The “Maxicat Victoria” starts its voyage to try tvo beat the record of the Discovery Route
- Yesterday, Saturday November 9th, at 22 hours, 25 minutes and 26 seconds the “Maxicat Victoria” left Palos de la Frontera, in Huelva, towards La Gomera, in the first leg of the Route of Discovery.
- The challenge can be followed in real time with the tracker and the free Virtual Regatta app.
Sunday, November 10, 2024.
Yesterday, Saturday, November 9, at 22 hours, 25 minutes and 26 seconds, the “Maxicat Victoria” of ocean sailor Alex Pella, left from Palos de la Frontera, in Huelva, to try to beat the record of the Route of Discovery. In this first part of the route, they will have to reach the Canary Island of La Gomera. The crew of the “Maxicat Victoria” will be completed by, Lalou Roucayrol, Alejandro Cantero, Alberto Muñoz, Pablo Santurde, Pilar Casares and Manuel Maqueda.
“This will be the last race before the round-the-world race. We are going to learn a lot from here, especially in the Huelva – La Gomera and La Gomera – San Salvador time trial, we have a reference of our rival, the “Mapfre,” and we have to be on top of the boat to try to beat it. If we are trying it is because I think we have a chance to do it. We are going to have many days of sailing, which will be very good for us to prepare for the round the world race, which will take around 100 days”.
Once they reach La Gomera, they will head to the Real Club Náutico de Gran Canaria, in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, and moor until the next weather window that will allow them to start the second leg of this route, the one between La Gomera and San Salvador, in the Bahamas. To break the record, they will have to complete both legs in less than 11 days, 7 hours and 40 seconds.
The “Maxicat Victoria” has a real time tracking system during the entire voyage and at each moment 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 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.
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.
Victoria challenge (Desafío 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.
Festina, Qualitas Energy e IDOM Festina, Qualitas Energy and IDOM join the global challenge of the Victoria Challenge (Desafío Victoria)
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” 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.
