The presentation of the third edition of the Copa Vela Latina del Sur this Friday on the small beach of Playa Blanca staged the union of the sports family around a tournament that excites and brings joy to compete, but above all brings beautiful memories putting on the pedestal that deserves a sport, which like Latin sailing, is closely related to the seafaring tradition of southern Lanzarote, therefore, there were excited members of some of the 15 participating teams, people promoting and collaborating in the sport, federative representatives and the delegation of the Yaiza City Council headed by the mayor, Óscar Noda, and the Councilor for Sports, Ángel Lago, who two years ago led the creation of the Cup that meant the return of official competition to the south after more than 20 years in dry dock, although the Institution gives all the merit to the sports family as expressly stated in the Playa Blanca meeting
The event was marked by the recognition of the crews and collaborators of the five boats of the municipality: Bernasan, Playa Blanca, Playa Dorada, Deportes Yaiza Código Cero (women's team), and the Tritón Clínica Veterinaria Bari, to whom the City Council also recognized their achievements, including the championship of the 2021 and 2022 seasons of the Insular League of Latin Sailing Boats and current champion of the Copa Vela Latina del Sur, a gift that the owner of the boat and sailor, Víctor García, received from the hands of the mayor.
And there was also a lot of emotion when the surprise tribute to a very beloved man in Playa Blanca, Iván Caraballo, one of the promoters of sailing in Yaiza, was revealed. Iván was a sailor and is now a tireless collaborator of the Bernasan boat and all the teams in the south. “I didn't expect it, I am very excited and I only want the City Council to continue supporting sailing as it is doing,” noted the honoree.
Óscar Noda argued that “in Yaiza we are very clear that all investments cannot be in concrete, the works are fine, but our commitment is also firm to sports, culture and training as key factors of human development. Sailing is an endearing sport that our neighbors feel and we have to respond to that roots and tradition.”
Ángel Lago, a Latin sailing practitioner since childhood, was also excited: “the consolidation of the Cup and its positioning as a prestigious tournament is demonstrated, but above all I am left with the happy faces of our people, since the joy, more than in the sea, remains in their hearts.”
Five days, ten regattas
The third edition of the Southern Cup begins next Saturday, April 1 in Puerto Calero. There are two regattas per day and the following four will be in Playa Blanca to complete the 10 magics of the tournament. Of the 15 participating boats, as a novelty this year, two come from the island of Fuerteventura and one from La Palma.
Óscar Noda stressed the collaboration of the Marina Rubicón and Puerto Calero marinas, the base facilities of the competition, and the federative support, in this case, that of Pedro Robayna, president of the Insular Federation of Latin Sailing, and Luis Toledo, president of the Canary Federation of Latin Sailing Boats. Both shared the joy of the sports meeting in Playa Blanca.
The shipwright and sailor, Santiago González, a legend of the sport of Latin sailing in Lanzatote, who is releasing a newly built boat in the Southern Cup, praised “the organization of the tournament, the union it represents for sailing and how good the Southern Cup is for us to compete and finish preparing the Insular League”. Playa Blanca experienced an afternoon full of emotions.
