Final countdown in Palma for the J/70 Worlds

While the registration and measuring process is ongoing yesterday, Friday, at the Porto Pi naval base, the Sandberg Estates J/70 Worlds organization team is working day and night to get everything ready for the start of the race.

Palma, Spain, September 14, 2024

With just three days to go until the first starting signal of the Sandberg Estates J/70 Worlds, the entire fleet is already immersed in the measuring and registration process, which has been taking place since yesterday, Friday, until next Monday afternoon at the Porto Pi Naval Base. The support of the Spanish Navy and the Naval Regatta Commission has provided the necessary resources and space to carry out a logistical challenge, in which the organizing team of the Real Club Náutico de Palma (RCNP) and the International Association of the J/70 class have thrown themselves.

In the words of Vivi Mainemare, RCNP sports coordinator: ‘we have the unconditional support of the Porto Pi Naval Base and we are measuring all the boats that are going to participate in the world championship. We have set up tents, cranes, an office and we have a space provided by the port authority where the boats are prepared for the measuring process’.

To make the process as quick as possible and to make it as easy as possible for the participants, the organizers have divided this area into different stations where the sails, keel, rudder and all the equipment used during the World Championship are checked.

‘When the teams arrive and are assigned their hull numbers, they go through the different stations. In some they measure the sails, in others the depth of the keel, the dimensions of the masts, etc. At the end of the process the boats are launched again and returned to the club’, explains Mainemare.

One of the key figures in this whole process is Nuria Oliver, coordinator of the measurement area, who states that ‘we are very happy to have these facilities, the view under the lighthouse is incredible and it is a very accessible and comfortable place. I think the teams are very aware of the work behind it, they see a lot of bias in the staff and the truth is they are very grateful for it’.

A total of one hundred boats will pass through Porto Pi until Monday 16 October to obtain the certificate that will allow them to compete for the most important title of the season from Tuesday.

For Christopher Howell, director of the class, the work of the organizing team is key to making an event of this magnitude happen: ‘It’s my first time here in Palma and the club is fantastic. They welcomed us with the red carpet and everyone is very attentive to provide us with everything we need’.

The Sandberg Estates J/70 Worlds 2024 is organized by the Real Club Náutico de Palma and the International J/70 Class Association. With the sponsorship of Sandberg Estates and the institutional collaboration of the Palma City Council, the Spanish Navy, the Balearic Port Authority, the Royal Spanish Sailing Federation and the Balearic Sailing Federation.

More info: https://www.rcnp.es/j70worlds/

@rcnpalma