The Sandberg J/70 World Championships, which will be held in Palma from September 13 to 22, This will be an important step in the history of the world cruising championships. Not only for the sporting value of the event or for the high quality of the crews of the largest monotype in the world, but also for the hot start procedure system.
Around a hundred J70s will complete the procedure and cross the start line at the same time, which will cause additional pressure on the fleet as they are ‘off line’ (before the start), forcing them to return to the procedure area and resume the exit, this will almost certainly mean having a bad result in this round. Therefore, the reliability of knowing immediately who has taken the lead and of immediately transmitting this information to the fleet will be crucial and will entail great responsibility for the race committee.
The innovation in the Bay of Palma will be the RaceSense system, that with the inclusion on board each boat of an electronic device which, via GPS, transmits the exact position just at the moment of crossing the starting line and transmits it in less than a second to the boats that have gone “off line” so that they can be exonerated from this infringement as soon as possible.
Real Club Nautico de Palma is preparing for receive a hundred teams with their boats, vehicles, trailers and support tires of the J/70 fleet with the subsequent logistical coordination to carry out the measurement of each of the boats before having the certificate to be able to compete in the World Cup. All this requires having a lot of space on land to lift the boats out of the water with a crane, measure them, weigh them and put them back in the water.
On top of all this, you need the space to store not only boat trailers but also the support inflatables, and without the collaboration of the Spanish Navy and the Naval Regatta Commission with its base in Porto Pi, it would not have been possible to organize a World Championship of this type.
There are many teams that They have been training for a few weeks now. on the regatta course in the Bay of Palma, located between Portixoll and Cala Gamba, as is the case of the reigning world title holder, the British boat Brutus III of Tom Mallindene And Charlie Thompsonwho have already faced a dozen teams.
Rafael GilPresident of the RCN of Palma, wanted to highlight the importance of this World Championship, both for its sporting value and for its strong participation: “It is an honor for the Real Club Náutico de Palma welcome 98 teams from 25 countries who will be present at this prestigious J70 World Cup. “I would like to thank you for your participation and your trust in our club to live an unforgettable experience in the waters of the Bay of Palma.”
Gil also highlighted the club’s values: “We are proud to offer you our hospitality and we hope that you will enjoy both the competition and the facilities and services that we have made available to you. Hosting an event of this magnitude is a logistical challenge, but we have a highly qualified team and with extensive experience in organizing large nautical events. I wish all participants good luck and enjoy their stay in Palma.
