Global Solo Challenge - A home called Marina Coruña?
by Helena De La Gandara 5 Nov 2022 08:21 PDT
Marina Coruña © Marina Coruña
Marina Coruña, not just a starting point.
Compared to other ocean regattas, the Global Solo Challenge has a peculiarity: it starts and ends in the same place. In less than a year, Marina Coruña (Galicia), will be the regatta's main stage.
Anyone passionate about sailing can't conceive the mythical regatta Vendée Globe without the port and city of Sables d'Olonne, the heart and soul of the race. As in the case of this single-handed non-stop round the world yacht race, the Global Solo Challenge wouldn't be the same without the city of A Coruña and its marina.
The marina, in this city surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean that prides itself on living facing outwards towards the open sea, is looking forward to the start of the Global Solo Challenge, a sports adventure fully supported, among others, by A Coruña citizens, Marina Coruña, and the Galician city's administration.
And there is no doubt that the participants in this event consider Marina Coruña (Figrupo Marinas) their "home", their base. Strongly related to ocean sailing, this modern port is where Global Solo Challenge entrants will prepare their hulls, masts and sails, putting their brain in gear, getting their provisions, and doing everything else needed to take on a challenge of this magnitude.
Roberto Bermúdez de Castro (known as Chuny) - one of the legends of ocean racing in Spain, Olympic athlete, and participant in the America's Cup - is currently the director of what will be the home of the Global Solo Challenge, Marina Coruña, and is very much aware of the strategic importance of this location, what is demanded of it, and the advantages it offers.
"The city with its marina plays a strategic role in oceanic sailing as it is on the route of boats on their way to the Caribbean, yachts participating in long distance regattas, and boats leaving French shipyards. It's a popular stop-over. And when the Gulf of Vizcaya is battered by storms, this city becomes the perfect place to shelter from the fury of the sea", says Chuny Bermúdez.
"In the case of the Global Solo Challenge, our latitude is prefect as the regatta's starting and finishing point in autumn and spring respectively and, from a navigation point of view, it's much more convenient than other locations further north or south".
The safety it provides during sea storms and the warmth of its people bring to mind a popular local saying that rings especially true in the case of this adventurous fleet. "Nobody is a foreigner in A Coruña" really applies to the participants in the Global Solo Challenge, who can be sure to find all they need in this port.
Continue reading the full article here...