ISAF Sailing World Cup Mallorca- Military air carrier arrives in Palma

by Daniel Smith, ISAF on 4 Apr 2014 At the ISAF Sailing World Cup Mallorca, the arrival of US military air carrier 'Harry S. Truman' in the bay of Palma has transformed the organisation of today’s races into a big jigsaw puzzle , in which 1130 sailors from 55 nations are participating, with Olympic medallists and world and continental champions on the way to the Río 2016 Olympics among them.

The vessel has anchored in the bay of Palma with a 1.000 meter restriction area in which no boat can sail and a 2.400 meter area in which it is forbidden to stop.

'These exclusion areas have forced us to move the Laser racing course and reduce the windsurfing course', explains the Racing coordinator of Trofeo Princesa Sofia – ISAF Sailing World Cup Mallorca, who adds: 'With wind conditions like we have today we would set a longer course for the windsurf, but as this is not possible because we would enter the exclusion area, we make them sail two laps of a shorter course'.

'Last week we were informed the air carrier would arrive today and from then we have been studying how it would affect the seven racing areas we have in the bay of Palma. It has had a big impact, I have even received mails from a captain from the Spanish army that collaborates with Security issues', informs the organizer of the Trofeo Princesa Sofia.

The 'Harry S. Truman' has arrived today in Palma and will be anchored here until Sunday which will affect the Sofia today and tomorrow. Saturday, last day of racing, the Medal Races will be sailed to decide the places on the podium. These decisive races will be sailed in three racing areas close to shore, so the air carrier will have no impact on the racing.

With almost 6.000 Us militaries on board, the 'Harry S. Truman' is 332,8 meter long and 40,8 wide in the water line, although its maximum beam on deck in 78 metres.

With 25.958 square metre in the flight deck, the US vessel could carry four full fleets of the Princesa Sofia, whose 803 boats (ten Olympic classes and one Paralympic class) would occupy 6.510 square metres if placed one next to the other.

With almost 1.200 sailors representing 55 nations, the Trofeo Princesa Sofia is the Spanish event with the highest number of entries. It is the fourth stage of the ISAF Sailing World Cup, the prestigious Olympic World Cup that has already visited Qingdao (China), Melbourne (Australia) and Miami (United States). The last event of the circuit is Hyères (France) at the end of Event website