For 29 years they displayed their beauty in the America’s Cup
BARCELONA, 8 Ago. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The 17th edition of the Puig Vela Clàssica Regatta will feature in 2024 the fleet of 12-meter sailboats, in a competition that will take place from September 1 to 10, 2024, within the framework of the Challenger Selection Series of the America’s Cup and will be to see in the waters of the Catalan capital some boats that for 29 years competed for the ‘Hundred Guineas Cup’.
The sailboats will be moored in the RCNB marina, in the heart of the America’s Cup Village, and will compete in four days of regattas between September 4 and 7. In addition, all 12-meter boats will be welcome and it is expected that up to a total of 25 sailboats will come to Barcelona.
It was in the 1908, 1912 and 1920 Olympic Games that the 12-meter sailboats burst into existence and were consolidated, being the class introduced in the America’s Cup in 1958 by the New York Yacht Club, after the competition stopped during World War II. World.
The president of the Real Club Nàutic de Barcelona, Jordi Puig, assured that it will be “very exciting” to have the America’s Cup in Barcelona and organize these parallel events, with the “honor” of hosting these historic 12-meter sailboats.
“We enjoyed hosting the fleet in 2014, for the 7th edition of the regatta, and look forward to welcoming back to the 12 Meter family in 2024, where the contrast between classic sailboats and the new era of foiling boats It will be an impressive backdrop for the 37th America’s Cup in Barcelona,” he said.
The New York Yacht Club detected in 1958 the need to use a smaller and more profitable class than the giant ‘J-Class’ to relaunch the competition and the Royal Yacht Squadron of Cowes agreed. And, for 29 years, the 12 Meters competed for the ‘Cup of the 100 Guineas’.
The 12 Meter class was eventually replaced by the IACC class after the Deed of Gift Match in 1988. However, they have not been forgotten and fleets have sprung up ever since, mostly in North America and in northern and southern Europe, whose owners restore and upgrade these beautiful yachts with modern technology.
America’s Cup CEO Grant Dalton noted that the era of the 12 Meter class in the America’s Cup was what inspired his interest in the event. “We are delighted that they will join us in Barcelona for the start of the Challenger Selection Series of the 37th America’s Cup. The 12 Meters will arouse a lot of interest and, as always, their racing will be incredibly close,” he predicted.