The “Maxicat Victoria” sails from Denia to Huelva to begin its challenge in the historic Route of the Discovery.
– Alex Pella and his crew will set sail next week from Huelva, to try to beat the record of the Discovery Route, currently held by the Spanish team “Mapfre”.
– The challenge can be followed in real time with the tracker and the free Virtual Regatta app.
Thursday, October 31, 2024.
This morning, Alex Pella’s “Maxicat Victoria” set sail for Marina del Odiel, in Huelva, to position itself and in a few days to start the next challenge, to try to beat the record of the Discovery Route. This voyage will cover a non-stop round trip between Europe and America. The goal is to try to beat the current record, set in February 2013, by the Spanish “Mapfre” team, in 11 days, 7 hours and 40 seconds.
The first leg of the record, between Huelva and La Gomera, which will start next week, should be completed in about 48 hours. And the second, between La Gomera and San Salvador (Bahamas), in 9 days. “When we get the record, we will return without stopping and this will serve as preparation for the next challenge, the round-the-world trip to the west,” says Pella. The crew of “Maxicat Victoria” will be completed by Lalou Roucayrol, Alejandro Cantero, Alberto Muñoz, Pablo Santurde, Pilar Casares and Manuel Maqueda.
Live tracking and Virtual Regatta
The “Maxicat Victoria” will have a real time tracking system during the entire voyage and at all times will offer comparative information on distance covered and time spent with the current record holder, the “Mapfre”. To this end, the two boats’ departures will be synchronized so that the tracking will offer a “virtual” mode simulating the joint navigation of the boats, offering visual comparative information to the followers of the record. On the same map, information will be provided about the delay of Columbus’ first voyage, including information on the most important milestones of that voyage.
Viewers will not only be able to know the position, speed and current course of the ships, but will also be able to access audiovisual content that the crew will send along the voyage and that will be geolocated. This system has been launched by Logg for Sport, a Spanish service with extensive experience, more than 400 races from ocean to inshore and offers a set of information such as speed graphs or a distance measurement tool that can be consulted in several languages and is designed to follow the race from the most common devices, adapting to the screen size and through any web browser.
In addition, for this new record, the Desafío Victoria project has collaborated with Virtual Regatta, a leader in online regatta simulations, to develop an interactive video game. This platform will allow players to participate virtually in both crossings, testing their sailing skills and facing the same challenges as the boat in real life. Virtual Regatta is the leading online racing platform, allowing players to experience sailing competitions in a realistic way. This platform collaborates with major sailing events and has attracted millions of global users. Virtual Regatta will recreate every detail of the voyages, providing an immersive experience for all lovers of the sea and adventure.
Ruta del descubrimiento (Discovery Route)
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.
Desafío Victoria(Victory Challenge)
Alex Pella 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.
Festina, Qualitas Energy and IDOM join the global challenge of the Victoria Challenge
The watch brand Festina is the main sponsor and official timekeeper of the Victoria Challenge from the beginning. “At Festina we joined this ambitious project not only because of the sporting component, but also because of its deep commitment to sustainability and care for the environment. We are proud that our watches witness the determination of sailors like the renowned Alex Pella and mark every second of this great challenge,” says Miguel Rodriguez, founder and president of Festina Group.
Also supporting the project are the engineering group IDOM and Qualitas Energy, a global investment and management platform specializing in renewable energy, energy transition and investment in sustainable infrastructure.
Photographs Delphine Trentacosta
Responsible for communications for Desafío Victoria:
Desirée Tornero
desiree@aguaysalcomunicacion.com
More information at:
From “Navegantes Oceánicos” (Bluewater Sailors) we wish Alex Pella and the whole Desafío Victoria team the best of luck in this new “Route of Discovery” record challenge, as a previous step to the “Trofeo Oceánico ELCANO” round the world sailing project.
