Sandberg PalmaVela Offshore Race to feature top ORC A2 in the Mediterranean
by Sandberg PalmaVela 10 Mar 11:13 PDT
25-29 April 2025
A2 Fleet - PalmaVela 2023 © Laura G. Guerra / PalmaVela
The offshore leg of the Sandberg PalmaVela, La Larga, is set to start on April 26th, bringing a rematch of the intense ORC A2 battle witnessed at the recent 200 Millas A Dos de Altea.
The duel featured Eduardo Horrach's "Azuree" (RCN Palma) and "Guaguanco IV" (CN Altea), sailed by father-and-son duo Juan and Thierry Lallemand. Horrach, owner of "Azuree", remarked, "La Larga is cementing itself as a future classic among Mediterranean offshore races. The multiple routing options between our islands make it uniquely attractive. The key difference compared to other races is the ability to adapt the course based on the weather forecast."
Just two weeks ago, the "Guaguanco IV" team claimed victory over "Azuree" by a narrow 20-minute margin after nearly 28 hours of racing, securing both the overall and ORC B class win. However, this time around, "Azuree" will be racing on home waters in the Balearic archipelago.
"The Altea race," Horrach continued, "was the perfect warm-up for us in terms of optimizing and refining our campaign. The friendly rivalry with Guaguanco—and many other competitive A2 teams—keeps pushing us to improve. Their boat is a great benchmark since it shares many characteristics with our Azuree."
The Other A2 Contenders
Beyond this battle between the smaller yachts, the Sandberg PalmaVela offshore race will also see competition among the larger ORC A2 entries. Felix Comas' "Modul" (CN Santa Ponsa), which dominated the ORC A class in Altea with a comfortable margin, will be one to watch. "Personally, I'm a huge advocate of short-handed sailing, whether A2 or A3. These formats create a deep connection with both the boat and your co-skipper," Comas explained.
The Mallorcan skipper sees a bright future for offshore racing: "Adding an offshore leg to Sandberg PalmaVela was a necessary move. The event is growing, as seen by the increasing number of top boats and high-caliber crews." Among them is "Smerit" (CN Blanes) skippered by Tito Moure, who finished just behind the overall winner Inteman (RCM Barcelona) in last year's La Larga. Inteman will return with round-the-world sailor Didac Costa at the helm. "The best part about La Larga is the strong fleet and the quality of the course," Costa said upon confirming his participation.
The ocean racing veteran highlighted the growing appeal of the Sandberg PalmaVela offshore race: "More and more boats are joining, which is fantastic. It's great to see a proper offshore circuit developing, and PalmaVela is drawing increasing attention."
However, Costa admits that results are not his primary focus: "The rating system—especially in the Mediterranean and in long-distance racing—makes it hard to gauge competitiveness, given the many geographical and meteorological variables. The results can be quite random. For me, it's about sailing well; the final ranking is secondary."
The challenge of offshore racing on an inshore boat
Another returning competitor is Oscar Chávez's "Hydra" (CN El Balís), who acknowledges the challenges of offshore racing aboard a boat designed for inshore competition: "Racing short-handed on a boat like ours is a real test. It's highly demanding due to its sail plan and deck layout."
Chávez elaborated on the difficulty of adapting an inshore-configured boat for A2 racing: "Managing a boat this size, with a tuff-luff headsail system, a mainsail of this scale, and a spinnaker pole, means we need to plan every maneuver meticulously—especially in heavy air." He added, "It's extremely physically demanding, which is why we rely heavily on a favorable weather forecast."
The Catalan owner also pointed out the rarity of a boat that performs well in both inshore and offshore racing, as well as in short-handed formats: "The DK46 is incredibly versatile, which explains why I never want to miss a race!"
With 15 days left until the registration deadline on March 25th, 40 teams have already signed up for the offshore race. The RCN Palma race committee, led by Gaspar Morey, will announce the final course just hours before the April 26 start at 12:00 PM for the 5th edition of La Larga, which will weave through the Balearic archipelago.
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