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A record fleet of Patí Català sailboats took to the water during the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup in Barcelona.
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A 350-boat fleet of the locally based Patí Català sailboats raced on the waters off Barcelona created an unprecedented visual spectacle as part of the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup and the IV UFEC Catalan Sport Week.
The event attracted a fleet size that has never been seen before and that has broken all records for Patí Català regattas.
After the two contested races Peco Mulet from Club Patí Vela Barcelona emerged as the overall winner with a total of four points, while second place went to Yanick Márquez from Club Nàutic Sitges with six points.
Third was Márquez’s club mate, Julian Vinue who also scored six points, but Márquez’s better result in the last race put him ahead in the final standings. The Women’s group winner was Eli Vives from Club Nàutic Sitges, while Tom Rondeau from Club Mar i Vent de Canet was the Junior division winner.
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The award ceremony was attended by Grant Dalton, CEO of America’s Cup Event and Emirates Team New Zealand; Aurora Catà, vice president of America’s Cup Event; Miquel Àngel Alonso, president of ADIPAV; Gerard Esteva, president of the Union of Sports Federations of Catalonia (UFEC); Rafel Figuerola, president of the Barcelona Patí Vela Club; and Olivia Mandle, environmental activist.
Grant Dalton was full of praise for the event and for the Patí Català sailors participating in this huge regatta, saying: “It’s a fabulous class, one of the best organised in the world, and a fantastic boat. The regatta has been a magnificent site along the beautiful coastline of Barcelona”.
This is an event that goes further than sports. It’s a call to the importance of the fight against climate change and plastic pollution in the ocean – hence its slogan is “Free Plastics Sea”, aiming to raise awareness of the issue of microplastics in the sea.
The Patí de Vela or Patí Català is a single sailor catamaran that is controlled by the skipper’s body weight and the mainsheet. It features no rudder, boom or battens, and it originated on the beachfronts of Barceloneta and Badalona in the 1920s.
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