239 crews from 16 countries will take part in the 48th Palamós Christmas Race
by Jaume Soler 19 Dec 2024 00:22 NZDT
18-22 December 2024
The crews are already training in Palamós in preparation for the Christmas Race © Alfred Farré
The 48th Palamós Christmas Race, the international sailing regatta, is preparing for a new edition. This Wednesday will be registration day and the opening ceremony at 18:30. And from Thursday 19th to Sunday 22nd December the competition will take place on the water.
- The international regatta will be held from Thursday to Sunday in the waters of the Bay of Palamós
- In addition to the bulk of European teams, there will be crews from the United States, Argentina and Bermuda
The Christmas Race is the competition of reference for all sailors, and those who have participated know that it is not just another regatta in the calendar, and this is clear, especially outside of Spain.
A total of 239 crews are participating, representing a total of 382 sailors and 60 coaches, distributed in 8 categories. ILCA 6 Men (36), ILCA 6 Women (27), ILCA 4 Men (20), ILCA 4 Women (9), 420 Men/Mixed (89), 420 Women (21), 29er Men/Mixed (25), 29er Women (12).
In terms of countries there are 16: Germany (2), Argentina (1), Belgium (3), Bermuda (1), Spain (98), USA (1), France (45), Finland (3), Great Britain (33), Italy (45), Netherlands (12), Poland (26), Switzerland (8), Sweden (2), Turkey (3) and Ukraine (9).
First race in 2025
For several decades, the Christmas Race was part of the Eurolymp Olympic class circuit, organised by EUROSAF (European Sailing Federation). That is why from the beginning both World Sailing and EUROSAF have considered the Palamós Christmas Race as the first regatta of the sailing season.
The same has happened with the 29er class, which has decided that the Christmas Race will be the regatta that inaugurates the 29er Eurocup 2025 circuit.
More than a decade ago, Palamós decided to promote youth sailing. It has one of the best Optimist regattas in the world, the International Palamós Optimist Trophy; and many of these young talents have subsequently returned to Palamós to participate in youth and Olympic classes.
This is why for years it has combined some Olympic classes; in this edition it will be the ILCA 6 Women. Other consolidated classes are the ILCA 4 Men and Women, ILCA 6 Men, the 420 Men/Mixed and 420 Women.
New location on the Platja Gran
The great novelty in this year's edition is that all the activity ashore will be concentrated on the Platja Gran de Palamós, as is already the case with the Palamós Optimist Trophy, where there is a large natural space with starts from the beach itself and where the contact between competitors, the general public and fans is more direct, thus bringing the event closer to the town.
Anna Cuxart is the new director of the regatta and explains that 'we maintain an important international participation, which shows the interest of the Palamós Christmas Race outside our borders'.
The 48th edition of the Christmas Race will have two racing areas, on the one hand the single-handed ILCA 6 and ILCA 4 classes and on the other the double-handed classes with the 420 and 29er.
Sustainable regatta
The Palamós Christmas Race has been a Clean Regatta for two editions, recognised by the international Sailors for the Sea association.
Aware of the need to take care of the environment and the presentation of the seas, the regatta conducts different actions related to sustainability, such as paperless management, Be One With the Sea, No Plastics, Green Regatta, Sailors for the Sea.
In recent editions, plastic has been completely eliminated and the use of refillable bottles has been encouraged through water fountains placed in the regatta venue.
The Palamós Christmas Race is organised by the Club Nàutic Costa Brava - Vela Palamós, with the support of the Spanish and Catalan Sailing Federations, as well as the institutional support of the Catalan Government, the Girona Provincial Council and Palamós City Council.
Find out more here.