The ‘Maxicat Victoria’ starts the second leg of the Discovery Route
- Today, Monday 2nd December, ‘at 9 hours, 23 minutes and 48 seconds, the “Maxicat Victoria” left La Gomera for San Salvador in the Bahamas’.
- The challenge can be followed in real time with the tracker and the free Virtual Regatta app, at www.desafiovictoria.com.
Monday , 2 December 2024
Today, Monday 2nd December, Alex Pella’s ‘Maxicat Victoria’ set off from the Canary Island of La Gomera at 9 hours, 23 minutes and 48 seconds (peninsular time) to try and beat the Discovery Route record. This second leg, with the finish in San Salvador, one of the islands of the Bahamas archipelago, must be completed in less than 9 days, 12 hours, 18 minutes and 10 seconds, which is the time set by the ‘Mapfre’ team in February 2013.
‘We have a great benchmark, but if we do it, it’s because we have a chance of beating that record. Besides, we are in a phase of the Desafío Victoria project, which is good for us to have that sporting challenge. Now, with the estimate we have, we would go below the nine days’, says Alex Pella. In addition to Alex Pella, the crew of ‘Maxicat Victoria’ is made up of Lalou Roucayrol, Alejandro Cantero, Alberto Muñoz, Pablo Santurde, Pilar Casares and Manuel Maqueda.
On 11 November, on the first leg of the Ruta del Descubrimiento, ‘Maxicat Victoria’ achieved a gap of 45 minutes and 52 seconds over ‘Mapfre’. ‘We have been moored at the Real Club Náutico de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria waiting for a good weather window. ‘In these records it is very important to be patient. We have a very demanding time set and the start window is very influential. They are not very long courses and you have to go out with everything in your favour. It looks like we have very good conditions for racing over the next few days’.
The Discovery Route is the original route of Christopher Columbus’ first crossing of the Atlantic. It was the first of four voyages made by Christopher Columbus. The expedition set sail from Palos de la Frontera, in Huelva, on 3 August 1492, made up of three ships: Santa María, Pinta and La Niña, and sighted the mainland, on the island of San Salvador, on 12 October 1492. Thus began one of the world’s greatest milestones: the discovery of a new continent. And today, it is also the classic route for people crossing from Europe to America. ‘At this time of year is when the Alisio is most established for crossing and we are going to find a lot of traffic, as there are more and more pleasure boats and merchant ships. It is a very busy stretch at this time of year for sailing boats,’ says Pella.
The ‘Maxicat Victoria’ has a real-time tracking system throughout the crossing and at all times will offer comparative information on distance covered and time spent with the current record holder, the ‘Mapfre’. To do this, the starts of the two boats will be synchronised 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.
In addition, this new record has included the Virtual Regatta game, which will allow players to participate virtually, testing their sailing skills and facing the same challenges as the boat in real life. This platform collaborates with major sailing events and has attracted millions of global users. Both the game and the tracker are available on the web at www.desafiovictoria.com.
Victoria Challenge
The Victoria Challenge project has three pillars: sporting, circular and global. Circumnavigating the planet westwards is not only a human and sporting challenge, but also a race against the clock to change our mentality and the future of the planet. Hence the fact that the boat chosen to take on 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 minimising our carbon footprint and the waste generated throughout the project is non-negotiable.
The Maxicat Victoria is a legendary ocean-going multihull, built in France, with a length of 33.5 metres, a beam of 17.5 metres and a mast height of 42.6 metres.
Festina, Qualitas Energy and IDOM global sponsors of the Victoria Challenge
The watch brand Festina is the main sponsor and official timekeeper of the Desafío Victoria since 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 are witnesses to 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.
The project is also supported by the engineering group IDOM and Qualitas Energy, a global investment and management platform specialising in renewable energy, energy transition and sustainable infrastructure investment.
Photographs Delphine Trentacosta
Victoria Challenge Communications Officer:
Desirée Tornero
desiree@aguaysalcomunicacion.com
More information at:
From ‘Bluewater Sailors’ we wish Alex Pella and the whole Desafío Victoria team the best of luck and good winds in this second leg of the ‘Route of Discovery’.
Let’s go for the record!
