2023-07-15 09:00:12
BarcelonaSe’n diu windsurfingbut is also known as a Catalan skate. It is a single-sail catamaran that does not have a rudder and is for a single crew member, who steers the boat by distributing the weights with its movement. He was born in the 1920s in Barcelona and now, a hundred years later, he will be paid tribute by taking advantage of the celebration of the America’s Cup. It will be in Vilanova i la Geltrú, from September 15 to 17, taking advantage of the first preliminary regatta of the competition.
The aim, as the promoters explain, is to take advantage of the most important regatta in the world to promote this genuinely Catalan boat. “Anything to help promote sailing is a goal that we have set ourselves since the America’s Cup, and more so with a class that has such a tradition in Catalonia,” says Grant Dalton, general director of the America’s Cup Event Barcelona, the organizer of the competition. “The Catalan paddle is a boat that must be preserved, as it is the basis of future sailors and is accessible to everyone. That they are in Vilanova with the sailboats of the great competition is an honor. For what it represents for the sailing and to promote this sport”, he adds.
It will be like putting a craft boat next to the high-tech nautical AC40s, the imposing boats that will already be competing in the town of El Garraf. The initiative, the organizers point out, came from Grant Dalton himself, a New Zealand skipper who has gone overboard in promoting and making the America’s Cup great. A competition which, after the Olympic Games and the World Cup, is the third with the highest audience worldwide. An unbeatable setting to enhance some boats of 5.60 meters in length, traditionally made of wood, although they are also made of fiberglass, and which is made up of two identical boats or floats.
A first taste of 15 Catalan skates
The presentation was made this week at Club Patí Vela Barcelona, created at the time by Gerard Esteva, president of the UFEC, and Rafel Figuerola. It featured a small outing of 15 Catalan skaters in the Barcelona sea. “I knew these boats existed but I had no idea what they represented for Catalonia. I want to see the departure with a hundred boats. If with fifteen it was already chaos, with a hundred…” Dalton said with a laugh.
“It’s as if we were the opening act for the Rolling Stones. We will show the world this unique and modest artisanal class,” added Miguel Ángel Alonso, president of the International Association of Sailing Skates (ADIPAV). In addition to them, Gerard Delmás, president of the Club de Mar Vilanova, also attended the presentation; Jordi Aránega, president of CM Cubelles, and Anna Ribera, councilor of Vilanova i la Geltrú City Council.
Four teams are already installed in Port Vell in Barcelona
Grant Dalton took advantage of the presentation of the Catalan skate exhibition to praise the bases of the teams that will participate in the America’s Cup, and which are installed in Port Vell in Barcelona. “We were able to get them a few months ahead of schedule and they are all really perfect.”
“I have followed the arrival of the teams and asked their opinion. Everyone is happy about their location, which I expected. There is always someone who is not, but this time no one complained to me” , said Dalton.
The four America’s Cup teams that are already installed are Alinghi, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, American Magic and Emirates Team New Zealand. The remaining two teams, the Ineos Britannia and the French Orien Express, will arrive between the end of the month and the beginning of August.
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