Majorica ORC: The biggest fleet of the 41st Copa del Rey MAPFRE
by 41 Copa del Rey MAPFRE 9 Jul 2023 09:28 BST
30 July - 5 August 2023
Aifos sailing on the Bay of Palma last year © María Muiña / Copa del Rey MAPFRE
The 41st edition of the Copa del Rey MAPFRE runs from 29th July, the first day of training, until the last race on Saturday 5th August. Eight classes will compete for the overall title: four on handicap and four in real time. Two special prizes are also to be awarded: one for the best boat overall in handicap classes and the other the best boat overall in real time or one design.
The Copa del Rey MAPFRE is a great ORC classes regatta a handicap rule which accounts for more than 65% of the entire regatta fleet divided into four classes (from 1 to 4).
The largest boats in the fleet will compete in the Majorica ORC1 class, which includes the Spanish Navy's TP52 "Aifos," usually skippered by HM King Felipe VI, and who this year will be aiming for their first victory in the Copa del Rey MAPFRE.
In this 41st edition, their main rivals will be Fernando Chain's Swan 45, "From Now On" from the Yacht Club Argentino, runners-up in the World Championship 2022. They will race alongside the three DK 46s entered in the class; Nacho Montes's "Estrella Damm" from the RCN Barcelona and the RCM Punta Umbría's, Óscar Chavez's "HM Hospitales - Hydria," sailing under the CN del Balís flag, and Marina Vela Barcelona's "Urbania" owned by Tomás Gasset, all competing for a final podium position in the powerful class of 15 registered competitors, five of whom are favourites after their results so far in 2023.
The second largest number of participants in the Copa del Rey MAPFRE will compete in the Majorica ORC2 class, with 18 teams registered and various favourites for the podium. Defender of the 2022 title, Javier Banderas' "Teatro Soho CaixaBank" the Swan 42 from the Puerto Deportivo de Benalmádena, will be lining up on the water against Christian Plump and Javier Sanz's "Elena Nova," who will be racing following their victory in last weekend's Trofeo de S.M. la Reina in Valencia, the prelude to one of the many duels expected on the Bay of Palma. Pedro Gil's "Maverta," the Rodman 42 from the RCN de Torrevieja is another competitor to watch out for. The fleet also includes Velum Lucerna's "Modul" the J&V 42 from the Club Náutico de Santa Ponsa, Christoph Mann's "Plan B" representing the RCN de Palma, and the other three Swan 42s: Kurt Thomas Kalberer II's "Lagerta" from the New York Yacht Club, the British boat, Steve Rigby's "Rachistar" and Nicola de Gemmis' "Morgan V" from Italy.
The largest class in the Copa del Rey MAPFRE is the Majorica ORC3 with 22 teams, four of whom are clearly aiming for the top spot. They include "L'Immens-Laplaza Assessors", owned by Alexandre Laplaza, a Sinergia 40 sailing under the RCN de Barcelona flag alongside the Italian teams Stefano Ruconi's "Concrete Investing-Tobe" and Vicenzo de Blasio's "Scugnizza" (which in the model ITA 11.98 were 3rd and 2nd respectively in the ORC World Championships 2022) as well as the Argentine boat "Geex," racing the same kind of boat. They will also need to be on the lookout for the RCN de Palma's "Santina," a Dehler 38 owned by Swede Thomas Rudewald.
Finally, the Majorica ORC4, the class representing the smallest boats, will present a fabulous duel between Jaume Morell's "Mestral Fast," a Sun Fast 36 defending the colours of the RCN de Palma, and Gonzalo Calvo's "Lassal" from the RCN de Valencia. Both are also competing for the Copa del Rey MAPFRE title.
The six days of competition, running from Monday 31st July to Saturday 5th August, will be celebrating successes on the final day at the prize-giving ceremony in Ses Voltes, located at the foot of Mallorca's Cathedral. HM King Felipe will be awarding the prizes to the winning teams of this 41st edition of the event.