The XXIII Canarias – Madeira International Regatta is already underway, this time with the starting point in the bay of Arrecife and taking over from the LXXIV San Ginés 2024 International High Seas Regatta, which concluded last Saturday.
The event, jointly organised by the Real Club Náutico de Arrecife and the Clube Naval do Funchal, started on the morning of this Wednesday with the participation of 43 boats, and the boats will have to complete a route of 280 nautical miles.
The start of the Canarias-Madeira International Regatta was scheduled for Tuesday, with the organisers deciding to delay the start until the morning of this Wednesday, due to the weather conditions that could harm the participating boats.
After 9:00 am, the 43 registered boats set off and headed for Funchal, where the finish line will be located. The start of the event was attended by Óscar López, Councillor for Events and Classified Activities of the Arrecife City Council, who was accompanied by Eduardo Placeres, attached to the Arrecife Department of Sports, and Julio Romero, President of the Real Club Náutico de Arrecife. The three were in charge of giving the start and dedicating a few words of encouragement to the entire fleet to wish them a good journey.
The first to start were the ORC class boats, with wind conditions of 17 knots on average and a northerly component. The "Lola" of Rafael Lasso took command of the race, followed by the "Sorondongo" of Miguel Ángel Armas and the "Swing" of José Augusto Araujo. Behind and without losing track of the first classified were the "Lanzarote Sailing Paradise" of Miguel Cabrera, the "Avanti Lanzarote" of Pedro de Armas Bermúdez and the "Roge Wave" of José Ignacio Cantero.
Five minutes later, the 20 participants in the OPEN class started. The first to take the lead in the fleet in this class were the "Anja" of Antonio Cabrera, the "Tridente" of Manolo Borrero, the "Robin B" of Roberto Baltar.
After the start, the participants took the mark buoy located in front of the Real Club Náutico de Arrecife facilities, heading towards the Papagayo and Pechiguera area. The first to reach this point of the route, after about three hours of navigation, was the "Sorondongo", followed by the "Lola" and the "Swing", later leaving for Funchal (Madeira) where the arrival of the first classified is expected in the early hours of Friday after completing a route of 280 nautical miles.
The XXIII Canarias – Madeira International Regatta is jointly organised by the Clube Naval do Funchal and the Real Club Náutico de Arrecife, with the support of the Real Federación Española de Vela, Federación Portuguesa de Vela, Asociación Regional de Vela de Madeira, the Real Federación Canaria de Vela, the Asociación Canaria de Clubes Náuticos and the Marina Portuguesa, as well as the support of Puertos de Madeira, Marina do Funchal and Marina Lanzarote.
