and in any part of the world.
Festina, Qualitas Energy and IDOM join the global challenge of the Victory Challenge
The watch brand Festina is the main sponsor and official timekeeper of the Desafío Victoria from the beginning. In addition, Qualitas Energy and IDOM also collaborate in this challenge.
Photographs Delphine Trentacosta
Responsible for communications for Desafío Victoria:
Desirée Tornero
desiree@aguaysalcomunicacion.com
More information at:
From “Navegantes Oceánicos” we wish Alex Pella and the whole “Desafío Victoria” team the best of luck in this new challenge of the “Route of Discovery” record, as a previous step to the “Trofeo Oceánico ELCANO” round the world sailing project.as a previous step to the “Trofeo Oceánico ELCANO” round the world sailing project.
